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She’s my favorite YouTuber, so I watch ads on her channel: The interplay of parasocial interaction and YouTube ad knowledge on voluntary ad-watching
International Journal of Advertising
Parasocial interaction (PSI) and parasocial relationship (PSR) are important and widespread phenomena in both offline and online marketing. While extensive, prior work on PSI and PSR is riddled with inconsistencies and needs an updated perspective. First, research needs to establish whether and why PSI and PSR represent different concepts with unique characteristics. Furthermore, the conceptualization of PSI and PSR remains predominantly rooted in offline contexts, despite the shift in media consumption toward online platforms. By systematically reviewing 233 peer‐reviewed journal articles published between 1956 and 2023, this study provides a nuanced perspective on the evolution of PSI and PSR in offline and online environments. Theoretically, it contributes to the literature by proposing seven key criteria to differentiate PSI from PSR in offline and online contexts, as well as offering new conceptualizations of PSI and PSR in the online environment. Using the Theories–Characteristics–Contexts–Methods (TCCM) framework, this work presents a comprehensive overview of the current state of research and discusses future research directions.
Video‐on‐demand platforms encourage binge‐watching (BW) to stimulate consumers' paid subscription. Despite decades of research, prior studies have yet to reach a consensus on the definition of BW, which results in inconsistent findings regarding its effect on paid subscription behavior. Drawing on stimuli‐organism‐response theory and parasocial interaction studies, we develop a conceptual model to explore the causal mechanism that links BW, the consumer organism (attractiveness, identification, involvement, and parasocial interaction), and responses (impulsive paid subscription). We also investigate how the boundary condition of BW (number of episodes watched) affects this causal mechanism. We conducted an online survey and two quasi‐field experiments to collect data and verify the hypotheses. Our findings confirm that, compared with non‐BW, BW offers enhanced attractiveness, identification, involvement, and parasocial interaction, which results in more impulsive paid subscription behavior. Moreover, it is valid to define BW as watching at least three episodes of a program, which reveals significant differences in viewers' impulsive paid subscription behavior. Implications for future BW research and marketing strategies for video‐on‐demand platforms are discussed.
On YouTube, skippable in-stream advertisements (ads) are critical income for both YouTube and content creators. However, ads inevitably irritate viewers, and as a result, they tend to avoid ads. Thus, this study attempts to identify potential mitigators—source attractiveness and reciprocal altruism—of ad irritation and avoidance in the context of YouTube skippable in-stream ads. Using an online survey (n = 512) in Taiwan, the proposed model is examined by a partial least squares structural equation modeling analysis. The findings show that while ad irritation has a positive effect on ad avoidance, reciprocal altruism can significantly reduce both ad irritation and avoidance. However, source attractiveness fails to mitigate ad irritation and avoidance. Theoretical and managerial implications of these findings are discussed, and several solutions for reducing ad irritation and avoidance are provided.
Afforded by new digital technologies, consumer interactions are breaking the boundaries of basic assumptions about interpersonal communication, mass communication, and the concepts arising from the two. By looking into social media influencer–follower relations, this study suggests that the long-held conventional concept of parasocial relation no longer fully encompasses the evolving contemporary human interactions and related relations. The current analysis recommends an updated notion and theorization—a trans-parasocial relation—to capture a collectively reciprocal, (a)synchronously interactive, and co-created relation between influencers and their captive followers. This trans-parasocial relation concept offers a foundation on which new communicative and advertising theories can be developed to explicate new forms of social interactions and consumer behavior. More importantly, in view of this trans-parasocial relation, assumptions of the existing persuasion theory—that is, the persuasion knowledge model—need to be reassessed. The current findings demonstrate that persuasion knowledge does not always negatively affect advertising outcomes. Instead, followers indicate mostly benign attitudes toward influencer-sponsored posts, interpret influencers’ sponsorship disclosures as genuine and transparent, and internalize disclosure actions as inspiring and admirable. This study further identifies and elucidates several psychological mechanisms that account for followers’ overall appreciation of influencer-sponsored posts: positive bias, verification by cross-validation, and inspirational internalization.
Nowadays social network influencers play an important role in marketing by introducing products to their audience. In this article, we investigate the persuasion cues related to beauty and fashion influencers present on YouTube and Instagram. More precisely, we investigate how the para-social interaction (PSI) the audience creates with the online influencer, along with their perceived credibility, are related to the purchase intention and how they are, in turn, related to the social and physical attractiveness and attitude homophily. We base our research on four beauty influencers popular in France and control our results by the age of the participants and by the influencer. We find that attitude homophily is positively related to PSI but, surprisingly, the physical attractiveness shows negative relationship or no evidence of relationship. Both credibility of the influencers and PSI exhibit significant and positive relationships to purchase intention.
