"Cultumization?" The Impact of Cultural Priming on Customized Communication

This study examined the impact of cultural priming on the effects of customized communication. Two existing customization approaches (tailoring and targeting) were tested with 102 participants in an experiment. It was found that when participants were primed with individualistic meanings, they tended to generate a more favorable attitude toward tailored messages than targeted messages. In contrast, when participants were primed with collectivist meanings, they formed a more favorable attitude toward targeted messages than tailored ones. Based on the study findings, the conceptualization of customization needs to incorporate the cultural factor.