Nathaniel Evans | The University of Georgia (original) (raw)

Papers by Nathaniel Evans

Research paper thumbnail of Health Self-Efficacy and Health Information Seeking: Exploring Relationships between Source Utilization, Source Trustworthiness, Health Behaviors, and Demographics

Research paper thumbnail of Leveraging influencers to increase HPV vaccination intention: The impact of message framing and health regulatory fit using repeated measures

Health Marketing Quarterly

Research paper thumbnail of How the Impact of Social Media Influencer Disclosures Changes over Time

Journal of Advertising Research

Research paper thumbnail of What Does a Gamer Look Like? A Study of Video Games, Advertising, and Diversity

Research paper thumbnail of Effects of Disclosure, Placement Type, and Ad–Context Congruence on Brand and Advertising Recognition: An Exploration of CARE Model Processing

Journal of Current Issues & Research in Advertising, 2021

Research paper thumbnail of An Interdisciplinary Examination of the Material Effects of Deceptive Sport Beverage Advertisements

Journal of Global Sport Management, 2020

Sport companies frequently make product claims in advertisements to influence consumer purchase d... more Sport companies frequently make product claims in advertisements to influence consumer purchase decisions. Sport beverages, in particular, often tout health benefits and performance claims. Unfortu...

Research paper thumbnail of The Covert Advertising Recognition and Effects (CARE) model: Processes of persuasion in native advertising and other masked formats

International Journal of Advertising, 2019

Covert advertisements, or those that utilize the guise and delivery mechanisms of familiar non-ad... more 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.

Research paper thumbnail of It's Complicated: The 2014-2015 U.S. Measles Outbreak and Parents’ Vaccination Beliefs, Confidence, and Intentions

Risk Analysis, 2018

While it seems intuitive that highly visible vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks should impact ... more While it seems intuitive that highly visible vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks should impact perceptions of disease risk and facilitate vaccination, few empirical studies exist to confirm or dispel these beliefs. This study investigates the impact of the 2014-2015 Disneyland measles outbreak on parents' vaccination attitudes and future vaccination intentions. The analysis relies on a pair of public opinion surveys of American parents with at least one child under the age of six (N = 1,000 across each survey). Controlling for basic demographics, we found higher levels of reported confidence in the safety and efficacy of childhood vaccinations in our follow-up data collection. However, this confidence was also accompanied by elevated levels of concern toward childhood vaccines among American parents. We then examined how different subgroups in the population scored on these measures before and after the outbreak. We found that parents with high levels of interest in the topic of vaccines and a child who is not fully upto date with the recommended vaccination schedule reported more supportive attitudes toward vaccines. However, future intentions to follow the recommended vaccination schedule were not positively impacted by the outbreak. Possible explanations for these results and implications for vaccination outreach are discussed.

Research paper thumbnail of Extending Expectancy Violations Theory to Multiplayer Online Games: The Structure and Effects of Expectations on Attitude Toward the Advertising, Attitude Toward the Brand, and Purchase Intent

Journal of Promotion Management, 2018

This study identified the underlying structure and the dimensional properties of multiplayer onli... more This study identified the underlying structure and the dimensional properties of multiplayer online game (MOG) expectations by adopting expectancy violations theory (EVT) and examined its effects on attitudes and behavioral intention for in-game ads. We found a multi-dimensional structure for MOG expectations consisting of three factors. While each of the expectation factors significantly predicted attitudes toward the advertising, no specific factor predicted purchase intent or brand attitude. Attitudes toward the advertising partially mediated the effects of MOG expectations (centrality, socialness, and features) on brand attitudes and fully mediated the effect of socialness on purchase intent. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.

Research paper thumbnail of Parenting “YouTube Natives”: The Impact of Pre-Roll Advertising and Text Disclosures on Parental Responses to Sponsored Child Influencer Videos

Journal of Advertising, 2018

The Children's Advertising Review Unit's recent press releases involving child influencer unboxin... more The Children's Advertising Review Unit's recent press releases involving child influencer unboxing videos expressed concern that they did not appropriately disclose sponsorship. Placement of preroll advertising was also cited as contributing to the blurring between content and advertising. This study investigated parents' understanding of and responses to sponsored child influencer unboxing videos. We conducted a 2 3 3 online experiment among 418 parents that examined the influence of sponsorship text disclosure (present or absent) and sponsor pre-roll (sponsor pre-roll, nonsponsor pre-roll, and no pre-roll) on conceptual persuasion knowledge, perceptions of sponsorship transparency, and several outcome measures. We also tested the potential moderating variable of parental mediation. We found that sponsor pre-roll advertising positively impacted parents' perceptions of sponsorship transparency, which in turn mediated attitudinal and perceptual outcomes. In addition, high levels of parental mediation conditionally impacted the indirect effect of a sponsor pre-roll advertisement via sponsorship transparency on perceptions of the unboxing video and attitudes toward the sponsor. Based on the findings, we discuss theoretical, managerial, and public policy implications.

