Users value newspapers more to judge products

MUMBAI: A recent study undertaken by TAM Media research reveals that news about products and services which are personal and close to the consumers have a deeper impact and force them to think about the issue to a limited extent. In fact, consumers with low commitment or involvement with a brand will showcase greater degree of “in two minds” when exposed to negative news. On the other hand, exposure to positive news controls the commitment level that is directly linked to the impact of negative news.

The study showed that a majority of respondents with high commitment levels instinctively ended up counter-arguing negative information about the particular product or brand involved. Whereas, low commitment consumers were quick to judge the product at hand and become non-users.

However, the credibility of the medium is a key factor in terms of impact on the brand. It was found that newspapers and magazines are perceived to be more dependable than TV. Moreover, credibility of the media brand, in terms of which TV channel or newspaper being the source of the information, is key to creating an impact.

In most cases, negative publicity has caused more harm to the brand and product in question. Recent examples being Coke and Pepsi, Cadbury, Reliance Retail and Shubshika. While most brands rely on increased advertising to ensure damage repair, it was observed that while ads help in reducing bad blood for the brand, during crisis, most consumers seek editorial authentication.

So, while an editorial in a newspaper may be most effective, advertorials in newspapers also help significantly in mending the image of the brand. Another interesting revelation was that brand placements or in-programme placements worked most effectively in erasing the negative impact on a brand.

During a crisis, if the brand highlights the right attributes of the brand, using product placements in an effective medium like TV, there are high chances of the negative impact being minimised. Contrary to predictions, product involvement and media credibility had little effect on how the negative information affected the brands.

Negative information about intrinsic brand attributes is perceived as more negative than negative information about extrinsic attributes. And negative information about intrinsic attributes had a greater impact on brand attitudes, the survey said.

Increasingly, the ground scenario is forcing marketing to become content led and the impact of negative news is omnipresent, and moreover getting amplified through technology, the survey added.

Clearly, in the marketing and communications world, the lines between advertising and public relations are blurring. And brands need to sit up and take notice of this to set right the track of how the brand is being perceived by its end consumer, the survey said.