Point of View: Buffeting loyalties with advertising

This brief article challenges the notion that advertising has a strong persuasive influence on the brand purchasing habits of consumers, who typically have a repertoire of brands from which they choose.

Point of View: Buffeting loyalties with advertising

Byron SharpEhrenberg-Bass Institute

There's a view of advertising that consumers often radically revise their preferences after seeing the ad. Perhaps it comes from wishful thinking that the next campaign is going to work a miracle. But does advertising really do this? Often? 'Of course,' say some theorists, 'how else can advertising drive sales — it has to persuade people.' But does it?

If advertising really worked like this, we'd see radical shifts in people's buying behaviour as they were buffeted about by advertising.

Some analysts mistakenly think they see this when they...

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