Purpose
This paper provides a comprehensive, yet concise, overview of the considerations and metrics required for PLS-SEM analysis and result reporting. Preliminary considerations are summarized first, including reasons for choosing PLS-SEM, recommended sample size in selected contexts, distributional assumptions, use of secondary data, statistical power, and the need for goodness-of-fit testing. Next, the metrics, as well as the rules of thumb, that should be applied to assess the PLS-SEM results are covered. Besides covering established PLS-SEM evaluation criteria, the overview includes new guidelines for applying (1) PLSpredict, a novel approach for assessing a model’s out-of-sample prediction, (2) metrics for model comparisons, and (3) several complementary methods for checking the results’ robustness.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper provides an overview of previously and recently proposed metrics, as well as rules of thumb, for evaluating the results of research, based on the application of PLS-SEM.
Findings
Most of the previously applied metrics for evaluating PLS-SEM results are still relevant, but scholars need to be knowledgeable about recently proposed metrics (e.g., model comparison criteria) and methods (e.g., endogeneity assessment, latent class analyses, PLSpredict) and when and how to apply them.
Research limitations/implications
Methodological developments associated with PLS-SEM are rapidly emerging. The metrics reported in this paper are useful for current applications, but scholars need to continuously seek the latest developments in the PLS-SEM method.
Originality/value
In light of more recent research and methodological developments in the PLS-SEM domain, guidelines for the method’s use need to be continuously extended and updated. This paper is the most current and comprehensive summary of the PLS-SEM method and the metrics applied to assess its solutions.
In the past few years, expenditure on influencer marketing has grown exponentially. The present study involves preliminary research to understand the mechanism by which influencer marketing affects consumers via social media. It proposes an integrated model – social media influencer value model – to account for the roles of advertising value and source credibility. In order to test this model, we administered an online survey among social media users who followed at least one influencer. Partial least squares path modeling results show that the informative value of influencer-generated content, influencer’s trustworthiness, attractiveness, and similarity to the followers positively affect followers’ trust in influencers’ branded posts, which subsequently influence brand awareness and purchase intentions. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
This paper explores compulsive use of YouTube by university students and investigates how the uses and gratifications perspective and the personality perspective work together to explain compulsive use of the social medium. It compares the effects of motivation to use YouTube for information with motivation to use the platform for entertainment, and examines how the different motivational effects compare with those of personality. It also explores the influence of compulsive use of YouTube on academic motivation. Data from 807 students at a Malaysian university were analysed using hierarchical multiple regression. Stronger motivation to use YouTube for information and learning is associated with lower compulsive use, while stronger motivation to use YouTube for entertainment is associated with higher compulsive use. Entertainment motivation has a stronger effect than information motivation. Although tendency to compulsive use differs with personality traits, the motivation effects are independent of personality. Compulsive YouTube use negatively influences academic motivation. While educators can take risks of compulsive use into account when they propose YouTube resources to their students, information literacy education and training can play an additional role in risk reduction by alerting social media users to the risks of compulsive use and helping them to develop self-management strategies.
On live streams, viewers can support streamers through various methods ranging from well-wishing text messages to money. In this study (N=230) we surveyed viewers who had given money to a streamer. We identified six motivations for why they gave money to their favorite live streamer. We then examined how factors related to viewer, streamer, and viewer-streamer interaction were associated with three forms of social support provision: emotional, instrumental, and financial support. Our main findings are: parasocial relationship was consistently correlated with all three types of social support, while social presence was only related with instrumental and financial support; interpersonal attractiveness was associated with emotional and instrumental support and lonely people were more likely to give instrumental support. Our focus on various types of social support in a live streaming masspersonal platform adds a more detailed understanding to the existing literature of mediated social support. Furthermore, it suggests potential directions for designing more supportive and interactive live streaming platforms.
Pre-roll advertising is a novel form of online video advertising that provides consumers with an option to skip after viewing a brief forced segment. Pre-roll ads are unique from other forms of online advertising because pre-roll ads play in exactly the space in which consumers are expecting to view their intended content. Such interruption and obstruction not only heightens consumer irritation but also causes attention-getting tactics, which are redundant in a highly attentive state, to backfire. For these reasons, existing ad avoidance literature may not adequately address this unique format. Employing a large industry data set of pre-roll ads representing multiple countries and product categories, we empirically examine skipping behavior using a broader range of ad characteristics than previous research. We propose that less complex affective ad characteristics increase skipping by failing to engage cognitive resources and therefore leaving cognitive resources available to experience irritation. We further posit that, in a pre-roll context, attention-getting ad characteristics are not only superfluous but actually increase the likelihood consumers recognize pre-roll content as advertising and skip. Our empirical findings support these assertions, identifying new factors driving ad avoidance, and calling into question the applicability of attention-getting advertising approaches in the novel pre-roll environment.
