It’s simple: Brand cues deliver brand effects
While transformational approaches can deliver positive emotional effects, “traditional” purpose ads – where the brand is hero – do elevate branding recall among viewers. (See Table 5.) This is less true for Millennials and Gen Z, but more so for Gen Z and Boomers. Table 5. Branding effects: Traditional vs. Transformational purpose ads
Ads that created strong branding All generations: Colgate, H&M, Tom’s, FedEx, Pepsi, and Soda Stream Gen Z & Millennials: Dove Gen X: See above brands Boomers: CleanCut, Seventh Generation, Ben & Jerry’s
Across generations, gender has little effect on purpose reactions In their responses to purpose ads, very few differences exist between genders when all of these ads are viewed together. These creatives struggle to grab and hold attention across both genders. Some ads have predictable differences due to the obvious nature of the brand and message; Dove, for example, skews toward female viewers. Branding seems to register slightly more positively among female viewers in our new study; but message clarity and direct response as a result of watching the ads are generally the same across gender.
