Definition of inoculation approach

approach used in a comparative advertising campaign to build consumer resistance to competitive products. The name derives from the medical method of preventing disease by using inoculations of small weakened doses of the disease in order to stimulate the body's natural defense system. In advertising, in a similar fashion, consumers are subjected to weakened or ineffectual advertisements for a brand in order to build up their defense against that brand's advertising. For example, in a recent 30-second commercial, a fast-food chain advertises the hamburgers of its competitors, using one line from each of the competitive commercials, and then favorably compares its own product to all of the competitors. This advertiser is using an inoculation approach to build up a resistance to the competitors' commercials.