Is digital advertising effective under conditions of low attention?

ABSTRACT

A crucial task for digital advertising is to influence choice despite consumers’ lack of attention. Yet, there is little evidence about digital advertising effectiveness or about the source factors that affect consumers under conditions of low attention. Using a mixed factorial experiment, we find clear evidence that digital advertising is effective despite low attention. The results for brand familiarity and product characteristics are more nuanced; the effects are greater for unfamiliar brands, and also for familiar brands that are utilitarian. These findings are encouraging for digital advertisers who may feel released from the imperative to design attention-grabbing advertisements. However, the results also emphasise the need for advertising theory to take better account of low attention and the opportunity to further investigate the circumstances under which low-attention advertising will be most effective.

KEYWORDS:

• Digital advertising
• Twitter
• attention
• familiarity
• hedonic/utilitarian choice

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Daniela Rosenstreich and other colleagues at Massey University for helpful advice and review comments during the early stages of this research.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict was reported by authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Massey University.

Notes on contributors

Irene Santoso

Irene Santoso is PhD candidate in Marketing at Massey University, New Zealand. Her research focuses on digital advertising and consumer choice.

Malcolm Wright

Malcolm Wright is Professor and MSA Charitable Trust Chair in Marketing at Massey University, New Zealand. He applies empirical principles to marketing problems and has made interrelated discoveries about brand loyalty, forecasting, survey research and optimising the advertising budget.

Giang Trinh

Giang Trinh is Senior marketing scientist at Ehrenberg-Bass Institute, University of South Australia. His current research focuses on marketing dynamics and consumer behaviour.

Mark Avis

Mark Avis is Senior lecturer in Marketing at Massey University, New Zealand. Prior to returning to academia, he had a diverse career including a submarine officer in the Royal Navy and working in sales and marketing roles in multinational companies in Europe and Asia-Pacific. He applies critical approaches to theory, and his research interests include the choice of branded products and evolutionary psychology. He also has a personal interest in economics and enjoys modern history.