An online questionnaire completed by 660 nonprofit stakeholders supported the idea that having a social media based personal connection to the nonprofit, resembling a parasocial friendship, had a significant impact on the stakeholder's intentions to support the organization in the offline community (e.g., volunteer, donate). Findings also indicate that when a stakeholder has a higher level of social connections and time spent online, there is a decrease in the intention to behaviorally support the organization.
Some online display advertisements are annoying. Although publishers know the payment they receive to run annoying ads, little is known about the cost that such ads incur (e.g., causing website abandonment). Across three empirical studies, the authors address two primary questions: (1) What is the economic cost of annoying ads to publishers? and (2) What is the cognitive impact of annoying ads to users? First, the authors conduct a preliminary study to identify sets of more and less annoying ads. Second, in a field experiment, they calculate the compensating differential, that is, the amount of money a publisher would need to pay users to generate the same number of impressions in the presence of annoying ads as it would generate in their absence. Third, the authors conduct a mouse-tracking study to investigate how annoying ads affect reading processes. They conclude that in plausible scenarios, the practice of running annoying ads can cost more money than it earns.
Purpose
– Many video sharing sites (e.g. YouTube, Vimeo, and Break) host user-generated video content in the hopes of attracting viewers and thus profits. Therefore, continuous use and video sharing behavior on the part of site users is critical to the continue enjoyment of other users and to the video service providers business. The purpose of this paper is to provide an improved understanding of what motivates internet users to share videos and spend more time on video sharing web sites.
Design/methodology/approach
– The authors propose a research model based on Uses and Gratification Theory and on Social Cognitive Theory, incorporating key determinants of web site stickiness. An online survey instrument was developed to gather data, and 265 questionnaires were used to test the relationships in the model.
Findings
– The causal model was validated using SmartPLS 2.0, and 14 out of 18 study hypotheses were supported. The results indicated that continuance motivation and sharing behavior were important antecedents of YouTube stickiness and mediated the influence of need, personal, and environmental factors.
Practical implications
– The proposed framework can be used by online video service providers to develop a platform that satisfies user needs and to enhance sharing intention.
Originality/value
– The study provides a comprehensive framework of the antecedents and effects of continuance motivation and sharing behavior on video sharing web sites.
Why do people help others on mobile shopping sites, even when members have never met? To answer the research question, this study applies attachment theory to investigate the relationships between formation variables (trust, enjoyment, and timesaving), transfer variables (site, group, and interpersonal attachments), and an outcome variable (reciprocal altruism). An online survey was conducted of shoppers who had purchased tourism products with smartphones. The results show that trust, enjoyment, and timesaving have significant effects on site attachment, which, in turn, have a significant effect on both group and interpersonal attachments. Interpersonal attachment also has a highly significant effect on group attachment. Reciprocal altruism is influenced by both site and interpersonal attachments. The findings not only provide theoretical contributions to the tourism literature but also practical contributions to the tourism industry.
Parasocial interaction and parasocial relationship are often conflated conceptually and methodologically, leaving researchers unclear as to which concept is being tapped. This research clarifies these concepts and experimentally compares the most common measure of parasocial interaction, the Parasocial Interaction Scale (PSI-Scale), with a newer measure, the Experience of Parasocial Interaction Scale (EPSI-Scale). Participants (N = 383) viewed a brief videorecording of a woman who either bodily addressed the viewer or not, then completed a questionnaire. The EPSI-Scale was a better measure of parasocial interaction, understood as a within-viewing experience of mutual awareness, whereas the PSI-Scale may measure short- or long-term liking, or something else. To avoid conceptual and empirical confusion, researchers must choose measures with greater care.
This chapter outlines the two basic routes to persuasion. One route is based on the thoughtful consideration of arguments central to the issue, whereas the other is based on the affective associations or simple inferences tied to peripheral cues in the persuasion context. This chapter discusses a wide variety of variables that proved instrumental in affecting the elaboration likelihood, and thus the route to persuasion. One of the basic postulates of the Elaboration Likelihood Model—that variables may affect persuasion by increasing or decreasing scrutiny of message arguments—has been highly useful in accounting for the effects of a seemingly diverse list of variables. The reviewers of the attitude change literature have been disappointed with the many conflicting effects observed, even for ostensibly simple variables. The Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) attempts to place these many conflicting results and theories under one conceptual umbrella by specifying the major processes underlying persuasion and indicating the way many of the traditionally studied variables and theories relate to these basic processes. The ELM may prove useful in providing a guiding set of postulates from which to interpret previous work and in suggesting new hypotheses to be explored in future research.
