Future States

• Targets & Segments
• Article

Discover the Future of Advertising through Immersive Technologies

• Journal of Advertising Research

Immersive technologies, including augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and mixed realities (MR), are expected to become increasingly important in advertising. These technologies create extended realities (XR) that enhance consumer engagement and provide new opportunities for marketers. While the fully immersive “metaverse” is still in development, platforms like Fortnite, Roblox and Zepeto already provide touchpoints where consumers connect physical and virtual realities.

Despite the potential of immersive technologies to transform advertising, there are challenges in effectively deploying them within communication strategies. Limited knowledge on how to use specific technologies or combinations of technologies to achieve different promotional objectives, siloed research on AR and VR applications, and the infancy of these research areas are some of the key challenges. This special issue of the Journal of Advertising Research addresses these challenges and provides insights into the future of immersive technologies in advertising.

• Targets & Segments
• Article

Immersive Advertising through Co-Creation: Lessons from the Visitor Economy

• Journal of Advertising Research

Immersive advertising leverages technologies like virtual reality, augmented reality and the metaverse to create engaging and multisensory experiences for users. This study explores how these technologies can enhance customer engagement and drive purchase intentions by providing vivid mental imagery and interactive experiences. By integrating physical and virtual realms, businesses can create seamless customer journeys and maximize value creation.

The study highlights the effectiveness of immersive advertising in the visitor economy, using examples from the Coachella festival and Emirates Airline. These case studies demonstrate how immersive technologies can attract and engage audiences, ultimately converting virtual interactions into real-world purchases.

• Analytics & Data Science
• Article

The Unintended Consequences of Behavior-Based Pricing under Informed Privacy Consent

• MSI

Explore the implications of informed privacy consent on behavior-based pricing (BBP) with this new MSI working paper. It highlights how privacy regulations requiring consumer consent before data collection impact pricing strategies and consumer surplus. The research finds that while informed consent empowers consumers, it paradoxically reduces overall consumer surplus by reducing the potential benefits of customized offers.

The study also reveals that firms can achieve higher profits by offering rewards for privacy consent, despite the associated costs. This underscores the complexity of privacy regulations and their unintended consequences on market dynamics and consumer welfare.

• Targets & Segments
• Article

Lower AI Literacy Predicts Greater Receptivity to AI this Study Finds

• MSI

The study explores the relationship between consumers' AI literacy and their receptivity to this emerging technology. What is AI literacy you ask? This refers to a person's degree of objective knowledge about AI, while receptivity refers to the extent to which a consumer is interested in having AI complete tasks. The study finds that contrary to popular belief, people with lower AI literacy exhibit greater receptivity towards AI-based products and services. What’s more, this relationship persists across a broad range of receptivity measures.

The research offers both theoretical and practical contributions. Theoretically, it contributes to the growing literature on psychological responses to AI, by focusing on understanding whether systematic differences across individuals predict differences in AI receptivity. Practically, the results suggest that attempts to increase the adoption of AI-based products and services through targeting consumers with greater AI literacy or increasing knowledge of AI may not be the most effective.

• Targets & Segments
• Article

Current Opportunities and Challenges VR Presents for Advertisers

• Journal of Advertising Research

Before the resurgence in interest in AI, virtual reality was the technology everyone was excited about. Despite the hype, advertisers have been slow to adopt VR environments. Why is this? This study, which was recently made available early online on the Journal of Advertising Research’s website, explores the potential and challenges of VR environments for advertising in its current state.

Widespread adoption has stalled, the study finds, due to obstacles such as limited reach, anticipated lack of ROI, lack of technical expertise and poor interoperability. However, the metaverse offers unique opportunities for advertisers, leaving a sort of resonating impact that other media cannot convey, because they do not engage the user in as immersive an experience as VR offers.

• Creative & Branded Content
• Article

Are Virtual Influencers More Effective in Real-World Settings?

• Journal of Advertising Research

Virtual influencers are computer-generated personas that engage with audiences on social media and in the metaverse. This study explores whether virtual influencers are more effective in advertising when they include real-world elements, such as interacting with real humans or endorsing real-world products. The research is grounded in the Computers Are Social Actors (CASA) framework and investigates how social cues and product types influence consumer perceptions of authenticity and attitudes toward both the influencer and the brand.

The findings suggest that virtual influencers are perceived as more authentic and favorable when they are shown alongside real humans and endorse real-world products. This perceived authenticity positively impacts consumer attitudes toward the virtual influencer and the brand, providing valuable insights for advertisers looking to leverage virtual influencers in their marketing strategies.

More analysis and the full study is available to ARF members.

• Audience & Media Measurement
• Article

Using AI to Revolutionize Generational Consumer Research

• MSI

This study explores the potential of generative AI, specifically large language models (LLMs) and multimodal models (LMMs), to revolutionize generational study within consumer research. It examines how these advanced AI tools can enhance various stages of the research process, from idea generation to reporting.

• Targets & Segments
• Article

How Virtual Mirrors Influence Attitudes about Beauty Products

• Journal of Advertising Research

Augmented reality holds much promise for advertising. However, little research has investigated the impact of it or virtual mirrors in advertising. This study, recently published in the Journal of Advertising Research, focuses on how self-referencing, self-awareness, self-focused attention and self–brand relationships affect consumer attitudes and purchase intentions within this new virtual frontier. The research highlights the potential of augmented reality to enhance consumer engagement and satisfaction by allowing users to visualize products on themselves in real-time.

The authors conducted a laboratory experiment with university students to investigate the effects of viewing perspectives, types of endorsements and the use of beauty filters in virtual mirrors. The findings suggest that while virtual mirrors can enhance product attitudes, they do not significantly influence purchase intentions. The study provides valuable insights for marketers on tailoring augmented reality advertising strategies to different cultural contexts.

More analysis and the full study is available to ARF members.

• Research & Data Quality
• Article

ARF Attention Measurement Validation Initiative: Phase 2 Report (2nd Edition)

• ARF ORIGINAL RESEARCH

Explore the latest findings from the ARF Attention Measurement Validation Initiative. The phase two report is a comprehensive examination of various attention measurement methods used in creative testing. It concludes with reflections on the challenges of attention measurement, as well as some suggestions for advertisers on how to choose and evaluate attention measurement providers.

• Research & Data Quality
• Article

The ARF Member AI Workshop

The ARF Member AI workshop introduced members to the potentialities of various AI platforms and tools to boost their work productivity. The workshop covered how LLMs such as Copilot, ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude can be employed in three main areas: presentations and reports, advertising research and meetings. Issues such as privacy and security of using AI, as well as the current limitations and challenges of the technology were also discussed. The hands-on, interactive workshop was an opportunity for all those interested in best practices and guidelines for using AI to learn how to interweave such programs into their daily work processes.