Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1982. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 184-192).

The past decade has endorsed an extensive adjustment in social media marketing characterized by a fluctuation toward influencer marketing. Despite the many beneficial outcomes of influencer marketing, the operation of the phenomenon has received criticism from organizations, including the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) as well as the Swedish equivalent Konsumentverket, regarding how sponsorships are being disclosed on social media platforms. The purpose of this study is to examine how consumers’ advertising recognition is affected by the way influencers design their sponsorship disclosures in Instagram stories using the tools provided by Instagram’s own UI. The study used a mixed-methods approach, with a survey used to gather empirical data which was then analyzed using descriptive and thematic analysis. In the survey, participants were presented with five different fictive Instagram stories featuring sponsorship disclosures created by influencers using Instagram's own UI, with each scenario examining how different disclosure approaches affect consumer advertising recognition. The findings revealed that varied sponsorship disclosure practices generated different levels of advertising recognition depending on three factors: position, language, and visual prominence, with visual prominence being the most influential factor on advertising recognition. The study also looked into the efficacy of Instagram’s built-in disclosure tool and whether it was successful in generating advertising recognition. Although opinions were mixed, several participants believed that the tool did not produce enough advertising recognition and that it should be improved. Further, there is a need to achieve a better level of standardization regarding sponsorship disclosures on social media platforms.