Copyright © 1986 Academic Press Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Corporations sponsoring causes may hope to create the appearance of "good citizenship." Using attribution theory, the authors develop and test a cognitive explanation of sponsorship effects. Results of the experiment suggest that a good fit between a company and the cause it sponsors generates consumer attributions of altruistic sponsor motives and enhances sponsor credibility and attitude toward the sponsor. Mediation analysis results indicate that congruence effects on sponsor attitudes were mediated by sponsor credibility.
The purpose of this research was to examine the effects of a political candidate’s blog-a form of eWOM (electronic Word-of-Mouth)-on attitudes toward the website, attitudes toward the political candidate, and intentions to vote. The results showed that interactivity in the form of a blog significantly influenced attitude toward the website, but not attitudes toward the candidate or voting intention. However, perceived interactivity influenced all three dependent variables, but did not interact with interactivity, suggesting that these are two separate constructs. The effects were mediated by parasocial interaction.
This study examines the effects of-persuasion knowledge and conditions that influence its impact in the context of keyword search ads. Students participated in an experiment featuring a 2 (persuasion knowledge: primed vs. not primed) x 2 (search tasks: complex vs. less complex) between-subjects design with a covariate (perceived fairness). Results reveal online users are less likely to click through keyword search ads when they are aware that advertisers' persuasion attempts are at work. However, this negative impact is attenuated when the search task is complex and level of perceived fairness of the ad practice is high.
This study examines the influence of product placements in television serial comedies on consumer attitudes toward the products. Proposing a "Balance Model of Sitcom Product Placement Effects," the study integrates genre theory to analyze character-product associations in sitcoms, parasocial theory to consider consumer-character referential relations, and balance theory to address the main research issue of the way that characters' relations to placed products and consumers' relations to the characters affect consumers' attitudes to the products. The model is based on balance theory, in which attitude alignment is the explanation for links between a triad composed of the consumer, the sitcom character, and the placed product. The influence of two consumer-character variables (attitude and parasocial attachment) and two character-product variables (valence and strength of association) are tested in a real-world situation. The methodology uses real televised sitcoms as stimuli, real viewers as respondents, and a real-time on-line survey to measure the relationship among the variables. Study findings support the predictions that consumers align their attitudes toward products with the characters' attitudes to products and that this process is driven by the consumers' attachment to the characters.
This paper explores forced viewing of “pop-up ads” on the Internet to understand better how viewers come to define ads as irritating and decide to avoid them. Perceived intrusiveness was suggested as the underlying mechanism by which the process occurs. Antecedents of intrusiveness were identified that affect perceptions of ads as interruptions, including congruence of the advertisement content with the current task and intensity of cognition at the moment the ad pops up. The consequences of intrusiveness were shown to be caused by feelings of irritation and ad avoidance. The results provide an understanding of how consumers experience forced exposure situations in interactive environments and highlight implications for advertisers seeking to increase the effectiveness of on-line advertising.
We examined the impact of motivation, interpersonal attraction, and parasocial interaction (PSI) on listening to public affairs talk radio. Hierarchical regression identified several results. PSI and exciting entertainment motivation predicted intentional and frequent listening to a favorite host. PSI, task attraction, and information motivation predicted regarding a host as an important source of information. PSI, information motivation, task attraction, and pass time/habit motivation predicted reeling that a host influenced attitudes. PSI, information motivation, and pass time/habit motivation predicted following a host's advice to act on societal concerns.
The authors report a study of the effects of price, brand, and store information on buyers' perceptions of product quality and value, as well as their willingness to buy. Hypotheses are derived from a conceptual model positing the effects of extrinsic cues (price, brand name, and store name) on buyers' perceptions and purchase intentions. Moreover, the design of the experiment allows additional analyses on the relative differential effects of price, brand name, and store name on the three dependent variables. Results indicate that price had a positive effect on perceived quality, but a negative effect on perceived value and willingness to buy. Favorable brand and store information positively influenced perceptions of quality and value, and subjects' willingness to buy. The major findings are discussed and directions for future research are suggested.
Inhibiting counterarguing is a critical approach to persuasion. Multitasking effects have been closely associated with the idea of reducing counterarguing vis cognitive overload. Those cognitively overloaded are less likely to counterargue, and persuasion is more likely to occur. Direct evidence of the occurrence of cognitive overload is, however, limited. This study tested cognitive overload as the explanation. This study also tested an alternative explanation: media multitasking reduces counterarguing and enhances persuasion by lowering attention. A one-factor (single medium and multitasking) between-subjects experiment was conducted. The results show that multitaskers and single-medium users had a similar level of cognitive load. Multitaskers paid less attention to the ads, which inhibited counterarguing and enhanced subsequent brand attitude compared to single-medium users. This study initiated the effort to examine the underlying mechanism of the counterarguing inhibition hypothesis, but the results failed to support it. The results supported the proposed lower advertising attention explanation based on the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) and intentional exposure theory.
