Research: Mere Exposure Effect

Kinetic’s research set out to explore the phenomenon of the Mere Exposure Effect – a psychological phenomenon by which people tend to develop a preference for things merely because they are familiar with them – and its impact on advertising, specifically OOH.

With research partner Gorilla in the Room, the team gave 380 people exposure to OOH ads through a VR headset. The virtual environment replicated typical street scenes, featuring incidental ad exposures – just as they would see in the context of natural street life.

After respondents viewed a pre-determined number of exposures, a Mere Exposure Effect measure was used to identify their preferences towards advertising they had seen.

The results showed the expected “wear in” and “wear out” curve, showing the optimal number of exposures the drive maximum preference toward brands.

Download Mere Exposure Effect research HERE.