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Multivariate Testing Confirms the Effect of Age–Gender Congruence on Click-Through Rates from Online Social Network Digital Advertisements
Abstract
A key benefit of web-based technology is the enhanced computational ability to tailor and personalize content using explicit online user profiles. While some degree of customization has long been regarded as positive, too much personalization to the point of perceived privacy intrusion can be detrimental. This study uses multivariate testing of an advertisement campaign on the online social network Facebook to investigate the extent to which digital advertising, personalized to specific age and gender group demographics (age and gender congruent) influences user engagement and increases click-through rates. The study achieved a total of 659,522 impressions (i.e., number of users who were exposed to the personalized advertisements and had the opportunity to engage). Moreover, a total of 1,733 unique clicks were recorded. Using N-1 χ2 testing, this study found that a combined age and gender congruency yielded statistically significantly greater click-through ratios in comparison to noncongruent (nonpersonalized) online advertisements (p < 0.05). As an example, the click-through rates by younger male users increased by over threefold when a young male model appeared in the imagery. The implication is that online content that is personalized to the user's age and gender demographic increases active user engagement.
... It is unclear, however, whether gender in itself adds to this result. Other studies have also used gender as a personalization element combined with other personalization elements (Brinson and Eastin, 2016;Higgins et al., 2018;Kaspar et al., 2019;Walrave et al., 2016), but do not report whether their manipulation results in differences in perceived personalization perception. Higgins et al. (2018) use age as a separate personalization element, as well as combined with gender. ...
... Other studies have also used gender as a personalization element combined with other personalization elements (Brinson and Eastin, 2016;Higgins et al., 2018;Kaspar et al., 2019;Walrave et al., 2016), but do not report whether their manipulation results in differences in perceived personalization perception. Higgins et al. (2018) use age as a separate personalization element, as well as combined with gender. However, they do not report a manipulation check. ...
On social networking sites, consumers disclose information about themselves that advertisers use to personalize advertisements. The underlying assumption is that personalized advertisements are more persuasive. However, it is not clear to what extent actual personalization elements (as intended by advertisers) determine consumers’ perceptions of the extent to which an ad is personalized, and it is the latter that drives responses. The current study investigates the relative weight of different actual personalization elements (age, gender, location, life events, interests, and friend referrals) in Facebook ads in eliciting perceived advertising personalization. We conduct conjoint analyses for six products (a bank, a smartphone, tableware, furniture, a restaurant, a fashion retailer) with 595 consumers from the United States. The findings show that the most important elements in eliciting perceived personalization are (in order of importance) a person’s interests, location, and age. This result remains stable across different product perceptions (product category involvement, product qualities, and buying motivations) and across different socio-demographic characteristics (gender, age, and education). In sum, to evoke the perception of personalization, advertisers should primarily target consumers based on their interests.
... As more advertisers turn to social media for their affordances related to hypertargeting and segmentation (Alhabash, Mundel, and Hussain 2017), more marketers use demographic criteria (such as age) for targetbased segmentation. A study on interactive ad tailoring based on model/consumer congruence found that online ads featuring endorsers of congruent age and gender to participants produced greater click-through ratios than non-congruent ads (Higgins et al. 2018). ...
Despite U.S. alcohol industry self-regulatory guidelines prohibiting the use of models under the age 25 in alcohol advertising, brands include younger-looking models in their ads. Using social cognitive theory and the limited capacity model of mediated motivated message processing (LC4MP), we investigated the effects of alcohol ads featuring younger- and older-looking models on underage youths’ affective and cognitive processing and behavioral outcomes. Study 1 participants viewed YouTube ads where models looked either younger or older than 25. In addition to measuring advertising effectiveness self-report measure (e.g. attitudes, and behavioral intentions), participants’ psychophysiological responses were recorded. Study 2 used Instagram ads and measured outcomes with a nationally representative participant sample. Both studies show that younger-looking models in alcohol ads increase drinking intentions. Findings are discussed in relation to alcohol regulatory and policy recommendations as well as advertising’s role in hindering consumer well being.
