Journal of Interactive Advertising, Volume 3, Number 2, Spring 2003

A Preliminary Structural Equation Model of

Comprehension and Persuasion of Interactive Advertising Brand
Web Sites
Wendy acias
!epartment of Advertising and "ublic #elations
$niversity of %eorgia
able of Contents
Abstract
Introduction
&ac'ground (iterature
"roposed Structural )*uation odel
#esearc+ et+od
#esults
!iscussion
(imitations and Suggestions for ,uture #esearc+
#eferences
Abstract
-+e main goal of t+is study .as to build a preliminary structural e*uation model to
better understand t+e relations+ips bet.een interactivity, compre+ension, and
persuasion/ -+e limited capacity processing model provided t+eoretical frame.or'/ A
t.o0cell 1interactivity2 lo.3+ig+4 e5perimental design .as used to e5amine +o. t+e
level of interactivity in interactive advertisements influences compre+ension and
attitudes/ -+e sample consisted of 673 sub8ects/ -+e structural e*uation model
supported t+e idea t+at interactivity is an important and direct factor in bot+ t+e
consumer9s compre+ension of interactive advertising and t+e persuasive outcomes
1attitudes and purc+ase intention4/ In addition, compre+ension +ad a direct, positive
influence on persuasive outcomes/ (imitations and directions for future researc+ are
discussed/
Introduction
-+e Web .as first +eralded as a blending or converging of positive aspects of
various old and ne. tec+nologies resulting in a ne. medium .+ic+ offered :greater
segmentation of media audiences,; :greater audience control over t+e rate and timing
of ad e5posure,; and t+e :potential of one0to0one interactivity; 1!ucoffe, Sandler, and
Secunda 6<<=, p/ >, Advertising ,aculty 6<<=, p/ i4/ Advertisers and ot+er
communicators +ave been attempting to ta'e advantage of t+e opportunities t+e Web
offers by reac+ing specific target audiences .it+ personali?ed, interactive messages
t+at consumers may t+en more actively c+oose from t+e increased selection of
content/
W+ile t+e importance of t+e Web is rarely *uestioned anymore, t+e magnitude of
gro.t+ continues to surprise all/ A recent study by t+e government found t+at 6@3
million Americans 17@A of t+e population4 .ere using t+e Internet 1an increase of 2=
million in t+irteen mont+s4 and t+at 6B@ million people 1or ==A of t+e population4 in
t+e $nited States used computers 1$/S/ !epartment of Commerce 20024/ -+ese data
come from t+e September 2006 $/S/ Census &ureau9s Current "opulation Survey D
a survey of appro5imately 7B,000 +ouse+olds and more t+an 63B,000 individuals
across t+e $nited States/ As suc+, t+ese data are among t+e most broad0based and
reliable datasets available for Internet metrics/ In addition, Internet use is increasing
for people regardless of income, education, age, race, et+nicity, or gender 1$/S/
!epartment of Commerce 20024/ As t+e Internet audience continues to diversify and
more people gain access to t+e Internet everyday 1t.o million ne. Internet users per
mont+4 1$/S/ !epartment of Commerce 20024, it becomes increasingly important t+at
.e e5pand our 'no.ledge of its effects on consumers/
Anot+er rationale for t+e importance of t+is topic is t+at online activities often focus
around researc+ing and buying products on brand Web sites similar to t+e one9s
used in t+e present study/ Almost one0t+ird of Americans are using t+e Internet to
researc+ products and services 13=A, up from 2=A in 20004/ Among Internet users,
3<A of individuals are ma'ing online purc+ases 1$/S/ !epartment of Commerce
20024/ Anot+er recent report by Nielsen3Net#atings s+o.ed t+at more t+an >7
percent of $/S/ adults .it+ Internet access +ave made an online purc+ase at one
time or anot+er 1a total of more t+an 660/7 million people4 and in !ecember 2006,
<>/2 million adults .ent online to ma'e a purc+ase 1Ee+, &ro?e', and Faldor 20024/
Alt+oug+ t+ere +ave been many important conceptual and researc+ studies focusing
on t+e Web and interactivity 1Coyle and -+orson 2006G HIubl and -rifts 2000G Heeter
2000G Fimelfeld and Watt 2006G (o+se, &ellman and Jo+nson 2000G uylle,
oenaert and !espontin 6<<<G Nova', Hoffman, and Eung 20004, very little attention
+as been given to developing a model of compre+ension and persuasion of t+ese
types of interactive communications/ !o users really understand t+e information
presented in Web sites and are t+ey t+en persuaded by t+emJ Kne study did
investigate cognitive impact, including compre+ension, but focused only on banner
ads 1(i and &u'ovac 6<<<4/ Nova', Hoffman, and Eung 120004 developed a model of
t+e customer e5perience online .+ic+ e5tended our 'no.ledge greatly but did not
include t+e important outcome variables of compre+ension and persuasion/ Anot+er
interesting study built and tested a model of +o. different banner ads persuaded
consumers .it+ different motives 1#odgers 20024 .+ic+ e5tended t+e previous .or'
of 1#odgers and -+orson 20004/
!esigned to begin to fill t+ese +oles in t+e literature, t+is study is an e5ploratory loo'
at t+e impact of interactivity on compre+ension and persuasion of brand Web sites
and +opes to begin a researc+ dialogue to furt+er investigate t+ese important topics/
In addition, t+is study is an early attempt to develop and test a t+eoretical model of
t+e relations+ips bet.een several 'ey interactive advertising variables 1e/g/, level of
interactivity, compre+ension, attitudes, etc/4/ Since good compre+ension is vital for
persuasion to occur 1&atra, yers, and Aa'er 6<<=4, t+is researc+ fills an important
void for Web mar'eters and advertisers, specifically focusing on brand Web sites as
one of t+e 'ey forms of interactive advertising/ -+e aut+or considers brand Web sites
to be t+e final destination of interactive advertising and t+e form .+ic+ combines t+e
fullest degree of ric+ interactivity and multimedia/ An increasing number of
researc+ers support t+e idea of Web sites as an important form of interactive
advertising 1C+o 6<<<G Farson and Forgaon'ar 2006G (ec'enby and (i 2000G
cillan and W+ite 20064/ Specifically, t+e t+ree researc+ *uestions .+ic+ .ill be
addressed by t+is study are 164 Can a greater degree of interactivity in branded Web
sites lead to +ig+er levels of compre+ensionJ, 124 Can t+e interactivity level of
interactive advertising lead to more positive attitudesJ, and 134 Are t+ere individual
difference variables, suc+ as need for cognition and need for emotion, .+ic+ mig+t
+elp to e5plain t+e relations+ip bet.een interactivity and compre+ension and
persuasionJ
Bac!ground "iterature
Comprehension #esearch
Compre+ension is an important area of advertising researc+ because ads +ave often
