Comparing direct and indirect branding in advertising

• We isolate direct and indirect branding to test relative impact on ad effectiveness.
• Brand elements are inferior to the brand name to generate brand recall for ads.
• Picture brand elements (logos) are more effective than text brand elements (slogans).
• Brand recall is greatest when picture elements are used to supplement the brand name.
• Ad likeability was unaffected by the type or combinations of branding.

Advertising research has largely neglected to evaluate the relative effectiveness of the different forms of branding devices available to advertisers. Branding can be direct, through explicit use of brand names, or indirect, through use of (non-brand name) brand elements, such as logos, spokes-characters and slogans that are connected to the brand in consumers' memory. Advertisers often downplay brand names in favour of brand elements because the latter are seen as less intrusive and more creative. This experiment in three categories demonstrates that direct branding often produces higher brand recall than indirect branding without compromising advertising likeability. There is, however, a clear picture-superiority effect, whereby picture elements (logos, spokes-characters) consistently elicit higher brand recall than text elements (slogans). The findings highlight that advertisers need not be reluctant to call out the brand name for fear of losing attention due to an unappealing ad, because consumers do not appear to penalise advertising with direct branding, nor do they reward advertising with subtler indirect branding.

Chinese abstract广告研究很少涉及评估广告商可用的不同形式的广告策略的相对有效性。品牌可以通过显露品牌名称进行直接推广，也可以通过品牌名称以外的品牌元素，如品牌标志、角色代言人和消费者耳熟能详的品牌口号进行间接推广。广告商通常更爱凸显品牌元素，尽量淡化品牌名称，因为他们认为前者没有后者那么单刀直入，而且更赋创意。本实验共有三类，证明直接品牌推广比间接品牌推广更能够让观众记住，而且无损广告的魅力。然而，图片效果具有明显的优势，图片元素（品牌标志、角色代言人）一向比文本元素（品牌口号）更能给读者留下印象。这些发现显示广告商无需担心直接引用品牌名称而造成广告缺乏吸引力，从而丧失观众的关注，因为顾客并不会因直接品牌推广而贬低广告，也不会因更含蓄的间接品牌推广而推崇广告。