Journal of Consumer Marketing

Product comprehension and promotional strategies

Timothy R. Graeff
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Timothy R. Graeff, (1995),"Product comprehension and promotional strategies", Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 12 Iss 2
pp. 28 - 39
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 Product comprehension and
promotional strategies
Timothy R. Graeff

Introduction
The fundamental goal of marketing is to create and maintain exchanges by
promoting products and services that satisfy the needs of consumers.
Designing effective promotional strategies is basically a communication
problem. In fact, at its most fundamental level, marketing is communication.
Consumers communicate their goals, wants, needs and desires through their
responses to various forms of marketing research. Marketers communicate
information about their products through various forms of promotion (e.g.
advertising). The goals of marketing communication are to stimulate interest
in the brand, create positive brand attitudes, show how a product can satisfy
consumers’ wants, needs and desires better than competing products, and
persuade consumers to behave in desired ways (e.g. try a new product, make
a purchase, visit a retail store, tell a friend about a positive product/purchase
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experience).
Five components of Basic models of communication include five components. A sender
communication (marketer) encodes a message which is transmitted via a medium to the
receiver (consumer). After the receiver decodes (interprets, comprehends)
the message, the sender seeks feedback about whether or not the message
was received and had the intended effect on the receiver. This article
examines a critical component of marketing communication: the process by
which consumers comprehend (decode) product information.
Consider the case of a marketer who communicates through advertising that
a new pick-up truck has a large eight-cylinder engine. How do consumers
comprehend (decode) this advertised information? What does this
information mean to consumers? Do consumers come away from this
advertisement knowing only that the truck has a large engine, because that is
the only product-related information stated in the advertisement? In
comprehending (decoding) advertised information, do consumers extract
only the literal meaning of what is directly stated? How should marketers
measure the way in which consumers comprehend product information and
the meanings they form about products?
Subjective beliefs of As this article will outline, the desired effects of marketing communication
consumers and promotional strategies (e.g. positive brand attitudes, positive purchase
intentions) are guided by the individual subjective beliefs consumers form
about communicated product information. These beliefs may not be the
exact literal interpretations of the product attributes or characteristics
described in marketing communications. After viewing an advertisement,
consumers may know more about a product than what they are directly told
in the advertisement. Thus it is important to understand the process by which
consumers form product-related meanings and the types of beliefs
consumers form during product comprehension.
The purpose of this article is to review past views of product comprehension
and to present a constructive view of product comprehension. This new view