been critici?ed as being deceptive and confusing/ Compre+ension researc+ +as t+us
far only focused on television and print, specifically finding 2</7A of any televised
communication 1e/g/, editorial content, public service announcements, advertising,
etc/4 is miscompre+ended 1Jacoby, Hoyer, and S+eluga 6<>04 and t+at print
communications result in better compre+ension .it+ a miscompre+ension rate of
26/@A 1Jacoby and Hoyer 6<>B4/ Jacoby and Hoyer9s researc+ defined
compre+ension ob8ectively as correctly encoding pieces of information/ Anot+er .ay
to define compre+ension is sub8ectively/ Sub8ective compre+ension could be defined
as t+e respondent9s reported understanding of t+e ad9s message 1artin 6<<B4/
-+ere are .ays to improve compre+ension/ Kne0.ay advertising communications
1i/e/, print, -V, radio4 can facilitate compre+ension t+roug+ copy testing and by clearly
stating a limited amount of information/ Ho.ever, t.o0.ay, interactive advertising
communications may +ave t+e potential to increase compre+ension even more due
to t+eir in+erent interactive and multimedia features/
Interactivity
$nli'e compre+ension, no consensual definition of interactivity e5ists/ #afaeli9s
16<>>4 interpersonal vie. of interactivity .as one of t+e first definitions to be applied
to :ne. media/; Since t+en, several sc+olars +ave elaborated and e5plicated t+e
definition 1See -able 64/ !erived from previous studies and based primarily on
Hoffman and Nova' 16<<=4 and Ha and James 16<<>4, t+e definition used in t+is
study is2 interactivity is t+e state or process of communicating, e5c+anging, obtaining
and3or modifying content 1e/g/, ideas, entertainment, product information4 and3or its
form .it+ or t+roug+ a medium 1e/g/, computer, modem, etc/4 .+ic+ responds to bot+
t+e communicator9s and t+e audience9s communication needs by including +yperte5t
lin's, reciprocal communication, etc/ In ot+er .ords, a person can :interact; on t+e
Web in t.o general .ays2 get or give information from3to t+e Web 1e/g/, surfing,
researc+ing, etc/4 or communicate to anot+er person t+roug+ t+e medium 1i/e/,
emailing, c+at rooms, etc/4/
able $ %efinitions of Interactivity
Interactive advertising can offer .+at traditional advertising could notLt+e ability to
c+oose and control t+e message 1Hoffman and Nova' 6<<=4/ (ogically, it seems t+is
.ould result in a more active and involved individual/
:-+e learning advantage of computer0based multimedia instruction over traditional
classroom lecture may be due to t+e increased interactivity of multimedia instruction
rat+er t+an t+e multimedia information itself; 1Na88ar 6<<=4/ )ducational literature
provides muc+ of t+e researc+ development in t+is area/ A revie. of t+e educational
literature indicates t+at F062 and college students benefit from using interactive
media in many .ays, including2 deep compre+ensionG listening compre+ensionG story
production and decoding s'illsG +ig+er levels of ac+ievement 1i/e/, compre+ension,
learning4G reading performance and vocabulary developmentG and improved sense of
confidence and preparedness, and t+at interactive media materials .ere easier to
use t+an traditional materials 1i/e/, printed te5tboo's4 1see Ayerson 6<<= for a
revie.4/ Also, t+e learner +as greater control over t+e pace t+at material is presented
and can set a learning speed best suited to +is or +er needs 1Na88ar 6<<=4/ All t+ese
factors lead to a more pleasant learning environment and t+e possibility of improved
learning/
Comprehension of Interactive Advertising and the "imited Capacity Model
(ittle researc+ +as directly investigated interactive advertising processing and +o. its
compre+ension mig+t be different from traditional mass media/ -+e limited capacity
information0processing model +as been successfully used to +elp e5plain +o. t+e
mediated messages of television are processed, including encoding 1basic
compre+ension4, and storage and retrieval 1e/g/ Collins 6<>2G (ang 6<<7G (ang 2000G
(ang and %eiger 6<<3G (ang, Ne.+agen, and #eeves 6<<=G (ang et al/ 6<<<G (ang
et al/ 2000G -+orson and (ang 6<<24, and is applied +ere as a potential t+eoretical
frame.or' for investigating t+e effects of interactivity on t+e information processing of
interactive advertising Web sites/
-+e limited capacity information0processing model of mediated communications +as
t.o ma8or assumptionsL164 :people are information processors; and 124 :a person9s
ability to process information is limited; 1(ang 2000, p/ @B4/ -+is study conceptuali?es
compre+ension, similar to t+e limited capacity model, as correctly encoding pieces of
information from t+e interactive advertising Web site/ )ncoding involves e5posure,
attention, and forming a representation in .or'ing 1s+ort0term4 memory/ -+e limited
capacity model t+eori?es t+at t+e first step of encoding 1attention4 is driven by bot+
automatic 1unintentional4 and controlled 1intentional4 processes/ -+e vie.er9s goals
and information needs can influence bot+ t+e automatic and controlled processes/
Ho.ever, particular types of communication stimuli c+aracteristics, suc+ as novelty,
c+ange, and intensity, can also activate automatic attention processes 1(ang 2000G
-+orson and (ang 6<<24/ In ot+er .ords, encoding can be facilitated by vie.ers9
attention being dra.n to stimuli based on t+eir goals and3or by t+e stimuli grabbing
t+eir attention/ #esearc+ +as s+o.n t+at some structural features of television 1e/g/,
cuts, edits, movement, and c+anges in content4 can cause an orienting response in
people .+ic+ automatically s+ifts t+eir attention to t+e stimuli and increases
resources for encoding 1see (ang 6<<0 for a summary4/ Similar structural features
can be found in interactive advertising 1animation, audio, grap+ics, color c+ange,
etc/4 and types of interactivity 1+yperte5t lin's, lin's to reciprocal communication li'e
email, etc/4 -+erefore, if t+ese structural features .or' li'e t+e structural features of
television, t+en .e can e5pect t+at communications .it+ interactive elements .ould
result in increased encoding and compre+ension/ -+is researc+ is 8ust a beginning to
understanding +o. information in interactive advertising is processed/ -+e limited
capacity model seems to be a logical place to begin/ Ho.ever, t+is discussion +as
been limited to several main issues/
"revious researc+ 1as discussed in &atra, yers, and Aa'er 6<<=4 supports t+e
ideas t+at interactive advertising .ould often result in central route processing
because t+e consumer +as control over pacingG t+at individuals tend to be more
involved and interested in t+e content because t+ey c+oose itG and t+at
