Joint advertising: the impact of domestic, foreign, and global partners on cognitive fit

PurposeJoint advertising is an emerging strategy where marketers promote both brands in the same marketing communication. This research determines how the domestic, foreign, or global nature of the partner impacts important brand-related outcomes and identifies underlying psychological process mechanisms and contextual variables that affect this relationship.Design/methodology/approachAcross three experiments, we investigate how the type of joint advertising partner impacts consumer attitudes and behaviors. We establish the number of similarities between the partners and perceived cognitive fit as the mediating process mechanisms underlying this relationship, with holistic processing moderating the effect.FindingsWe find that when consumers are exposed to joint advertisements between domestic or global [foreign] brands, they will be able to generate more [fewer] similarities between the partners and perceive a stronger [weaker] cognitive fit. Moreover, these similarities interact with consumer cultural traits related to holistic processing style to differentially influence perceived cognitive fit and downstream consumer attitudes and behaviors.Originality/valuePartnering for mutually beneficial, joint advertisements is a growing phenomenon that redefines traditional thinking about advertising, but the success of the joint advertisement is contingent upon the characteristics and compatibility of the partners.