DOES AUGMENTED REALITY LEAD TO AUGMENTED MARKETING SUCCESS? AN EXPERIMENT ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF AR ADVERTISING VERSUS TRADITIONAL ADVERTISING Wetenschappelijk artikel Aantal woorden: 8.184

Laure Cremers Stamnummer: 01304016 Promotor: Prof. dr. Laura Herrewijn Copromotor: Prof. dr. Sanne Holvoet Masterproef voorgelegd voor het behalen van de graad master in de richting Communicatiewetenschappen afstudeerrichting Communicatiemanagement Academiejaar: 2018-2019

ABSTRACT

In today’s digital world, the use of Augmented Reality (AR) has steadily been gaining popularity

withinbrands’marketingstrategies.Theriseofthisrelativelynewmarketingformbroughtwithita

series of questions concerning its usage, impact, benefits, and potential drawbacks. The present

study evaluates the effectiveness of AR advertising in comparison to traditional advertising, with

special attention given to the hedonic aspects of novelty and entertainment. A between-subjects

experimentwithanARandanon-ARconditionwasconductedtoaddressthisresearchquestion(N=

122). Results showed that attitude toward the adwas higher for the AR advertisement and that

perceived novelty mediated this effect. In contrast, there were no differences between the two

advertisements in termsofbrandattitudeandpurchase intention.Althoughthestudyproduceda

fewpromisingfindings,whetherARadvertisingismoreeffectivethantraditionaladvertisingremains

inconclusiveandmoreresearchonthetopicisneeded.

SAMENVATTING

In de digitale wereld van vandaag wordt het gebruik van augmented reality (AR) in de

marketingstrategieën van bedrijven steeds populairder. De opkomst van deze relatief nieuwe

marketingvormbrengteenreeksvragenmetzichmeeoverhetgebruik,deimpact,devoordelenen

demogelijkenadelenervan.DezestudievergelijktdedoeltreffendheidvaneenAR-advertentiemet

metdievaneentraditioneleadvertentieenschenktdaarbijinhetbijzonderaandachtaanderolvan

nieuwheid en entertainment hierin, twee hedonistische aspecten van de ervaring met de

technologie. Hiertoe werd een between-subjects-experiment uitgevoerd met enerzijds een AR-

conditieenanderzijdseen traditionele conditie.Uitde resultatenbleekdatde reclameboodschap

met AR een positievere attitude tegenover de advertentie opwekte en dat dit effect gemedieerd

werd door de gepercipieerde nieuwheid ervan. Er werd daarentegen geen verschil tussen de

condities vastgesteld wat betreft merkattitude en aankoopintentie. Hoewel de studie enkele

veelbelovendeinzichtenvoortbracht,blijftdevraagofAR-reclamedoeltreffenderisdantraditionele

reclamevormenonbeantwoord.Verderonderzoeknaarditonderwerpisdanooknodig.

TABLEOFCONTENTS

1 INTRODUCTION...............................................................................................................................1

2 CONCEPTUALBACKGROUNDANDHYPOTHESES............................................................................4

2.1 DefiningAugmentedRealityMarketing...................................................................................4

2.2 Experientialmarketingparadigm.............................................................................................6

2.3 PreviousresearchonARMeffectiveness.................................................................................7

2.3.1 ARMandconsumerresponses..........................................................................................8

2.3.2 Explanatoryroleofnoveltyandentertainment..............................................................10

2.4 Conceptualmodel..................................................................................................................12

3 METHODOLOGY............................................................................................................................13

3.1 Experimentdesignandprocedure.........................................................................................13

3.2 Stimuli....................................................................................................................................14

3.3 Measures................................................................................................................................16

3.4 Participantsandsamplingmethod........................................................................................17

4 RESULTS.........................................................................................................................................18

4.1 Differencesbetweentheconditions......................................................................................18

4.2 Sequentialmediationanalysis................................................................................................18

4.3 Mediatingeffectsofnoveltyandentertainment...................................................................19

5 DISCUSSION...................................................................................................................................21

6 LIMITATIONSANDRECOMMENDATIONSFORFUTURERESEARCH..............................................22

APPENDIXA........................................................................................................................................24

REFERENCES........................................................................................................................................26

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1 INTRODUCTION

Surely, most Internet users will have come across at least one of the following phenomena:

onlineinfluencers(peoplewithlargeonlinefollowingswhoarepaidbybrandstopromoteorshow

certainproductsontheirsocialmedia),e-mailmarketing,oradvertisementsonappsandwebsites.It

isquiteapparentthatdigitallyrunadcampaignshavebeensteadilygainingpopularity.Mangoldand

Faulds (2009), for example, point out the key role that social media and the Internet in general

presently play in advertising. According to Marketing Charts (2016), it is predicted by

ZenithOptimedia that, although desktop internet advertising is becoming less frequent, the total

internetadvertisingspendisforecasttosoonovertakeTVadvertising,whichisonthedecline.The

shareofmobileinternetadvertisingintheglobaladexpenditurewillhaveclimbedfrom15%in2016

to 26,7% by 2019, more than twice as much as the currently dwindling spend share of print

advertising.MarketingCharts(2017)alsoreportsonthepredictionofmediaagencyMAGNAthat,in

the same year, the amount of money spent on digital advertising space will exceed the amount

invested in offlinemedia advertising. Internet advertising is likely to become themost important

segment in the near future, especially through ads on social media and online video (Marketing

Charts, 2017). This evolution in the distribution of ad spending calls for more research on the

efficacyofdigitalmarketing.