Research paper thumbnail of The Role of a Companion Banner and Sponsorship Transparency in Recognizing and Evaluating Article-style Native Advertising

Journal of Interactive Marketing, 2018

Native advertising is a relatively new form of online advertising that matches the format of surr... more Native advertising is a relatively new form of online advertising that matches the format of surrounding non-advertising content. The fact that native advertising blends into its context risks deceiving consumers who may be unaware the content they are viewing is actually advertising. Article-style native advertising, a native ad form that mimics the style of online news articles, is particularly concerning since consumers may not expect advertising to appear in such a format. Such concern is supported by research finding low efficacy of traditional disclosures on article-style native advertisements. We investigate a novel means of increasing ad recognition through the use of companion banner advertising. Across two experiments we demonstrate that inclusion of a companion banner boosts consumer recognition of the paid nature of article-style native advertising to the same degree as a traditional disclosure. In both cases we also find that the negative reactions caused by ad recognition are muted when a native ad is perceived as having higher sponsorship transparency. These effects occur for both familiar and unfamiliar brands. Taken together, results not only detail the efficacy of a new means of achieving adequate disclosure, but also develop greater understanding of how consumers respond to article-style native advertising.

Research paper thumbnail of Disclosing Instagram Influencer Advertising: The Effects of Disclosure Language on Advertising Recognition, Attitudes, and Behavioral Intent

Journal of Interactive Advertising, 2017

ABSTRACT In this study we examined the effect of disclosure language (control/no disclosure, “SP,... more ABSTRACT In this study we examined the effect of disclosure language (control/no disclosure, “SP,” “Sponsored,” and “Paid Ad”) in Instagram-based influencer advertising on ad recognition, brand attitude, purchase intention, and sharing intention among a sample of 237 students. In line with prior research, results indicated that disclosure language featuring “Paid Ad” positively influenced ad recognition, which subsequently interacted with participants' memory of a disclosure and mediated the effect of disclosure language on attitude toward the brand and sharing intention. The findings offer a significant contribution to the literature on consumers' information processing and understanding for new and developing native advertising executions. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.

Research paper thumbnail of What Does a Gamer Look Like? Video Games, Advertising, and Diversity

Television & New Media, 2016

Recent years have seen changes to the video game industry and the image of video game players. Th... more Recent years have seen changes to the video game industry and the image of video game players. There are more games on the market and a larger variety of ways to play those games. Yet, despite market shifts, authors such as Shaw demonstrate that there are still tensions surrounding gamer identification. Even as next-generation systems (such as the Xbox One, the PlayStation 4, and the Wii U) and casual gaming take hold of the market, tension remains between the perceptions of who is playing versus the reality of actual players. In our study, we perform a content analysis of video game commercials in 2013 to explore questions of diversity—particularly in terms of portrayals of the player’s sex and ethnicity—to consider how the gamer is represented in terms of physical and behavioral attributes.

Research paper thumbnail of Activating Parents’ Persuasion Knowledge in Children’s Advergames: Testing the Effects of Advertising Disclosures and Cognitive Load

I thank my fellow doctoral students, candidates, and graduates. I thank my family and my wife for... more I thank my fellow doctoral students, candidates, and graduates. I thank my family and my wife for your love and support.

Research paper thumbnail of Exploring The Impact Of The US Measles Outbreak On Parental Awareness Of And Support For Vaccination

Health affairs (Project Hope), 2016

Despite consensus among health officials that childhood immunizations are a safe and effective me... more Despite consensus among health officials that childhood immunizations are a safe and effective means of protecting people from disease, some parents remain hesitant about vaccinating their children. This hesitancy has been linked to a lack of confidence in recommended vaccinations as well as a desire to delay or further space out scheduled vaccinations but also outright refusal of vaccines. Using two national surveys of parents of children ages five and younger, collected immediately prior to and in the weeks following the 2014-15 US measles outbreak, this study examined the awareness of this vaccine-preventable disease outbreak among parents and whether awareness of the outbreak affected their beliefs about childhood vaccination, confidence, and intentions. The study found that while most parents were aware of the outbreak, many were not, and the level of familiarity mattered, particularly on measures of confidence in vaccines and support for mandates requiring childhood vaccinatio...

