The Effect of Message's Regulatory Focus and Product Type on Persuasion

The primary objective of this research is to examine the role of message's regulatory focus (promotion versus prevention) in advertisements for different product types (hedonic versus utilitarian). The findings revealed that, in general, promotion focus messages are more effective (generate more positive feelings, have greater recall and persuasiveness) than prevention focus messages for hedonic products. On the other hand, prevention focus messages are more effective than promotion focus messages for utilitarian products. These findings and their managerial implications are discussed.