When Brands Take a Stand: Evidence from Eye-Movements and Memory Recognition

Authors

Fiehler, K., Oliveri, R., Yanina E., T. G.

Abstract

Brands increasingly express their positions on social issues through advertising, social media, and public campaigns. How such messages shape consumer perception is an ongoing area of investigation. Addressing a gap in brand activism research in marketing, this study uses eye-tracking technology to examine its impact on brand attitude, eye movement behavior, and memory retention. We tested these variables across three experimental tasks: an online survey, a free-viewing task, and a surprise memory recognition test. As a result, disagreement increased reading time for text statements, while agreement increased visual engagement (fixations) with the depicted product. Positive brand attitude also enhanced memory recognition for advertisements. Overall, disagreement appears to trigger effortful processing of conflicting information, while agreement facilitates visual absorption and strengthens product recognition. These findings highlight the cognitive risks and rewards of brand activism and provide a foundation for future research on its underlying perceptual and cognitive mechanisms.

Preprint server: bioRxiv
The authors list and abstract were imported from bioRxiv on 05 Aug 2026.

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