Research paper thumbnail of Rethinking the Persuasion Knowledge Model: Schematic Antecedents and Associative Outcomes of Persuasion Knowledge Activation for Covert Advertising

Journal of Current Issues & Research in Advertising, 2015

ABSTRACT

Research paper thumbnail of Pinpointing Persuasion in Children's Advergames: Exploring the Relationship Among Parents’ Internet Mediation, Marketplace Knowledge, Attitudes, and the Support for Regulation

Journal of Interactive Advertising, 2014

ABSTRACT

Research paper thumbnail of Parents' Presumed Persuasion Knowledge of Children's Advergames: The Influence of Advertising Disclosure Modality and Cognitive Load

Journal of Current Issues & Research in Advertising, 2016

Research indicates that parents have a limited understanding of advergames. This study examines t... more Research indicates that parents have a limited understanding of advergames. This study examines the effects of advertising disclosures and cognitive load on parents' activation of persuasion knowledge for a children's advergame. While parents exposed to any advertising disclosure reported higher levels of persuasion knowledge, a single-modality disclosure resulted in more persuasion knowledge activation than a dual-modality disclosure. Additionally, parents who experienced more cognitive load during advergame play reported less persuasion knowledge than parents who experienced less cognitive load. In support of and in contrast to extant literature, our findings offer both theoretical and managerial implications. Advergames embed products and/or product advertising into already existing media platforms or vehicles (Petty and Andrews 2008) and do not delineate between the commercial and program content. As such, advergames may be viewed as a form and extension of covert marketing whereby consumers are exposed "to brands by embedding them into outlets not typically considered advertising terrain" (Wei, Fischer, and Main 2008, 35). Such tactics may inhibit consumer skepticism toward the communication's persuasive intent and serve as an attempt to overcome potential distrust of the message source (Tanaka 1994/1999; Kaikati and Kaikati 2004). With the trend of children ages 6 to 12 years favoring online gaming, it is no surprise that parents' attitudes toward the use of digital technologies, which include the Internet and Internet-capable devices, are seen as positives for family connectedness (eMarketer.com 2013). However, children aren't always under their parents' supervision when online. Children frequently encounter and engage with commercial content found in advergames, which are distinctly different from traditional television advertising and in-game advertising due to their immersive nature (Evans, Carlson, and Hoy 2013). Existing research has demonstrated that children have difficulty understanding the commercial nature of advergames (Mallinckrodt and Mizerski 2007; An and Stern 2011; Owens, Lewis, Auty and Buijzen 2013). However, given the highly integrated commercial and entertainment content in advergames, Evans et al. (2013) state that "adults' recognition of and defense against the persuasive intent in these immersive forms of advertising may also be hindered by the integrated and hidden nature therein" (229). While parents may more closely supervise their child's online time (Eagle 2007) and overestimate their control over such activities online (Livingstone and Bober 2006), "it is unclear how much oversight parents actually give to their children's activities in commercial websites" (Moore and Rideout 2007, 213).

Research paper thumbnail of How sponsorship transparency mitigates negative effects of advertising recognition

International Journal of Advertising, Nov 8, 2018

The proliferation of covert online advertising formats such as advergames has raised concerns abo... more The proliferation of covert online advertising formats such as advergames has raised concerns about consumers' ability to recognize such content as advertising and about how recognition affects evaluative outcomes. The present research utilized an online experiment (N ¼ 179) to examine differences between covertness of advertising format (advergame vs. online video commercials) on advertising recognition, and whether sponsorship transparency mediatesand mitigatesthe negative effects of advertising recognition on attitude toward the ad, attitude toward the brand, and purchase intent. The results show that covertness of advertising format, recognition, and sponsorship transparency all shape consumers' responses to online ads. Specifically, the predicted negative indirect effect of covertness of advertising format on attitudes and behavioral intention via advertising recognition reversed valance when sponsorship transparency was included in the serial mediation model.

