Discussion & Implications

Finally, mediation analysis produced significant results for all four steps of the Baron and Kenny (1986) procedure, indicating complementary mediation (see Zhao, Lynch, & Chen, 2010).

The indirect effect accounted for about 55% of the total effect and a Sobel test showed that it was statistically significant (z = 4.35, p < .001). Full details for the mediation analysis are provided in the figure below.

incongruity in various situations, results are inconclusive and, with a few exceptions, only limited attention has been given to the ad – brand relationship (Halkias & Kokkinaki, 2011a, 2011b;

Noseworthy et al., 2010). Besides, most of the relevant studies have used a dichotomous operationalization of (in)congruity that merely distinguishes between match and mismatch without taking into consideration differences in the degree of incongruity. This prevents comparisons across studies, since different degrees of discrepancy (from a slight to severe) fall under the term

“incongruent”, although they may essentially refer to a totally different case. Some of the empirical inconsistencies found in the literature may be attributed to this issue (Phillips & McQuarrie, 2009;

Halkias & Kokkinaki, 2011a).

The findings reveal an inverted-U pattern across the degrees of ad – brand incongruity for ad processing and evaluation. In more detail, ad – brand incongruity is found to stimulate ad processing, yet to a point that discrepancies can be successfully decoded and people can make sense of the communication. There seems to be a threshold in the magnitude of incongruity above which messages are ignored being perceived as irrelevant and non-diagnostic. Findings show that even though it becomes more difficult to make sense of the incoming message as incongruity increases, consumers do manage to accommodate moderate incongruities into existing brand knowledge and come up with a satisfactory interpretation of the ad’s concept. In contrast, ads that are extremely incongruent with the brand schema appear to significantly reduce consumers’

understanding of the communication. In addition, the favorable effect of schema incongruity is mediated by the participants’ ability to resolve the ad – brand discrepancy and produce a meaningful interpretation of the content of communication. As McQuarrie & Mick (2009) argue (see also Phillips & McQuarrie, 2009) enhanced pleasure may come from successfully decoding a more sophisticated and complex arrangement of signs. Accommodating incongruity can be thought of as solving a mental puzzle in which brand information and cues are combined in some sort of meaningful pattern to reveal the answer (Halkias & Kokkinaki, 2011a). The present research shows that when discrepancy is moderate this process is successful and generates a sense of satisfaction and fulfilment that is intuitively transferred to evaluations.

From a managerial perspective, incongruity-based tactics can enhance communication programmes by captivating consumers’ attention and making them to more actively participate in the communication process. However, great caution is required, since unresolved discrepancies may lead to frustration and disregard. Brand information that cannot be meaningfully reconciled with existing brand knowledge bears the risk of disorientating consumers and diluting the image of the brand. The positive effect of incongruent communication is mediated by the ability to successfully reconcile the ad – brand incongruity, hence marketing managers should ensure that consumers will have the ability and the opportunity to process a message of this type. Finally, the findings imply that such advertising tactics appear to be more appropriate for established and mature products to “refresh” and “rejuvenate” the brand.

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How do Elderly Consumers Use the Internet? A Qualitative Study of Motivations and Usage Patterns  

KRISZTINA KOLOS (CORVINUS UNIVERSITY OF BUDAPEST)  

Co-author(s): Zsófia Kenesei (Corvinus University of Budapest)

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