Consumer Response to Ads in Social Network Sites: An Exploration into the Role of Ad Location and Path

Abstract

Supervisor: Wei-Na Lee Past research repeatedly suggests consumer's defensive response to persuasive attempts is a key challenge for advertisers. Given the explosive growth of social media, this study aims to understand if consumer response to ads placed in a social network site could be influenced by ad location and the path through which the ad is delivered.Findings from an experiment suggest that consumers' attention to ads in SNSs is remarkably low. Furthermore, the interaction between ad location and the path significantly influences consumers' attitudes toward the ad, attitudes toward the brand, and purchase intention. Specifically, it appears that an ad placed inside users' timeline and sent through via known others, the indirect path, yielded favorable consumer response. On the other hand, consumers responded more favorably to an ad sent by the advertiser, the direct path, than that sent by known others if the ad is placed outside users' timeline. Implications and suggestions for future research are provided.vii

How Social Communications Influence Advertising Perception and Response in Online Communities?

“…Another research angle concerns effects of a pleasant online community ( Knoll, 2016 ), from the perspective of users’ self-motivated communications ( Wang et al, 2015 ). Recent advertising researches (e.g., Bang and Lee, 2016 ; David, 2016 ; Bidmon, 2017 ) found that the proper usage of interpersonal intimacy and attachment can stimulate consumers’ positive reaction to advertising. As a matter of fact, communication is users’ original intention to participate an online community.…”

An experimental study on the effect of ad placement, product involvement and motives on Facebook ad avoidance

“…The evolution towards more varied and more personalized online ads ran parallel with criticism and more defensive attitudes toward 'unethical' persuasive attempts among internet users, as well as an increased interest towards principles of ad avoidance in popular and scientific literature (Bang & Lee, 2016;Strong, 2013). Ad avoidance became one of the biggest online marketing challenges in years (Bang & Lee, 2016;Cho & Cheon, 2004; Interactive Advertising Bureau, 2017; A.-R. Jung, 2017).…”

“…The evolution towards more varied and more personalized online ads ran parallel with criticism and more defensive attitudes toward 'unethical' persuasive attempts among internet users, as well as an increased interest towards principles of ad avoidance in popular and scientific literature (Bang & Lee, 2016;Strong, 2013). Ad avoidance became one of the biggest online marketing challenges in years (Bang & Lee, 2016;Cho & Cheon, 2004; Interactive Advertising Bureau, 2017; A.-R. Jung, 2017). Next to avoiding ads on a cognitive and behavioral level, by ignoring or scrolling past ads, the internet has facilitated avoiding even more by providing mechanical means in the form of ad blockers (A.-R. Jung, 2017;Kelly, Kerr, & Drennan, 2010;Strong, 2013).…”

“…Research has uncovered several predictors of ad avoidance, first in traditional media (Speck & Elliott, 1997), later online on websites (Baek & Morimoto, 2012;Cho & Cheon, 2004) and on social media (Bang & Lee, 2016). As personalization is a defining characteristic of the Facebook platform not only in terms of advertising incomes but also in terms of user experience, it cannot surprise that privacy-related variables are frequently studied and have proven to be important predictors of Facebook ad avoidance (Boerman, Kruikemeier, & Borgesius, 2017;A.-R. Jung, 2017;Kelly et al, 2010;Smit, Van Noort, & Voorveld, 2014).…”

“…However, studies on newspaper (Smit, Neijens, & Heath, 2013;Speck & Elliott, 1997) and web page ad effectiveness (Cho & Cheon, 2004;Duff & Faber, 2011;Ying, Korneliussen, & Grønhaug, 2009) have shown that a second factor, the placement of an advertisement, also has a significant effect on ad exposure, brand evaluations, perceived intrusiveness and ad avoidance, among others. Since the crucial role of ad placement in ad effectiveness on traditional advertising platforms has been proven, it is striking that research on the influence of ad placement on SNS ad evaluations and ad avoidance is still limited (Bang & Lee, 2016;Yu, 2014). Interestingly, in a recent study of Van den Broeck and colleagues (2017), the role of ad placement in determining ad acceptance on SNS was even greater than that of more widely studied privacy-related factors in the context of…”