Research paper thumbnail of An introduction to the special issue on native and covert advertising formats

International Journal of Advertising, Jan 2, 2020

In recent years, the ubiquity and growth in mobile and online content consumption has fueled the ... more In recent years, the ubiquity and growth in mobile and online content consumption has fueled the proliferation of digital advertising formats. In attempts to engage consumers, advertisers have increasingly turned to formats that may be less clearly delineated to the reader, at least initially, to be content rather than advertising. These formats include, but are not limited to, sponsored content, native advertising, advergames, sponsored social media posts, influencer videos, paid product reviews and blog posts. Industry statistics indicate that the employment of various native or covert executions continue to constitute an increasing share of advertising spend (Emarketer.com 2019) and represent an effective option for advertisers (Business Insider Intelligence 2016). However, a growing body of research indicates that consumer-related benefits are less clear and often contingent upon several factors including but not limited to message-related features (Hwang and Jeong 2019), consumers' ability to recognize the communication as advertising (An, Kerr, and Jin 2018), and potential feelings of deception (Wojdynski 2016). The goal of this special issue is to bring together the subfield of covert advertising research and to highlight the latest developments in the study of covert advertising. The past several decades have seen an increase in scholarship on covert advertising. Google Scholar searches show nearly 4,000 document mentioning native advertising, 5,000 on influencer marketing, 6,000 on advergames, and almost 50,000 on product placement. The various (and continually proliferating) formats for covert advertising afforded by digital Web-based platforms may differ somewhat in their content, in their constraints and affordances, in how they're used by marketers, and in consumers' expectations. However, research conducted on consumer responses to persuasive messages shows that the psychology of consumer responses to such media formats is rather consistent, with consumers' responses being driven by similar characteristics of the message, the consumer, and the situation in which the message is encountered, regardless of covert platform. We believe the seven articles in this special issue present not only a valuable examination of current issues in covert advertising research, but also help move the field forward by identifying key variables, methods, and empirical findings that can shape the next decade of covert advertising research. The first article, from Wojdynski and Evans, proposes a theoretical model outlining key variables that shape consumers' responses to covert advertising. The Covert Advertising Recognition and Effects Model posits that advertising recognition, or consumers' ability to

Research paper thumbnail of Health Self-Efficacy and Health Information Seeking: Exploring Relationships between Source Utilization, Source Trustworthiness, Health Behaviors, and Demographics

Research paper thumbnail of Leveraging influencers to increase HPV vaccination intention: The impact of message framing and health regulatory fit using repeated measures

Health Marketing Quarterly

Research paper thumbnail of How the Impact of Social Media Influencer Disclosures Changes over Time

Journal of Advertising Research

Research paper thumbnail of What Does a Gamer Look Like? A Study of Video Games, Advertising, and Diversity

Research paper thumbnail of Effects of Disclosure, Placement Type, and Ad–Context Congruence on Brand and Advertising Recognition: An Exploration of CARE Model Processing

Journal of Current Issues & Research in Advertising, 2021

Research paper thumbnail of An Interdisciplinary Examination of the Material Effects of Deceptive Sport Beverage Advertisements

Journal of Global Sport Management, 2020

Sport companies frequently make product claims in advertisements to influence consumer purchase d... more Sport companies frequently make product claims in advertisements to influence consumer purchase decisions. Sport beverages, in particular, often tout health benefits and performance claims. Unfortu...

Research paper thumbnail of The Covert Advertising Recognition and Effects (CARE) model: Processes of persuasion in native advertising and other masked formats

International Journal of Advertising, 2019

Covert advertisements, or those that utilize the guise and delivery mechanisms of familiar non-ad... more 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.

Research paper thumbnail of It's Complicated: The 2014-2015 U.S. Measles Outbreak and Parents’ Vaccination Beliefs, Confidence, and Intentions

Risk Analysis, 2018

While it seems intuitive that highly visible vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks should impact ... more While it seems intuitive that highly visible vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks should impact perceptions of disease risk and facilitate vaccination, few empirical studies exist to confirm or dispel these beliefs. This study investigates the impact of the 2014-2015 Disneyland measles outbreak on parents' vaccination attitudes and future vaccination intentions. The analysis relies on a pair of public opinion surveys of American parents with at least one child under the age of six (N = 1,000 across each survey). Controlling for basic demographics, we found higher levels of reported confidence in the safety and efficacy of childhood vaccinations in our follow-up data collection. However, this confidence was also accompanied by elevated levels of concern toward childhood vaccines among American parents. We then examined how different subgroups in the population scored on these measures before and after the outbreak. We found that parents with high levels of interest in the topic of vaccines and a child who is not fully upto date with the recommended vaccination schedule reported more supportive attitudes toward vaccines. However, future intentions to follow the recommended vaccination schedule were not positively impacted by the outbreak. Possible explanations for these results and implications for vaccination outreach are discussed.

