Consumers’ psychology in a cross-cultural context

: the Oral B case

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to explore how different types of advertising claims affect consumers' perception and purchase intent by using the case of a leading multinational company operating in the FMCG industry within the oral care market. The investigated claims’ characteristics impacting consumers’ buying behavior are the following: the numerical benefits included in the claim, the format of the numbers, the presence of comparative advertising, and the role of repetition of claims over time. Moreover, it is investigated whether culture is a factor impacting consumers' choices and preferences by comparing American and German respondents. The methodology used for the research is a quantitative research strategy that tests the current theories coming from past literature. The survey research technique is employed to collect information in two countries, USA and Germany, to answer the research question and provide an example of advertising claims applied to the oral care market. The results of the analysis lead to the following conclusions. Claims that included numerical benefits are found to positively impact consumers’ perception of the claim itself, guaranteeing factualness and objectivity. In the USA claims including percentages rather than whole numbers are perceived as more effective in driving purchase intent than those including round numbers. Indirect comparative advertising claim is proved inefficient compared to non-comparative claims. Control claims do not show to be impacted by a wear-out effect that reduces their commercial efficacy after repeated exposure. Finally, the cultural context significantly impacts consumers’ preferences toward advertising. These results are interpreted with Hofstede’s cultural model focusing on the uncertainty avoidance dimension that differentiates the countries.

Date of Award	24 Jan 2023
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Rute Xavier (Supervisor)