Snezhanka Kazakova

Can't see the forest for the trees? The effect of media multitasking on cognitive processing style

Media multitasking represents an important aspect of the recent evolution in media consumption habits. While some experimental research exists, it has primarily focused on the detrimental effects of multitasking on task performance. We go a step further by examining the impact of media multitasking on information processing style. Study I demonstrates that media multitasking, compared to sequential media consumption, leads to a more local perceptual processing style. Furthermore, the frequency of media switching predicts the level of perceptual processing. Study II extends these findings by showing that media multitasking also affects conceptual processing style. Specifically, media multitasking leads to lower-level (or more concrete) construal of behaviors in a subsequent task. It further shows that conceptual rather than visual switching between media drives the observed differences in conceptual processing. These findings suggest that, as a growing phenomenon, media multitasking behavior may substantially alter the way media viewers process media content.

Impact of flow on recognition of and attitudes towards in-game brand placements: Brand congruence and placement prominence as moderators

This study investigates the moderating influences of brand congruence and placement prominence on the impact of game-evoked flow on cognitive and affective outcomes for in-game brand placements. In two studies, the authors demonstrate that experiencing flow while gaming tends to contribute positively to affective outcomes, leading to more positive brand attitudes, but it has no impact on cognitive processing or brand recognition. In particular, brand congruence moderates the impact of flow, leading to more positive brand attitudes and brand recognition. Brand prominence moderates the impact of flow only on brand recognition, not on brand attitudes. These findings offer several implications, limitations and directions for further research.

Media Convergence and Media Multitasking

The present chapter focuses on media multitasking—a phenomenon that represents a current shift in media use behavior, following the recent trends towards technological and media convergence. In the first part we discuss the nature and scope of the phenomenon, reporting scientific findings on the prevalence and antecedents of media multitasking. In the second part we outline the implications of this shift in media use behavior for the cognitive processing of media content, relying on theoretical insights from cognitive psychology as well as existing experimental research within the field of media multitasking. Lastly, we identify potential threats and opportunities for media planning and marketing communication in view of the limited experimental data available.

The Effect of Flow on Implicit Memory of In-Game Brand Placements

The sharp increase in exposure to traditional advertising, its declining effectiveness (Jaffe, 2005), along with technological innovations such as the DVR, have forced professionals to shift their focus to alternative forms of advertising (Bernoff, 2007; Voorhoof, 2007). On a quest to successfully capture the ever more elusive attention of the consumer, advertisers have began to rely on more subtle advertising strategies such as product placement in entertainment media. Product placement is most commonly defined as the ‘paid inclusion of branded products or brand identifiers, through audio and/or visual means, within mass media programming’ (Karrh, 1998: 33).