28 JOURNAL OF CONSUMER MARKETING VOL. 12 NO. 2 1995 pp. 28-39 ©MCB UNIVERSITY PRESS. 0736-3761

Differing personal
interpretations
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Importance of inferences
JOURNAL OF CONSUMER MARKETING VOL. 12 NO. 2 1995
is represented as a general conceptual framework highlighting the personal
interpretations consumers form during product comprehension. This
constructive view of comprehension has implications for designing effective
promotional strategies.
“Correct” comprehension
Typically, comprehension has been viewed as the degree to which
consumers “correctly”, or “accurately” comprehend advertised messages.
Many marketers have argued that consumers comprehend by extracting
literal meanings from promotional messages. Miscomprehension has often
been defined as extracting either confused or incorrect meanings from
advertisements, as evidenced by an inability to recall correctly the specific
idea units presented in an advertisement or answer post-exposure quizzes
(Jacoby and Hoyer, 1987). However, being able to recall advertised
information correctly does not indicate how consumers “decoded” the
information to determine its “meaning”.
Unfortunately, a literal view of product comprehension is independent of
context and situational factors. As such, two consumers should comprehend
an advertisement by extracting the exact same idea units or product claims
intended by the marketer.
Consider the case of a professional building contractor and a high school
student both viewing an advertisement for a new pick-up truck with a large
engine. If they each correctly recall that the truck has a large engine, a literal
view of comprehension would argue that they both correctly comprehended
the advertisement. However, they may have actually interpreted (decoded)
the meaning of the information very differently because they had different
goals and were considering different usage situations. On viewing the
advertisement, the contractor might have formed the belief, “I can use this
truck to pull a trailer with heavy building equipment”, while the student
might have formed the belief, “this large engine would mean higher gas
bills”. Unfortunately, these differing personal interpretations have not been
adequately accounted for in literal views of marketing communication and
product comprehension.
Product information v. product-related knowledge
In discussing product comprehension, it is important to distinguish between
product-related information and product-related knowledge. Product-related
information is communicated to consumers in the external environment.
Product-related knowledge (meanings, beliefs) refers to consumers’ mental
representations of communicated information. Product-related knowledge is
formed on comprehending or interpreting product-related information.
Knowledge is stored in memory. Consumers recall knowledge, not
information.
Some of the meanings and beliefs consumers form during product
comprehension may be about the directly communicated information. For
instance, if an advertisement states that a new camera has a self-timer,
consumers may form the belief, “this camera has a self-timer”. Other beliefs
add to the given information. Consumers may comprehend product
information by inferring personal interpretations that are very relevant to
themselves and their personal goals or values. Inferences are very important
to consumers’ purchase decisions. Consumers may infer that because the
29
 camera has a self-timer, they can be in their own pictures. This is what
having a self-timer “means” to consumers. The ability to be in one’s own
pictures may be more important to consumers than the fact that the camera
has a particular attribute (self-timer). The next section outlines a constructive
view of comprehension highlighting the personal interpretations consumers
form while comprehending communicated product information. These
personal interpretations may or may not be the exact literal meanings
intended by the marketer.

“Constructive” comprehension
The decoding component of the communication process deals with the issue
of how things become meaningful. To grasp the meaning of a thing is to see
it in its relations to other things; to know how it operates or functions, what
consequences follow from it, what causes it, and how it can be used (Dewey,
1963).
How things become Comprehension is a constructive process. That is, people comprehend by
meaningful first integrating given information with prior knowledge, and then forming
inferences to construct coherent, personally relevant meanings. Going
beyond the information given to infer a message’s meaning is an integral
aspect of comprehension. People comprehend by forming inferences, and
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because of inferences, people do not remember input verbatim. Rather, they

remember a modified version based largely on constructed inferences guided
by prior knowledge (Orasanu and Penney, 1986).
Product comprehension is more than merely attending to and remembering
what is directly communicated. It involves supplementing given information
with inferences so that the product information fits with our existing
knowledge, makes sense, and has a coherent meaning. Suppose an
advertisement claims that using brand X cooking oil leads to a longer and
healthier life. To make sense of this claim, or to construct a coherent
meaning, consumers may infer that “it must be low in fat and cholesterol”.
By inferring the cooking oil’s fat and cholesterol content, consumers can
interpret and make sense of the information given. A cooking oil that is low
in fat and cholesterol, and also leads to a longer and healthier life, is
consistent with our general knowledge about living longer and healthier. As
a result, it has a coherent meaning and makes sense.

Meaning
This constructive view of comprehension is contrasted with literal views of
comprehension in its treatment of “meaning.” According to previous
approaches to comprehension, “meaning” resides in the message. The
comprehender’s (consumer’s) job is to uncover it correctly and accurately.
In contrast, the constructive view of comprehension argues that by drawing
on prior knowledge, consumers actively “construct”, or “create” the
meaning of the advertisement or product. Because consumers have
different backgrounds, knowledge and experiences, each consumer will
form idiosyncratic personal interpretations that may be “correct” to them,
yet very different from the personal interpretations formed by other
consumers.
Brand attitudes Consumers’ brand attitudes and purchase intentions are not based on
product information. Rather, they are based on consumers’ own personal
interpretations of product information. As such, marketers should be

30 JOURNAL OF CONSUMER MARKETING VOL. 12 NO. 2 1995

 very interested in the process by which consumers construct personal
interpretations of products while comprehending marketer supplied
information.

