Exploring Effective Advertising Strategies: The Roles of Formats, Content Relevance and Shopping Tasks on Ad Recognition

The widespread application of Web-based technology has contributed not only to the content of advertising but also to the improvement of presentation formats. Animation has become a powerful presentation format on the Web. Despite its potential benefits, however, animation is no panacea. Practitioners and academics have been paying increased attention to the exploration of effective advertising strategies in the e-commerce environment. Drawing on theories in cognitive psychology, this study, by using a laboratory experiment, investigates the roles of presentation formats, content relevance and shopping tasks on ad recognition. The results show that abrupt and looming formats are effective formats in improving ad recognition. There is a significant three-way interaction between the formats, content relevance and shopping tasks on ad recognition. Specifically, the interaction effect of animation formats and content relevance is observed in browsing tasks, but not in searching tasks

Consumer Perception of Online Advertising - The Effects of Animation, Ad Characteristics, Repetition and Task Relevancy on Attention and Memory

Prior advertising research on advertising perception models has mainly focused on effects that occur after consumers have been exposed to advertising stimuli. Little research has examined how consumers are exposed to advertising and the quality of visual attention during advertising exposure. This doctoral dissertation examines how consumers allocate their visual attention to online ads and how consumers memorize ads in different viewing conditions. More precisely, the dissertation focuses on how ad format and location, animation, repetition, abrupt onsets, and task relevancy affect attention to ads and memory performance. The thesis employs theories of cognitive psychology, visual marketing and consumer behavior, advertising persuasion models and computer science and applies experimental methodologies such as eye tracking besides consumers' self-reported measures. The thesis consists of four essays. Essay 1 introduces a review of relevant theory and eye tracking methodology for online advertising research. The next three essays present experimental studies. Essay 2 investigates the effects of ad format and animation on attention and memory. Essay 3 examines the effects of repetition of ads on memory. Essay 4 investigates how animation, ad format and abrupt onsets of ads affect reading performance, and how online ads are perceived during free browsing compared to an instructed reading task. Our findings indicate that attention and memory for ads were significantly affected by consumers' intentions, ad characteristics and web page contents. Consumers are more likely to be attracted by ads when browsing web sites freely without a special task. Ad characteristics, such as animation and ad format interact and influence differently on attention and memory performance for ads depending on the ad's location on a page and the surrounding page content. The thesis also tested the effects of repetition of ads as a potential strategy to improve memory for ads. A significant positive effect was found already at rather low levels of repetition. Moreover, we also tested consumers' attention to abrupt onsets of ads. We registered a significant increase of attention to abrupt onsets of ads as compared with permanent ads especially during free browsing of web pages. This thesis increases our knowledge of the role and type of ad exposure on consumers' attention by evaluating the effectiveness of advertising exposure in dynamic online environment. This research is also the first attempt to evaluate the applicability of the primary eye tracking measures for online advertising. For advertisers, media traders and graphic designers this research proposes new strategies about how to adjust ad format and placement, animation and repetition to break through advertising clutter and reduce consumers' ad avoidance to develop stronger brand awareness and preferences

The effect of web advertising visual design on online purchase intention: An examination across gender

With web advertising growing to be a huge industry, it is important to understand the effectiveness of web advertisement. In this study we investigate the effects of web advertising visual design (WAVD) purchasing intention within the framework of an integrated model. Nine hypotheses were developed and tested on a dataset of 316 observations collected via a questionnaire survey. The results of structural equation modeling (SEM) indicate that while web advertising visual cues influence consumers' purchasing intention through advertising attitudes and brand attitudes, they do not have direct effects on purchasing intention. Further results on the moderating role of gender suggest that web advertising visual cues have direct effect on consumers' purchasing intention for male groups but not for female groups. This study contributes to the understanding the role of visual dimensions in forming online purchase intentions

Effects of Animation on Attentional Resources of Online Consumers

Websites commonly use animation to capture the attentional resources of online consumers. While prior research has focused on the effects of animation on animated banner ads, limited research has examined the effects of animation on other items on the same webpage. Drawing from psychological theories that the amount of an individual’s attentional resources may vary under different conditions, this study focuses on the effects of animation on how individuals allocate attentional resources to both the animated item and the remaining non-animated items. We conducted an eye-tracking experiment to follow online consumers’ visual attention while they performed two types of online shopping tasks: browsing and searching tasks. The results showed that a product item that used animation led to increased visual attention to all items on a webpage, which suggests that the amount of attentional resources increases when a webpage includes animation. Meanwhile, animation influenced how individuals allocate their attentional resources such that it increased visual attention on the animated item at the expense of attention on nonanimated items on the same webpage. In addition, the type of shopping task moderated animation’s effect on how individuals allocate their attentional resources. Specifically, animation’s effect on attracting attentional resources to the animated item was stronger when online consumers browsed than when they searched for a specific target item. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of our findings

