Positive Effects of Negative Publicity: When Negative Reviews Increase Sales

Can negative publicity ever increase consumer choice, and if so, when? Three studies, using a combination of econometric analysis and experimental methods, delineate contexts under which negative publicity will have positive versus negative effects. While prior research have shown only downsides to negative press (e.g., reduced product evaluations and sales), the studies demonstrate that negative publicity can have positive through increasing consumer awareness. While a negative review in the New York Times hurt sales of books by well-known authors, for example, it increased sales of books by unknown authors. The studies underscore the importance of a temporal delay between publicity and purchase and the mediating role of increased awareness in these effects.

[1]  R. Zajonc.  Attitudinal effects of mere exposure. , 1968 .

[2]  R. E. Burnkrant,et al.  Consumer Response to Negative Publicity: The Moderating Role of Commitment , 2000 .

[3]  Christopher M. Snyder,et al.  The Influence of Expert Reviews on Consumer Demand for Experience Goods: A Case Study of Movie Critics , 2005 .

[4]  G. Lilien,et al.  Two-Stage Partial Observability Models of Innovation Adoption , 2001 .

[5]  J. Goldenberg,et al.  The NPV of bad news , 2007 .

[6]  Thomas W. Valente,et al.  Opinion Leadership and Social Contagion in New Product Diffusion , 2011, Mark. Sci..

[7]  John G. Lynch,et al.  Toward a Reconciliation of Market Power and Information Theories of Advertising Effects on Price Elasticity , 1995 .

[8]  D. Wittink.  Journal of Marketing Research: 2 Ps , 2004 .

[9]  Alice M. Tybout,et al.  Using Information Processing Theory to Design Marketing Strategies , 1981 .

[10]  John R. Anderson,et al.  Learning and Memory: An Integrated Approach , 1994 .

[11]  Manfred Kochen,et al.  On the economics of information , 1972, J. Am. Soc. Inf. Sci..

[12]  I. Simonson,et al.  Experimental Evidence on the Negative Effect of Product Features and Sales Promotions on Brand Choice , 1994 .

[13]  Alan T. Sorensen,et al.  Information and the Skewness of Music Sales , 2009, Journal of Political Economy.

[14]  Chip Heath,et al.  Idea Habitats: How the Prevalence of Environmental Cues Influences the Success of Ideas , 2005, Cogn. Sci..

[15]  M. Schrope.  Sleeping with the fishes , 2008 .

[16]  R. Feldman,et al.  Using text mining to analyze user forums , 2008, 2008 International Conference on Service Systems and Service Management.

[17]  A. Sela,et al.  Unraveling Priming: When Does the Same Prime Activate a Goal versus a Trait? , 2009 .

[18]  T. K. Srull,et al.  Category accessibility: Some theoretical and empirical issues concerning the processing of social stimulus information , 1981 .

[19]  Gráinne M. Fitzsimons,et al.  Dogs on the Street, Pumas on Your Feet: How Cues in the Environment Influence Product Evaluation and Choice , 2008 .

[20]  J. Marshall.  Coming of age. , 2008, Surgical infections.

[21]  P. Nedungadi.  Recall and Consumer Consideration Sets: Influencing Choice without Altering Brand Evaluations , 1990 .

[22]  John R. Hauser,et al.  Testing the Accuracy, Usefulness, and Significance of Probabilistic Choice Models: An Information-Theoretic Approach , 1978, Oper. Res..

[23]  John G. Lynch,et al.  Memory and Attentional Factors in Consumer Choice: Concepts and Research Methods , 1982 .

[24]  B. Sternthal,et al.  Detecting and Explaining the Sleeper Effect , 1984 .

[25]  Dave Bogart,et al.  The Bowker Annual Library and Book Trade Almanac, 2002. 47th Edition. , 1989 .

[26]  Jen-Hung Huang,et al.  Herding in online product choice , 2006 .

[27]  J. Arndt.  Role of Product-Related Conversations in the Diffusion of a New Product , 1967 .

[28]  J. W. Hutchinson,et al.  Dimensions of Consumer Expertise , 1987 .

[29]  Chrysanthos Dellarocas,et al.  Exploring the value of online product reviews in forecasting sales: The case of motion pictures , 2007 .

[30]  Denise C. Park,et al.  How warnings about false claims become recommendations , 2005 .

[31]  Robert O. Wyatt,et al.  How Reviews Affect Interest in and Evaluation of Films , 1984 .

[32]  Yong Liu.  Word-of-Mouth for Movies: Its Dynamics and Impact on Box Office Revenue , 2006 .

[33]  Russell S. Winer,et al.  Experimentation in the 21st century: The importance of external validity , 1999 .

[34]  Suman Basuroy,et al.  How Critical are Critical Reviews? The Box Office Effects of Film Critics, Star Power, and Budgets , 2003 .

[35]  David Godes,et al.  Firm-Created Word-of-Mouth Communication: Evidence from a Field Test , 2009, Mark. Sci..

[36]  D. A. Kenny,et al.  The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. , 1986, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[37]  J. W. Hutchinson,et al.  The Effects of Ad Affect on Advertising Effectiveness , 1983 .