Evaluating the Role of Positive Emotions and Character- Brand Interaction on Implicit Attitudes for Brand Placement Effectiveness

There is an increasing interest in the study of the role played by emotions in marketing and advertising in the recent years. According to Hirschman and Holbrook (1982), they may often be crucial as “primary motivator of behaviour”, playing an important role in the both cognitive processes and outcomes (Erevelles 1998). Effect of emotions on implicit brand placement processing is, hitherto, an unexplored area. This study examines the impact of positive emotions (happy, interest) and level of character-brand interaction on consumers’ implicit attitudes towards brand placements. In the experiments conducted, it was observed that consumers in a positive emotional state were more likely to respond favourably to the placed brands when the character interaction with the placed brand was low. The industry implications are discussed in herein.