Appealing to Divergent Brand Community Members - Adjusting Advertisements to Reflect Competing Construals (Nike Social Distance Experimental Study)

Last registered on August 30, 2020
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Appealing to Divergent Brand Community Members - Adjusting Advertisements to Reflect Competing Construals (Nike Social Distance Experimental Study)
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0006188
Initial registration date
July 22, 2020

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
July 23, 2020, 9:45 AM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Last updated
August 30, 2020, 9:27 PM EDT

Last updated is the most recent time when changes to the trial's registration were published.

Locations

Country
United States of America
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Brittney Bauer
Affiliation
Loyola University New Orleans
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2020-07-23
End date
2020-07-30
Keywords
Firms & Productivity, Other
Additional Keywords
brand community, brand relationships, construal level theory, social distance, temporal distance, advertising appeals
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Abstract
While brand communities bring to mind commonalities like shared interests and values, it is important to note that the way consumers construe information can be different depending on the situation and their level of integration with the brand community itself. Therefore, this research proposes that construal level impacts how brand community members process information, and specifically looks at how two dimensions of psychological distance—social and temporal distance—affect the persuasiveness of different types of advertising appeals. Furthermore, consideration is given to the consequences that occur when both dimensions are simultaneously activated, but the valence of the construal levels move in opposite directions. As such, these studies contribute to both theory and practice by extending knowledge to include which types of construals are more salient when competing construals are triggered, and by helping marketing managers to identify the most effective advertising appeals for brand community members under these different conditions.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Bauer, Brittney. 2020. "Appealing to Divergent Brand Community Members - Adjusting Advertisements to Reflect Competing Construals (Nike Social Distance Experimental Study)." AEA RCT Registry. August 30. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.6188-2.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2020-07-23
Intervention End Date
2020-07-29

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
willingness to pay, brand response (brand favorability, brand interest, brand use)
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
This study uses a 3 (social distance to other members vs. social distance to the brand vs. control) x 2 (symbolic vs. utilitarian advertising appeal) between-subjects experimental design.
Experimental Design Details
First, participants will be randomly assigned to one of three projective writing task conditions: close social distance to other members prime, close social distance to the brand prime, or control group. The writing prompts for all three conditions will be worded as follows:

Close Social Distance to Other Members Condition: “We are interested in what you think the most socially engaged NIKE fan is like. This is someone who feels extremely close to other NIKE FANS, and is a devoted participant in NIKE community activities. Please write a brief essay about: ‘A Day in the Life of the Most Social NIKE Fan, Taylor Jones’. Imagine that you are Taylor Jones, and describe in detail what makes you the most interactive NIKE fan. For example, you may wish to write about how Taylor Jones knows a lot of other NIKE fans, engages with others on NIKE's social media platforms, constantly communicates on NIKE's online forums, keeps up-to-date on all NIKE community events, organizes NIKE community activities, etc."

Close Social Distance to the Brand Condition: “We are interested in what you think NIKE's number one fan is like. This is someone who feels extremely close to the NIKE BRAND, and is a devoted supporter of NIKE apparel and products. Please write a brief essay about: ‘A Day in the Life of the Ultimate NIKE Fan, Taylor Jones’. Imagine that you are Taylor Jones, and describe in detail what makes you the NIKE brand's greatest fan. For example, you may wish to write about how Taylor Jones knows the history of NIKE, often shops at NIKE stores, frequently browses NIKE's website, constantly wears NIKE apparel, keeps up-to-date on new NIKE products, watches all of NIKE's advertisements, etc.”

Control Condition: “We are interested in what you think a general day in your life is like. This is a day that is extremely NORMAL, and all of the activities are consistent with your regular routine. Please write a brief essay about: ‘A Typical Day in My Life’. Imagine and describe in detail what happens during each part of your day to make it normal. For example, you may wish to write about how you wake up every morning at a certain time, what you do to get ready for your day, the different activities you normally do, the types of meals you eat, what you do with your free time, etc.”

Next, participants will indicate their perceived social distance to both the brand and to other members of the brand community. Next, they will be randomly assigned to view one [of two] advertisement. The advertising messaging will be manipulated to reflect either a symbolic appeal highlighting more emotional aspects of the products (i.e., “Style. Comfort. Because life is passion. Nike Soul.”), or a utilitarian appeal highlighting more functional content related to the products (i.e., “Dri-fit. AeroReact. Because life is practical. Nike Speed.”). All other aspects of the advertisement—logo, picture, etc.—will be kept constant throughout all of the ads. Finally, participants will respond to a short battery of attitude, behavioral, and demographic questions.
Randomization Method
Randomization will be done via the Qualtrics randomization tool in the survey flow.
Randomization Unit
The unit of randomization is the individual (i.e., each individual will be randomly assigned to view one [of two] advertisement).
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
300 American consumers
Sample size: planned number of observations
300 American consumers
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
50 American consumers with a close social distance to other members & symbolic advertisement
50 American consumers with a close social distance to the brand & symbolic advertisement
50 American consumers with a close social distance to other members & utilitarian advertisement
50 American consumers with a close social distance to the brand & utilitarian advertisement.
50 American control consumers & utilitarian advertisement
50 American control consumers & utilitarian advertisement
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Loyola University Institutional Review Board (IRB 00001194)
IRB Approval Date
2019-10-25
IRB Approval Number
IRB# 000164
Analysis Plan

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
No
Data Collection Complete
Yes
Data Collection Completion Date
July 30, 2020, 12:00 +00:00
Final Sample Size: Number of Clusters (Unit of Randomization)
Was attrition correlated with treatment status?
Final Sample Size: Total Number of Observations
495 American consumers
Final Sample Size (or Number of Clusters) by Treatment Arms
82 American consumers with a close social distance to other members & symbolic advertisement 76 American consumers with a close social distance to the brand & symbolic advertisement 77 American consumers with a close social distance to other members & utilitarian advertisement 88 American consumers with a close social distance to the brand & utilitarian advertisement. 87 American control consumers & utilitarian advertisement 85 American control consumers & utilitarian advertisement
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

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Program Files

Program Files
No
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials