People usually have favorable evaluations when incoming information matches with their self view, which has been evidenced in cross-cultural research on advertisement appeals. However, the current paper demonstrates a counterintuitive finding in a retailing context. Results show that when an interdependent self-construal is made salient situationally, individually focused persuasion attempts (i.e. uniqueness) have a more positive impact on consumers’ trustworthiness toward the salesclerk and need for uniqueness than interpersonally focused persuasion attempts (i.e. connectedness). However, when an independent self-construal is activated situationally, persuasion attempts used by a salesclerk have no influence on consumers’ perceptions of trustworthiness toward the salesclerk and need for uniqueness. Five studies are presented that test these propositions and investigate their underlying processes. Study 1 conducted in Canada supported the hypothesized effects. Study 2 provided evidence for the robustness of the effect observed in Study 1 by conducting a similar experiment in China. Study 3, a field study, further supported the propositions when measuring self-construal as an individual difference. Study 4 provided support for the proposed underlying mechanism. That is, the observed effect in Study 1, 2 & 3 is due to persuasion knowledge through deliberate processing. Study 5 extended this result by recruiting participants from four different countries (France, Canada, China, and Israel).

People usually have favorable evaluations when incoming information matches with their self view, which has been evidenced in cross-cultural research on advertisement appeals. However, the current paper demonstrates a counterintuitive finding in a retailing context. Results show that when an interdependent self-construal is made salient situationally, individually focused persuasion attempts (i.e. uniqueness) have a more positive impact on consumers’ trustworthiness toward the salesclerk and need for uniqueness than interpersonally focused persuasion attempts (i.e. connectedness). However, when an independent self-construal is activated situationally, persuasion attempts used by a salesclerk have no influence on consumers’ perceptions of trustworthiness toward the salesclerk and need for uniqueness. Five studies are presented that test these propositions and investigate their underlying processes. Study 1 conducted in Canada supported the hypothesized effects. Study 2 provided evidence for the robustness of the effect observed in Study 1 by conducting a similar experiment in China. Study 3, a field study, further supported the propositions when measuring self-construal as an individual difference. Study 4 provided support for the proposed underlying mechanism. That is, the observed effect in Study 1, 2 & 3 is due to persuasion knowledge through deliberate processing. Study 5 extended this result by recruiting participants from four different countries (France, Canada, China, and Israel).