Perception of and reactions to the presence of URL\u27s in print advertising of a non-technology brand

This thesis, through an experiment of 108 subjects, studies the relationship between the presence of a Uniform Resource Locator (URL or web address) in newspaper advertisements and perception of the product advertised as well as the likelihood to act on the advertisement. The findings reveal URLs do in fact have an effect on perception, although, as it is suggested in the theoretical framework, it does not necessarily induce the subjects to act on the ad. This study also finds there is a stronger inclination for perception change to take place versus the likelihood for consumers to either seek more information or make a purchase of the brand advertised. The results indicate brands are much less likely to be considered “high-tech” or “cutting edge” when a URL is included in a newspaper advertisement. This is a departure from earlier work that suggested the inclusion of such URLs would have a positive effect on brand value and/or the perception of the company sponsoring the advertisement. The findings also indicate advertisers may have to change the way they present the use of a company’s Web technology. The “magic bullet” of positive associations with technology in the minds of consumers is losing its efficacy from decreased sensitivity to URL saturation in print ads

The effect of context clutter and advertising repetition on attitudinal and behavioral changes toward an online advertisement.

Ng Wing Kei.Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2004.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 73-81).Abstracts in English and Chinese.Chapter Chapter One --- IntroductionChapter 1.1 --- Background --- p.1Chapter 1.2 --- The Present Study --- p.4Chapter Chapter Two --- Literature ReviewChapter 2.1 --- The Internet as an Advertising Medium --- p.5Chapter 2.2 --- Advertising Hierarchy of Effects and Internet Advertising Effectiveness --- p.9Chapter 2.3 --- Effect of Context on Advertising Effectiveness --- p.14Chapter 2.4 --- Effect of Clutter on Advertising --- p.18Chapter 2.5 --- Effect of Advertising Repetition --- p.23Chapter Chapter Three --- HypothesesChapter 3.1 --- Primary Hypotheses --- p.28Main Effect of Clutter on Advertising EffectivenessChapter - --- Main Effect of Advertising Repetition on Advertising EffectivenessChapter - --- Interaction Effect between Clutter and Advertising Repetition on Advertising EffectivenessChapter 3.2 --- Secondary Hypotheses --- p.32Chapter - --- Relationship between Attitude toward the Web page and Constructs of Advertising Hierarchy of EffectsChapter Chapter Four --- MethodologyChapter 4.1 --- Operational Definitions of Variables --- p.33Chapter 4.2 --- Pre-Test --- p.38Chapter 4.3 --- Design and Stimuli --- p.40Chapter Chapter Five --- FindingsChapter 5.1 --- Number of Valid Responses --- p.43Chapter 5.2 --- Reliability of Measures --- p.45Chapter 5.3 --- Manipulation Check --- p.47Chapter 5.4 --- Data Analysis --- p.48Chapter 5.5 --- Primary Findings --- p.49Chapter 5.6 --- Secondary Findings --- p.57Chapter 5.7 --- Summary of Findings --- p.58Chapter Chapter Six --- Discussion and ConclusionChapter 6.1 --- Discussion of Findings --- p.61Chapter 6.2 --- Limitations and Future Research --- p.68Chapter 6.3 --- Conclusion --- p.71Reference --- p.73Chapter Appendix 1 --- Pre-Test QuestionnaireChapter Appendix 2 --- Experimental Web page (four versions)Chapter Appendix 3 --- Post-Experiment Questionnair

The Impact of Animated Banner Ads on Online Consumers: A Feature-Level Analysis Using Eye Tracking

Despite the popular use of animated banner ads on websites, extant research on the effects of web animation has generated mixed results. We argue that it is critical to identify feature-level animation characteristics and examine their individual and combined effects on capturing online consumers’ attention across different task conditions. We identify three key animation features (i.e., motion, lagging, and looming) based on three attention theories and investigate their effects on online consumers’ attention and recall across browsing and searching tasks in three laboratory experiments using an eye tracking machine. Experiment 1 found that both motion and looming (animation features) are effective in attracting online consumers’ attention to animated ads when they are performing a browsing task. However, combining a salient feature (e.g., motion) with another salient feature (e.g., looming) does not improve the original attention attraction effect, suggesting a “banner saturation” effect. Further, we found that online consumers’ attention positively affects their recall performance. In Experiment 2, none of the animation features or their interactions had a significant effect when the subjects were performing a searching task, indicating that task is an important boundary condition when applying attention theories. Experiment 3 replicated Experiment 1 in a more realistic context and produced similar results. We conclude the paper by discussing theoretical and practical implications as well as avenues for future research

