Product Type and Spokespersons in Native Advertising – The Role of Congruency and Acceptance

ABSTRACT

This study explored how product type and featured spokesperson affected (a) perceived congruence between a native ad and a social media platform and (b) level of acceptance of the native ad and, in turn, how congruence and acceptance influenced advertising outcomes. The findings revealed that congruence and acceptance positively influence attitude toward the ad, attitude toward the brand, purchase intention, and intention to engage in social media activity. Furthermore, the results showed that the native ad for a self-expressive product that featured a layperson generated the highest levels of congruency. This study also found that perceived congruence between product type and spokesperson moderated the effect of product type on advertising acceptance.

KEYWORDS:

• Native advertising
• acceptance
• congruency
• product type
• spokesperson

Acknowledgments

We express our gratitude to the Guest Editor, Dr. Jooyoung Kim, from the University of Georgia, for his insightful guidance and advice.