Master of Science / Department of Journalism and Mass Communications / Louise Benjamin / The video news release (VNR) has been a source of controversy since its first inclusion into newscasts in the early 1980s. This third-party (not produced by a news station) public relations and marketing-friendly content, when included alongside normally produced news stories, can make it difficult for the public to discern what is news and what is not. Problems specifically arise when news operations fail to disclose to their audience the source or provider of VNR content, and prevent news consumers from evaluating the legitimacy or intent of a VNR. A 4 (source disclosure cue: audio, video, combination of the two, and none) x 2 (source agent type: biased or neutral) experiment was implemented within this study to better understand audience evaluations, post exposure to a source disclosure cue, of the credibility of a news operation that implements VNRs within their broadcast. Disclosure cues were also evaluated for their effectiveness in raising awareness to the persuasive aspects of a VNR, and the impact of differing source agent types on participants' credibility assessment of a news operation. Results demonstrated 75% of participants (n=238) failed to correctly identify the source of the VNR when a disclosure cue was given. However, the audio and video combination condition was found to instigate the most awareness to the use of VNR. Overall, disclosure of a VNR's source could not be linked to changes in participants' evaluation of a news operation's credibility, with results demonstrating uniformly average means throughout. In addition, source disclosure could not be associated to a change in participants' awareness to the persuasive context of the VNR, with similar means exhibited. Because of the lack of an overall effect concerning credibility or knowledge of persuasive content within the study, greater media transparency is needed as are more media literacy opportunities for the public to best understand and navigate today’s complicated broadcast media reality.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine if there is a relationship between search engine users advertising awareness and attitude towards organic- and/or paid search results. Hypothesis: H1: The attitude toward Google´s paid search results is significantly more negative for search engine users who successfully identify more than 75% of Google´s paid search results on the results page compared to search engine users who successfully identified less than 75% of Google´s paid search results on the search results page. H2: The attitude toward Google´s organic search results is significantly more negative for search engine users who successfully identify more than 75% of Google´s paid search results on the search results page compared to search engine users who successfully identified less than 75% of Google´s paid search results on the search results page. Methodology: The study is based on the positivist research paradigm and has a quantitative research method and a deductive approach. The research design is a cross- sectional study and a survey has been chosen as a data collection method. The data analysis was completed using the computer program IBM SPSS. Results: The results show that there is no relationship between the search engine user´s attitude towards Google´s paid search results and the search engine user´s ad awareness, which means that the null hypothesis 1 cannot be rejected. The results also show that search engine user´s attitude towards Google´s organic search results is significantly more positive for search engine users who identified more than 75% of Google´s paid search results on the search results page as compared to search engine user´s successfully identified less than 75% of Google´s paid search results on the search results page, meaning, the null hypothesis 2 cannot be rejected. Contributions: The theoretical contribution is related to persuasion knowledge model (PKM) and shows that (1) search engine user´s activation of persuasion knowledge does not necessarily create a more negative attitude towards paid search results. (2) Search engine user´s activation of persuasion knowledge creates a more positive attitude towards organic search results. The practical contribution is given to Google and is based on the fact that (1) Google can clarify its ad disclosure without the risk of search engine users creating more negative attitude towards paid search results. (2) Google can clarify the ad disclosure, which will lead to more positive attitude towards organic search results for search engine users. / Syfte: Syftet med studien är att undersöka om det finns ett samband mellan sökmotoranvändares annonsmedvetenhet och attityd mot organiska- och/eller betalda sökresultat. Hypoteser: H1: Attityden mot Googles betalda sökresultat är signifikant mer negativ för sökmotoranvändare som identifierar mer än 75% av Googles betalda sökresultat på sökresultatsidan i jämförelse med sökmotoranvändare som lyckas identifiera mindre än 75% av Googles betalda sökresultat på sökresultatsidan. H2: Attityden mot Googles organiska sökresultat är signifikant mer negativ för sökmotoranvändare som identifierar mer än 75% av Googles betalda sökresultat på sökresultatsidan i jämförelse med sökmotoranvändare som lyckas identifiera mindre än 75% av Googles betalda sökresultat på sökresultatsidan. Metod: Studien grundar sig på det positivistiska forskningsparadigmet och har en kvantitativ forskningsmetod och en deduktiv ansats. Forskningsdesignen är tvärsnittsstudie och enkät har valts som insamlingsmetod. Dataanalysen är gjord med hjälp av dataprogrammet IBM SPSS. Resultat: Resultatet visar att det inte finns något samband mellan sökmotoranvändares attityd mot Googles betalda sökresultat och sökmotoranvändares annonsmedvetenhet vilket innebär att nollhypotes 1 inte kan förkastas. Resultatet visar även att sökmotoranvändares attityd mot Googles organiska sökresultat är signifikant mer positiv för sökmotoranvändare som identifierar mer än 75% av Googles betalda sökresultat på sökresultatsidan i jämförelse med sökmotoranvändare som lyckas identifiera mindre än 75% av Googles betalda sökresultat på sökresultatsidan vilket innebär att nollhypotes 2 inte förkastas. Studiens bidrag: Det teoretiska bidraget är relaterat till persuasion knowledge model (PKM) och visar att (1) sökmotoranvändares aktivering av persuasion knowledge inte nödvändigtvis skapar en mer negativ attityd mot betalda sökresultat. (2) Sökmotoranvändares aktivering av persuasion knowledge skapar en mer positiv attityd mot organiska sökresultat. Det praktiska bidraget ges till Google och bygger på att (1) Google kan tydliggöra sin annonsmärkning utan risk att sökmotoranvändarna får en mer negativ attityd mot Googles betalda sökresultat. (2) Google kan tydliggöra annonsmärkningen vilket kommer leda till att sökmotoranvändarna får en mer positiv attityd mot Googles organiska sökresultat.

