Abstract
We examine how experiential framing, an increasingly popular marketing tactic, influences consumer review behavior. Experiential framing is a communication strategy whereby marketers describe a material product as if it is an experience, something that the consumer lives through, rather than focusing on the product's functionalities and attributes. Based on prior work comparing the consumer relationship with products versus that with experiences as well as prior work on product review behavior and experiential marketing, we hypothesize that experiential framing increases consumers' likelihood of reviewing a product. Indeed, an examination of real world data as well as two lab studies find that framing a product as an experience is associated with increased word of mouth. Our results also support our proposed process; when products are framed as experiences consumers perceive them as more personal and self-definitional; this then increases consumer likelihood of engaging in the self-demonstrating activity of product review.
