(October 30, 2015) Every
day, users are bombarded with animated ads across the Web, and companies fight
to cut through the clutter. New research from the University at Buffalo School
of Management has pinpointed one attribute online ads should have to influence
consumers’ perceptions of a new product—and their willingness to pay for it.
Consumers who see a Web ad in which the product changes
direction while moving across the screen are more likely to perceive the
product as innovative, according to forthcoming research in the Journal of
Marketing.
“Psychologically, we don’t expect inanimate objects to be
able to change directions,” says co-author Arun Lakshmanan, PhD, assistant
professor of marketing in the UB School of Management. “As a result, when we
see something do that in an advertisement, it stands out as atypical and causes
us to make judgments instantaneously about the product’s novelty, without even
thinking about it.”
Product novelty is critical for success in the marketplace.
Research shows that products perceived as innovative are adopted faster by
consumers and bring in higher profits.