This study explored intentional ad-viewing on digital video-sharing platforms and focused on a novel type of ad-viewing behavior to support video creators. In-depth interviews with 20 YouTube users discovered the unique phenomenon of intentional ad-viewing to support creators, which seemed particularly prominent among younger consumers. A desire to express gratitude to the video creators, as well as intrinsic and extrinsic helping motives based upon empathy and reciprocity appeared to determine intentional ad-viewing largely. Perceptions of different video creators, parasocial relationships with them, and knowledge of the ad-revenue-sharing model were identified as factors that influenced the behavior examined.
Consumers’ changing media consumption behaviors and skepticism toward traditional forms of advertising have prompted the growth of influencer marketing. Even as regulatory authorities call on brands and influencers to disclose the posts as advertising, no consistent guidelines exist. The distinct effects of self-generated versus platform-initiated disclosures also remain unclear, nor has research addressed the interplay of key influencer characteristics and marketing disclosures. This article reports on findings from the first academic field study of influencer marketing disclosures, as well as three experimental studies, which indicate that disclosure is a double-edged sword. When provided through a platform-initiated branded content tool, disclosure consistently exerts the strongest effect on perceptions of advertising, negatively relating to influencer trustworthiness and consumer engagement. The effects of disclosure type also depend on the number of followers and number of previously endorsed products (i.e., influencer characteristics). Yet consumers also express appreciation for transparency when influencers disclose posts as advertising, which increases perceived trustworthiness of the influencer and engagement with the post. The implications of these findings should inform choices by public policy makers, brand managers, and influencers.
The literature on influencer marketing has identified opinion leadership of influencers and parasocial relationship with influencers as two focal constructs affecting followers' purchase intention; yet they are only studied in isolation. This research aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the effects of the two key constructs by combining and comparing them in a model with the moderators of post characteristics, namely post type and correspondent inference. Empirical results from 409 online followers of two Instagram accounts confirm the complementary effects of opinion leadership and parasocial relationship in influencer marketing and reveal the more prominent role of parasocial relationship over opinion leadership in affecting followers’ purchase intention. These effects are moderated by post characteristics. Storytelling posts intensify both effects. Correspondent inference enhances the effect of parasocial relationship, but not that of opinion leadership. These findings point to the importance of the social aspect of influencer marketing and inform the influencer marketing research and practice on “who says what” for improving communication effectiveness.
Digital advertisements offer a full spectrum of behavioral customization for timing and content capabilities. The existing research in display advertising has predominantly concentrated on the content of advertising; however, our focus is on optimizing the timing of display advertising. In practice, users are constantly adjusting their engagement with content as they process new information continuously. The recent development of emotional tracking and wearable technologies allows platforms to monitor the user’s engagement in real time. The proposed optimal policy regarding the timing of behavioral advertising is based on a threshold policy with a trigger threshold and target level. Analogous to the familiar idea of “price discrimination,” the methods we propose in this study allow the platforms to maximize their revenue by “discriminatory” customization of the timing and length of the advertisement based on the behavior of individual users. Finally, we quantify the benefits of the proposed policy by comparing it with the practically prevalent policies (i.e., preroll, midroll, and a mix of the two) through a simulation study. Our results reveal that, for a wide range of settings, the proposed policy not only significantly increases the platform’s profitability but also improves the completion rate at which consumers finish viewing the advertisement.
Grounded in Bandura’s (2001) social cognitive theory of mass communication and Giles’ (2002) model of parasocial relationship (PSR) development, the current research examines how a viewer’s wishful identification with an online video game streaming personality and emotional engagement with other viewers lead to behavioral loyalty through PSR with their favorite live-streamer. To test the proposed mediation model, the researchers conducted a survey using a representative sample drawn from a national panel of a professional survey firm in South Korea. Results of a mediation analysis employing structural equation modeling reveal that both wishful identification and emotional engagement have indirect effects on behavioral loyalty through PSR. Put another way, a viewer’s likeliness to continue viewing a live-streaming game increase as the viewer develops stronger PSR. The current research also demonstrates that wishful identification and engagement with others/streamers develop into PSR, as suggested by Giles’ PSR development model.
