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June 2021 (Vol. 61, Issue 2)

Consumers’ Response to Format Characteristics in Native Advertising: The Interaction between Format Similarity and Format Novelty
The key characteristic of native advertising is that it simulates the format of the editorial content. This research by Yoori Hwang (Myongji University-Seoul) and Se-Hoon Jeong, (Korea University-Seoul) examined how format similarity—the extent to which the format of an ad is similar to the format of the editorial content—affects people’s responses to that ad. It also explored whether the effects differ by format novelty, the extent to which the format of the editorial content is either novel or familiar to consumers. Previous research in this area has had mixed results, the authors noted.

They asked:

  • How does format similarity influence consumers’ responses to an ad (i.e. advertising recognition, advertising evaluations and click intention)?
  • How does format novelty influence consumers’ responses to an ad (i.e.advertising recognition, advertising evaluations and click intention)?
  • Are the effects of format similarity moderated by format novelty?

In their experiment involving a panel of 311 Korean participants, Hwang and Jeong manipulated format novelty by varying the format of the surrounding news articles. Participants in the high-novelty condition were shown content in a CNN mobile web format (big image box over a small text box—a format not used by Korean websites). Those in the low-novelty condition were shown editorial content in a familiar format (Naver—a popular online Korean platform). Across all the experimental conditions, the ad featured was a fictitious mouthwash brand called Gargle Fresh.

Among the findings:

  • Format similarity induces greater deceptive perceptions.
  • Format novelty induces lower advertising recognition, lower perceived irritation and greater click intention.
  • There is a significant interaction between format similarity and format novelty. The negative impact of format similarity on perceived irritation only occurred when format novelty was low, not when it was high.

Read the full article here.