Effects of Disclosure, Placement Type and Ad-Context Congruence on Brand and Advertising Recognition: An Exploration of CARE Model Processing

Effects of Disclosure, Placement Type and Ad-Context Congruence on Brand and Advertising Recognition: An Exploration of CARE Model Processing

Abstract:  Despite industry and academic attention to disclosures in sponsored content over recent years, questions remain on how consumers process message and context related characteristics. Primarily building upon the Covert Advertising Recognition and Effects (CARE) model (Wojdynski and Evans 2020), this study investigated the effects of disclosures (present vs absent), brand placement type (text vs picture), and ad-context congruence (lower vs higher) on ad recognition provoked by top-down versus bottom-up processing styles. Through an online experiment, we found that 1) disclosure directly increased ad recognition in a top-down manner, 2) in-text brand mention indirectly increased ad recognition by facilitating brand recognition in a bottom-up style, and 3) lower ad-context congruence further moderated the mediation effect of brand recognition observed in the in-text brand mention condition. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. 

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