The Effects of Feature-based Optimal Distinctiveness on Evaluations of Multiple Audiences in the Film Industry

To what extent should a cultural product maintain familiarity and distinctiveness compared to other products in a market? Prior literature posits that products can better appeal to audiences when product development incorporates elements that audiences take for granted. On the other hand, distinctiveness is rewarded when it enhances problem-solving and innovation. For this reason, maintaining optimal distinctiveness positively increases audience appeal and performance. This paper investigates how the optimal distinctiveness of such products affects their audience appeal, especially when targeting multiple audiences whose interactions with the products determine their performance. We tested the effects of optimal distinctiveness by evaluating 5,821 US films produced from 1980 to 2018. Given that product features can serve as a cognitive basis upon which to infer a product’s similarity or distinctiveness, we employed a feature-based distinctiveness measure to resolve the limitations of a category-based measure. Analyzing the 5,821 films, we found that optimal distinctiveness is necessary for multiple audiences to positively evaluate a film. Moreover, we found that both experts and general audiences are likely to positively evaluate an optimally distinctive film. Furthermore, strategic balancing efforts reduce the discrepancies in the evaluations of different audiences. This finding shows that strategic balancing is more important in determining the market success of products when clear, objective evaluation criteria are lacking, such as in cultural industries.