Product comprehension
This constructive view of product comprehension is represented in Figure 1.
Consumers evaluate products based on the personal interpretations (beliefs)
they form about the product information. Some of the beliefs consumers
form may be literal interpretations of the product information. If an
advertisement states that product X has two attributes, A1 and A2,
consumers form mental representations about these presented attributes.
Consumers also form personal interpretations that go beyond the advertised
product information (Figure 1). These beliefs deal with the personal
relevance of the product and the advertised information. Consumers may
infer that because a product has certain attributes or features (A1 and A2), it
also has other attributes or features (A3). A new camera advertised as having
a self-timer may be comprehended by inferring that it also has auto-focus
and shutter speed controls. Inferences are very useful. With them, consumers
can base product decisions, judgments, and evaluations on more than just the
product-related information supplied by marketers.
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Means-end chain theory
Consumers also infer personally relevant consequences of purchasing or
using the product. This is the basic idea behind means-end chain theory
(Gutman, 1982). According to means-end chain theory, consumers form
product knowledge at varying levels of abstraction. For instance, consumers
know that certain concrete product attributes (low calorie foods) are the
causal means to achieving more abstract product consequences (reduced
weight) and highly abstract personal goals or values (increased confidence
and self-esteem).
Consumers may comprehend a new exercise machine advertised as having
lightweight construction, easy moving parts, and a five-year warranty by
inferring the personal interpretation, “If I buy and use this machine I can
reduce my cholesterol level, live longer, and get more enjoyment out of life
with my family and friends”. To construct personal interpretations of what
products mean to them, consumers infer meaningful, personally relevant

Product Literal Personal

information interpretations interpretations Evaluations

C1a V1a Eval1a

A1 A1 C1b V1b Eval1b
.. .. ..
. . .

C2a V2a Eval2a

C2b V2b Eval2b
A2 A2
.. .. ..
. . .

C3a V3a Eval3a

A3 C3b V3b Eval3b
.. .. ..
. . .

Figure 1. Product comprehension

JOURNAL OF CONSUMER MARKETING VOL. 12 NO. 2 1995 31

 connections between a product and its consequences, uses, and even
personal goals or values. These are the interpretations that are most
important to marketers. Consumers may care very little about the product
information they can recall from an advertisement. Brand attitudes and
purchase intentions are influenced by personally relevant consequences. To
evaluate a product, consumers ask themselves, “what is this product going to
do for me?”
Interpretation of A product attribute, feature, or characteristic can have more than one related
consequences consequence. The personal interpretations consumers form are influenced by
current goals, objectives, the situation, and the context within which they are
evaluating the product. For instance, consumers may interpret the
consequence of a large car in terms of added safety or decreased fuel
economy depending on whether they have just recently been in an accident
or paid their taxes. In the previous example, the building contractor and the
student each had different goals and usage situations in mind when they
evaluated the large engine. As a result, they formed different interpretations
of the same product information.
An individual attribute or feature can have both positive and negative
personal interpretations depending on situational and contextual factors.
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Consider a father who is purchasing cars for each of his two sons. If one son
owns a boat, the large engine might be evaluated favorably because it
“means” that the truck can pull the boat. If the other son does not own a
boat, the large engine might be evaluated unfavorably because it “means”
higher gas bills. The ability to recall that the truck has a large engine does
not indicate how the father comprehended and evaluated the truck. His
interpretation and evaluation depends on the situation within which the
product information is comprehended.
In sum, this view of product comprehension posits that consumers evaluate
products by asking the question, “what does this attribute, feature, or
characteristic mean to me?” The meaning of product information is
constructed by forming personal interpretations about a product’s self-
relevance (“When and how could I use this product?”, “In what situations
would this product be beneficial to me?”).