Research paper thumbnail of Extending Expectancy Violations Theory to Multiplayer Online Games: The Structure and Effects of Expectations on Attitude Toward the Advertising, Attitude Toward the Brand, and Purchase Intent

Journal of Promotion Management, 2018

This study identified the underlying structure and the dimensional properties of multiplayer onli... more This study identified the underlying structure and the dimensional properties of multiplayer online game (MOG) expectations by adopting expectancy violations theory (EVT) and examined its effects on attitudes and behavioral intention for in-game ads. We found a multi-dimensional structure for MOG expectations consisting of three factors. While each of the expectation factors significantly predicted attitudes toward the advertising, no specific factor predicted purchase intent or brand attitude. Attitudes toward the advertising partially mediated the effects of MOG expectations (centrality, socialness, and features) on brand attitudes and fully mediated the effect of socialness on purchase intent. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.

Research paper thumbnail of Parenting “YouTube Natives”: The Impact of Pre-Roll Advertising and Text Disclosures on Parental Responses to Sponsored Child Influencer Videos

Journal of Advertising, 2018

The Children's Advertising Review Unit's recent press releases involving child influencer unboxin... more The Children's Advertising Review Unit's recent press releases involving child influencer unboxing videos expressed concern that they did not appropriately disclose sponsorship. Placement of preroll advertising was also cited as contributing to the blurring between content and advertising. This study investigated parents' understanding of and responses to sponsored child influencer unboxing videos. We conducted a 2 3 3 online experiment among 418 parents that examined the influence of sponsorship text disclosure (present or absent) and sponsor pre-roll (sponsor pre-roll, nonsponsor pre-roll, and no pre-roll) on conceptual persuasion knowledge, perceptions of sponsorship transparency, and several outcome measures. We also tested the potential moderating variable of parental mediation. We found that sponsor pre-roll advertising positively impacted parents' perceptions of sponsorship transparency, which in turn mediated attitudinal and perceptual outcomes. In addition, high levels of parental mediation conditionally impacted the indirect effect of a sponsor pre-roll advertisement via sponsorship transparency on perceptions of the unboxing video and attitudes toward the sponsor. Based on the findings, we discuss theoretical, managerial, and public policy implications.

Research paper thumbnail of The Role of a Companion Banner and Sponsorship Transparency in Recognizing and Evaluating Article-style Native Advertising

Journal of Interactive Marketing, 2018

Native advertising is a relatively new form of online advertising that matches the format of surr... more Native advertising is a relatively new form of online advertising that matches the format of surrounding non-advertising content. The fact that native advertising blends into its context risks deceiving consumers who may be unaware the content they are viewing is actually advertising. Article-style native advertising, a native ad form that mimics the style of online news articles, is particularly concerning since consumers may not expect advertising to appear in such a format. Such concern is supported by research finding low efficacy of traditional disclosures on article-style native advertisements. We investigate a novel means of increasing ad recognition through the use of companion banner advertising. Across two experiments we demonstrate that inclusion of a companion banner boosts consumer recognition of the paid nature of article-style native advertising to the same degree as a traditional disclosure. In both cases we also find that the negative reactions caused by ad recognition are muted when a native ad is perceived as having higher sponsorship transparency. These effects occur for both familiar and unfamiliar brands. Taken together, results not only detail the efficacy of a new means of achieving adequate disclosure, but also develop greater understanding of how consumers respond to article-style native advertising.

