Unconscious processing of incidental advertising exposure: effects on implicit memory, attitude toward the brand and consideration set

Our study expands research on incidental ad exposure by checking whether incidental exposure to an ad increases the likelihood that a product described in the ad will be included in consideration set. In this context, measuring advertising effects based on the traditional cognitive models of information processing may undervalue the effectiveness of incidental advertising. The result suggest that, upon exposure to incidental advertising, consumers experience priming caused by implicit memory and build a more favorable attitude toward the advertised brand regardless of the levels of attention they paid to the advertisements. Additionally, those who unconsciously processed incidental print ads did not remember seeing the ad explicitly, but they were more likely to include the brand in the consideration set than those who had no exposure. These effects were found despite subject's lack of explicit memory for the ads. Because inclusion of product in a consideration set is often a necessary condition, this research would be an important contribution to the apprehending of the effect of low involvement processing on advertising effect.