Can negative buzz increase awareness and purchase intent?

Consumers are regularly exposed to negative information about brands through word-of-mouth, news, reviews, and social media. Prior literature on consumers’ response to negative brand information has shown that when more negative information is available about a brand, sales are depressed. In contrast, we find that an increase in negative information about a brand may lead to an increase in brand awareness and purchase intent for the brand. Using four years of weekly survey data tracking customers’ attitudes towards computer and automobile brands, we estimate VARX models that relate a survey measure of exposure to negative information about a brand (negative buzz) with brand awareness, positive feeling toward the brand, and purchase intent for the brand. As expected, for automotive brands, we find that a shock in negative buzz leads to higher brand awareness and negative effects on positive feeling and purchase intent. However, for computers, we find that an increase in negative buzz is followed by increases in awareness, positive feeling, and purchase intent. This suggests there are circumstances when negative buzz should not be suppressed.