Research paper thumbnail of Disclosing Instagram Influencer Advertising: The Effects of Disclosure Language on Advertising Recognition, Attitudes, and Behavioral Intent

Journal of Interactive Advertising, 2017

ABSTRACT In this study we examined the effect of disclosure language (control/no disclosure, “SP,... more ABSTRACT In this study we examined the effect of disclosure language (control/no disclosure, “SP,” “Sponsored,” and “Paid Ad”) in Instagram-based influencer advertising on ad recognition, brand attitude, purchase intention, and sharing intention among a sample of 237 students. In line with prior research, results indicated that disclosure language featuring “Paid Ad” positively influenced ad recognition, which subsequently interacted with participants' memory of a disclosure and mediated the effect of disclosure language on attitude toward the brand and sharing intention. The findings offer a significant contribution to the literature on consumers' information processing and understanding for new and developing native advertising executions. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.

Research paper thumbnail of What Does a Gamer Look Like? Video Games, Advertising, and Diversity

Television & New Media, 2016

Recent years have seen changes to the video game industry and the image of video game players. Th... more Recent years have seen changes to the video game industry and the image of video game players. There are more games on the market and a larger variety of ways to play those games. Yet, despite market shifts, authors such as Shaw demonstrate that there are still tensions surrounding gamer identification. Even as next-generation systems (such as the Xbox One, the PlayStation 4, and the Wii U) and casual gaming take hold of the market, tension remains between the perceptions of who is playing versus the reality of actual players. In our study, we perform a content analysis of video game commercials in 2013 to explore questions of diversity—particularly in terms of portrayals of the player’s sex and ethnicity—to consider how the gamer is represented in terms of physical and behavioral attributes.

Research paper thumbnail of Activating Parents’ Persuasion Knowledge in Children’s Advergames: Testing the Effects of Advertising Disclosures and Cognitive Load

I thank my fellow doctoral students, candidates, and graduates. I thank my family and my wife for... more I thank my fellow doctoral students, candidates, and graduates. I thank my family and my wife for your love and support.

Research paper thumbnail of Exploring The Impact Of The US Measles Outbreak On Parental Awareness Of And Support For Vaccination

Health affairs (Project Hope), 2016

Despite consensus among health officials that childhood immunizations are a safe and effective me... more Despite consensus among health officials that childhood immunizations are a safe and effective means of protecting people from disease, some parents remain hesitant about vaccinating their children. This hesitancy has been linked to a lack of confidence in recommended vaccinations as well as a desire to delay or further space out scheduled vaccinations but also outright refusal of vaccines. Using two national surveys of parents of children ages five and younger, collected immediately prior to and in the weeks following the 2014-15 US measles outbreak, this study examined the awareness of this vaccine-preventable disease outbreak among parents and whether awareness of the outbreak affected their beliefs about childhood vaccination, confidence, and intentions. The study found that while most parents were aware of the outbreak, many were not, and the level of familiarity mattered, particularly on measures of confidence in vaccines and support for mandates requiring childhood vaccinatio...

Research paper thumbnail of Rethinking the Persuasion Knowledge Model: Schematic Antecedents and Associative Outcomes of Persuasion Knowledge Activation for Covert Advertising

Journal of Current Issues & Research in Advertising, 2015

ABSTRACT

Research paper thumbnail of Pinpointing Persuasion in Children's Advergames: Exploring the Relationship Among Parents’ Internet Mediation, Marketplace Knowledge, Attitudes, and the Support for Regulation

Journal of Interactive Advertising, 2014

ABSTRACT

Research paper thumbnail of Parents' Presumed Persuasion Knowledge of Children's Advergames: The Influence of Advertising Disclosure Modality and Cognitive Load

