This Article Is Not for Everyone: The Impact of Dissuasive Framing on Consumer Response to Product Messages

Abstract Conventional wisdom and past research converge on the notion that product messages are more effective when they use a persuasive frame that directly addresses the product’s target customers to indicate a preference match (e.g., “If you like dark coffee, this is the coffee for you!”). In contrast, the current research identifies scenarios where consumers respond more favorably to dissuasive frames—that is, to messages that address the consumers not targeted by the product to indicate a preference mismatch (e.g., “If you don’t like dark coffee, this is not the coffee for you!”). Eight experiments using mixed methods demonstrate that the impact of dissuasive framing on consumer response is positive for target customers and negative for nontarget customers. This occurs because dissuasive framing increases perceptions of the product as a specialized offering intended for a more narrowly defined target segment (i.e., target specificity). Target specificity, in turn, increases (vs. decreases) the perceived fit between the product and target (vs. nontarget) customers, which drives their response. This research sheds light on a novel form of framing and introduces target specificity as a construct with important implications for consumers’ perceptions of fit with a product and their downstream responses.