compre+ension may be facilitated by interactive and multimedia elements/ Additional
support for t+e idea t+at interactivity can lead to increased compre+ension because
of t+e user9s increased control of message pacing comes from Hoffman and Nova'9s
16<<=4 application of flo. to t+e Web/ -+ey propose t+at flo. is t+e :process of
optimal e5perience; .+ic+ leads to narro.ed focus and a 'ey conse*uence may be
increased learning 1p/ 7B4/ Ho.ever, t+is concept +as not been tested yet/ Nova',
Hoffman, and Eung 120004 tested a model of flo. but focused on t+e antecedents as
opposed to conse*uences/ Additional support comes from traditional communication
researc+ t+at :felt involvement plays a motivational role in consumers9 attention and
compre+ension processes; 1Celsi and Klson 6<>>4/ W+en online people ma'e
c+oices about .+at t+ey clic' on and .+ere t+ey go 1controlled processes4 and t+ese
c+oices are often guided by personal relevance .+ic+ is +o. Celsi and Klson 16<>>4
define felt involvement/ In ot+er .ords, t+e c+oices made online are guided by .+at
is important to t+e individual and may be t+e mec+anism for increased
compre+ension despite t+e +ig+ degree of information online/
#&$' Can a greater degree of interactivity in branded Web sites lead to higher
levels of comprehension(
Persuasiveness of Interactive Advertising
Interactivity can lead to benefits beyond compre+ension/ A *ualitative study titled
:-+e Interactive Consumer; reported several 'ey findingsLconsumers get strong
emotional benefits from interactivityG :being on line; +elps to counter insecurities
about .or' and lives in :permanent +urry; by offering control, mastery, po.er,
pleasure and being a+ead of t+e ot+er guyG M interactive communications offer a
+ig+ degree of personali?ation and interactive advertisers must be responsive to
consumers9 needs 1)lliott 6<<7, p/ !<4/ It +as been proposed t+at t+e :outcomes of
interactivity are engagement in communication and relations+ip building bet.een a
company and its target consumers; 1Ha and James 6<<>, p/ @7<4/ In ot+er .ords,
interactive advertising +olds t+e potential to be .+at traditional advertising +as often
failed to beLa desired, engaging and positive form of communication instead of
intrusive, annoying, or un.anted/ "eppers and #ogers 16<<=4 discuss +o. mar'eters
and advertisers .ill +ave to better satisfy consumers .ants and needs because t+e
consumer +as more control t+an in t+e past/ -+e Web .ill li'ely play a 'ey role in t+is
given its potential to facilitate product researc+, buying e5periences, and
entertainment/
-+ere +as already been limited support t+at interactive advertising can lead to more
positive attitudes to.ards advertising, brands and3or companies/ &riggs and Hollis
16<<B4 found t+at banner ads could lead to increased brand a.areness, attitude
c+ange, and increased li'eli+ood of purc+ase/ Additionally, addo5, e+ta, and
!aube' 16<<B4 reported, in a study of $#(s included in traditional advertising 1e/g/,
television4, t+at :t+ose .+o noticed a $#( perceived advertisers .it+ Web addresses
as more customer0oriented, responsive, personal, reliable, +ig+ tec+, and more li'ely
to stay in business longer; 1p/ 7B4/ Anot+er study e5amined t+e potential relations+ip
bet.een interactivity and t+e perceived appeal or rated *uality of a Web site 1%+ose
and !ou 6<<>4/ -+ey found t+at t+e greater t+e degree of interactivity, t+e more li'ely
it is for a site to be listed in (ycos -op 7A (ist 1similar idea to ,ortune 7009s list of top
companies4/ All t+is indicates t+at interactive advertising can +ave a positive
influence on consumers9 perceptions of t+e advertising itself, as .ell as t+e
advertised brand and company/
#&)' Can the interactivity level of interactive advertising lead to more positive
attitudes(
*eed for Cognition and *eed for Emotion
-+ere are t.o individual difference variablesLneed for cognition and need for
emotionL.+ic+ correspond to an individual9s use of t+e Web for information and
entertainment/ Need for cognition 1N,C4 gre. out of elaboration li'eli+ood model
1)(4 researc+, as a variable measuring an individual9s motivation to t+in'/ :Need for
cognition refers to an individual9s tendency to engage in and en8oy effortful cognitive
endeavorsMand t+is c+aracteristic is predictive of t+e manner in .+ic+ people deal
.it+ tas's and social information; 1Cacioppo, "etty, and Fao 6<>@, p/ 30=4/ It .as
developed as a personality variable to account for individual differences in processing
motivation during persuasion situations 1Haugtvedt, "etty, and Cacioppo 6<<24/
#esearc+ +as s+o.n t+at +ig+ need for cognition individuals report greater
en8oyment of comple5 tas's 1Haugtvedt, "etty, and Cacioppo 6<<24/ Kne common
criticism of t+e Web is t+at is it effortful/ It re*uires a certain amount of cognitive effort
to master it/ %iven t+at t+e individual must e5pend effort to obtain information on t+e
Web, it is believed t+at t+ose .+o +ave a +ig+ need for cognition .ill +ave +ig+er
compre+ension of interactive advertising/
Need for emotion .as developed more recently by #aman, C+attopad+yay, and
Hoyer 16<<74 to tap into individual9s :tendencies to process affective or emotional
stimuli; because it is believed t+at :cognition represents only one mode of information
processing; 1p/ 73B4/ :-+e need for emotion 1N,)4 is defined as t+e tendency or
propensity for individuals to see' out emotional situations, en8oy emotional stimuli,
and e5+ibit a preference to use emotion in interacting .it+ t+e .orld; 1#aman,
C+attopad+yay, and Hoyer 6<<7, p/ 73B4/ It is believed t+at because interactive
advertising provides bot+ information and entertainment 1cognition and emotion4 t+at
individuals .+o score +ig+ in need for emotion .ill be more motivated to process
+ig+ly interactive communications, especially t+e emotional components, t+us
compre+ension .ould be +ig+er for t+ese individuals/ It is important to include bot+ of
t+ese constructs because persuasion can occur t+roug+ cognitive and affective
stimuli/
#N32 Are t+ere individual difference variables, suc+ as need for cognition and need
for emotion, .+ic+ mig+t +elp to e5plain t+e relations+ip bet.een interactivity and
compre+ension and persuasionJ
Proposed Structural Equation Model
&ased on t+e literature revie., a structural e*uation model .as developed and
tested/ ,igure 6 s+o.s t+e pat+ diagram of t+is proposed model/ &ased on t+e
importance of attaining a positive attitude or be+avioral intention in t+e consumer, a
goal of t+e study .as to determine t+e persuasiveness, measured by attitudes and
