Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Psychological Sciences / Laura A. Brannon / Two common types of advertisement avoidance behaviors in digital domains are skipping and zipping. Skipping involves pressing a “skip ad” button when viewing television content online, and zipping involves pressing a fast-forward button when viewing the same content through some type of recording device (e.g. Digital Video Recording device). The purpose of these studies was to examine if specific factors regarding the content of the advertisement, the persuasion context, and characteristics of the viewer reduce occurrences of skipping and zipping behavior. Participants in these two studies saw a combination of television shows and advertisements. One target advertisement marketed a fictional MP3 player while another discussed the dangers of binge drinking. One version each of the MP3 and binge drinking advertisements contained average-looking (i.e. normal) actors, and the other half contained above-average-looking (i.e. attractive) actors. Half of the viewers were allowed to choose which type of advertisements they would watch while the other half were forced to watch a particular type. The results of one study showed that participants were more likely to skip the MP3 advertisement than the binge drinking advertisement after making an advertisement choice when both contained normally attractive actors. These findings demonstrate that the effect of advertisement choice may be more complicated than previously found. Instead of acting as a means to improve avoidance rates, advertisement choice may make the content more salient to participants. Thus, viewers’ perceptions of the advertisement after making an advertisement choice may determine whether avoidance occurs.

Background: Digital advertising has changed the way businesses market their goods or services, providing an attractive approach for clients to interact with content. The rapid growth of digital advertising is also associated with its efficacy and cost-savings measures which have seen an increase in digital ads’ exposure among users. However, this could result in negative attitudes towards adverts leading to ad avoidance as a growing trend. Many users apply self-control strategies to prevent the appearance of digital ads through ad-blocking technologies or subscriptions. This movement of ad avoidance incurs financial costs, and loss of revenue and makes it difficult to impact consumer behavior. Consequently, customer engagement becomes poor since users often find it hard to convince probable buyers not to view commercials therefore destroying the notion that advertising is a tool for promotion.   Purpose: This study explores ad avoidance and consumer choice in digital advertisements. It seeks to determine the influence of ad avoidance on consumers’ alternatives, and how it impacts their attitude, perception, and behavior regarding a particular product or service. The research will integrate what we already know and give recommendations on how marketing strategies can be used to mitigate negative outcomes arising from ad avoidance while increasing the involvement of customers with digital ads. Method: A qualitative method with an abductive approach conducted through semi-structured interviews with a focus group was carried through to examine the behaviors and motivations of people who avoid ads. Conclusion: In this study, the effect of ad avoidance on consumers’ mobile phone decision-making journey was explored. The study focuses on the consumer decision-making journey and its effects on purchase decisions. It is established that consumers consciously shun irritating ads which affect all the stages of the decision-making process. Ad avoidance influences the initial phases such as need recognition, information seeking, and evaluation of alternatives. Moreover, it also investigates advertising types, ad blockers, and people's views toward mobile versus desktop ads. Mainly, it highlights trust in advertising as crucial, especially in influencer marketing, difficulties posed by intrusive mobile advertisements as well as constraints inherent to ad-blockers.

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