This research aims to assess whether advertising believability of the viewers is shaped by their religiosity when appeal types and product types are different. It also aims to study the relationship between advertising believability and purchase intentions. Additionally, the mediation effect of product attitude (PA) on purchase intentions was also evaluated.
Subjects (n = 480) were consumers in India who ascribe themselves to various religious faiths. A between-participants' experimental design was employed to test the hypothesized relationships. Hayes Process Macro, along with structural equation modeling, was1 used to assess the impact of religiosity on advertising believability across different product and appeal types.
We found that religiosity affects advertising believability, whether the advertising appeal is scientific or emotional. The believability is higher in case of emotional appeals. The effect of product type on the relationship between religiosity and advertising believability was not significant. Moreover, advertising believability was observed to influence PA and purchase intentions.
The research on religion's role in consumer research has been generally limited. Our research shows a positive relationship between religiosity and scientific appeals, and this relationship could be studied more deeply in future research. Future research could explore how different media types affect message believability differently and what role religiosity plays in the process.
The results can help companies design believable and effective promotional strategies that consider the consumers' pre-existing beliefs and norms, especially when the product offering is eco-friendly. The findings can help companies provide marketing communications that are customized for a religious audience. In this way, companies can avoid the problems usually associated with advertising avoidance and psychological reactance towards advertisements among consumers.
This research highlights the role of religiosity in affecting consumers' perceived believability of advertisements. It contributes to the literature on marketing to a religious audience, particularly in the context of advertisements featuring eco-friendly products.
