The Role of Accent Standardness in Message Preference and Recall

• Published in: Journal of advertising Vol. 41; no. 1; pp. 33 - 46
• Main Authors: Morales, Andrea C., Scott, Maura L., Yorkston, Eric A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Routledge 01.04.2012; M. E. Sharpe, Inc; Taylor & Francis Group LLC; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Advertising; Brand preferences; Brands; Chewing gum; Communication; Consumer advertising; Consumer behaviour; Consumer choice; Consumer preferences; Consumers; Dialects; Hypotheses; Language; Memory; Norms; Preferences; Product development; Product standards; Regional dialects; Socioeconomic factors; Speaking; Speech; Stereotypes; Strong arguments; Studies; Weak arguments; United States
• ISSN: 0091-3367; 1557-7805
• DOI: 10.2753/JOA0091-3367410103

This research examines the impact of spokesperson accents used in persuasive communications on consumer evaluations of and memory for products and services. Leveraging the construct of accent standardness (i.e., perceived accent prestige and "correctness"), in four experiments, listeners demonstrate their overall preferences by giving higher ratings to products advertised using less-familiar, more-standard accents (e.g., British) relative to more-familiar, less-standard accents (e.g., American Southern). However, consumer preferences for standard accents do not positively impact their memory; standard accents actually lower brand recall. Thus, when choosing a spokesperson's accent, there is a trade-off: increasing brand preference by using a standard accent or improving memory by using a more familiar, nonstandard accent.