The effects of a regional accent on the listener’s evaluation of radio product and service commercials

Abstract

In multilingual advertising, marketeers use foreign languages or accents to associate a product’s quality with the qualities of a place. Speakers with a regional accent can be perceived as warmer, but also as less competent. Previous literature found that especially in service advertising, the image of the speaker determines the success of a service. Therefore, the following research question was examined: What are the effects of a regional versus a standard accent on the listener’s Attitude towards the commercial, Attitude towards the product/service, Evaluation of the speaker’s competence, Evaluation of the speaker’s warmth and Purchase intention of the regional product/service being advertised? This research provides insight into multilingual advertising on the radio in the Netherlands.