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Syftet med studien är att bidra med ökad kunskap om konsumenters uppfattning av märkta samarbeten. En kvalitativ forskningsmetod genomförs där respondenterna får ta del av tre exempelvideor med en fiktiv influencer som praktiserar olika former av deklarationer. Tio semistrukturerade intervjuer genomförs med fältanteckningar som stöd för att få en djupare förståelse av respondenternas uppfattning av materialet. Studien bidrar med kunskap kring muntliga och grafiska deklarationer inom influencer marketing på Youtube. Studiens resultat indikerar att högre transparens bör praktiseras för att ge konsumenter en mer positiv syn på influencern och varumärket som marknadsförs. Med resultatet som grund utformades en lista med rekommendationer för hur influencers kan deklarera samarbeten för att på ett effektivt sätt undvika manipulation och missförstånd hos konsumenterna. / The purpose of our research is to contribute with increased knowledge of consumers' perceptions of sponsored collaborations and their declarations. A qualitative research method is implemented in which respondents get to see three example videos with a fictional influencer practicing different forms of declaration. Ten semi-structured interviews were conducted with supporting field notes to reach a deeper understanding of respondents' perceptions of the material. The study's results indicate that higher transparency should be practiced giving consumers a more positive view of the influencer and the brand being marketed. With the result as a basis, a list of declaration recommendations was formulated in order to effectively avoid consumer manipulation and misunderstanding.

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to explore consumers’ attitudes towards native advertising and its perceived value. Design/methodology/approach – This research has a qualitative and exploratory nature. Forthe empirical material, primary data is collected through conducting in-depth semi-structured interviews. Findings – Consumers’ persuasion knowledge in relation to native advertising is found to be low. The advertising value of native advertising is positive since the consumers considered it to be entertaining, informative and credible. Furthermore, it was not considered as irritating which enhances the advertising value as well. Design was found to be its own category as it has an effect on all dimensions to enhance the advertising value. Since the advertising value is positive and enhanced, the attitudes of consumers towards native advertising are positive. Research implications/limitations – The main implications of this research are: native advertising can be used as a solution to consumers avoiding online advertising and in order for it to be successful, the design, content and frequency have to be taken into consideration. Since this research is qualitative, it has a subjective nature which might result in researcher induced bias. Furthermore, the age of the interviewees’ range from 21 to 38 years old which unlikely represents the whole population. Originality/value – As there is a lack of research in the field of native advertising, this research contributes to the field with knowledge about consumers’ attitudes towards it as well as how native advertising creates value. Additionally, the researchers applied the attitudes-towards-advertising model for this specific context and augmented it with a new dimension, design. This research also contributes with knowledge about each dimension in the native advertising context. Lastly, this research shows advertisers how native advertising should be used in terms of content, frequency and design.

Past research repeatedly suggests consumer’s defensive response to persuasive attempts is a key challenge for advertisers. Given the explosive growth of social media, this study aims to understand if consumer response to ads placed in a social network site could be influenced by ad location and the path through which the ad is delivered. Findings from an experiment suggest that consumers’ attention to ads in SNSs is remarkably low. Furthermore, the interaction between ad location and the path significantly influences consumers’ attitudes toward the ad, attitudes toward the brand, and purchase intention. Specifically, it appears that an ad placed inside users’ timeline and sent through via known others, the indirect path, yielded favorable consumer response. On the other hand, consumers responded more favorably to an ad sent by the advertiser, the direct path, than that sent by known others if the ad is placed outside users’ timeline. Implications and suggestions for future research are provided. / text

The practice of promoting food to children via advergames is a highly topical issue which attracts much concern due to the low nutritional value of the promoted foods. This thesis examines the effects of customised food advergames on children’s affective, cognitive and conative responses. It also investigates the role persuasion knowledge and prior brand usage have in children’s interaction with advergames. In particular, whether children’s persuasion knowledge acts as a barrier to those responses. This research is situated within the domains of marketing communications, consumer behaviour and consumer socialisation. It adopts an affect transfer theory, the Dual Mediation Hypothesis (DMH), to explain the transfer of affect from an advergame to children’s responses. Three versions of the same advergame were designed for the purpose of this thesis with different levels of customisation (i.e. control, low and high experimental conditions). An experiment among younger (5-7 year olds) and older (11¬12 year olds) children reveals that customisation in advergames has a detrimental effect on children’s affective, cognitive and conative responses. It was the control condition, without customisation options, that rendered a positive impact on brand attitudes and preferences relative to the other two experimental conditions. Persuasion knowledge does not influence children’s affective, cognitive or conative responses. This implies that children’s understanding of the persuasive intent of an advergame does not act as a barrier against its effects. Age had a significant role on children’s attitudes towards the advergame, but not on their other responses to it. Finally, prior brand usage has a positive impact on children’s responses apart from on advergame attitudes. This thesis has implications to policy and practice. It is evident that children from two distinct age and cognitive developmental groups cannot protect themselves from advergames’ effects. Therefore, regulators should broaden the scope of concern to older and younger children alike.

