Moderating effects of brand reputation Brand reputation is a backward-looking asset with forwardlooking benefits; it is the goodwill consumers ascribe to a brand based on their previous encounters with it (e.g. Herbig and Milewicz, 1995). Based on positive previous experiences with the brand, for example, through advertising and product consumption, consumers form positive expectations about future encounters with it. Numerous studies show that a high brand reputation provides the brand with a favorable first hearing: its advertising receives greater impact (Chaudhuri, 2002) and is interpreted in a more positive manner (Jain, 1993; Mitra and Golder, 2006). As the brand reputation in itself is an assessment of its value to consumers (Chaudhuri, 2002), although never tested, one could safely assume that the baseline value of a high-reputation brand’s advertising is high. The opposite would be true for a low-reputation brand; in lack of a high reputation, its baseline perceived value is low. In light of this, we expect that low-reputation brands have more to gain from employing non-traditional media. Whereas the brand in itself produces value in a high-reputation brand’s advertising, a low-reputation brand would be more dependent on the form of the advertising: