A Comparison of Three Interactive Television AD Formats

ABSTRACT

This study explores the effects of interacting with three current interactive television (iTV) ad formats, using an Australian audience panel. Interaction with iTV ads has positive effects on awareness and net positive thoughts, which increase purchase intentions compared with the influence of regular ads. The telescopic format represents the best format, likely because it makes the most of the entertaining possibilities of iTV by offering additional long-form video; its superior performance cannot be explained readily by self-selection effects. The results suggest that the effectiveness of iTV ads should be measured by their interaction rate rather than the much smaller response rate, and iTV advertisers should consider ways to maximize interaction and response rates.

Keywords::

• Interactive digital television
• advertising
• experiment
• interactivity
• self-selection
• telescopic ads

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

This research was supported by the members of the Beyond :30 consortium and the Australasian CRC for Interaction Design, established and supported under the Cooperative Research Centres Program through the Australian Government’s Department of Education, Science and Training. The authors thank the editors and three anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments.

Additional information

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Steven Bellman (Ph.D., University of New South Wales) is an Associate Professor and Deputy Director of the Interactive Television Research Institute at Murdoch University in Perth, Western Australia. E-mail: [email protected].

Anika Schweda (Ph.D., Murdoch University) is a former ITRI Post Doctoral Research Fellow at the Interactive Television Research Institute and currently divides her time between writing papers like this one and looking after baby twins. E-mail: [email protected]

Duane Varan (Ph.D., University of Texas at Austin) is the Director of the Interactive Television Research Institute and holds the inaugural Chair in New Media at Murdoch University. He also oversees Beyond :30, a collaborative industry research project focused on understanding the interactive viewer and exploring emerging models for TV advertising, and is the Executive Director and Chief Research Officer for The Disney Media & Advertising Lab in Austin, Texas. E-mail: [email protected].