Recall of slogans presented in plain text, in text with their logo, or auditorily: an experimental study

We conducted an experiment with 150 participants that tested for slogan recall. Slogans contribute, together with the brand name and logo, to the identity of a brand (Kohli, Leuthesser & Suri, 2007). Therefore slogan recall is essential for brand awareness (Kohli, Thomas & Suri, 2013). Studies have shown that in the short term auditory elements are better retained in memory than elements presented visually, because of the echo they leave behind (Penney, 1989). Conversely, Cohen, Horowitz & Wolfe (2009) conclude that elements represented visually are more easily retained in memory over time. In our experiment, slogans and brands were presented in plain text, text combined with logo or auditorily. Moreover, slogans varied in complexity (easy, medium, difficult). Participants were tested immediately after having run through 30 slogans and having had to answer distractor questions. Participants were also tested after a few days. Several measures were analyzed. Overall, the complexity/difficulty of the slogans played a major role for their recall. As for spontaneous recall of slogans and aided slogan recall: immediate recall was better than delayed recall for the condition plain text and text with logo. For the auditory condition, no difference was found between immediate and delayed recall. Both rates being as low as in the other two delayed recall conditions. We will discuss the implications of this research for visual and auditory memory, advertising and their interaction.status: publishe