The impact of cognitive and/or affective processing styles on consumer response to advertising appeals

As advertisers increasingly seek greater communication effectiveness and new forms of media emerge, psychological differences amongst individuals are becoming essential criteria in the design of advertising appeals. The present study considers whether individuals differ in their propensity to rely on affective, cognitive or both systems to process information. This research suggests that persuasive appeals tend to be more effective when the nature of the appeal matches, rather than mismatches, the individual personality-type preferences for processing information. Results show that informational and informational-emotional advertising appeals, which match consumer's processing style (thinking and thinking-feeling processors, respectively), can generate more positive attitudes toward the brand, purchase intention (PI) and brand choice. (C) 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.