Young People Respond Favorably to ASMR Ads on YouTube

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Summary

For many college-age consumers, the tingles and relaxing sensations that come from experiencing autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) can be weird and fun, but off-putting when, say, an endorser is too chatty and loud in the video. New research uses these insights to guide marketers and suggest that ASMR ads, typically aired on YouTube and other, non-traditional channels, are more effective at gaining attention than on traditional media.

Author bios:

Susanna S. Lee (im.susannalee@gmail.com) is an assistant professor of advertising and public relations at Temple University. Her research goals focus on understanding how consumers process strategic communication on social media and the effects of emerging trends in advertising technology on consumer behavior. Lee’s past work examined how sponsorship disclosures interact with different persuasive communication strategies, such as two-sided messages, impartiality claims and endorser types, to affect the psychology of message credibility. She has also examined how relaxation-inducing immersive media, such as ASMR, affect people’s well-being, emotions and openness to persuasion.

Huan Chen (huanchen@jou.ufl.edu) is an associate professor and interim chair in the University of Florida’s department of advertising. Her research interests include new media and advertising, product placement, international and cross-cultural advertising and social media and health communication. She has also developed a research line on AI and communication. Chen is the author of “Connecting Virtual World Perception to Real World Consumption: Chinese White-Collar Professionals’ Interpretation of Product Placement in SNSs (VDM Verlag Dr. Müller, 2011)."