Either you're in or you're out...
Inkongruens och kreativitet - ett sätt att komma in?
The media landscape has exploded during the last decade, which has lead to a massive advertising clutter. Consumers defend themselves against this intrusive marketing by creating an advertising filter that sorts and blocks. These changing conditions have lead to new and tougher demands on creators and advertisers to create more efficient marketing communication that stands out in the clutter and penetrates the consumers? advertising filter. Many creators and researchers claim that creativity is the most efficient method to stand out in the clutter and generate sought communication effects. However, research has not examined how consumers perceive creativity when it is exposed in clutter and which effects it then generates. This study examines how today?s creativity research stands when exposed in clutter and how it is evaluated by consumers. It brings clarity to the connection between incongruency and creativity, and which communication effects perceived creativity generates. The study shows that it is not enough with an original advertising, as the perceived degree of creativity also is affected by the viewer?s perception of the relevance and the well-craftiness. Above all, the viewer must understand the ad. Furthermore, the study shows that when advertising is perceived as being creative it is also more effective since the ad and brand attitude as well as ad and brand WOM intentions show positive results. The study also examines how each of the creativity-driving variables affects the different communication effects. Thus, the study provides new and deeper insights implying that advertisers and creators can and should work with creativity on a more strategic level.