This study examines the moderating role of audience comments in influencer marketing. A YouTube vlog entry by a social media influencer featuring the endorsement of a brand was studied, and an experimental design featuring two conditions related to audience comments was created. The results indicate that a parasocial relationship with the influencer builds the perceived credibility of the influencer, while comments by other audience members moderate the effect. Influencer credibility positively affects brand trust and purchase intention. The findings enhance the understanding of the role of an active audience in influencer marketing.
Social media influencers – such as the ‘Instafamous’ – are required to disclose any commercial relationship. To achieve transparency, Instagram has introduced a standardized disclosure (‘Paid partnership with [brand]’). This study examined whether this disclosure effectively raises ad recognition, and how this consequently affects consumers' responses to the message, influencer, and brand. Additionally, the effects of the disclosure were compared between micro- (<10,000 followers) and meso- (10,000–1 million followers) influencers. Results of an online experiment (N = 192) with a 2 (no disclosure vs. standardized disclosure) x 2 (micro-vs. meso-influencer) between subjects design showed that the disclosure did achieve its goal of increasing ad recognition. Furthermore, the disclosure positively affected brand recall and intentions to engage with the post, via ad recognition. The parasocial interaction with the influencer was not affected. Moreover, influencer type did not moderate the effect of the disclosure and did not affect people's responses to the message, influencer, or brand.
Does a timer—displayed during an in-stream commercial to show viewers how long they need to wait—help relieve the ad irritation that viewers experience when they have to wait for a video to play? Likewise, does the skip-ad button that allows viewers to skip an ad after several seconds help lessen their irritation with the commercial? This research theoretically and empirically examined whether reducing temporal uncertainty (i.e., using a timer to let viewers know the ad length) in skippable advertising actually helped relieve viewers' ad irritation and reduce their likelihood of ad-skipping. Across two experimental studies, temporal certainty (e.g., the presence of the timer) during short commercials generally decreased ad irritation. In contrast, when a skip-ad button is displayed, temporal certainty during both short and long commercials increased ad irritation, which subsequently decreased advertising effectiveness. Also, the higher the ad irritation, the higher the ad-skipping rate. Theoretical and managerial implications of these results are discussed, and alternative solutions for reducing ad irritation are provided.
The study examines how program-induced mood and a five-second countdown warning affect reception of midroll video commercials. Building on mood regulation theory, findings from three studies suggest that program-induced moods and five-second countdowns systematically influence advertising effectiveness. When the main program is tragic (comedic) and when a countdown precedes (does not precede) the midroll ad, viewers have more positive attitudes toward the ad and purchase intentions. The findings are replicated in realistic (Study 1) and controlled (Studies 2A and 2B) settings.
This study explores how young millennials understand and respond to newsfeed native advertising on Facebook, rooting our focus on its covert nature of the ad format. Drawing insight from two persuasion-related theories, we conducted focus group interviews and in-depth interviews with Facebook users aged 19–29. The study revealed three major themes regarding their interactions with newsfeed ads: persuasion knowledge, positive and negative experiences and avoidant coping responses. Participants showed a high level of persuasion knowledge of how Facebook newsfeed ads work and ambivalent attitudes toward newsfeed native ads. Despite some benefits, newsfeed native ads presented strong negative responses, which were often accompanied by reactance and ad avoidance. Multiple themes regarding negative experiences emerged: ad intrusiveness, ad clutter, a lack of relevance, too personal, privacy concern, goal impediment and covertness. Participants also voiced less autonomy in controlling their exposure to newsfeed ads. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed and a model for future research is provided.
The authors report a study of the effects of price, brand, and store information on buyers’ perceptions of product quality and value, as well as their willingness to buy. Hypotheses are derived from a conceptual model positing the effects of extrinsic cues (price, brand name, and store name) on buyers’ perceptions and purchase intentions. Moreover, the design of the experiment allows additional analyses on the relative differential effects of price, brand name, and store name on the three dependent variables. Results indicate that price had a positive effect on perceived quality, but a negative effect on perceived value and willingness to buy. Favorable brand and store information positively influenced perceptions of quality and value, and subjects’ willingness to buy. The major findings are discussed and directions for future research are suggested.
The authors provide a framework and a set of research propositions that capture and extend current theory on information processing from advertisements. The integrative attitude formation model includes antecedent levels of ability, motivation, and opportunity (AMO), processing of brand information, cognitive and emotional responses, brand attitude formation processes, and brand attitude. Key features of the framework are (1) a more complete, integrative discussion of needs and motivation, (2) a more precise specification of processing mechanisms than currently is proposed in two-routes-to-persuasion models, (3) inclusion of a new typology of emotional and cognitive responses explicitly linked to the levels of brand processing, and (4) a discussion of how alternative attitude formation models correspond to each level of brand processing. To assess the relative advantage of the framework, the authors compare the model with previous integrative models and discuss its implications for related research streams.
