Brand – Character Association and Attitude toward Brands in Movie Placements

Abstract

This study examines the impact of brand-character association on consumer attitude toward the placed brand. A 2x2 within subjects experiment, using a full-length movie as a stimulus, was conducted on a panel of student subjects to assess the interaction effect of character–brand valence on consumer attitude. Results support a significant interaction between character and brand valence. Analyses also indicate that congruency between character and brand valence enhances affective measures toward the placed brand, supporting the congruency theory and Meaning Transfer Model. Additionally, we found that brand familiarity mediates the character-valence interaction. Limitations and Implications of the studies were also discussed.