Dr. Nathaniel J. Evans
About: Dr. Evans teaches advertising and society, advertising management, and graduate level advertising foundations courses. His research interests examine consumers’ processing and evaluation of immersive and non-traditional advertising formats that include advergames, branded apps, in-game advertising, and native advertising with a focus on public policy implications.
Education
Ph.D., Communication and Information, University of Tennessee
M.S., Communication and Information/ Advertising, University of Tennessee
B.A., Psychology, Eckerd College
Research Interests and Activities
Dr. Evans’ research examines the blurring of boundaries between entertainment and commercial content, and the impact on issues related to consumer information processing, evaluation, and policy. He uses experimental and survey methodology to examine consumers’ information processing, evaluation, and behavioral outcomes of exposure to in-game advertising, advergames, branded games, native advertising, and other immersive or covert advertising formats. His research has examined regulatory and policy related topics in advertising, marketing, communication and health. Dr. Evans’ published work is featured in the Journal of Advertising, Journal of Interactive Advertising, Journal of Current Issues and Research in Advertising, Journal of Consumer Affairs, Health Affairs, andTelevision and New Media.
Selected Research
- Going Native: Effects of Disclosure Position and Language on the Recognition and Evaluation of Online Native Advertising
- Coddling Our Kids: Can Parenting Style Affect Attitudes Toward Advergames?
- Parents’ Presumed Persuasion Knowledge of Children’s Advergames: The Influence of Advertising Disclosure Modality and Cognitive Load
- Measuring Sponsorship Transparency in the Age of Native Advertising
- Exploring The Impact Of The US Measles Outbreak On Parental Awareness Of And Support For Vaccination
Abstract: Only one-third of adults 18 to 49 years old in the United States receive a recommended annual influenza vaccination. This study examined whether supplementing vaccine information statements (VIS) with an immersive virtual reality (VR), short video or electronic pamphlet story designed to convey the community immunity benefits of influenza vaccination would improve influenza vaccine […]
Read MoreAbstract: Sport companies frequently make product claims in advertisements to influence consumer purchase decisions. Sport beverages, in particular, often tout health benefits and performance claims. Unfortunately, some sport beverage claims may be false or misleading, persuading consumers to erroneously purchase products due to incorrect information. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) prohibits any deceptive advertising resulting […]
Read MoreAbstract: Covert advertisements, or those that utilize the guise and delivery mechanisms of familiar non-advertising formats, differ from other more direct forms of advertising in several ways that are important for understanding users’ psychological responses. Research across various covert advertising formats including various forms of sponsored editorial content, other native advertising formats, and product placement […]
Read MoreAbstract: The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of advertising format and cognitive load in shaping the effect of covert advertisements on participants advertising recognition and outcomes. In a 2 (advertisement format: advergame vs. video commercial) x 2 (brand prominence: low (Asus) vs. high (KFC)) between-subjects factorial experiment (N = 82), participants […]
Read MoreABSTRACT: The present study (N=82) employed a 2 (advertisement format: advergame vs. video commercial) x 2 (brand prominence: low (Asus) vs. high (KFC)) between-subjects factorial experiment to investigate the effect of advertising format on advertising recognition and cognitive load. Findings show that advergames, in comparison to online video commercials, are more difficult for consumers to […]
Read MoreAbstract: This study first investigated the effect of advertising format (advergames vs online video commercials) on consumers’ ability to recognize advertising. Second, we tested how advertising format differentially impacted consumers’ self-reported cognitive load. Third, we examined how cognitive load impacted consumers’ ability to recognize advertising. Finally, we investigated the moderating effect of brand prominence on […]
Read MoreAbstract: While it seems intuitive that highly visible vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks should impact perceptions of disease risk and facilitate vaccination, few empirical studies exist to confirm or dispel these beliefs. This study investigates the impact of the 2014-15 Disneyland measles outbreak on parents’ vaccination attitudes and future vaccination intentions. The analysis relies on a pair […]
Read MoreAbstract: The Children’s Advertising Review Unit’s (CARU) recent cases involving child influencer unboxing videos expressed concern that they did not appropriately disclose sponsorship. Placement of pre-roll advertising was also cited as contributing to the blurring between content and advertising. This study investigated parents’ understanding of and responses to sponsored child influencer unboxing videos. We conducted a […]
Read MoreAwards and Fellowships
Dr. Evans has received top paper awards at the American Academy of Advertising (2016), best article in the Journal of Interactive Advertising (2014), and the Research Fellowship Award from the American Academy of Advertising (2015).