Recent research has identified attitude toward the ad (AAd) as an important construct mediating the effects of advertising on brand attitude and purchase intention. To date, however, little attention has been directed toward explaining the origins of AAd. The authors present the latest version of a theory of AAd formation, report the results of an empirical test of a portion of that theory, and offer further refinements to the theory based on the observed results. Implications of the findings for advertising practice are discussed.
This study investigates the effect of viewer engagement on gifting items to a streamer in a live video streaming. Data were collected from AfreecaTV, a leading live video streaming platform in South Korea, to examine viewer engagement and gift-giving behavior. After analyzing 2,294,837 viewers over a three-month period, the empirical results provide evidence that viewer engagement is positively associated with gift-giving decisions. However, the impact of viewer engagement on the amount of gifts purchased is different depending on how the engagement is measured (i.e., by stream or by channel). This study empirically proves that the motive for socialization has a high correlation with gift-giving behavior, which is considered as commoditization of a viewer’s social interaction while consuming media. The study concludes with a discussion on practical implications for live video streaming services and suggestions for future research.
This study explored the factors that may influence the viewership of online in-stream video advertising on YouTube, based on viewing context, viewing device, advertising appeals, video characteristics, and user experience as a “prosumer” content creator. Although online viewers watched more mandatory full-length advertising than skippable advertising, the difference is very small, though statistically significant. Among the various online video viewing devices, the smartphone was the only device that facilitated online video advertising viewership. We found that the entertainment value of advertising tends to be stronger than personal relevance in predicting advertising viewership. In addition, advertising was more likely to be viewed by famous YouTube personalities and “prosumers” who actively produce and consume content on social media than by spectators who watch videos but never create content on YouTube. The results offer guidelines to advertisers on how to add value to their pre-roll online video ads (i.e., advertising before the video begins) and explain advertising viewership based on the advertisement itself and the viewing context.
Live video streaming has been a global economic and social phenomenon in recent years. Many streaming platforms such as Twitch and YouTube Live have been founded and demonstrated unprecedented growth across the world. Yet, researchers have paid insufficient attention to understanding the massive participation behavior exhibited by live video streaming audiences. Based on social identity theory, this paper aims to explain audiences’ continuous watching behavior intention via a dual identification framework including identifications with streaming broadcasters and audience groups. Analysis of data collected from two live streaming platforms in mainland China indicates that audiences’ identification with broadcasters and audience groups are positively associated with their continuous watching intention. Broadcaster identification is driven by individual experience including experience of parasocial interaction, actual and ideal self-congruity, whereas group identification is enhanced by co-experience consisting of participation, cognitive communion, and resonant contagion. In addition, live streaming genres partially moderate the impact of identification on continuous watching intention. Theoretical and practical implications as well as limitations and suggestions for future research are provided.
Within the gaming industry, live-streaming is becoming very popular as a form of online entertainment. Especially the so called social live streaming services (SLSSs) as a new type of social media have established in the last few years. Subsequently a new web topic-specific live streaming service solely for streaming video games has emerged. One of the most prominent and current examples is Twitch.tv which provides the opportunity for streamers to broadcast a game and react to viewers’ comments just-in-time. The viewers however watch the stream with the option to communicate either with the streamer or with other participants through a chat. The main goal of this study is to determine the motivation and behavior of Twitch users. Therefore, a research model including research questions has been developed. This model contains the dimensions ‘Information’, ‘Entertainment’ and ‘Socialization’ which were investigated in relation to the average time spent on Twitch as well as potential expenses. The data for the analysis originates from a developed questionnaire (n = 791) and provides interesting results. One of the key findings reveals a connection between the time and money users spend on Twitch. Of particular note is also the significance of the dimension ‘Socialization’.
With an impressive 11 million subscribers, Zoe ‘Zoella’ Sugg is among the most popular of the young adults who have recently obtained fame (and fortune) by posting videos to YouTube. She figures prominently in the beauty group, one of the fastest-growing and most overtly feminized subsets of the YouTube community, creating videos on lifestyle, fashion and beauty-related topics. However, to a greater extent than many of her peers, Sugg supports her product-oriented videos with vlogs that offer behind-the-scenes, intimate access to her life(style). In so doing, Zoe’s videos encourage intimacy not simply between her viewers and the ‘big sister’ persona she adopts on-screen, but also between her audience and the commodities she associates herself with. This article argues that the success of the YouTube ‘influencer’ economy, both in terms of its gender predispositions and celebrity effects, depends on processes of commodification through intimacy, which Zoe Sugg mobilizes in exemplary fashion.