Current marketing discourse seems to be less and less about communicating to customers, and more and more about communicating with customers. Concurrently, traditional news companies are in a bit of a crisis where their business models are failing to compete with the growing colossus of “free” news that circulates the web. In the aftermath of all this, native advertising – an umbrella term for advertisements that look like editorial content – has emerged like a panacea. But while native advertisements might be effective where traditional advertisements are not, they also create a problematic ambiguity for the consumer – what is marketing and what is news? This thesis set off to investigate whether consumers perceive native advertisements as advertisements and how that might affect their trust towards the advertiser (company) and platform (news site). A questionnaire with a slightly experimental touch was constructed from various theoretical focal points; 207 respondents were exposed to three different types of native advertisements and then answered statements about how they perceived them on a 7-point Likert scale. The majority of the respondents considered all three of the native advertisements as sponsored content, with regard to some notable disparities between the examples. However, not all of them did; in one case, as much as 27 % stated they did not perceive the advertisement as sponsored content at all. There was also a unanimous preference towards traditional advertisements, particularly among those who felt they had a hard time distinguishing native advertisements from editorial content, and frequent occurrence of sponsored content on a news site weakened its general credibility among the respondents, as well as their trust in both advertiser and platform. This study is more exploratory than conclusive and should be interpreted as such, but from these results it seems that stakeholders should tread a lot more carefully when using native advertisements compared with traditional advertisements – particularly considering how they have become an industry norm in an almost dogmatic fashion. The consequences may not be as direct as a wound up CTR-ratio or increased advertising revenue, but trust is simply a too valuable currency to gamble with in an era filled with ‘post-truth’ and ‘fake news’. / Aktuell marknadsföringsdiskurs verkar handla mindre och mindre om att kommunicera till konsumenter, och mer och mer om att kommunicera med konsumenter. Parallellt med det har de mer traditionella nyhetsbolagen hamnat i något av en kris efter att deras affärsmodeller misslyckats med att konkurrera med den växande kolossen av ”gratis” nyheter som cirkulerar på webben. I efterdyningarna av allt detta har native advertising – ett paraplybegrepp för annonser som liknar redaktionellt innehåll – uppstått som en slags universallösning. Men medan native advertisements framstår effektiva där traditionella annonser inte gör det så uppstår även en problematisk ambiguitet för konsumenten – vad är marknadsföring och vad är nyheter? Denna uppsats tog avstamp i att undersöka om konsumenter uppfattar native advertisements som annonser och hur det påverkar deras förtroende gentemot annonsör (företag) och plattform (nyhetssida). En enkät med en något experimentell touch konstruerades utifrån olika teoretiska infallsvinklar; 207 respondenter exponerades för tre olika varianter av native advertisements, varefter de fick besvara påståenden om hur de uppfattade dem på en sjugradig Likert-skala. Majoriteten av respondenterna ansåg alla tre native advertisements vara sponsrade, med hänsyn till viss diskrepans mellan exemplen. Emellertid var det långtifrån alla som gjorde det; i ett fall var det så många som 27 % som menade att de inte uppfattade annonsen som sponsrat innehåll. Det var också en övervägande preferens gentemot traditionella annonser, särskilt bland de som tyckte det var svårare att urskilja native advertisements från redaktionellt innehåll, och en hög förekomst av sponsrade artiklar på en nyhetssida försämrade inte bara dess generella trovärdighet bland respondenterna, utan också deras förtroende för såväl annonsör som plattform. Studien är mer explorativ än fastställande och bör tolkas därefter, men utifrån dessa resultat framstår det som att alla intressenter behöver träda mycket mer varsamt när de använder sig av native advertisements istället för traditionella annonser – i synnerhet med tanke på hur de blivit en branschnorm på ett nästan dogmatiskt vis. Konsekvenserna kanske inte är lika direkta som en uppskruvad CTR-ratio eller ökade annonsintäkter, men förtroende är helt enkelt en alldeles för värdefull valuta för att gambla med i en era fylld av ’post-sanning’ och ’alternativa nyheter’.