Covert advertisements, or those that utilize the guise and delivery mechanisms of familiar non-advertising formats, differ from other more direct forms of advertising in several ways that are ...important for understanding users' psychological responses. Research across various covert advertising formats including various forms of sponsored editorial content, other native advertising formats, and product placement has shown that variation consumers' persuasive responses to such messages is largely driven by whether they recognize that such messages are advertising at all. After reviewing the findings of empirical research into covert advertising effects, we present a model of covert advertising recognition effects (CARE) that outlines potential antecedents and processes underlying the recognition of covert advertising, and maps several pathways to persuasive outcomes that are contingent on advertising recognition and perceptions related to the information in and perceived presentation of the advertisement itself.
This experiment with a representative sample of US adults (N = 800) examines the effects of disclosure design characteristics in sponsored news on readers’ ability to recognize such content as paid ...advertising, and examines whether such recognition differently affects perceptions of legacy and digital-first publishers. Although fewer than 1 in 10 participants were able to recognize native advertising, our study shows that effectively designed disclosure labels facilitate recognition. However, participants who did recognize native advertising had lessened opinions of the publisher and the institution of advertising, overall.
The current exploratory research aims to understand adolescent perceptions of credibility and ethical attitudes toward online native advertising (NA), in conjunction with persuasion knowledge, and ...explore how these attitudes might differ in three different cultures: U.S., Turkey and Israel. A survey employing a NA article was administered among adolescents (n = 610). The manipulation examined their ethical attitudes and credibility perceptions toward the NA articles before and after the persuasion knowledge. Findings strengthen research assumptions that most adolescents have encountered NA without recognizing it as persuasive communication. Adolescents find NA articles less credible and less ethical when they are informed about it. Moreover, results show that adolescents in general have a tendency to accept NA as a moral practice, while findings point to significant differences in responses moderated by country of origin.
•Adolescents perceive NA as credible, however after OPK, they perceive it as less credible, but still positive.•Adolescents tend to have positive ethical attitudes toward NA, however after OPK, they perceive it as less ethical, but still positive.•Ethical philosophies can only partly explain participants' ethical attitude toward NA.•Utilitarianism best explains adolescent ethical attitudes toward native advertising.•Country of origin moderates both credibility and ethical attitudes toward native advertising.
An online experiment (N = 931) assessing recognition of and responses to native advertising sought to explore how disclosures affect behavioral intent in digital news contexts. Findings suggest that ...resistance to persuasive attempts conferred by native advertising disclosures is explained by both inoculation and reactance processes and demonstrates how a simple, or generic, disclosure can inoculate people against a type of message (covert advertising mimicking authentic journalism) rather than the content of the message. Furthermore, the attenuating effect of a simple disclosure on behavioral intent is fully and serially mediated through advertising recognition, increased perception of threat to freedom, and increased reactance.
Native advertising and storytelling are both increasingly popular advertising strategies. This research explores the effectiveness of storytelling in a native advertising context on social media. ...While most research recommends the use of stories as a way to build trust and relationships with consumers, the current research suggests that in the form of native ads on social media, narratives may be less effective when compared to informational native ads. Two studies find that even when advertising cues such as disclosure labels and brand presence are prominently located, consumers are less likely to recognize the advertising nature of narrative native ads when compared to informational native ads. Lower levels of advertising recognition are associated with increased perceptions of manipulative intentions by the advertiser, which has a negative influence on consumers' attitudes toward the ad. The findings suggest that native ads that clearly communicate their advertising nature through cues such as an informational execution, high brand presence, and prominent disclosure labeling are more effective than a narrative execution style.
•Informational native ads easier to recognize than narrative native ads.•Bottom right label placement leads to higher recall for informational native ads.•Interaction ameliorates effect of label placement for narrative native ads.•Advertising recognition lowers perceived manipulative intent.