... This has been explained through the lens of audience segmentation. Since a fit between the intended user represented in an ad and the product advertised has been shown to result stronger evaluations and purchase intentions (Higgins et al. 2018), advertisers have often resorted to making their ads appealing to the mainstream consumer population to maximize profit. Thus, it's been an axiom for advertisers to focus their attention on consumers who are aged 18-49, are married, urban, northern, heterosexual, educated, and employed (Baglia, 2005;Bradley & Longino, 2001;The Wall Street Journal, 2014). ...
Mass media, and the messages delivered through it, are powerful socialization agents that help shape consumers’ worldviews from an early age (Pollay, 1986; Clark, 1991; Sheehan, 2013; Himberg, 2017). As mainstream Americans become more accepting of LGBTQ culture, community specific programming and ads targeting LGBTQ consumers are becoming more common. This chapter documented the representation of drag queens, who are respected and iconic figures in LGBTQ subculture, in mainstream media ads. Further, we analyzed how a sample of American consumers evaluate drag queens as product endorsers, and increasingly more common phenomenon. We discovered some sociocultural differences that influence consumer evaluation of drag queens as endorsers for brands readily available in the marketplace, as well as some potentially surprising ways in which consumer demographics did not influence their evaluations.
Through the content analysis, we revealed that while drag queens are making room for themselves as valued and entertaining endorsers in ads, they are largely positioned according to image-oriented appeals, not humor-oriented appeals, despite their well-known skills as comedians. Furthermore, the presence of LGBTQ-related cues in ads points to two coexisting dynamics: while LGBTQ ads can help socialize mainstream consumers about LGBTQ culture, how that culture is presented matters greatly, since these ads may perpetuate stereotypes of gay men as effeminate or focus consumers on femininity rather than actual LGBTQ identities.
Further, through the experiment in Study 2 we expand the advertising literature by providing an initial block from which theoretical and managerial implications can be built. For the latter, advertisers should note that communicating authentically with LGBTQ consumers requires more than developing messages based on demographic information. In particular, Kates (2002) and Tsai (2004) advocate for segmenting consumers based on lifestyle choices and interpreting strategies that help contextualize LGBTQ consumers’ identities. The results around RPDR and transphobia emphasize that subcultural expertise, not just general knowledge that drag queens are part of LGBTQ culture, is essential for crafting effective advertisements. Further, results showed that placing gay-themed advertising cues for mainstream brands is not only common, but also that drag queens in the ads tested above did not produce harmful backlash among heterosexual consumers.
... Further, prior research regarding gender congruence effect revealed that male participants clicked on a significantly higher number of online ads with male models compared with those with female models. 31 However, the gender congruence effect was not observed in this study. In addition, anthropomorphism fully mediated the relationship between relationship type and both warmth and pleasure. ...
Artificial intelligence (AI) has had a huge impact on our lives. In this study, we suggest that when people interact with AI, they regard the AI as a social actor and apply interpersonal relationship norms. This study employed a 2 × 2 between-subjects design to identify the effects of an AI's relationship type and gender on a human's response to an AI speaker (relationship type: friend vs. servant; gender: male vs. female). Findings show that the relationship type has a significant effect on warmth and pleasure but not on competence. The gender of the AI showed no significant effects on competence, warmth, or pleasure when controlling for the participants' gender. In addition, the results indicate that anthropomorphism fully mediated the relationship between both warmth and pleasure and the type of relationship with AI. Our findings suggest that AI is regarded as a social actor, and the characteristics of AI should be considered as they influence the response to AI.
This study uses meta-analytic techniques to examine the number of exposures that maximize consumer response to an ad. The results show that in an experimental setting maximum attitude is reached at approximately ten exposures, while recall increases linearly and does not level off before the eighth exposure. The findings are of interest for two opposing schools of thought in the advertising literature on effective frequency. They support the repetitionists’ beliefs over the minimalists’ beliefs on the number of ad exposures needed for maximum consumer response. The study further investigates whether the repetition effects depend on contingent factors. Low involvement and spaced exposures enhance repetition effects on attitude toward the brand. Embedded advertising and massed exposures enhance the repetition effects on recall. Repetition effects decay over time for both attitude toward the brand and recall. The study provides important implications for researchers by contributing to the discussion on effective frequency and providing support for the repetitionists’ view. This view has implications for practitioners who try to optimize advertising frequency.
