Hyejin Bang

Distraction effects of contextual advertising on online news processing: an eye-tracking study

ABSTRACT Although recent scholarship has shown that congruency between editorial content and display advertising on web pages can lead to favourable outcomes for the advertiser, it is unclear whether these gains for advertisers come at the expense of users’ ability to process the content. To examine whether contextual in-page advertising distracts users during information processing, a 2 (target message argument type: weak/strong) × 2 (ad relevance: high/low) between-subjects factorial experiment (N = 99) examined how readers of a news article about risks associated with texting while driving (a) paid attention to the article, (b) paid attention to the advertisements, and (c) were persuaded by the article contents. Participants’ visual attention was captured unobtrusively using a device-mounted eye-tracking device. The findings show that readers were more likely to be persuaded by weaker arguments when the article was presented alongside highly relevant display ads than when the article was presented alongside less relevant ads. Readers also paid greater attention to relevant ads than irrelevant ads, and, surprisingly, readers in the strong argument condition paid more attention to the story content when it was presented alongside relevant ads. The implications for theories of visual attention and for online content publishers are discussed.

Picture This: The Influence of Emotionally Valenced Images, On Attention, Selection, and Sharing of Social Media News

ABSTRACT Social media platforms have become the primary conduits to news for many consumers, yet little is known about how the content in social media posts is viewed and evaluated by consumers or how it shapes their decisions about selecting and sharing this information. A within-subjects eye-tracking experiment (N = 60), was conducted to examine the influence of image presence and valence on attention to and engagement with news stories on social media. Participants viewed a series of 29 social media posts of news stories, each of which was either paired with no image, a positively valenced image, or a negatively valenced image. Participants attention to the images was captured via eye tracking, and they answered dependent measures to gauge level of emotion and arousal, and intention to click and share. The results show that posts containing positive images elicited a higher level of visual attention than those with negative or no images, which led to higher intentions to click and share posts with positive images. The results provide a deeper understanding of the importance of images in driving news consumption, and offer practical implications for journalists, news organizations and groups using social media to spread a message.

Extending Expectancy Violations Theory to Multiplayer Online Games: The Structure and Effects of Expectations on Attitude Toward the Advertising, Attitude Toward the Brand, and Purchase Intent

Abstract This study identified the underlying structure and the dimensional properties of multiplayer online game (MOG) expectations by adopting expectancy violations theory (EVT) and examined its effects on attitudes and behavioral intention for in-game ads. We found a multi-dimensional structure for MOG expectations consisting of three factors. While each of the expectation factors significantly predicted attitudes toward the advertising, no specific factor predicted purchase intent or brand attitude. Attitudes toward the advertising partially mediated the effects of MOG expectations (centrality, socialness, and features) on brand attitudes and fully mediated the effect of socialness on purchase intent. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.

Exploring the effects of ad-task relevance and ad salience on ad avoidance: The moderating role of internet use motivation

Abstract This study explores the effects of ad-task relevance and ad salience on ad avoidance. Through structural equation modeling (N = 555), significant effects of ad-task relevance and ad salience on ad avoidance were found, and these relationships were mediated by ad engagement and perceived goal impediment. This study also found that Internet use motivation moderated the overall relationships of a proposed construct. The results show that ad-task relevance had more influence on ad avoidance in the information-seeking motivation, while ad salience was the stronger driver of ad avoidance in the entertainment-seeking motivation. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.

The Effect of Completeness Perception in Narrative Advertising: An Abstract

The current study posits that perceived length of the video ad might be incongruent with the actual length of the video ad, and thus, it might be more influential to viewer’s reaction. This study will examine the effect of the completeness of the narrative ad on viewer’s perception and attitudinal responses to the ad in the context of online video advertising. We expect that viewers would perceive that incomplete ads are always shorter than complete ads, regardless of their relative lengths. Further, we predict that this perception affects viewer’s attitude toward the ad contrarily depending on the context of ad presentation. Specifically, people would prefer a complete ad to an incomplete ad when the ad is presented independently, while people would prefer an incomplete ad to a complete ad when the ads are presented contextually in media content. However, the effect of completeness on people’s attitude toward the ad will be eliminated when the actual amount of ad time is explicitly provided.

Examining Emotional Blunting Phenomenon in Advertising: An Abstract

Although previous context effect literature has confirmed the mood congruence effect, this study attempts to examine the emotional blunting phenomenon that could possibly occur between same valence emotions when the emotions have a different appraisal. Building on the appraisal tendency framework and emotional blunting hypothesis, this study aims to investigate how an existing discrete emotion (i.e., anger, disgust, or pride) elicited from a media context blunts or augments subsequent emotional experiences (i.e., sadness or empathy) elicited by a commercial that follows. The findings of the study will not only contribute to the theory of advertising context effect but also provide a useful guide to help practitioners implement a proper ad placement.