Managerial implications and recommendations

Developing effective promotional strategies
Key activities Promotional strategies are the means by which marketers communicate
important information about their products and persuade consumers to
purchase them. Key activities in designing and managing promotional
strategies are as follows:
● identify the target market (receiver);
● determine the promotional objectives (desired consumer response);
● develop the promotional strategy (message, source, medium);
● implement the promotional strategy;
● evaluate the effects of the promotional strategy (feedback).
The constructive view of product comprehension outlined in this article has
implications for these key activities.

32 JOURNAL OF CONSUMER MARKETING VOL. 12 NO. 2 1995


Product and consumer
relationship
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Identify target market
Effective marketing communication begins with a clear picture of the target
audience. To ensure that consumers are exposed to promotional messages,
marketers must identify target market demographics as well as consumers’
activities and interests. Proper promotional placement requires knowing
where members of the target market live and work, the activities they engage
in, the magazines they read, the television programs they watch, and the
stores in which they shop.
The framework presented in Figure 1 illustrates that not only must the
message reach the consumer, but marketers must also understand how the
message will be comprehended. To do so requires an understanding of
consumers’ core needs and desires. Marketers must identify the
relationship between the product and the consumer. How does the product
fit with the consumer’s self-concept? How does the product help
consumers achieve personal goals and values? How will the product be
used? How will the product be beneficial to consumers in particular
situations and contexts? What are the key functional consequences of
purchasing and using the product? This relationship between the product
and the consumer must be identified at early stages of developing
promotional strategies. It is the basis on which consumers will interpret the

personal relevance of the product; this is more important to consumers

than the product itself.

Determine promotional objectives

Promotional strategies can have varying objectives, from informing and
creating interest in a new product, to creating and maintaining positive brand
attitudes and purchase intentions, to persuading consumers to behave in a
desired way (purchase a product). It is important that marketers have a clear
understanding of the objective of the promotional strategy. Forming positive
evaluations (leading to positive attitudes, purchase intentions, and eventually
purchase), obviously requires that marketers communicate positive product
information. However, presenting what the marketer considers to be positive
information does not guarantee that consumers will form positive
evaluations.
Depending on consumers’ personal goals and values, as well as the
situation and context within which the product is to be used, the same
product information can have both positive and negative implications.
Although marketers may consider a large engine to be a positive attribute,
some consumers may interpret it positively while others interpret it
negatively. Identifying these multiple interpretations at early stages in the
promotional strategy process can greatly reduce unintended negative
interpretations.
The consumer’s At a more fundamental level, the objective of promotional strategies should
self-concept be to relate the product to the consumer’s self-concept. If the promotional
strategy successfully connects the product information to consumers’
personal goals and values, as well as desired self-relevant consequences
within the context of personal situations, it will be perceived as personally
relevant. Messages which are personally relevant are more likely to lead to
increased interest, positive attitudes, positive purchase intentions, and
eventually purchase behavior.

JOURNAL OF CONSUMER MARKETING VOL. 12 NO. 2 1995 33

 Develop promotional message
A fundamental objective of promotional messages should be to
communicate the personal relevance of a product. Promotional messages
should suggest, encourage, and facilitate the formation of means-end chains
connecting the product to desired, personally relevant product consequences.
Recent research has shown that self-referencing (the extent to which
consumers relate product information to themselves) is predictive of
purchase intentions and positively related to brand attitudes (Debevec and
Romeo, 1992).
Personally relevant Consider the following examples of advertisements that encourage
product consequences consumers to comprehend the presented product information by forming
means-end chains leading to desired, personally relevant product
consequences. An advertisement for Wrigley’s Freedent Chewing Gum
states:
If you’ve got dental work, you’ve got three great reasons to chew non-stick
Freedent Gum. You probably know that Freedent won’t stick to your dental work
and that Freedent freshens your breath. But maybe you didn’t know Freedent
moistens your mouth. So if you hate a dry mouth, chew Freedent Gum.

