Companies increasingly involve consumers in the process of developing advertising and other marketing actions. Such ​co-

[answerhappygod]

Companies increasingly involve consumers in the process of
developing advertising and other marketing actions. Such
​co-creation of marketing with consumers is expected to
significantly increase their engagement with the
brand.​ However, not much is known about the response of
consumers who have not been directly involved in
the​ co-creation process, but are simply informed that the
company undertook​ co-creation activity with some unspecified
fellow consumers. My research has explored when and why informing
the audience that an ad was created by another consumer will
increase message persuasiveness. Through several lab experiments in
which consumers watched TV ads for several​ brands, my
colleagues and I have found that informing consumers that an ad
is​ consumer-generated triggers two
conflicting​ responses: skepticism about the competence of the
ad creator and identification with the ad creator. Skepticism
emerges when the audience challenges the ability of regular
consumers to design effective​ advertising, perhaps
recognizing that effective advertising requires particular skill
and expertise. Identification emerges when the audience perceives
similarities between themselves and the consumer creating the ad.
The effectiveness of disclosing advertising​ co-creation,
therefore, depends on factors that hinder skepticism and heighten
identification with the ad creator.​ Interestingly, we found
that attributing the ad to a consumer backfires when the ad creator
is simply portrayed as an unspecified fellow consumer or when the
audience consists of​ non-loyal consumers who do not share
with the ad creator a commitment towards the brand.​ However,
this negative effect can be mitigated and even reversed under high
distraction viewing​ conditions, when​ consumers' ability
to activate their critical thoughts is​ limited, and when the
audience identifies with the consumer creating the​ ad, such
as when the ad creator is depicted as sharing a background trait
with the viewers or when the consumer is loyal to the brand.
​Overall, my research shows that although marketers should
continue to engage consumers and benefit from
their​ creativity, they should be careful about how they
publicize this fact to the population at large. To reap greater
benefits from​ consumer-generated campaigns, it is important
to develop a narrative not only about the initiative​ itself,
but also about the consumer creating the ad. Marketers can prevent
the heightened skepticism about the skills of ordinary consumers as
content creators by increasing identification between the ad
creator and the ad recipient. This can be done by disseminating
information about the​ co-creation process via public
relations​ efforts, TV​ ads, and online​ videos, or
through social networking sites​ (e.g., developing​ "the
making of the​ ad" videos).​ Finally, my research
suggests that the disclosure of​ consumer-generated ads should
be driven by a careful assessment of the​ brand's growth
objectives.​ Consumer-generated advertising campaigns are
likely to be a more effective tactic to engage and retain
a​ brand's loyal​ customers, rather than to attract and
grow the share of customers who are not presently loyal to the
brand.
Part 2
Georgetown University professor Debora​ Thompson's research
indicates that marketers can prevent the heightened skepticism
about the skills of ordinary consumers as content creators by
increasing identification between the ad creator and the ad
recipient. One of these strategies is consumer involvement
or​ co-creation of the content. Describe​ co-creation and
its role in creating value.