The effects of video advertising on the strength of brand associations

This paper investigates the effects of video advertising in eliciting short-term changes in the strength of brand associations in both the target brand and the main competing brand. Using the ‘response latency task’ defined by Till et al. (2011), the authors compared the strength of the associations related to a target brand and to its main competitor before and after the viewing by participants of a video advertising the target brand. Findings suggest that advertising can reinforce the brand associations of the target brand, enhancing their strength. Simultaneously, the same advertising also affects the competitor’s brand associations, but the effect is smaller.