purc+ase intention, of interactive communication, in addition to it9s ability to get t+e
audience to compre+end it9s message/ Advertising attitudes are most commonly
measured by attitude to.ards t+e ad 1i/e/, ad li'ing4 and attitude to.ards t+e brand
1i/e/, brand li'ing4 1&ro.n and Stayman 6<<24/ "urc+ase intention is measured by
consumers9 desire to buy t+e brand 1Cobb0Walgren, #uble, and !ont+u 6<<74/
#esearc+ +as indicated t+at, if t+e consumer li'es t+e ad, brand li'ing and purc+ase
intention are affected in t+e same direction 1"+illips 6<<=4/ Ho.ever, t+e relations+ip
bet.een t+e interactivity level, consumer9s individual differences and t+e resulting
li'e3disli'e and3or attitudes is not 'no.n/ It is believed t+at, based on t+e literature
discussed above, need for cognition and need for emotion .ill be correlated and form
one latent variable .+ic+ .ill t+en positively influence compre+ension/ -+is analysis
.as an attempt to better understand t+e relations+ip by using structural e*uation
modeling/
As can be seen by t+e pat+ analysis, t+is model is a recursive pat+ model 1&ollen
6<><4/ -+e e5ogenous latent variables are :level of interactivity; as measured by t+e
independent variable perceived interactivity and :consumer processing,; as
measured by need for cognition and need for emotion/ -+e t.o endogenous latent
variables are :consumer outcomes; and :consumer compre+ension/; Consumer
outcomes consists of t+e dependent variables attitude to t+e ad, attitude to t+e site,
attitude to t+e brand, and purc+ase intention because t+ese variables toget+er
indicate +o. t+e consumer may t+in', feel or act after seeing an ad 1i/e/, a.areness,
ne.ly formed attitudes, purc+ase of t+e product, etc/4/ Consumer compre+ension
consists of t+e consumer9s sub8ective 1+o. .ell s3+e t+oug+t s3+e understood4 and
ob8ective compre+ension 1encoding4 of t+e communication/ &ased on t+e above
literature and empirical evidence, it is logical to assume t+at level of interactivity and
t+e consumer9s processing 1need for cognition and emotion4 .ill affect consumer
compre+ension of t+e message, as .ell as directly and indirectly influencing
consumer attitudes/
#esearch Method
-+e e5periment e5amined +o. t+e level of interactivity in Web sites influences
compre+ension and attitudes/ It employed a 2 cell 1interactivity2 lo.3+ig+4 bet.een
sub8ects factorial design to test t+e structural e*uation model/ -+e independent
variable, interactivity, derived from t+e previously discussed definitions, is
operationali?ed as t+e degree to .+ic+ eac+ of t+e follo.ing dimensions .ere
present00
64 #angeL:number of possibilities for action at any given time; 1Steuer 6<<2, p/ >74,
.+ic+ included none for lo. interactivity and at least ten for +ig+ interactivity/ -+is
also included Ha and James9 16<<>4 notion of c+oice by including options li'e a
different language, searc+ and site map/
24 Kt+er :mac+ine interactions; 1Hoffman and Nova' 6<<=4Lot+er features .+ic+
allo.ed t+e individual to interact .it+ t+e Web site, suc+ as animation associated .it+
mouse rollover/
34 Connectedness 1Ha and James 6<<>4LHyperte5t lin's/
@4 #eciprocal3#ecursive Communication 1Ha and James 6<<>G Hoffman and Nova'
6<<=G #afaeli 6<>>400)mail, c+at rooms, comment forms 1none present for lo., all
present for +ig+4/
Interactivity .as also measured as a user0centered variable called perceived
interactivity and is defined as t+e respondents9 perception of t+e Web site9s
interactivity and served as t+e manipulation c+ec'/ It .as operationali?ed by a series
of si5, seven0point semantic differential .ord pairs 1inviting3uninvitingO, not
enticing3enticing, interactive3not interactiveO, not playful3playful,
interesting3uninterestingO, engaging3not engagingO 4 1a P/>>4 t+at .ere developed for
t+is study to assess t+e perceived level of interactivity/ -+is second conceptuali?ation
is important because t+e perception of t+e consumer is 'ey to creating successful
advertising communications/ It is important to consider t+at t+ere may be a difference
bet.een .+at Web designers consider interactive and .+at consumers do/
Stimulus Materials
#espondents vie.ed eit+er a lo. or +ig+ interactivity Web site for one of t.o brands
1Ne. &alance and Ni'on4/ -+e product categories 1tennis s+oes and point0n0s+oot
cameras4 .ere c+osen because college students are a potential target mar'et and
t+ey .ere products t+at t+e sub8ect pool, college students, mig+t be interested in
purc+asing and researc+ing online/ -+e print advertisements .ere c+osen because
t+ey contained enoug+ information to ma'e believable Web sites and allo.ed for t+e
creation of interactive elements/ W+ile t+is precluded ads .+ic+ used primarily visual
or image appeals, most of t+e consumer goods Web sites .+ic+ people visit are
focused on information versus image/
-+e Web sites .ere created from a print ad for eac+ brand using a procedure similar
to t+e one used by Jacoby, Hoyer, and Qimmer 16<>34 to compare television, radio,
and print/ -+ey started .it+ a television ad, t+e audio portion became t+e radio ad,
and a transcript of t+e television ad became t+e print ad/ A similar procedure .as
used so t+at bot+ t+e .it+in0brand Web sites .ere nearly identical in content 1e/g/,
lo. and +ig+ interactivity sites for Ne. &alance4/ )ssentially, t+e print ad for eac+
brand became t+e lo. interactivity Web site 1similar to t+e flat ad as conceptuali?ed
by Hoffman, Nova', and C+atter8ee 6<<74 1e/g/, .../bactroban/com4 and, using t+e
operational definition of interactivity listed above, t+e print ad .as converted into a
fully interactive advertising Web site for t+e +ig+ interactivity site/ -+erefore, lo.
interactivity .as operationali?ed as not adding any interactivity to t+e print ad and
+ig+ interactivity .as operationali?ed as previously discussed/ -+e main difference
t+at remained s+ould be in+erent to t+e differences in level interactivity .it+in t+e t.o
sets of sites/ In addition, t+e types of interactivity used bet.een t+e sites, as .ell as
t+e degree 1e/g/, number of +yperte5t lin's4, .ere 'ept consistent/
Procedure
#espondents .ere recruited from )ducation, )nglis+, and ar'eting classes/ -+ey
.ere given t+e incentives of course e5tra credit3participation points and entry into a
lottery for t.o R20 pri?es/ -+e researc+er e5plained +o. t+ey could participate,
s+o.ed t+em a transparency of t+e consent form and t+en passed around a sign up
s+eet for t+eir name and email address/ #espondents .ere randomly assigned to
one of four groups 1Ni'on lo. interactivity, Ni'on +ig+ interactivity, Ne. &alance lo.