The text of this advertisement begins a means-end chain by describing how

the product leads to three important benefits: it will not stick to your dental
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work, freshens your breath, and moistens your mouth. However, the
advertisement also encourages a higher level connection (interpretation) by
showing a picture of an attractive older man and woman sharing a close
intimate moment. This encourages the interpretation, “This gum will allow
me to be confident when I am close to others (members of the opposite
sex)”. The real persuasive effect of this advertisement, however, comes from
consumers’ inferring confidence when close to an individual they personally
know.

Personal interpretations An advertisement for IBM computers, titled “Balancing act”, shows a
picture of a father holding his young daughter while working on his
computer at home. This advertisement encourages a positive interpretation
based on the means-end connection between the product (IBM computer)
and a desired personal goal or value by stating that IBM is “The first
computer to understand you don’t just have a job. You have a life”. This
encourages consumers to consider specific aspects of their own lives that can
benefit from being able to work at home.
An advertisement for NordicTrack health equipment states, “Give the gift of
good health this Christmas…NordicTrack”. This encourages the personal
interpretation that purchasing this product will lead to a desired goal – good
health. Consumers may go on to interpret other personally relevant
consequences of good health.
An advertisement for Mazola Corn Oil shows a grandfather playing
racquetball with his granddaughter. Superimposed over this picture is the
statement, “Mazola does what? They said a diet with Mazola could bring
down my cholesterol. I didn’t believe it till my level dropped 17%”. This
advertisement encourages the interpretation that using Mazola Corn Oil will
help reduce cholesterol levels, and also lead to personally relevant goals of
living longer and being able to enjoy time with grandchildren. Favorable
brand attitudes and purchase intentions toward this corn oil result from

34 JOURNAL OF CONSUMER MARKETING VOL. 12 NO. 2 1995


Selling interpretations
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Thought-listing methods
JOURNAL OF CONSUMER MARKETING VOL. 12 NO. 2 1995
inferring other personally relevant aspects of life that can be enjoyed by
having a healthier diet.
Notice that these advertisements are not selling products. Rather, they are
selling interpretations that their product leads to desired, personally relevant
product consequences and the achievement of personal goals or values.
Marketers should be in the business of providing and promoting customer-
creating value satisfiers.
Feedback – measuring product comprehension
Throughout the entire process of developing promotional strategies,
marketers must obtain feedback about how consumers comprehend the
product information. Suggesting, encouraging, and facilitating the
formation of means-end chains does not guarantee that consumers will
form positive personal interpretations. But how should we measure
product comprehension? Marketers have typically relied on recall of key
idea units from advertisements as a primary measure of comprehension.
In fact, day-after recall scores are often used to measure the overall
“effectiveness” of an advertisement. However, as illustrated in Figure 1,
recall of key product claims (literal interpretations) measures only a small
portion of the meanings consumers form during product comprehension.
Consider the following sentence, “X pligumed Y for Z”. We can ask
questions such as “Who did the pliguming?” (the answer is X). “What did
X pligume?” (the answer is Y). “For what was Y pligumed?” (the answer
is Z). All of these questions measure the literal meaning communicated by
the sentence and can be answered correctly without any real
understanding of what the sentence is about (Samuels and Eisenberg,
1981). Clearly, asking for recall of the literal content of advertisements
does not measure the constructive qualities of consumers’ comprehension
processes.
A deep understanding of reading comprehension requires process
measures such as verbal thought protocols that measure the personal
interpretations constructed during product comprehension (Just and
Carpenter, 1984). Three related thought-listing methodologies can be used
to understand more fully the personal interpretations consumers form
while comprehending (decoding) marketing communications. Marketers
can:
(1) obtain feedback from general thought listings and then probe these
protocols;
(2) directed probing questions at the time of advertisement exposure; and
(3) directed probing questions at the time of advertisement recall.
These thought-listing methods can be used in the context of a personal
interview or focus group interview.
Typically, thought-listing instructions are very general (“Write down all of
the thoughts you had while reading this advertisement”). In a personal
interview, researchers can follow up and “probe” to clarify the often cryptic
meaning of the thought listings. Consider the case of an advertisement for a
new disposable camera where the consumer purchases film in an
inexpensive case to be disposed of when the film has been used. The
advertisement describes the camera in terms of its lightweight case and built-
35
 in flash. Researchers can clarify the meaning of consumers’ thought listings
by asking questions such as:
● You wrote down…, what were you thinking about when you wrote this?
● You wrote down…, what did you mean by that?
● You wrote down…, what does that imply to you about the product?
● You wrote down…, how is that important to you in evaluating this
product?
● Were there any other thoughts you had that you did not write down?
For example, Experimenter: “You wrote down manual advance, what were
you thinking about when you wrote this? Consumer: “Since this camera is
disposable, it probably has manual film advance”.
Probing questions can identify additional interpretations not mentioned in
verbal protocols. Experimenter: “When you were reading this
advertisement were there any other thoughts you had that you did not write
down?”, Consumer: “Yes, I was thinking about how this camera would be
great for our family vacation this summer”. Probing questions can also be
used to determine important linkages between concepts identified in verbal
protocols. Experimenter: “You wrote down no worry and vacation, what did
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you mean by that?”, Consumer: “Because this camera is an inexpensive

