Movie theaters should sell concessions only once the movie is being played if they hope to lure customers back with tantalizing movie trailers.
According to a group of researchers from the University of Cologne in Germany advertisings have little to no impact when movie goers are mucnhing on popcorn.
Successful advertising of new products is based on repetition, according to the study; successful repetition is based on the way we internalize a word and the subsequent stimulation of our lips and mouth -- even if they don't perceptibly move -- a process called "inner speech". If, however, our lips and mouth are occupied with popcorn, inner speech never occurs (or is dramatically reduced) and the message of the advertisement never hits home.
To test the credulity of this logic, researchers invited participants to a movie with the customary amount of ads beforehand (all the ads were of real products that the participants were unfamiliar with). Half of the 100 or so participants was given popcorn while the other half was served a single sugar cube to simulate the sugar of the popcorn and minimize mouth occupation.
A week after the movie, participants were given a list of products -- half matched the products advertised before the film and the other half were new, unfamiliar products. Those who ate the sugar cube more strongly preferred the movie products and had stronger physiological connections than the popcorn eaters.
In a second experiment, participants were given money to spend on movie-advertised products and other products. Following the path of the first experiment, subjects who ate the sugar cube spent more money on products advertised before the movie.
"This finding suggests that selling candy in movie theaters actually undermines advertising effects, which contradicts present marketing strategies," the researchers wrote. "In the future, when promoting a novel brand, advertising clients might consider trying to prevent candy being sold before the main movie to ensure the positive outsome of their marketing. But of course much more research and larger field surveys are necessary to justify such big changes in marketing policies."
The researchers broadened the results of the study to consider other scenarios where inner speech may be affected.
"The present study used the cinema scenario as an illustrative example. However, such oral blockades caused by snacking take places in many more situations, such as while watching TV and surfing in the internet."
