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We Are Not the Same as You and I: Causal Effects of Minor Language Variations on Consumers' Attitudes toward Brands

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  • Aner Sela
  • S. Christian Wheeler
  • Gülen Sarial-Abi

Abstract

Can subtle wording changes in marketing communications, such as saying "you and [the brand]" as opposed to "we," affect people's evaluations of real-world brands? Despite their importance in interpersonal communication, the effects of such variations in relationship-implying language on consumers' perceptions of brands have received little research attention. Four experiments demonstrate that closeness-implying pronouns (e.g., saying "we" rather than "you and the brand") can have either positive or negative effects on consumers' attitudes toward real-world brands with which they have real working relationships. The experiments show that these effects depend on whether the closeness implied by the pronoun is consistent with people's expected interactions with the brand. These effects are moderated by people's affiliation with the brand (i.e., customers vs. noncustomers), brand type, and the extent of cognitive elaboration and are mediated by perceived brand trustworthiness. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Aner Sela & S. Christian Wheeler & Gülen Sarial-Abi, 2012. "We Are Not the Same as You and I: Causal Effects of Minor Language Variations on Consumers' Attitudes toward Brands," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 39(3), pages 644-661.
  • Handle: RePEc:oup:jconrs:doi:10.1086/664972
    DOI: 10.1086/664972
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    Cited by:

    1. Aparna Sundar & Edita S. Cao, 2020. "Punishing Politeness: The Role of Language in Promoting Brand Trust," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 164(1), pages 39-60, June.
    2. Kull, Alexander J. & Romero, Marisabel & Monahan, Lisa, 2021. "How may I help you? Driving brand engagement through the warmth of an initial chatbot message," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 840-850.
    3. Zhang, Yu & Yuan, Yafen & Su, Jiafu & Xiao, Yan, 2021. "The effect of employees' politeness strategy and customer membership on customers' perception of co-recovery and online post-recovery satisfaction," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    4. Badrinarayanan, Vishag & Ramachandran, Indu, 2024. "Relational exchanges in the sales domain: A review and research agenda through the lens of commitment-trust theory of relationship marketing," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).
    5. Patrizi, Michela & Šerić, Maja & Vernuccio, Maria, 2024. "Hey Google, I trust you! The consequences of brand anthropomorphism in voice-based artificial intelligence contexts," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    6. Cruz, Ryan E. & Leonhardt, James M. & Pezzuti, Todd, 2017. "Second Person Pronouns Enhance Consumer Involvement and Brand Attitude," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 104-116.
    7. Gretry, Anaïs & Horváth, Csilla & Belei, Nina & van Riel, Allard C.R., 2017. "“Don't pretend to be my friend!” When an informal brand communication style backfires on social media," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 77-89.
    8. Li, Meichan & Wang, Rui, 2023. "Chatbots in e-commerce: The effect of chatbot language style on customers’ continuance usage intention and attitude toward brand," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    9. Bodur, H. Onur & Tezer, Ali & Grohmann, Bianca, 2023. "Execution novelty: Improving brand evaluations in cause sponsorship," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).
    10. Razzaq, Ali & Shao, Wei & Quach, Sara, 2024. "Meme marketing effectiveness: A moderated-mediation model," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    11. Maria Vernuccio & Michela Patrizi & Maja Šerić & Alberto Pastore, 2023. "The perceptual antecedents of brand anthropomorphism in the name-brand voice assistant context," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 30(4), pages 302-317, July.
    12. Spielmann, Nathalie & Minton, Elizabeth A., 2020. "Representing another nation: The influence of foreign citizen ambassadors on product evaluations," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 409-419.
    13. Wang, Fang & Karimi, Sahar, 2019. "This product works well (for me): The impact of first-person singular pronouns on online review helpfulness," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 283-294.
    14. Barcelos, Renato Hübner & Dantas, Danilo C. & Sénécal, Sylvain, 2018. "Watch Your Tone: How a Brand's Tone of Voice on Social Media Influences Consumer Responses," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 60-80.
    15. Golossenko, Artyom & Pillai, Kishore Gopalakrishna & Aroean, Lukman, 2020. "Seeing brands as humans: Development and validation of a brand anthropomorphism scale," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 37(4), pages 737-755.

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