interactivity or Ne. &alance +ig+ interactivity4 and emailed t+e $#( of t+e online
study/ -+ey completed an online, self0administered *uestionnaire/ -+ey .ere t+en
instructed to vie. t+e interactive advertisement for as long as t+ey .is+ed/ -+e goal
.as to ma'e t+e e5perience more li'e real life and increase t+e e5ternal validity of
t+e e5periment/ Admittedly, t+ere is a lo.er degree of control for Internet studies t+an
t+ose conducted in t+e lab/ Ho.ever, psyc+ological researc+ers +ave conducted and
compared nine e5periments conducted online and found :in all cases, t+e
comparisons +ave indicated t+at t+e Web findings are *uite valid or at least are
comparable to t+ose of t+e laboratory studies of t+e same p+enomenon; 1Frant? and
!alal 2000, p/ @24/ After comparing t+e psyc+ological researc+ being conducted on
t+e Internet, &irnbaum 120004 concluded t+at t+e Internet .as a po.erful researc+
tool t+at seemed to provide a surprising matc+ to investigating psyc+ological
p+enomenon and may actually be better for researc+ing some issues t+an laboratory
studies/
Sub8ects .ere presented .it+ t.o open0ended and si5 modified true3false 1includes
:don9t 'no.; as an option4 compre+ension *uestions, according to t+e met+odology
used by Jacoby, Hoyer, and S+eluga 16<>04 and Jacoby and Hoyer 16<>B4/
-+erefore, compre+ension is operationali?ed as recognition memory and measured
by t+e percent of correctly encoded pieces of information/ -+ere .ere e*ual numbers
of true3false and fact3inference *uestions for eac+ interactive advertisement/ -+ese
scales .ere pretested to ensure t+ey .ere clear and t+at t+ey ac+ieved a
compre+ension rate around t+e normative level of =3A 1Jacoby and Hoyer 6<>B4/
-+e *uestionnaire also contained t+e need for cognition 16> statements on a five0
point scale, C+ronbac+ alp+a or a P0/>>4 1Cacioppo, "etty, and Fao 6<>@4 and need
for emotion 1seven statements on a five0point scale, SP0/>@4 1#aman,
C+attopad+yay, and Hoyer 6<<74 scales/ Si5 (i'ert statements measured attitude to
t+e Web site 1C+en and Wells 6<<<4 1a P/>=4/ -+ese .ere follo.ed by several seven0
point semantic differential .ord pairsLt+ree to measure attitude to.ard t+e ad
1acFen?ie and (ut? 6<><4 1a P/>B4, t+ree to measure attitude to.ards t+e brand 1a
P/>@4, t.o to measure purc+ase intention 1Cobb0Walgren, #uble, and !ont+u 6<<74
1a P/<=4 and t.o to measure t+e respondent9s sub8ective compre+ension 1i/e/, +o.
.ell t+ey felt t+ey understood t+e ad4 1a P/<04/ ,inally, a series of *uestions
determined if t+ey +ad been to t+e site and3or used t+e product, estimated +o. many
pages t+ey loo'ed at and +o. long t+ey loo'ed at t+e site 1duration of visit4, .+at
computer e*uipment t+ey used and a fe. demograp+ics/
Structural Equation Model Analysis and esting
-+e proposed structural e*uation model .as tested using AKS 1Analysis of
oment Structures4 1JTres'og and STrbom 6<<=4/ -+e model .as estimated using
t+e ma5imum li'eli+ood procedure .+ic+ is t+e most .idely used 1&ollen 6<><4/
AKS reports several goodness of fit indices .+ic+ .ere used to determine t+e
model9s fit/ -+ey include c+i0s*uare 1&ollen 6<><4 1.+ic+ is actually a badness of fit
inde54, -uc'er (e.is fit inde5 or -(I 1-uc'er and (e.is 6<B34, #S)A 1&ro.ne and
Cude' 6<<34 and Comparative ,it Inde5 or C,I 1&entler 6<><4/ Structural e*uation
modeling also allo.s for an assessment of pat+ loadings and .+et+er or not t+ey are
significantly different from ?ero 1JTres'og and STrbom 6<<=4/ -+e pat+ model 1,igure
64 indicates t+at several parameters .ere fi5ed to prior values based on t+e reliability
statistics, as reported above/
#esults
Sample
A convenience sample of 673 undergraduate students from a large sout+.estern
university participated in t+e e5periment/ Seventy percent 1nP60B4 .ere female and
30A 1nP@74 .ere male 1one respondent did not complete t+is *uestion4/ -+eir ages
ranged bet.een 6> and 3> .it+ t+e ma8ority being 20 or 26 1nP>74/ -+ey +ad a
variety of ma8ors 1@2 different ma8ors4, including psyc+ology, engineering,
communications, education, business, and liberal arts/
-+e ma8ority of t+e respondents 1=6A or nP<34 stated t+at t+ey are on t+e Web for
five or fe.er +ours a .ee', .it+ a mean of eig+t +ours per .ee'/ Ho.ever, t+ere .as
*uite a range bet.een respondents, from +alf an +our or less 1BA or nP664 to B0
+ours 1less t+an 6A or nP64 or from lig+t to +eavy users/ -+ey .ere also as'ed .+en
t+ey started using t+e Web/ -+e responses ranged from 6<>< to 6<<< .it+ t+e
ma8ority 1=<A or nP60=4 saying t+ey started bet.een 6<<7 and 6<<B/ -+erefore, t+e
ma8ority of t+e sample is intermediately e5perienced .it+ t+e Web/
-o ensure t+at t+e products represented in t+e interactive advertisements 1running
s+oes and a point0and0s+oot camera4 .ere appropriate to t+e audience, t+e
respondents .ere as'ed if t+ey used t+e product and, if so, +o. fre*uently/ Ninety0
four percent 1nP6@@4 +ad used t+e product and =3A 1nP<B4 said t+ey used it eit+er
very fre*uently or fre*uently/ -+ese results differed very little bet.een products/
,inally, since it is important to 'no. t+at t+e respondents .ere using similar computer
e*uipment to vie. t+e stimulus materials, *uestions .ere as'ed about monitor si?e
and connection speed/ W+ile some respondents did +ave :slo.; connection speeds
1i/e/, 6@/@ bps or less4 17A4, most +ad rapid connections 1i/e/, 7=F, cable, -3, etc/4
1=7A4/ In addition, t+e ma8ority of t+e respondents 1=<A or nP6074 .ere using eit+er
a 67 or 6B0inc+ monitor/
Manipulation Chec!
