A Familiar Story: The Moderating Effect of Identification on Narrative Advertising

Abstract

In this study evaluative conditioning of a neutral conditioned stimulus following a short story was tested. The effect of different endings was studied, as well as the moderating effect of identification with the main character. Whereas previous studies have carried out research on both story endings with evaluative conditioning and identification, these factors have not been combined in one study as of yet. The experiment (N = 123) used a 2 x 2 within-participant design. All participants were asked to read 40 stories. Brands were presented after these stories that either ended positively or negatively. Additionally, some main characters in the stories shared the same political preference as the participant, while other main characters held a differing political orientation. After these stories participants were asked to rate the brands. Results indicate a clear preference for brands associated with good-ending stories. Brands linked to stories involving a main character that is similar to the reader were evaluated more positively than when the main character was dissimilar, even when the story ends negatively. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.