Edith G. Smit

Introducing COBRAs: exploring motivations for brand-related social media use

Social media websites such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter provide unlimited means for internet users to interact, express, share and create content about anything, including brands. Such consumers’ online brand-related activities (COBRAs) have significant consequences for firms. To effectively anticipate and direct these consequences, understanding people’s motivations to engage in brand-related social media use is imperative. This article makes a first effort to come to such an understanding. Instant messaging (IM) interviews were conducted with people engaged in COBRAs about their motivations to do so. Reporting motivations for the full spectrum of COBRA types (consuming, contributing and creating), the authors provide marketers and brand managers with valuable insights into consumer behaviour in a social media-dominated era.

The effects of magazine-induced psychological responses and thematic congruence on memory and attitude toward the ad in a real-life setting

Abstract The effects of context-induced psychological responses have primarily been studied in experimental television settings. Contrary to previous research, this study examines the effects of context-induced psychological responses on the processing of magazine advertisements. Furthermore, a real-life survey design was used instead of an experimental design. Test ads were placed in the regular circulation of three magazine titles, and a representative sample of subscribers (n=263) was interviewed face-to-face. In addition to psychological responses, the influence of thematic congruence between magazines and advertisements was studied. Results show that magazine-induced liking and positive feelings had a positive influence on attitude toward the ad. Furthermore, thematically congruent advertisements were better remembered than incongruent advertisements.

A New Branch of Advertising: Reviewing Factors That Influence Reactions to Product Placement

ABSTRACT This literature review presents a quantitative synthesis of 57 studies on product placement and shows which factors are most effective. It shows that placement characteristics, such as placement commerciality, modality, and prominence, have a strong impact on audience reactions. Audience characteristics, such as attitudes and beliefs about brand placement, advertising, and media, also shape audience reactions to brand placement. Advertising and psychological theories provide valuable explanations for the majority of the effects. However, the authors call for development of theories on capacity constraints and implicit processing as these can explain effects that are specific to brand placement.

Readers' Reactions to Mixtures of Advertising and Editorial Content in Magazines

Abstract This article focuses on reactions toward two mixtures of advertising and editorial content in magazines, namely theme features and advertorials. A survey among subscribers (n=316) to five different magazines showed that the most editorial mixture generated the most attention, appreciation, and acceptance. Furthermore, audience reactions toward mixtures were influenced by the perceived authority and informational value of the magazines. The findings did not substantiate concerns that have been expressed in the literature about the misleading character of these subtle forms of advertising. Intertwining of advertising and editorial content appears to be a promising format for advertisers and publishers.

Effects of eHealth interventions on medication adherence: a systematic review of the literature.

Background Since medication nonadherence is considered to be an important health risk, numerous interventions to improve adherence have been developed. During the past decade, the use of Internet-based interventions to improve medication adherence has increased rapidly. Internet interventions have the potential advantage of tailoring the interventions to the needs and situation of the patient. Objective The main aim of this systematic review was to investigate which tailored Internet interventions are effective in improving medication adherence. Methods We undertook comprehensive literature searches in PubMed, PsycINFO, EMBASE, CINAHL, and Communication Abstracts, following the guidelines of the Cochrane Collaboration. The methodological quality of the randomized controlled trials and clinical controlled trials and methods for measuring adherence were independently reviewed by two researchers. Results A total of 13 studies met the inclusion criteria. All included Internet interventions clearly used moderately or highly sophisticated computer-tailored methods. Data synthesis revealed that there is evidence for the effectiveness of Internet interventions in improving medication adherence: 5 studies (3 high-quality studies and 2 low-quality studies) showed a significant effect on adherence; 6 other studies (4 high-quality studies and 2 low-quality studies) reported a moderate effect on adherence; and 2 studies (1 high-quality study and 1 low-quality study) showed no effect on patients’ adherence. However, most studies used self-reported measurements to assess adherence, which is generally perceived as a low-quality measurement. In addition, we did not find a clear relationship between the quality of the studies or the level of sophistication of message tailoring and the effectiveness of the intervention. This might be explained by the great difference in study designs and the way of measuring adherence, which makes results difficult to compare. There was also large variation in the measured interval between baseline and follow-up measurements. Conclusion This review shows promising results on the effectiveness of Internet interventions to enhance patients’ adherence to prescribed long-term medications. Although there is evidence according to the data synthesis, the results must be interpreted with caution due to low-quality adherence measurements. Future studies using high-quality measurements to assess medication adherence are recommended to establish more robust evidence for the effectiveness of eHealth interventions on medication adherence.

