Should Your Advertising Appeals Be Consistent over Time or with the Market? Evidence for Young and Established Brands of Minivans

Brand managers are advised to maintain a consistent brand position over time, but they are also urged to adapt their brand position to reflect changing consumer preferences. How can these conflicting demands be reconciled in dynamic markets? Does the most effective strategy differ for young versus established brands? This paper argues it does, based on literature streams in information economics, cognitive psychology and market orientation.   The empirical research examines advertising for all brands competing in the US minivan market over a 21-year period, from the inception of the category to its maturity. We find that a brand’s temporal consistency – the extent to which its advertising messages remain unchanged over time, and its market consistency – the degree to which a brand’s advertising focuses on aspects of quality that are important to consumers,  both lift sales, but more so for young brands versus mature brands.. Mature brands lacking temporal (market) consistency may compensate for this by ensuring market (temporal) consistency.  However, even mature brands suffer from both temporally and market inconsistent advertising. Our findings shed light on the inherent trade-offs between maintaining brand strength and relevance in dynamic markets