Purpose ‐ The main purpose of this study was to determine whether users of the online social network site, Facebook, actually look at the ads displayed (briefly, to test the existence of the phenomenon known as "banner blindness" in this website), thus ascertaining the effectiveness of paid advertising, and comparing it with the number of friends' recommendations seen. Design/methodology/approach ‐ In order to achieve this goal, an experiment using eye-tracking technology was administered to a total of 20 participants from a major university in the USA, followed by a questionnaire. Findings ‐ Findings show that online ads attract less attention levels than friends' recommendations. A possible explanation for this phenomenon may be related to the fact that ads on Facebook are outside of the F-shaped visual pattern range, causing a state of "banner blindness". Results also show that statistically there is no difference in ads seen and clicked between women and men. Research limitations/implications ‐ The sample type (undergraduate and graduate students) and the sample size (20 participants) inhibit the generalization of the findings to other populations. Practical implications ‐ The paper includes implications for the development of an effective online advertising campaign, as well as some proposed conceptualizations of the terms social network site and advertising, which can be used as platforms for discussion or as standards for future definitions. Originality/value ‐ This study fulfils some identified needs to study advertising effectiveness based on empirical data and to assess banner blindness in other contexts, representative of current internet users' habits.
The online interactions and behaviours of older and younger users have not yet been fully explored. The aim of this study is to present an analysis of the behavioural differences of younger (15-30) and older (50+) users in the use of the online social network site facebook.com. As part of an investigation the full user "Wall" data was extracted from two user groups within Face book in order to answer two research questions (a) Are friend numbers in online social networks related to age? And (b) Does the use of features differ with age? Results of an interaction analysis study show that a clear correlation exists between a user's age and the number of friends they retain. Results show that in respect of feature selection behavioural differences are evident in the use of available user functions, such as the posting of comments and media usage. Our findings show that as users of different ages interact in online social networks, friend numbers vary considerably with younger users having 11 times more friends than older users. Also, we found that the behavior of older users can be identified as being different in usage when compared to younger users.
This study explores the influence that the congruency between the perceived age of advertising models and consumers' cognitive and chronological ages has on younger consumers' responses to advertising. Findings showed that a high congruency bet between the model's perceived age and the consumer's cognitive age predicted higher degrees of "for-me" perceptions, perceived affinity between the self and the brand, brand evaluation involvement, self-referencing, and positive brand attitudes. Most important, mediation analyses demonstrated that the congruency between the perceived model age and consumer cognitive age influenced brand attitudes via its influence on "for-me" perceptions, perceived self-brand affinity, brand evaluation involvement, and self-referencing. In contrast, a high congruency between the model's perceived age and the consumer's chronological age predicted a higher degree of "for-me" perceptions, but did not predict greater levels of perceived affinity, brand evaluation involvement, self-referencing, or positive brand attitudes.
The authors propose that "ethnic self-awareness"-a temporary state during which a person is more sensitive to information related to his or her own ethnicity-moderates consumer response to targeted advertising. Ethnic self-awareness occurs when a person engages in a process of seif-categorization and uses ethnic criteria as the basis for this categorization. The authors hypothesize that "ethnic primes"-visual or verbal cues that draw attention to ethnicity-direct self-categorization and increase ethnic self-awareness. To test these hypotheses, the authors conduct two experiments. Using 109 Asian and Caucasian participants, Experiment I assessed the impact of exposure to an Asian ethnic prime on ethnic self-awareness and on response to targeted television advertising. Exposure to an ethnic prime increased the rate at which participants spontaneously mentioned their ethnicity in self-descriptions (a measure of ethnic self-awareness) and caused participants to respond more favorably to same-ethnicity spokespeople and advertising that targeted their ethnicity. Experiment 2 tested the theory in a print advertising context and extended the design by manipulating the type of ethnic prime participants saw (Asian or Caucasian) and the market that the focal advertisement targeted (Asian or Caucasian). Experiment 2 replicated the findings of Experiment I when the focal advertisement targeted Asians, but not when it targeted Caucasians.
