Brand purpose recall and insight-triggering advertising: the influence of individual reward responsiveness
Feri, Alessandro
Signorini, Alessandro Forgiarini, Matteo Tjandra, Nathalia C. Salvi, Carola
Forgiarini, Matteo
Tjandra, Nathalia C.
Salvi, Carola
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Abstract
As brands increasingly embed Sustainable Development Goals into their narratives, advertising faces the dual challenge of communicating brand purpose while ensuring its memorability. This study explores whether insight-triggering advertising—ads that accompany moments of phenomenological realization (‘Aha!’)—can enhance recall of SDG-aligned brand purposes, and how this effect varies based on individual reward responsiveness (IRR). Using a controlled experimental design (N = 171), participants engaged in either insight-based or step-by-step problem-solving tasks, followed by incidental exposure to brand purpose messages. While insight alone did not increase recall, its effectiveness was moderated by IRR: high IRR individuals recalled more after insight moments, whereas low IRR individuals benefited from step-by-step problemsolving. These findings highlight the strategic value of aligning advertising execution with consumer motivational traits, offering advertisers a novel, evidence-based framework for optimizing purpose-driven messages. Insight moments, when targeted effectively, may serve as powerful memory anchors in sustainability advertising.
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Date
2026
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Publisher
Research Projects
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Keywords
Insight-triggering advertising, Brand purpose, Consumer memory, Individual reward responsiveness, Sustainable development goals
Citation
Feri, Alessandro, Alessandro Signorini, Matteo Forgiarini, Nathalia Tjandra, and Carola Salvi. “Brand Purpose Recall and Insight-Triggering Advertising: The Influence of Individual Reward Responsiveness.” International Journal of Advertising 0 (0): 1–34. 2026.