Pull effect in online advertising: What drives consumers to view ads online. Emilia Lindfors Department of Marketing Hanken School of Economics Helsinki 2015 < SVENSKA HANDELSHÖGSKOLAN Department of: Marketing Type of Work: Thesis Author and student number: Date: 2015 Emilia Lindfors, s082260 Title of Thesis: Pull effect in online advertising: What drives consumers to views ads online. Abstract: Advertising avoidance today is so common that it has been concluded that ad avoidance nowadays is rather the norm than an exception (Chatterjee 2008). Due to the increasing amount of advertising avoidance online, there is a demand for understanding what could drive consumers to view ads online, in order to create pull effect in online advertising. Multiple studies have focused on how to reduce the amount of advertising avoidance. Even though reducing ad avoidance, and especially minimizing ad intrusiveness, is well studied, there has not yet been research studying how to actually remove the avoidance, by creating online advertising that the consumer himself chooses to view. One of the major reasons for advertising avoidance is the perceived intrusiveness of the ad. Since, display advertising like pop-ups use the most intrusive methods to be viewed and therefore, cause high levels of ad avoidance and negative reactance, this advertising format has been chosen as the particular focus of this study. With the uses and gratifications theory as a basis, this study attempts to find motivations and benefits that would drive consumers to view ads online. In order to answer the main research question “How to create pull effect in online advertising” a qualitative study has been conducted. Empirical evidence has been gathered from two sources, online-users and advertising agency experts. This study indicates that in order for advertising to be acknowledged the aim should be to create advertising that the online user chooses to view, in other words create pull effect towards online advertising. By utilizing the six attributes based on utilitarian value found in this study, the possibility of online users choosing to view the ad increases and therefore the desired pull effect within online advertising can be reached. Keywords: Pulled advertising, pushed advertising, online advertising, user-initiated advertising, advertising avoidance, reactance theory, intrusiveness, uses and gratifications theory TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Research area .......................................................................................................................... 3 1.2 Research question ................................................................................................................. 4 1.3 Limitations ................................................................................................................................ 5 1.4 Definitions and key concepts ............................................................................................ 6 1.5 Structure of this thesis ......................................................................................................... 7 2 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ....................................................................................... 10 2.1 Advertising avoidance online ......................................................................................... 11 2.1.1 Advertising avoidance methods ..................................................................... 12 2.1.2 Reasons for advertising avoidance online ................................................. 13 2.2 The perceived intrusiveness of online advertising ............................................... 14 2.3 Reactance theory ................................................................................................................. 18 2.3.1 Reactance theory and online advertising ................................................... 19 2.4 Uses and gratifications theory ....................................................................................... 20 2.4.1 Research within uses and gratifications theory ...................................... 21 2.5 Pulled advertising ................................................................................................................ 24 2.5.1 Pulled advertising based on existing literature ....................................... 25 2.5.2 Pulled advertising based on expert interviews ....................................... 25 2.5.2.1 Existing attempts and current possibilities to create pulled advertising ............................................................................................. 26 2.5.2.2 Challenges and possibilities with pulled advertising ......... 29 2.6 Summary ................................................................................................................................. 31 3 RESEARCH METHOD ........................................................................................................ 32 3.1 Empirical research .............................................................................................................. 32 3.2 Research design .................................................................................................................... 32 3.3 Data collection and respondents ................................................................................... 34 3.3.1 Advertising agency experts .............................................................................. 35 3.3.2 Online users ............................................................................................................. 36 3.4 Creating the questionnaire and planning the interview process .................... 38 3.5 The quality of the research .............................................................................................. 39 3.5.1 The reliability of the study ................................................................................ 39 3.5.2 The validity of the study .................................................................................... 40 3.5.3 The generalizability of the study .................................................................... 40 4 RESULTS ................................................................................................................................ 42 4.1 Results from the consumer interviews ...................................................................... 42 4.1.1 Online advertising and user behavior .......................................................... 42 4.1.1.1 Advertising avoidance ...................................................................... 43 4.1.1.2 Negative online advertising attributes ..................................... 44 4.1.2 Positive online advertising experiences ..................................................... 48 4.1.2.1 Aesthetic value .................................................................................... 48 4.1.2.2 Utilitarian value ................................................................................... 50 4.1.3 Attributes behind the possible pull effect .................................................. 51 4.2 Summary ................................................................................................................................. 59 5 ANALYSES OF THE RESULTS ........................................................................................ 62 5.1 Analyses of the current online advertising situation ........................................... 62 5.2 Motivations and benefits that drive consumers to view ads online .............. 66 5.3 Summary ................................................................................................................................. 72 6 DISCUSSION .......................................................................................................................... 74 6.1 General discussion and overall comments ............................................................... 74 6.2 Managerial implications ................................................................................................... 76 6.3 Future research .................................................................................................................... 76 7 SWEDISH SUMMARY OF THE THESIS (SVENSK SAMMANFATTNING) ..... 78 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................. 89 APPENDICES Appendix 1: Interview guide for online user respondents .......................................................... 92 Appendix 2: Interview guide for advertising expert respondents……………………………….93 LIST OF TABLES Table 1 Advertising expert respondents .................................................................................. 36 Table 2 Online user respondents ............................................................................................... 36 Table 3 Utilitarian value attributes ........................................................................................... 58 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1 The structure of the research questions within the thesis ............................... 9 Figure 2 The structure of the theoretical framework ......................................................... 10 1 1 INTRODUCTION During the last decade online advertising has grown rapidly. Today it is commonly