The Effects of the Content Elements of Online Banner Ads on Visual Attention: Evidence from An-Eye-Tracking Study

The aim of this paper is to examine the influence of the content elements of online banner ads on customers’ visual attention, and to evaluate the impacts of gender, discount rate and brand familiarity on this issue. An eye-tracking study with 34 participants (18 male and 16 female) was conducted, in which the participants were presented with eight types of online banner ads comprising three content elements—namely brand, discount rate and image—while their eye movements were recorded. The results showed that the image was the most attractive area among the three main content elements. Furthermore, the middle areas of the banners were noticed first, and areas located on the left side were mostly noticed earlier than those on the right side. The results also indicated that the discount areas of banners with higher discount rates were more attractive and eye-catching compared to those of banners with lower discount rates. In addition to these, the participants who were familiar with the brand mostly concentrated on the discount area, while those who were unfamiliar with the brand mostly paid attention to the image area. The findings from this study will assist marketers in creating more effective and efficient online banner ads that appeal to customers, ultimately fostering positive attitudes towards the advertisement.publishedVersio

Pengaruh Web Advertising Visual Desin Pada Online Purchase Intention yang dimoderasi oleh gender (Studi pada Pelanggan Zalora di Surakarta)

ABSTRAK PENGARUH WEB ADVERTISING VISUAL DESIGN PADA ONLINE PURCHASE INTENTION YANG DIMODERASI OLEH GENDER (Studi pada Pelanggan Zalora) FRETA LESTA ANDRO MEDHINA NIM. F0212046 Penelitianinibertujuanuntuk menguji: 1) pengaruh WAVD pada sikap terhadap iklan, 2) pengaruh WAVD pada sikap terhadap merk, 3) pengaruh WAVD pada niat beli online, 4) pengaruh sikap terhadap iklan pada sikap terhadap merk ,5) pengaruh sikap terhadap iklan pada niat beli online, 6) pengaruh sikap terhadap merk pada niat beli online, dan 7) pengaruh gender dalam memoderasi pengaruh WAVD pada niat beli online. Penelitian ini menggunakan data kuantitatif. Sampel yang digunakandalampenelitianinisebanyak 151 konsumen Zalora yang berniat melakukan pembelian.Penelitian ini menggunakan alat uji Partial Least Square (PLS) dan analisis multi-group untuk pengaruh moderasi gender. Hasil yang didapatkan dari penelitianinimenunjukkan bahwa: 1) WAVD berpengaruh signifikan pada sikap terhadap iklan, 2) WAVD tidak berpengaruh signifikan pada sikap terhadap merk, 3) WAVD berpengaruh signifikan pada niat beli online, 4) sikap terhadap iklan tidak berpengaruh signifikan pada sikap terhadap merk, 5) sikap terhadap iklan berpengaruh signifikan pada niat beli online, 6) sikap terhadap merk berpengaruh signifikan pada niat beli online, dan 7) gender tidak berpengaruh signifikan dalam memoderasi hubungan antara WAVD dan niat beli online. Kata Kunci: WAVD, Sikap terhadap Iklan, Sikap terhadap Merk, Niat Beli Online, dan Gender ABSTRACT INFLUENCE OF WEB ADVERTISING VISUAL DESIGN TO ONLINE PURCHASE INTENTION MODERATED BY GENDER(A Study in Zalora consumer) FRET LESTA ANDRO MEDHINA NIM. F0212046 The purpose of this research was to examine 1) the effect of web advertising visual design on atitude toward advertising, 2) the effect of web advertising visual design on attitude toward brand, 3) the effect of oweb advertising visual designon online purchase intention, 4) the effect of attitude toward advertising on attitude toward brand, 5) the effect of attitude toward adertising on online purchase intention, 6) the effect of attitude towrd brand on online purchase intention, 7) the moderating effect of gender on the relationship web advertising isual design and online purchase intention,The case studied in this research were the customers of Zalora. Using quantitative data in this study with sample of 151 Zalora customers who have intention to repurchase.This study applies Partial Least Square (PLS) and multi-group analysis to examine the moderating role of gender. The result of this study shows that 1) web advertising visual design postively affected atitude toward advertising2) web advertising visual design had no significant effect on attitude toward brand, 3) web advertising visual design has positively affected online purchase intention, 4) atitude toward advertisinghad no significant effect on attitude toward brand, 5) atitude toward advertisingpositively affected online purchase intention, 6) atitude toward brandpositively affected online purchase intention and 7) gender had no moderating effect in the relationship betweenweb advertising visual design to online purchase intention. Keywords: Web Advertising Visual Design, Attitude toward Advertising, Attitude toward Brand, Online Purchase Intention, and Gender