-+e manipulation c+ec' for t+e Web sites9 interactivity level .as accomplis+ed by
running an ANKVA for t+e perceived interactivity variable/ -+ese results 1-ables 2
and 34 s+o.ed t+at t+e difference in t+e interactivity levels of t+e t.o sets of
Interactive advertisements .ere statistically significant 1,P</2@4 1pP0/0064/
able ) Mean able for E+perimental Web Sites, Interactivity "evel
able - A*./A able for E+perimental Web Sites, Interactivity "evel
A post +oc -u'ey s+o.ed a statistically significant difference bet.een t+e Ne.
&alance lo. interactivity 1P3/B4 and Ne. &alance +ig+ interactivity 1P@/74
1pP0/00=4/ Similarly, t+e test s+o.ed a statistically significant difference bet.een t+e
Ni'on lo. interactivity 1P3/24 and Ni'on +ig+ interactivity 1P@/04 1pP0/00B4/
Structural Equation Model #esults
"at+ analysis .as performed to test t+e t+eoretical model presented in ,igure 6/ All
analyses .ere conducted using AKS 1Analysis of oment Structures4 soft.are
1Arbuc'le and Wot+'e 6<<<4/ -+ese analyses used t+e ma5imum li'eli+ood met+od
of parameter estimation and .ere performed on t+e variance0covariance matri5/
%oodness of fit indices for t+e various models are presented in -able @/ -+e c+i0
s*uare statistic included in t+is table provides a test of t+e null +ypot+esis t+at t+e
reproduced covariance matri5 +as t+e specified model structure 1i/e/, t+at t+e model
fits t+e data4/ -+ree additional goodness of fit indices are also listed2 -(I and C,I
s+o. good fit at /<7 or +ig+er, #S)A s+ould be bet.een /0> or lo.er to indicate
good model fit 1Hu and &entler 6<<<4/
-+e fit of t+e original, t+eoretical model 1,igure 64 .as not ade*uate because t+e c+i0
s*uare .as statistically significant and t+e fit indices s+o.ed t+at t+e model could be
improved 1c2 12<4P=@B/2 1pU/0064, -(IP/B=7, C,IP/>@< and #S)AP/3B@4/ -+e
original model .as, t+erefore, re8ected and t+e results .ere e5amined to identify
.ays to improve t+e model9s fit/
0igure $' Path %iagram of ested Structural Equation Model
-+e modification indices and overall model .ere e5amined as a means of improving
fit 1&ollen 6<><4/ -+e latent variable :consumer processing; and t+e corresponding
indicators 1need for cognition and need for emotion4 +ad a very .ea' relations+ip
.it+ :consumer compre+ension; and added little to t+e overall model/ -+erefore,
t+ese variables .ere deleted and t+e model .as reanaly?ed/ -+e fit of t+e modified
model .as significantly better, but still not ade*uate because t+e c+i0s*uare .as
statistically significant and t+e fit indices s+o.ed t+at t+e model could be improved
1c2 1634P73/72> 1pU/0064, -(IP/>=@, C,IP/<6= and #S)AP/3B@4/ -+e model .as,
t+erefore, also re8ected and t+e results .ere e5amined to identify .ays to improve
t+e model9s fit/
-+e modification indices s+o.ed t+at t+e model9s fit could be improved by correlating
t+e residuals of attitude to.ards t+e brand and purc+ase intention/ &efore correlating
residuals in t+is .ay, it is important to determine .+et+er t+ere is a t+eoretical
reason/ In t+is case, t+ere is/ #esearc+ +as indicated t+at, if t+e consumer li'es t+e
ad, brand li'ing and purc+ase intention are affected in t+e same direction 1"+illips
6<<=4/ -+erefore, attitude to.ard t+e brand and purc+ase intention are li'ely to be
correlated/ -+e fit of t+e modified model .as significantly better but still not ade*uate
because t+e c+i0s*uare .as statistically significant and t+e fit indices s+o.ed t+at t+e
model could be improved/ 1c2 1624P2B/< 1pU/00=4, -(IP/<@2, C,IP/<=B and
#S)AP/0<4/ -+e model .as, t+erefore, also re8ected and t+e results .ere
e5amined to identify .ays to improve t+e model9s fit/
able 1 2oodness of 0it Indices for Structural Equation Model
-+e final ad8ustment .as to eliminate t+e variable purc+ase intention from t+e model/
It .as not contributing muc+ to t+e latent variable and t+e modification indices
s+o.ed t+at it .as not fitting .ell in t+e overall model/ -+eoretically, t+is does ma'e
sense because purc+ase intention is measuring an intention to act, .+ile t+e ot+er
variables included in consumer outcomes 1i/e/, attitude to t+e site, attitude to t+e ad
and attitude to t+e brand4 are measuring attitudes to.ards an ob8ect 1ad or brand4/
-+e goodness of fit indices s+o.ed t+at t+is model provided a good fit 1c2 1>4P6>/32
1pU/06<4, -(IP/<72, C,IP/<B@ and #S)AP/0<24/ -+e c+i0s*uare is not statistically
significant at t+e /07 level/ -+is is generally considered a very sensitive test and is
not grounds to re8ect a model by itself 1Hoyle 6<<74/ -(I and C,I e5ceeded /<7 and
#S)A .as very close to /0>/ ,igure 2 s+o.s t+e final model, t+e completely
standardi?ed pat+ coefficients and t+e values eac+ parameter estimated/
0igure )' Path %iagram of the 0inal Structural Equation Model 3Standardi4ed
Solution5
%iscussion
-+is model supports t+e idea t+at interactivity is an important factor in bot+ t+e
consumer9s compre+ension of and attitudes to.ards interactive advertising/ -+is
researc+ indicates t+at interactive advertising +as a positive influence on consumers9
perceptions of brands and advertising/ -+is supports t+e results of &riggs and Hollis
16<<B4 and addo5, e+ta, and !aube' 16<<B4 t+at interactive advertising can lead
to more positive attitudes/ It also s+o.s t+at interactivity +as a positive and direct
effect on bot+ compre+ension and persuasive outcomes, t+us ans.ering researc+
*uestions one and t.o/ -+is is essential for all communicators to 'no. because
effective communication involves not only ma'ing sure t+e audience :gets;
1compre+ends4 your message, but is also persuaded by it/
Additionally, t+is researc+ indicates t+at compre+ension can +ave a positive influence
on persuasive outcomes/ In ot+er .ords, t+e better someone understands an
interactive advertisement t+e more positive t+ey .ill feel to.ards your ad and brand/
