Cultivating consumer resilience: understanding and navigating adolescents’ responses to intrusive advertising

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this study is to show that as technologies expand the personalization capabilities of advertisers and that intrusive ad formats online and in mobile contexts raise privacy and control concerns, this emerging area requires better understanding. Design/methodology/approach The model tests antecedents and outcomes of advertising intrusion based on surveys of 170 respondents and structural equation modeling. Personalized mobile ads, privacy concerns and perceived vulnerability heighten intrusion, leading to resistance behaviors like avoiding ads and negative brand attitudes. Findings The findings offer several practical implications for marketers targeting youth to balance relevance with transparency in personalized communications to avoid irritation that damages brand perceptions and relationships. The authors believe the article contributes uniquely to the literature at the intersection of interactive marketing technologies, privacy concerns and adolescent consumers – an impactful yet understudied demographic. The rigorous methodology also advances knowledge of advertising intrusion phenomena. Research limitations/implications As with all research, it is important to recognize the limitations of this work that can be taken advantage of in future avenues of research. Firstly, the authors did not consider demographic variables, such as gender, and psychographic variables (lifestyle, personality, etc.), as factors that may influence advertising intrusiveness. Secondly, the authors limited the consequences of intrusion to the variable resistance over time, since several consequences can be studied in this context. Further investigations may remedy those limitations by integrating additional variables into the models, as well as resistance proxies. Besides, a new path for research would consider a breakdown of the age range of teenagers, i.e. the beginning, the middle and the late teenage years. Practical implications The discoveries from this study have significant implications for marketers and organization. The authors therefore recommend that companies commit to creating value through personalization and implement techniques to reduce consumers’ privacy concerns “personalizing mobile advertising involves several important aspects including choosing the right target market, sending users relevant and wanted information and creating personalized advertising contents” (Wang et al., 2019). One way forward, in an environment that will be even more connected in the future, is for companies to request only the data that is relevant and necessary for the smooth running of their business and to integrate privacy practices into their operations. Originality/value This research can contribute to the development of a theory on the role of advertising intrusion in shaping adolescent behavior. The research model has enabled us to deduce the impact of personalization on the perception of an advertising intrusion, providing us with information on the importance of elements provided by the company, such as the importance of the characteristics and beliefs of the adolescent consumer, i.e. perceived privacy concerns and risks, in deciding whether or not to participate in personalization. The conclusions of the study therefore highlight the need for companies to adapt their marketing strategy to remain consistent with new expectations, i.e. to conceive personalization and privacy as two consubstantial issues.