Who said what? Effects of cultural mindsets on perceptions of endorser-message relatedness

Abstract

The cultural lens through which an ad is viewed can affect the extent to which an endorser of the product in an ad and the message s(he) communicates are thought about in relation to one another. Consumers with a collectivist mindset tend to think about information relationally. Consequently, they consider the endorsement in relation to the endorser and this affects their memory for both. It also affects recipients’ concern with the fit between the endorser’s message and the endorser and consequently influences their judgments of both the ad and the product being advertised. When people have an individualist mindset, on the other hand, they appear to treat the endorser and the endorsement as independent pieces of information and are less sensitive to their fit. Four studies support these conclusions and provide insights into how endorser–message relatedness impacts persuasion under different cultural mindset conditions.