Segmentation based on affinity for advertising

ABSTRACT Investigates the utility of the concept of the Affinity for Advertising by asking three questions: What is Affinity for Advertising? To what extent do people differ in their Affinity for Advertising in different Media? Do people who differ in their Affinity for Advertising also differ in their behavioral reactions towards advertising. A positive answer to the final question is essential if the concept is to be useful for media planners. Based on a nationwide survey in the Netherlands, the article concludes that Affinity for Advertising is a promising concept for segmenting the audience within the context of media planning.

Opening the black box: Understanding cross-media effects

Despite their popularity, the reasons why cross-media campaigns are more successful than single medium campaigns are still unknown. Therefore, the aim of this study is (a) to investigate which psychological processes are present when people are exposed to cross-media campaigns, and (b) to examine to what extent these processes contribute to campaign results. Three psychological processes are investigated to gain insight into the effectiveness of cross-media campaigns: forward encoding (i.e., the ad in the first medium primes interest in the ad in the second medium); image transfer (i.e., mentally replaying the ad previously viewed during exposure to the ad in the second medium); and multiple source perception (i.e., believing the brand is good and popular because of the amount of advertising). To identify the role of these processes, 219 participants were exposed to one of four media conditions (two cross-media conditions and two repeated media conditions). The results showed that two processes were present when participants were exposed to the cross-media combinations: forward encoding and multiple source perception. We also found support for the hypothesis that these two processes contributed to campaign results. However, the third process, image transfer, was present in all conditions and did not add to the explanation of cross-media effects.

How media factors affect audience responses to brand placement

This study investigates the influence of media factors on brand placement effects in a real-life setting. Although many studies on brand placement have been conducted, insights into context effects on brand placement reactions are scarce. The impact of objective and subjective media context factors is studied for brands placed in four different television shows. Drawing on a survey of 1195 viewers, we found that genre, programme attitude and the programme’s informational value had positive effects on brand placement reactions. These results support theories on ‘spillover effects’ and media gratifications. The effect of genre on viewers’ behaviour was partially mediated by the programme’s perceived informational value. This study shows the importance of context factors in brand placement effects.

Today's practice of brand placement and the industry behind it

This article presents a content analysis of brand placement on Dutch television, followed by 24 interviews with the parties involved. By combining a content analysis and a practitioners’ perspective, this article offers unique insights into the increasingly popular phenomenon of integrating advertising into television content. Analysis of one week’s television programming showed that programmes with brand placement are growing into a significant part of Dutch television. A fifth of these sponsored programmes can be classified as brand-integrated programmes in which brands are an intrinsic part of the programme. The practitioner interviews showed that these brand-integrated programmes were considered as the future of advertising. Moreover, the interviews gave insights into the mutual relationships between the different parties, showing that practitioners use the law restrictions to estimate the acceptance levels of the audience with respect to television sponsoring.

A typology of consumer strategies for resisting advertising, and a review of mechanisms for countering them

This article presents a typology of the different ways in which consumers resist advertising, and the tactics that can be used to counter or avoid such resistance. It brings together literatures from different fields of study, including advertising, marketing, communication science and psychology. Although researchers in these subfields have shown a substantial interest in (consumer) resistance, these streams of literature are poorly connected. This article aims to facilitate the exchange of knowledge, and serve as a starting point for future research. Our ACE typology distinguishes three types of resistance strategies: Avoiding, Contesting, and Empowering. We introduce these strategies, and present research describing advertising tactics that may be used to neutralize each of them.