disposable, I would not have to worry about losing it during my vacation
and I could enjoy myself more because that is one less thing to worry
about”.
Probing questions While general thought-listing instructions allow consumers to write down
almost anything they are thinking, it may be too broad a task. Consumers
often need guidance, or a framework within which to express their thoughts.
More directed, probing questions that are designed to reveal the underlying
personal interpretations consumers form during product comprehension are
as follows:
● What do you see in this advertisement?
● What does the information in this advertisement mean or imply to you
about this product?
● If you were deciding whether or not to purchase this product, what does
the information in the advertisement mean, or imply to you, about the
product?
● What are all of the possible meanings or implications of the information
in the advertisement?
● Under what situations would the information given imply something
positive about the product?
● When would it be a benefit to you to have the product attributes,
features, or characteristics described in the advertisement?
● Under what situations would the information given imply something
negative about the product?
● When would it be a disadvantage to you to have the product attributes,
features, or characteristics described in the advertisement?
● Which of these situations you just described would be more likely for
you, personally?

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A “laddering” interview
Personal interpretations
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JOURNAL OF CONSUMER MARKETING VOL. 12 NO. 2 1995
● How does the information in the advertisement help you evaluate the
product?
● Do you like the product attributes, features, or characteristics described
in the advertisement?
● Why do you either like or dislike these product attributes, features, or
characteristics?
Asking these questions is similar to conducting a “laddering” interview in
means-end chain research. The goal of laddering is to move the consumer up
the ladder of abstraction. Consider the case of a college student asked to
choose among three different personal computers: Experimenter: “Why do
you like this computer with a color printer?”, Student: “Because I can use it
to help me with my class projects”; Experimenter: “Why do you like that?”,
Student: “Because then I could probably get better grades”; Experimenter:
“Why do you like getting better grades?”, Student: “Because it makes me
feel smarter”.
Many purchase decisions are made based on recalled product knowledge.
Consumers may form few personal interpretations at the time of
advertisement exposure. However, personal interpretations may be formed
later when consumers are evaluating the product or considering purchasing
the product. Considering the relatively low involving nature of advertising,
much product comprehension probably occurs when making purchase
decisions, after consumers have already viewed the advertisement. As such,
a majority of what consumers comprehend is recalled belief, not advertised
information. The following probing questions are designed to measure the
specific product claims consumers can recall, as well as the personal
interpretations of the recalled product claims:
● What information do you recall seeing in the advertisement?
● What does this information mean or imply to you about the product?
● Other than the information directly stated in the advertisement, what
other thoughts do you recall thinking about when you saw it?
● What do these other thoughts mean or imply to you about the product?
● If you were deciding whether or not to purchase this product, what does
the information you recall from the advertisement mean or imply to you
about the product?
● What are all of the possible meanings or implications of the information
you can recall from the advertisement?
● Under what situations would the information you can recall from the
advertisement imply something positive about the product?
● When would it be a benefit to you to have the product attributes,
features, or characteristics you can recall from the advertisement?
● Under what situations would the information you can recall from the
advertisement imply something negative about the product?