-+is is an interesting finding because in general t+e primary goal of advertising is to
persuade/ -+is is often ac+ieved by informing t+e consumer of t+e benefits of your
product/ Ho.ever, .+ile compre+ension is vital for persuasion to occur 1&atra, yers,
and Aa'er 6<<=4, persuasion is not traditionally t+oug+t of as a byproduct of t+e
consumer understanding your message/ Hopefully, t+is .ill begin to be ret+oug+t as
a result of t+is type of researc+/ In respect to researc+ *uestion t+ree, need for
cognition and need for emotion .ere not found to be important individual difference
variables as incorporated in t+is model/
-+is researc+ gives preliminary support t+at t+e limited capacity model can +elp
researc+ers understand and researc+ t+e compre+ension of interactive advertising/
Ho.ever, t+e nature of t+is researc+ and t+e model do not enable several important
conclusions to be dra.n about .+ic+ structural features are beneficial and .+ic+
mig+t +inderG nor can t+is researc+ conclude at .+ic+ point interactivity overloads t+e
processing capacity/
"imitations and Suggestions for 0uture #esearch
Alt+oug+ careful attention .as paid to control t+e number of limitations of t+is study, it
is important to consider several items/ ,irst, t+e study used a convenience sample of
college students/ -+is limits t+e generali?ability of t+e results/ Ho.ever, college
students do represent t+e most active single group on t+e Internet because >BA of
college students are online 1CyberAtlas 6<<<4/ -+is ma'es a college student sample
a good place to start .+en investigating interactive advertising issues/ In addition, t+e
stimulus materials .ere limited to t.o sets of interactive advertisements representing
different brands and product categories 1Ne. &alance running s+oes and Ni'on
compact cameras4/ -+is limits t+e generali?ability to ot+er brands and product
categories/ Ho.ever, using t.o brands instead of only one strengt+ens t+e results/
,uture studies s+ould include a .ider sample of stimulus materials to e5tend t+e
generali?ability/ -+is study could also be limited by t+e c+oices made in +o. to
measure certain variables/ ,or e5ample, a measure called need for affect +as been
developed by ot+er researc+ers suc+ as aio and )sses 120064 and &ago??i and
oore 16<<@4/ In addition, interactivity .as only measured by t.o levels/ Ho.ever,
t+is is 8ust a first step in t+e researc+/ ,urt+ermore, t+e model could +ave been
furt+er c+anged3improved by modeling N,C and N,) as moderators/ Ideas to e5tend
t+e researc+ are discussed ne5t/
-+is study represents one of t+e first attempts to compare different interactivity levels
of interactive 1i/e/, Web4 advertising/ -+erefore, it is not only important to consider
.+at .as learned, but also .+at still needs to be investigated/ -.o recommendations
apply to most future researc+ in t+is area/ -o increase t+e generali?ability of t+e
results, it is important to use a larger, more diverse sample and a .ider variety of
stimuli/ Kne t+ing t+at could not be considered because of t+e sample composition
.as t+e influence of demograp+ic differences on compre+ension and persuasion of
interactive advertising/ An important ne5t step in t+is area of researc+ .ould be a
more compre+ensive model of t+e impact of interactivity on compre+ension and
persuasion and s+ould consider including t+e follo.ing variablesLage, income,
motivation, opportunity, ability, linear or nonlinear learning style, and perceived
interactivity/ Anot+er important researc+ consideration .ould be to uncover t+e
mental processes people are employing .+en loo'ing at interactive advertising
1banners or Web sites4/ W+at are t+ey t+in'ing .+en t+ey see certain elementsJ
W+at motivates t+em to clic' on banner or lin', to re*uest more information, to s+are
personal information, to participate in a c+at room or to engage in reciprocal
communication .it+ a companyJ -+ese *uestions .ould re*uire innovative researc+
tec+ni*ues, suc+ as a tal'0aloud protocol/
,urt+ermore, it .ould be interesting to see +o. interactivity influences
compre+ension and persuasion in ot+er cultures/ -+e Internet is t+e first global
medium of its 'ind and presents uni*ue opportunities for international advertising
researc+/ Nuestions to consider include2 does interactivity improve compre+ension in
ot+er culturesJ, .+at interactive features 1e/g/, grap+ics, +yperte5t4 are most effective
for different culturesJ and is compre+ension and persuasion improved if t+e site is
created by members of t+e intended cultureJ
,inally, future researc+ s+ould continue to apply t+e limited capacity model to better
understand t+e effects t+at interactivity +as on compre+ension and persuasion/
Specifically, it .ould be interesting to compare .+ic+ structural features 1e/g/,
+yperte5t lin's4 facilitate encoding and .+ic+ may +inder encoding 1e/g/, unrelated
animation4/ In addition, future researc+ s+ould compare different levels of interactivity
1+ig+, medium and lo.4 to better understand .+at degree of interactivity is most
beneficial to compre+ension/ (astly, it is important t+at future researc+ investigates
t+e issue of distraction as it relates to t+e limited capacity model/ -+is could be done
by e5amining t+e difference bet.een message0relevant and message0irrelevant
types of interactivity/
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-ransactional Advertising2 A "redictor of "urc+ase Intention,; Journal of ar'eting
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Frant?, Jo+n H/ and #ees+ad !alal 120004, :Validity of Web0&ased "syc+ological
#esearc+,; in "syc+ological )5periments on t+e Internet, C+apter 2, ic+ael H/
&irnbaum, ed/, San !iego2 Academic "ress, 370=0/
(ang, Annie 16<<74, :!efining Audio3Video #edundancy from a (imited0Capacity
