Consumer Response to Covert Advertising in Social Media

摘要

Consumers are being inundated by numerous brand communication messages every day through television, radio or their mailbox. Overwhelmed by these large masses of information, consumers often create psychological defense mechanisms to avoid most of these messages. Also consumers are spending more time on the internet and social media, thus becoming less accessible to advertisers via traditional media such as TV or print. Furthermore, marketers while struggling to grab consumer attention are exposed to an increasing pressure for marketing accountability. What should marketers do in these situations? Should they engage in covert advertising or strive for authenticity? Specifically, this study investigates consumer responses to covert advertising in a social media context (YouTube).