Purpose – This paper examines the shopping and buying behavior of younger and older online shoppers as mediated by their attitudes toward internet shopping. Design/methodology/approach – Over 300 students and staff from a US university completed a survey regarding their online shopping and buying experiences for 17 products. Findings – The results show that, while older online shoppers search for significantly fewer products than their younger counterparts, they actually purchase as much as younger consumers. Attitudinal factors explained more variance in online searching behavior. Age explained more variance in purchasing behavior if the consumer had first searched for the product online. Research limitations/implications – The limitations of the present research are threefold. First, the sample was restricted to university faculty, staff and students. Second, a better measure of the hedonic motivation construct is needed. Third, additional independent measures such as income should be included to understand the additional demographic factors related to online purchase. Practical implications – Retailing managers can make use of the results as describing multifaceted nature of online shopping and buying behavior. Age differences (in both directions) were seen for many product categories. In addition, results indicate that how one measures online shopping impacts on one's understanding of age effects on internet shopping. Age was negatively correlated with online pre-purchase search but was positively correlated with online purchasing when pre-purchase search behavior was taken into account. Originality/value – The present study advances knowledge of the nature of the relationships among age, attitudes, and online shopping and buying behavior.
This article explores how the drive for self-enhancement influences responses to ads depicting images that are self-congruent along the dimensions of femininity and individualism/collectivism. Participants' schematics on the portrayed dimension were found to exhibit higher levels of cognitive self-referencing and positive affect when the ad image was congruent with their ideal self-schemata than when it was not. Greater self-referencing and positive affect were found, in turn, to promote more favorable ad attitudes, thereby resulting in more positive brand attitudes. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
A tremendous opportunity emerges for marketers to push effective advertisements to target audiences. One forecast suggests mobile advertising will represent one-fifth of the global Internet advertising revenue by 2011, generating $14.4 billion of revenue. Hence, the need for knowledge advances in this fairly young area is warranted. A study of 344 U.S. college students was conducted to answer two questions in the context of mobile message advertising via SMS: i) How does a mobile advertisement's message length affect the receiving mobile user's attitude toward the advertisement? Ii) Are there age and gender differences in the evaluation of SMS-based mobile advertisements? A PLS-based data analysis offers support for the positive effects of mobile ads' message length on the perceived informativeness and entertainment of the mobile ad, which in turn positively influence both attitude toward the mobile ad and the mobile user's intention to click through it and learn more about the advertised brand. Gender effects were found regarding perceptions of a mobile ad's informativeness. Specifically, women reported higher levels for all dependent constructs, i.e. informativeness and entertainment of the mobile ads, attitude toward the ads, and intention to click through and learn more. Also, age was shown to negatively influence the attitude toward the mobile ad, i.e. older users reported lower levels regarding the mobile ad's value, their attitude toward the ads, and their likelihood to click through than younger users. Implications for both theory and practice are also discussed, including an expanded model regarding mobile advertising effectiveness with high explanatory power (i.e. 69% of the variance in the attitude toward mobile ads and 54% of the variance in the behavioral intention to respond to the ad by clicking through was explained).
Abstract Social network,sites,(SNSs) are increasingly attracting the attention of academic,and,industry researchers intrigued by their affordances and reach.,This special theme section of the,Journal,of Computer-Mediated,Communicationbrings ,together scholarship on these emergent phenomena.,In this introductory article, we describe features of SNSs and propose a comprehensive definition. We then present one perspective on the history of such sites, discussing key changes and developments. After briefly summarizing existing scholarship concerning SNSs, we discuss the articles,in this special section and conclude with considerations for future,research.
Current approaches to patient education provide generic standardized materials to all patients regardless of their demographics such as age and cognitive abilities. Thus, the effectiveness of this approach may suffer from a patient's motivation to fully engage with the material. To alleviate these concerns, this study proposes a personalized approach to patient education that is tailored to the individual characteristics and health objectives of the patient. Personalized features will enhance the comprehensibility and usability of the process of medical education. Taking this into consideration, this paper introduces a conceptual architecture to create a web-based personalized patient education experience. A key component of this architecture comprises ontological models of the patient themselves, their medical conditions, physical activities and their educational attainments. Furthermore, rule-based reasoning is also proposed to achieve this personalization. A use case scenario is provided to highlight the effectiveness of personalized education provision.