This study explored whether the clarity-enhancing elements and contextual cues in sponsorship disclosures would help (or impede) consumers' recognition and information processing of native ...advertising and, if so, which elements would affect them more or less. A lab experiment using an eye-tracking device was conducted. Various features of the sponsorship disclosure were drawn from the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) disclosure guidelines (e.g., disclosure language, location, repetition, and prominence, including font style, size, color, effects, and background). Findings implied that clear labeling is strongly related to recognition of the commercial nature of the content, whereas clarity enhancers are related to information processing backed by perceptual fluency. In addition, complying with FTC's disclosure guidelines may increase pleasant processing fluency and recognition of the sponsorship disclosure. A recommendation is made for advertising practitioners, publishers, and regulators to avoid an unnecessary stigma toward native advertising.
Although in-feed advertising is popular on mainstream platforms, academic research on it is limited. Platforms typically deliver organic content through two methods: subscription by users or ...recommendation by artificial intelligence. However, little is known about the ad performance between these two channels. This research examines how the performance of in-feed ads, in terms of click-through rates and conversion rates, differs between subscription and recommendation channels and whether these effects are mediated by ad intrusiveness and moderated by ad attributes. Two ad attributes are investigated: ad appeal (informational vs. emotional) and ad link (direct vs. indirect). Study 1 finds that the recommendation channel generates higher click-through rates but lower conversion rates than the subscription channel, and these effects are amplified by informational ad appeal and direct ad links. Study 2 explores channel differences, revealing that the recommendation channel yields less source credibility and content control, reducing consumer engagement with organic content. Studies 3 and 4 validate the mediating role of ad intrusiveness and rule out ad recognition as an alternative explanation. Study 5 uses eye-tracking technology to show that the recommendation channel has lower content engagement, lower ad intrusiveness, and greater ad interest.
•Awareness of paid endorsement is correlated with ad recognition, which is correlated with purchase and eWOM intentions.•Awareness of paid endorsement is correlated with influencer-follower ...relationship, which is associated with purchase and eWOM intentions.•However, ad recognition does not affect influencer-follower relationship.•Disclosure of paid endorsement enhances followers' perceptions of influencer’s openness and transparency.•Perceptions of influencer's openness and transparency could positively affect influencer-follower relationships, and behavioral outcomes.
This study aimed to examine the effects of awareness of paid endorsements by social media influencers on followers’ cognitive persuasion knowledge (ad recognition), attitudinal persuasion knowledge (relationships with the influencer), and behavioral intentions, specifically eWOM intention and purchase intention. Employing an online survey (N = 269), this study found that awareness of paid endorsement relates to ad recognition, which is correlated with purchase and eWOM intentions. We also found that awareness of paid endorsement is correlated with influencer-follower relationship, which is associated with purchase and eWOM intentions. However, ad recognition does not affect influencer-follower relationship. Implications for public relations theory, practice, and policy are discussed.
Sponsored news is a form of native advertising that has engendered much hope as a solution for digital publishing revenue woes, but also much concern about whether the average consumer can discern ...its advertising nature. Recent U.S. federal guidelines and industry recommendations preach clear and conspicuous labeling of sponsored news articles, but little is known about how individual readers interpret these labels, and how their interpretation shapes their understanding of article content. The present study contributes knowledge to the former areas by presenting the results of a between-subjects experiment (N = 343) that tested the effects of four disclosure characteristics (proximity, visual prominence, wording clarity, and logo presence) on recognition of the sponsored content as advertising, and by analyzing the psychological process through which such recognition influences perceptions of the article and the sponsor. The results show that while logo presence and visual prominence increase the odds of recognition, logo presence also increases misperception of the disclosure label as a stand-alone display advertisement. Recognition of the article as advertising led to decreased perceptions of article quality, attitude toward the sponsor, and intent to share the article. A serial mediation analysis shows that the effects of recognition on attitudes and intent to share are primarily mediated through conceptual persuasion knowledge activation and perceived deceptiveness of the article. Implications of these findings for practitioners and for the application of persuasion theories to covert advertising are discussed.
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