Misinformation effects and rational advertising: consumer responses to advertising claims verifiable by blockchain-supported QR codes

Prior research indicates that post-consumption exposure to transformational advertising induces a misinformation effect (i.e., subjects falsely recall a more favourable consumption experience). The present study utilises a laboratory experiment to examine the extent to which such a misinformation effect may be induced by exposure to blockchain-supported, informational advertising which purports to transfer a claim about an attribute (product freshness) - typically perceived by consumers as a credence quality - into a search quality. Subjects who were either knowledgeable or naive about blockchain capabilities were exposed to blockchain-supported advertising. After exposure to the advertising, subjects used their smartphones to scan a product QR code and verify the supply-chain data of a product that they had tasted previously. A control group subjects were not exposed to the blockchain-supported advertising. The results indicate that advertising exposure increased perceptions of a product attribute (freshness) among blockchain knowledgeable and to an even greater extent among blockchain naive subjects in comparison with the perceptions subjects not exposed to the advertising; however, in contrast to prior studies on transformational advertising, informational advertising exposure did not bias taste memories. The blockchain-supported advertising did increased brand evaluations only among blockchain naive subjects.