# From the CVS Brand to Nike Deodorant? Study Shows How Marketers Can Persuade Consumers to Switch

1 Research Highlights May 14, 2012 ![](/sites/default/files/styles/246w/public/assets/images/tmeyvis_article.jpg?itok=zyfMwlGH) By Tom Meyvis, Associate Professor of Marketing & Daniel P. Paduano Faculty Fellow, Kelly Goldsmith and Ravi Dhar > In this market research context, consumers place too much emphasis on the fit between the brand and the product. As a result, companies may underestimate the value and opportunity of high-status brands extending into a wide variety of product categories.

### *New Research from NYU Stern, the Kellogg School and Yale Finds That Visual Cues and Comparison Shopping Sway Consumers*

New research suggests consumers are more willing to switch their preference from a low-status brand (e.g., Kmart camping gear) to an extension of a premium brand that isn’t a natural fit for the product category (e.g., Speedo camping gear) when marketers add a picture of the product in question or allow consumers to compare brands rather than judge each brand separately.

[Tom Meyvis](http://www.stern.nyu.edu/faculty/bio/tom-meyvis) of the NYU Stern School of Business, Kelly Goldsmith of the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and Ravi Dhar of the Yale School of Management explore what happens when a high-status brand launches a new product in a category that isn’t a natural fit in their paper, “[The Importance of the Context in Brand Extension: How Pictures and Comparisons Shift Consumers’ Focus from Fit to Quality](http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1094589),” which will be published in a forthcoming issue of the *Journal of Marketing Research*.

The research findings indicate that:
- Visual cues (e.g., pictures of the product), shift consumers’ focus to the quality of the parent brand and away from the fit of the brand when evaluating a brand’s new product offering
- Brand comparisons shift consumers’ preference from lower status brands (e.g., ShopRite cottage cheese) toward higher status brands even if they aren’t a good fit (e.g., Haagen-Dazs cottage cheese)
- Market research studies that mimic a typical shopping environment with visual information and competing brands will reveal greater potential for high-status brand extensions

“New brand extensions are often tested in an abstract setting (e.g., what would you think of a Crest facial moisturizer?),” explains Professor Meyvis. “In this market research context, consumers place too much emphasis on the fit between the brand and the product. As a result, companies may underestimate the value and opportunity of high-status brands extending into a wide variety of product categories.”

Meyvis, Goldsmith and Dhar also recommend tactics for store managers and retailers to promote high- or lower-quality brands in their shopping environments. “A high-quality brand that is introducing a product in a category that isn’t a good fit would benefit from marketing efforts that encourage brand comparisons,” explains Professor Goldsmith. “Conversely, a lower-quality brand that is introducing a new extension may benefit from shopping environments where the product is not being compared to other brands (e.g., by placing it in an end-of-aisle display).”