Information "rocessing "erspective,; Communication #esearc+, 22 1,ebruary4, >=0
66=/
LLL 120004, :-+e (imited Capacity odel of ediated "rocessing,; Journal of
Communication, Winter, @=0B0/
LLL, "aul &olls, #obert ,/ "otter, and Farlynn Fa.a+ara 16<<<4, :-+e )ffects of
"roduction "acing and Arousing Content on t+e Information "rocessing of -elevision
essages,; Journal of &roadcasting V )lectronic edia, @3 1@4, @760@B7/
(ang, Annie and Set+ %eiger 16<<34, :-+e )ffects of #elated and $nrelated Cuts on
-elevision Vie.ers9 Attention, "rocessing Capacity, and emory,; Communication
#esearc+, 20 1,ebruary4, @030/
(ang, Annie, Jo+n Ne.+agen, and &yron #eeves 16<<=4, :Negative Video as
Structure2 )motion, Attention, Capacity, and emory,; Journal of &roadcasting V
)lectronic edia, @0, @=00@BB/
(ang, Annie, S+u+ua Q+ou, Nancy Sc+.art?, "aul !/ &olls and #obert ,/ "otter
120004, :-+e )ffects of )dits on Arousal, Attention, and emory for -elevision
essages2 W+en and )dit Is an )dit Can an )dit &e -oo uc+J,; Journal of
&roadcasting V )lectronic edia, @@ 164, <@060</
(ec'enby, Jo+n !/ and Hairong (i 120004, :,rom t+e )ditors2 W+y We Need t+e
Journal of Interactive Advertising, 6 164
U+ttp233.../8iad/org3vol63no63editors3inde5/+tmlX/
(i, Hairong and Janice (/ &u'ovac 16<<<4, :Cognitive Impact of &anner Ad
C+aracteristics2 An )5perimental Study,; Journalism V ass Communication
Nuarterly, B= 124, 3@60373/
(o+se, %erald (/, Steven &ellman, and )ric J/ Jo+nson 120004, :Consumer &uying
&e+avior on t+e Internet2 ,indings from "anel !ata,; Journal of Interactive ar'eting,
6@ 164, 6702</
acFen?ie, Scott &/ and #ic+ard J/ (ut? 16<><4, YAn )mpirical )5amination of t+e
Structural Antecedents of Attitude to.ard t+e Ad in an Advertising "retesting
Conte5t,Y Journal of ar'eting, 73 1April4, @>0=7/
addo5, (ynda /, !ars+an e+ta, and Hug+ %/ !aube' 16<<B4, :-+e #ole and
)ffect of Web Addresses in Advertising,; Journal of Advertising #esearc+,
1arc+3April4, @B07</
aio, %regory #/ and Victoria / )sses 120064, :-+e Need for Affect2 Individual
!ifferences in t+e otivation to Approac+ or Avoid )motions,; Journal of "ersonality,
=< 1August4, @/
artin, Wendy Ann 16<<B4, :Comple5ity (evel of "ictorial etap+or Ads2 Influence on
Compre+ension and "ersuasion ediated by Need for Cognition and "roduct
Involvement,; unpublis+ed aster9s -+esis, -+e $niversity of -e5as at Austin/
cillan, Sally J/ and Candace W+ite 120064, :Survivors2 A Nualitative Study of Web
Sites t+at )ndure,; in "roceeding of t+e 2006 Conference of t+e American Academy
of Advertising, #/ C/ -aylor, ed/, Villanova, "A2 Villanova $niversity, 606060B/
uylle, Steve, #udy oenaert, and arc !espontin 16<<<4, :A %rounded -+eory of
World Wide Web Searc+ &e+aviour,; Journal of ar'eting Communications, 7 134,
6@30677/
Na88ar, (a.rence J/ 16<<=4, :ultimedia Information and (earning,; Journal of
)ducational ultimedia and Hypermedia, 7 124, 62<0670/
Nova', -+omas "/, !onna (/ Hoffman, and Eiu0,ai Eung 120004, :easuring t+e
Customer )5perience in Knline )nvironments2 A Structural odeling Approac+,;
ar'eting Science, 6< 164, 220@2/
"eppers !on and art+a #ogers 16<<74, :Customer0focused Strategies and -actics,;
in Interactive ar'eting, )/ ,orrester and #/ i?ers'i, eds/, (incoln.ood, I(2
American ar'eting Association, N-C &usiness &oo's, 663063@/
"+illips, &arbara J/ 16<<=4, :Consumer Interpretation of Comple5 Advertising Images
and t+e Impact of Verbal Anc+oring on Consumer #esponse,; unpublis+ed !octoral
!issertation, -+e $niversity of -e5as at Austin/
#afaeli, S+ei?af 16<>>4, :Interactivity2 ,rom Ne. edia to Communiation,; in
Advanced Communication Science2 erging ass and Interpersonal "rocesses, #/"/
Ha.'ins, J// Wieman, and S/ "ingree, eds/, Ne.bury "ar', CA2 Sage, 6600666/
#aman, Niran8an V/, "rit+vira8 C+attopad+yay, and Wayne !/ Hoyer 16<<74, :!o
Consumers See' )motional SituationsJ -+e Need for )motion Scale,; Advances in
Consumer #esearc+, 22, 73B07@2/
#odgers, S+elly 120024, :-+e Interactive Advertising odel -ested2 -+e #ole of
Internet otives in Ad "rocessing,; Journal of Interactive Advertising, 2 124,
U+ttp2338iad/org3vol23no23#odgersX/
LLL and )st+er -+orson 120004, :-+e Interactive Advertising odel2 Ho. $sers
"erceive and "rocess Knline Ads,; Journal of Interactive Advertising, 6 164,
U+ttp2338iad/org3vol63no63#odgersX 1accessed 73673024/
Steuer, Jonat+an 16<<24, :!efining Virtual #eality2 !imensions !etermining
-elepresence,; Journal of Communication, @2 1@4, B30<3/
-+orson, )st+er and Annie (ang 16<<24, :)ffects of -elevision Videograp+ics and
(ecture ,amiliarity on Adult Cardiac Krienting #esponses and emory,;
Communication #esearc+, 6< 134, 3@=03=</
-uc'er, (/#/ and C/ (e.is 16<B34, :A #eliability Coefficient for a5imum (i'eli+ood
,actor Analysis,; "syc+ometri'a, 3>, 6060/
$/S/ !epartment of Commerce 120024, A Nation Knline2 Ho. Americans Are
)5panding -+eir $se of t+e Internet,
U+ttp233.../esa/doc/gov370>3esa3nationonlineW020702/docX
Ee+, &etty, !a.n cCaffrey &ro?e', and Sean Faldor 120024, :2006 Knline Holiday
Wrap0$p,; Neilsen3Net#atings, 1,ebruary4/
About the Authors
Wendy Macias 1"+/!/, -+e $niversity of -e5as at Austin4 is Assistant "rofessor,
!epartment of Advertising and "ublic #elations, %rady College of Journalism V ass
Communication, $niversity of %eorgia/
-+e aut+or .ould li'e to e5tend a special ac'no.ledgement and t+an' you to !r/
Jo+n !/ (ec'enby for +is guidance and encouragement in completing +er
dissertation .+ic+ t+is researc+ .as a part of/ -+e aut+or ac'no.ledges t+e +elpful
comments of t+e editors, Jo+n !/ (ec'enby and Hairong (i, and t.o anonymous
revie.ers/ -+e American Academy of Advertising !octoral !issertation Competition
funded t+is researc+/
$#(2 8iad/org3vol33no23macias
Copyrig+t Z 2003 Journal of Interactive Advertising