Journal of Current Issues & Research in Advertising, 2016

Research indicates that parents have a limited understanding of advergames. This study examines t... more Research indicates that parents have a limited understanding of advergames. This study examines the effects of advertising disclosures and cognitive load on parents' activation of persuasion knowledge for a children's advergame. While parents exposed to any advertising disclosure reported higher levels of persuasion knowledge, a single-modality disclosure resulted in more persuasion knowledge activation than a dual-modality disclosure. Additionally, parents who experienced more cognitive load during advergame play reported less persuasion knowledge than parents who experienced less cognitive load. In support of and in contrast to extant literature, our findings offer both theoretical and managerial implications. Advergames embed products and/or product advertising into already existing media platforms or vehicles (Petty and Andrews 2008) and do not delineate between the commercial and program content. As such, advergames may be viewed as a form and extension of covert marketing whereby consumers are exposed "to brands by embedding them into outlets not typically considered advertising terrain" (Wei, Fischer, and Main 2008, 35). Such tactics may inhibit consumer skepticism toward the communication's persuasive intent and serve as an attempt to overcome potential distrust of the message source (Tanaka 1994/1999; Kaikati and Kaikati 2004). With the trend of children ages 6 to 12 years favoring online gaming, it is no surprise that parents' attitudes toward the use of digital technologies, which include the Internet and Internet-capable devices, are seen as positives for family connectedness (eMarketer.com 2013). However, children aren't always under their parents' supervision when online. Children frequently encounter and engage with commercial content found in advergames, which are distinctly different from traditional television advertising and in-game advertising due to their immersive nature (Evans, Carlson, and Hoy 2013). Existing research has demonstrated that children have difficulty understanding the commercial nature of advergames (Mallinckrodt and Mizerski 2007; An and Stern 2011; Owens, Lewis, Auty and Buijzen 2013). However, given the highly integrated commercial and entertainment content in advergames, Evans et al. (2013) state that "adults' recognition of and defense against the persuasive intent in these immersive forms of advertising may also be hindered by the integrated and hidden nature therein" (229). While parents may more closely supervise their child's online time (Eagle 2007) and overestimate their control over such activities online (Livingstone and Bober 2006), "it is unclear how much oversight parents actually give to their children's activities in commercial websites" (Moore and Rideout 2007, 213).

Research paper thumbnail of How sponsorship transparency mitigates negative effects of advertising recognition

International Journal of Advertising, Nov 8, 2018

The proliferation of covert online advertising formats such as advergames has raised concerns abo... more The proliferation of covert online advertising formats such as advergames has raised concerns about consumers' ability to recognize such content as advertising and about how recognition affects evaluative outcomes. The present research utilized an online experiment (N ¼ 179) to examine differences between covertness of advertising format (advergame vs. online video commercials) on advertising recognition, and whether sponsorship transparency mediatesand mitigatesthe negative effects of advertising recognition on attitude toward the ad, attitude toward the brand, and purchase intent. The results show that covertness of advertising format, recognition, and sponsorship transparency all shape consumers' responses to online ads. Specifically, the predicted negative indirect effect of covertness of advertising format on attitudes and behavioral intention via advertising recognition reversed valance when sponsorship transparency was included in the serial mediation model.

Research paper thumbnail of An introduction to the special issue on native and covert advertising formats

International Journal of Advertising, Jan 2, 2020

In recent years, the ubiquity and growth in mobile and online content consumption has fueled the ... more In recent years, the ubiquity and growth in mobile and online content consumption has fueled the proliferation of digital advertising formats. In attempts to engage consumers, advertisers have increasingly turned to formats that may be less clearly delineated to the reader, at least initially, to be content rather than advertising. These formats include, but are not limited to, sponsored content, native advertising, advergames, sponsored social media posts, influencer videos, paid product reviews and blog posts. Industry statistics indicate that the employment of various native or covert executions continue to constitute an increasing share of advertising spend (Emarketer.com 2019) and represent an effective option for advertisers (Business Insider Intelligence 2016). However, a growing body of research indicates that consumer-related benefits are less clear and often contingent upon several factors including but not limited to message-related features (Hwang and Jeong 2019), consumers' ability to recognize the communication as advertising (An, Kerr, and Jin 2018), and potential feelings of deception (Wojdynski 2016). The goal of this special issue is to bring together the subfield of covert advertising research and to highlight the latest developments in the study of covert advertising. The past several decades have seen an increase in scholarship on covert advertising. Google Scholar searches show nearly 4,000 document mentioning native advertising, 5,000 on influencer marketing, 6,000 on advergames, and almost 50,000 on product placement. The various (and continually proliferating) formats for covert advertising afforded by digital Web-based platforms may differ somewhat in their content, in their constraints and affordances, in how they're used by marketers, and in consumers' expectations. However, research conducted on consumer responses to persuasive messages shows that the psychology of consumer responses to such media formats is rather consistent, with consumers' responses being driven by similar characteristics of the message, the consumer, and the situation in which the message is encountered, regardless of covert platform. We believe the seven articles in this special issue present not only a valuable examination of current issues in covert advertising research, but also help move the field forward by identifying key variables, methods, and empirical findings that can shape the next decade of covert advertising research. The first article, from Wojdynski and Evans, proposes a theoretical model outlining key variables that shape consumers' responses to covert advertising. The Covert Advertising Recognition and Effects Model posits that advertising recognition, or consumers' ability to