● When would it be a disadvantage to you to have the product attributes,
features, or characteristics you can recall from the advertisement?
● Which of these situations you just described would be more likely for
you, personally?
37
 ● How does the information you can recall from the advertisement help
you evaluate the product?
● Do you like the product attributes, features, or characteristics that you
can recall from the advertisement?
● Why do you either like or dislike these product attributes, features, or
characteristics?
Key product claims recall Consumers may be asked to view an advertisement as if it were in a
magazine or on television. After a certain period of time has elapsed (24
hours, 48 hours, etc.) consumers would be presented with a product
evaluation task or purchase decision task and asked to recall the
advertisement and the information presented in it. Marketers can measure
the number of key product claims recalled, but should recognize that this
is not a complete measure of product comprehension. After recalling the
product claims, consumers must interpret what the claims mean to them in
terms of purchasing or using the product. Also, consumers may forget a
particular advertised attribute, but remember an inferred consequence or
product evaluation. These are the interpretations that are most important
to marketers. It is not necessarily bad that consumers forget a particular
attribute, yet remember positive, personally relevant situations in which
the product can be used. Consumers do not evaluate products based on
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attributes, but rather on the personally relevant interpretations of

attributes.
Marketers can use these feedback methodologies to identify multiple
interpretations of an individual attribute, and identify the attributes that are
evaluated positively as well as the usage situations for which an attribute or
product will be interpreted positively. These attributes or situations should
be stressed in the promotional message. The high school student’s initial
negative interpretation of a large engine may be offset by identifying in the
advertisement a situation in which a large engine would be a benefit (pulling
a trailer full of furniture when moving into an apartment). Suggesting,
encouraging, and facilitating positive personal interpretations is vital to the
success of promotional strategies.
This view of product comprehension also suggests that marketers can
“segment by personal interpretations”. Markets can be segmented in terms of
personal interpretations of products and their attributes, features, and
characteristics. Marketers can then use positioning strategies to target those
segments that comprehend the product by forming common or shared
personal interpretations.

Conclusions
Effective promotional To develop effective communication and promotional strategies, marketers
messages need to understand consumers’ comprehension processes. According to the
view presented in this article, product comprehension is more than merely
extracting the direct literal meaning of advertised product information.
Product comprehension is the process of actively constructing the meaning
of product information by forming personal interpretations about a
product’s self-relevance. To construct coherent product meanings,
consumers may form beliefs about product consequences, a product’s
appropriateness to various users and situations, and even personal goals or
values. Promotional messages should be designed to suggest, encourage
and facilitate personal interpretations of a product’s self-relevance. To

38 JOURNAL OF CONSUMER MARKETING VOL. 12 NO. 2 1995

 understand these personal interpretations and the role they play in
developing effective promotional messages, marketers cannot rely solely on
traditional measures of comprehension such as recall of key product claims.
Marketers can use methods such as the probing procedures outlined in this
article to understand more fully consumers’ product comprehension
processes.

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■

Timothy R. Graeff is Assistant Professor of Marketing, Middle Tennessee State

University, Murfreesboro, Tennessee, USA.

JOURNAL OF CONSUMER MARKETING VOL. 12 NO. 2 1995 39

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