The statistical tests used in the analysis of structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error are examined. A drawback of the commonly applied chi square test, in addition to the known problems related to sample size and power, is that it may indicate an increasing correspondence between the hypothesized model and the observed data as both the measurement properties and the relationship between constructs decline. Further, and contrary to common assertion, the risk of making a Type II error can be substantial even when the sample size is large. Moreover, the present testing methods are unable to assess a model's explanatory power. To overcome these problems, the authors develop and apply a testing system based on measures of shared variance within the structural model, measurement model, and overall model.
As a relatively new behavior, donation to content creators in social media has become very popular in the last few years. Different from traditional donation to nonprofit organization or victims, donation to content creators in social media has received little attention from academic researchers. On the basis of the socio-technical systems framework and attachment theory, this study develops a model to investigate the effects of social and technological factors on users’ donation behavior. Our results indicate that donation intention is determined by the emotional attachment to the content creator and functional dependence on social media, which are influenced by both social factors (identification, interaction, and information value) and technical factors (sociability and personalization).
Although abstinence-only programs in the United States have historically failed to provide medically accurate information on sexual health, young people in the twenty-first century have turned to YouTube to answer their sex questions. The accessible and engaging format of the YouTube video has helped some sex educators achieve Internet fame among a mass audience of users devoted to watching their web series and interacting with them on social media. Using two sex education channels (Laci Green’s Sex Plus and Lindsey Doe’s Sexplanations) as case studies, this article investigates the ways in which YouTube stardom shapes the production of and engagement with online sex education videos. In doing so, the article uncovers how Internet fame helps to create a brand of sex education salient to audiences across media platforms that rely on the illusion of face-to-face interaction, the development of an authoritative yet approachable identity, and the cultivation of a virtual community.
At the marketplace, interpersonal behavior has been traditionally conceptualized as exchange of resources. In a barter society commodities were literally exchanged for one another. Later on, one commodity—money—became standardized and widely accepted; the money-merchandise exchange was then born, and to this day it has maintained the pride of place in economic practice and thinking. But money is also exchanged with services when we pay the plumber for repairing the pipes and the gardener for improving the landscape. Information is exchanged with money when we buy a newspaper or register for a course. Only recently, economists have turned their attention to the exchange of money with services and with information. However, these areas of investigation are still regarded with suspicion, since they fail to lend themselves easily to the elegant formulations of the money—commodities exchange.
The effects of ad length, ad position, and ad-context congruity on brand name recognition in an online in-stream video advertising context were investigated. Video ads and video programs were selected from YouTube as stimuli. Findings from a laboratory experiment indicate that long ads enhance recognition. Mid-roll ads lead to better brand name recognition than pre-roll and post-roll ads because of attention spillover. However, a mid-roll ad is futile when the ad is unrelated to the video content. In contrast, post-roll ads can improve brand name recognition in an incongruent context.
Using Psychological Reactance as the framework, this study sought to understand consumer attitudes towards two major direct marketing techniques: unsolicited commercial e-mail and postal direct mail. In particular, audience perceptions of advertising intrusiveness, perceived loss of control (as conceptualized by Psychological Reactance), and irritation regarding the direct marketing techniques were investigated. The results of this survey study (N=119) indicated that recipients perceived unsolicited e-mails as more intrusive and irritating than postal direct mail. This study contributed to the theory of Psychological Reactance by indicating that recipients did not feel a loss of control regarding spam, thus Psychological Reactance was not fully supported in the context of these marketing communication techniques. Suggestions for direct marketing practitioners conclude the paper.
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.
The authors suggest that people strategically manage - specifically, lower - their expectations to increase future satisfaction. Consumers who are more disconfirmation sensitive, that is, those who are more satisfied (dissatisfied) when a product performs better (worse) than expected, are hypothesized to have lower expectations. In contrast, the authors expect that consumers who are perfectionists will have higher expectations than those who are not. Results from a laboratory experiment and a field study are consistent with the hypotheses. Furthermore, the authors identify a possible third type of expectation ("as-if") that serves as a basis for post-purchase evaluation and provide preliminary evidence that it differs from both will and should expectations.
A study of reactions to a novel product attributed the invention to either an expert or a novice. Comprehension of the product description was manipulated by varying information exposure time (Study 1) and contextual prior knowledge (Study 2). As predicted by the heuristic-systematic model, comprehensibility moderated the persuasive impact of source expertise. When comprehension was low, subjects relied on the inventor's expertise in forming their attitudes toward the product, but when comprehension and, hence, systematic processing were higher, source expertise had no impact on subjects' attitudes. In a pilot study, however, subjects attributed comprehensibility to the source and derogated incomprehensible communications.