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Self-Generated Advertisements: Testimonials and the Perils of Consumer Exaggeration

Terence A. Shimp, Stacy L. Wood, Laura Smarandescu
DOI: 10.2501/S002184990707047X Published 1 December 2007
Terence A. Shimp
Moore School of Business, University of South Carolina,
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  • For correspondence: tashimp@moore.sc.edu
Stacy L. Wood
Moore School of Business, University of South Carolina,
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  • For correspondence: wood@moore.sc.edu
Laura Smarandescu
College of Business, Iowa State University,
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  • For correspondence: smarand@iastate.edu
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ABSTRACT

Various forms of traditional promotions (e.g., free-standing inserts) as well as newer versions of viral marketing campaigns ask consumers to write personal testimonials about their brand-related experiences. In the present research we pose this question: does the act of testimonial writing simply record the consumer's extant attitude toward the brand or does this act serve as a form of self-generated advertising with the power to positively impact that attitude? Results from three studies reveal that testimonials do in fact positively bias consumers' evaluative judgments. However, testimonial promotions can be a double-edged sword: the positive effects induced by testimonial writing may be counteracted if testifiers feel obligated—due to the probabilistic prizes that motivate them to write testimonials—to exaggerate their testimonial statements. This research explores testimonial writing as a path to enhance brand evaluations and focuses on whether consumers' natural tendencies to exaggerate their testimonials might mitigate these evaluations. We find that, indeed, brand evaluations suffer when consumers exaggerate their testimonial statements.

  • © Copyright 2007 The ARF. All rights reserved.

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Vol 47 Issue 4

Journal of Advertising Research: 47 (4)
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Self-Generated Advertisements: Testimonials and the Perils of Consumer Exaggeration
Terence A. Shimp, Stacy L. Wood, Laura Smarandescu
Journal of Advertising Research Dec 2007, 47 (4) 453-461; DOI: 10.2501/S002184990707047X

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Self-Generated Advertisements: Testimonials and the Perils of Consumer Exaggeration
Terence A. Shimp, Stacy L. Wood, Laura Smarandescu
Journal of Advertising Research Dec 2007, 47 (4) 453-461; DOI: 10.2501/S002184990707047X
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