Marketing Theses and Dissertations

Permanent URI for this collection

https://hdl.handle.net/1794/8830

Browse

Browsing Marketing Theses and Dissertations by Author "Henderson, Conor"

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    A Broad and Multifaceted Examination of Advertising in News on Ad Performance
    (University of Oregon, 2024-01-10) Canfield, Jessica; Henderson, Conor
    Advertising media planners worry that the negative content in news media creates an inhospitable advertising context. The present research investigates if this concern is well founded. I find that advertisements placed in news media can actually outperform advertisements placed in entertainment media (e.g., dramas, comedies, sports, etc.) because news media attracts audiences in a mental state that is more receptive to advertisements’ informational content. This advantage is fragile, however. Upsetting news can spoil the audiences’ information appetite, their eagerness to consume and readiness to digest information. Analysis of Nielsen television viewership data for the weeks surrounding the 2016 United States Presidential Election merged with Google Trends search activity data for advertised brands reveals effects of brand advertisement viewership on brand search that are consistent with these propositions. Advertising viewership effect sizes are the smallest for ads on entertainment media, especially around the election, presumably because entertainment viewers sought to escape, rather than consume, information. The relatively more positive advertising effects on news disappeared around the election for liberal news channels, presumably because shocking election results ruined Democrats’ information appetite. Two preregistered controlled studies bolster confidence in these interpretations and inform the advertising and news industries’ partnership. A series of theory-in-use based interviews affirms the opportunities news provides as an advertising context and highlights the potential negative consequences of news avoidance strategies. These findings support of the importance of understanding news as advertising context with implications for advertisers, news publishers and providers, and consumers.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Depth of Self-Disclosure for Social Media Influencers: Tensions and Tradeoffs
    (University of Oregon, 2024-08-07) Kim, Woocheol; Henderson, Conor
    Social media influencers wrestle with the decision of how much to disclose about their personal lives. Must attention and financial opportunities come at the cost of privacy? Do risks from being personally vulnerable at least come with rewards? The present research investigates consumers’ responses to influencers’ depth of disclosure on social media. To do so, I adopt a multi-method research approach that incorporates data from controlled experiments, automated text analysis of social media posts, and qualitative theory-in-use interviews. With experiments, I find that greater disclosure is associated with being more relatable, but less aspirational, which combine for offsetting overall effects on influencer endorsement-ability. Consistent with these offsetting effects, text analysis of influencer social media posts reveals a nonlinear, curvilinear effect of depth of disclosure in a social media post on post evaluations (i.e., likes, retweets, comments). Interviews with social media influencers reveal a desire to present themselves as “whole” “well-rounded” people while also protecting their privacy. These influencers note that many brands push them to make posts very personal, but they question whether this is even necessary. My findings suggest these influencers’ intuition is correct, and the brands should not prescribe influencers to be overly personal and risk “over-sharing.” Theoretically, the research contributes to influencer marketing by highlighting the dual importance of relatable and aspirational qualities while showing that the two are balanced against each other, at least in relation to depth of disclosure.