I implement, they deliberate: The matching effects of point of view and mindset on consumer attitudes

Abstract Companies can choose to depict images and develop narratives in their marketing communications from the first-person or the third-person point of view (POV). Prior research is equivocal on which POV is more effective. The present research examines the interaction effect between consumers’ cognitive mindset and POV on their product attitude. Studies 1 and 2 focus on visual POV and show that consumers with an implemental (deliberative) mindset have more favorable product attitude when the first-person (third-person) perspective is used. The matching effect can be explained by consumers’ higher engagement with the message. Study 3 shows that the effect between mindset and POV on product attitude also extends to narrative POV, and the effect is weakened when the advertised target is a search product rather than an experience product. These findings contribute to the literatures on ad processing, mindset, and marketing communication effectiveness, besides having important practical implications.