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be a system of deviations from the means of n variables with standard deviations σ1, σ2 … σn
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It was hypothesized in this study that advertising appeals congruent with viewers' self-concept would be superior to incongruent appeals in terms of enhancing advertising effectiveness. Advertising effectiveness was operationalized as: brand memory, brand attitude, and purchase intentions. The sample consisted of 165 subjects who were exposed to four test stimuli (ads), two for automobiles and two for shampoos. One ad within a product class used an introvert appeal, and the other used an extrovert appeal. Congruence between self-concept and the brand image was determined by subjects' evaluations of themselves and the advertised brand. Ad-related tasks included remembering brand names and indicating preference and buying intention for each brand. The study results indicate that brand memory is not mediated by the extent to which advertising expressions are congruent with viewers' self-concept. However, brand preference and purchase intention were shown to be influenced by the self-congruency of an ad. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
This study attempts to identify the potential determinants of advertising avoidance in the context of personalized advertising media, including unsolicited commercial e-mail, postal direct mail, telemarketing, and text messaging. Using a self-administered survey (n = 442), the proposed model is tested with structural equation modeling analysis. The findings indicate that while ad skepticism partially mediates the relationship between ad avoidance and its three determinants (perceived personalization, privacy concerns, and ad irritation), both privacy concerns and ad irritation have a direct positive effect on ad avoidance. However, increased perceived personalization leads directly to decreased ad avoidance.
Advertisers have been criticized for underrepresenting the elderly in print ads and television commercials. What critics often overlook, however, are audience and product considerations along with the effectiveness of older spokespersons in influencing intent to purchase among elderly and younger consumers. This article examines what is currently known about the use of older persons in advertising and extends these findings by reporting the views of advertising agency executives on this topic. From the results of these studies, an audience-product matrix with examples is provided to help put the advertiser's position into perspective. According to the literature reviewed and the perceptions of advertising agency executives, the use of elderly spokespersons tends to work best when the product or service can be targeted to elderly consumers and the products or services themselves are elderly-oriented. There is some evidence to suggest that elderly persons are used in advertisements not because advertisers want to represent the elderly, but rather when these spokespersons can sell the product.
Two studies were conducted to assess separateness-connectedness (SC) as a new message variable and as a new individual difference variable in advertising. Study I began the process of developing a Separateness-Connectedness scale based on a sample of 140 college students (97 Westerners and 43 non-Westerners, 81 males and 59 females) attending a midwestern university. The 9-item, 2-factor scale revealed good reliability and construct validity. The structure of the overall model was then successfully tested on a new sample by confirmatory factor analysis. In Study II an experiment assessed whether the separateness/connectedness self-schema would moderate the effect of using either a connected or a separated advertising appeal on consumers' attitude toward the ad. As predicted, a significant interaction effect was found. The results revealed that individuals with a separate self-schema preferred a separated advertising theme, and individuals with a connected self-schema preferred a connected advertising theme. Implications for advertising managers, the studies' limitations, and future research directions are also discussed. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Since the early days of the Internet, gender gap has existed in using the Internet, and it is particularly evident for online
shopping. Females perceive higher level of risk for online shopping, and as a result, they tend to hesitate to make purchase
online. Online consumer reviews can effectively mitigate such perceived risk by females and thereby attract them to buy online.
This study investigates the effect of online consumer reviews on consumer’s purchase intention. In particular, we examine
whether there are gender differences in responding to online consumer reviews. The results show that the effect of online
consumer reviews on purchase intention is stronger for females than males. The negativity effect, that consumers are influenced
by a negative review more than by a positive review, is also found to be more evident for females. These findings have practical
implications for online sellers to guide them to effectively use online consumer reviews to engage females in online shopping.
Looks at the way in which the over-50s in the UK are portrayed in advertising directed at older audiences and compares this with advertisements in US publications. Discusses the reluctance of marketers to use older people in advertising, offering a number of explanations for this. Adopting the technique of content analysis, finds that US and UK publications for the over-50s have a similar level of character representation, adding that although older models are increasingly being used in publications for this age range, they are not being used in mainstream publications. Points out that in the USA the American Association of Retired Persons rejects many advertisements containing negative images of older people and wonders whether UK publications ought to follow suit. Contends that UK advertisements do not reflect the range of purchases made by older consumers, instead being too focused on age-related products.
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