In today’s digital world, renewing technologies are rapidly developing and subsequently being

adopted by marketers to implement them in their marketing and advertising strategies. One of

those innovations that is currently on the rise is that of augmented reality (AR) technology. A

forecast by Statista (s.d.) states that the global augmented reality market size will amount to

approximately 198 billionU.S. dollars by 2025. Azuma (1997) broadly defines AR technology as a

variation of Virtual Reality (VR) in which the real world is supplemented with virtual objects.

Furthermore,thesystem“is interactiveinrealtime”and“registeredinthreedimensions”(Azuma,

1997, p. 356). The game app Pokémon Go, which popularized AR and truly brought it to the

mainstreampublic for the first timesince itemerged (Ghosh,2016;Statista, s.d.), isawell-known

applicationofthistechnology.Whilstthecamerafunctionisactive,thelittlemonstersappearonthe

smartphonescreenas iftheyexist inthephysicalworld infrontoftheuser.Giventheprospectof

browser-basedARbeinglaunchedinthenearfuture,ARistobecomemoreandmoreavailableand

henceevenmorepopular in2019 (Bardi,2018).Around1billionpeopleareexpected tobeusing

thistechnologyby2020(NewGenApps,2018).Theever-growingpopularityofmobilesmartdevices

hasplayedakeyroleintheuseanddevelopmentofARapplications(Yaoyuneyongetal.,2016).

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Despiteitsrelativelyrecentemergence,ARtechnologyisalreadybeingdeployedinawidearrayof

different fields such as gaming and other entertainment industries, medicine, education and

training,themilitary,navigationandsoon(Azuma,1997;VanKrevelen&Poelman,2010).Today,AR

technologyhasmoved fromthose industries into the fieldofmarketing.The fairlynewmarketing

strategy that incorporates this technology is commonly known as Augmented Reality Marketing

(ARM)andseemstobeappliedespeciallyfrequentlyintheretailande-commerceworld.WithARin

marketing, virtual information can be added to print advertisements (e.g. to be able to see the

advertisedproduct in3D), shopwindows (e.g. togain informationonpricing),andevenourselves

(e.g. to virtually try on glasses). Some brands (e.g. Colgate, Fanta, Scotch & Soda, etc.) have

collaboratedwith socialmedia apps Snapchat and Instagram, both ofwhich possess a built-in AR

feature, topromote the releaseofnewproductswith customARphoto filters.Otherbrands (e.g.

IKEA,Shiseido,AmericanApparel)havedevelopedtheirveryownARapplicationsforthecustomer

touse.Thesoftwareenablescustomersto,forinstance,virtuallytryonitemsofclothingandmake-

uportoseewhatcertainpiecesoffurniturewouldlooklikeintheirlivingrooms.

Aswithanyinnovation,theriseofARMgiveslifetoaseriesofquestionsregardingitsuse,impact,

advantages,andpotentialissues.MarketingexpertsareconvincedthattheimplementationofARin

marketingandadvertisingstrategiesencompassesawholerangeofopportunitiesforbrands.ARMis

believed to bemore unique, attention-grabbing, immersive, entertaining and fun than traditional

marketing media (Rucker, 2017). Statements like these about the potential benefits that AR

advertising supposedly entails lead us to believe that it can have a positive effect on relevant

consumerresponses.

Previous academic research on the topic shows that consumers have positive attitudes toward

marketing applications that employ the technology. Apart from having practical uses, ARM is

believed to provide a whole experience for its users (Bulearca & Tamarjan, 2010; Dacko, 2017;

McCormicketal.,2014;Moorhouseetal.,2018;Yuan&Wu,2008)thattheyusuallyfindenjoyable

(Poushneh&Vasquez-Parraga,2017).Withthecurrenttrendofexperientialmarketing,companies

areno longer solelyoccupiedwith theobjectiveofconvincingcustomers that theyneedacertain

product. Instead, theynowalso take into account emotional aspects of consumption,whichhave

become just as important for the consumer (Schmitt, 1999; Yuan &Wu, 2008). In other words,

consumersarelookingforhedonicaswellasutilitarianvalueintheirconsumptionactivities(Babin

etal.,1994).Companiesthereforewanttoofferthemexperientialadvantagesbesidesfulfillingtheir

physical, economic, and functional needs. Overall, the academic literature shows that ARM

generatesmorepositiveattitudesaswellasbehaviouralintentionsinfavourofthebrand.However,

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it has not yet been conclusively demonstrated that the employment of a purely hedonic AR

applicationinadvertisingyieldsmorefavourableconsumerresponsesthanadvertisingwithoutany

ARfeatures.

EventhoughanumberofmarketersandresearchersareconvincedofthebenefitsthatARMentails

forcompanies (Gleb,2017;Rucker,2017),academic researchhasnotdefinitivelycertified thatAR

advertising would be more successful than conventional medium advertising. The literature as

presented above suggests that this strategy could be helpful in creating unique customer

experiences(Bulearca&Tamarjan,2010;Yuan&Wu,2008).Overall,ARMseemstobewell-received

amongthepublic. Indeed,anumberofstudieshavefoundthatARMcouldbeaneffectivetool to

improve consumer experiences in various ways (e.g. Alimamy et al., 2017; Bulearca & Tamarjan,

2010; Owyang, 2010; Yaoyuneyong et al., 2016). In contrast, Ross and Harrison (2016) note that

consumerslackknowledgeaboutthetechnologyandhaveexpressedconcernsregardingprivacyand

security. So far, a fair amount of research has explored the effects of ARM on various sorts of

consumer responses (e.g. Hilken et al., 2017; Javornik, 2016a; Pantano et al., 2017; Poushneh &

Vasquez-Parraga,2017).Furthermore,there isstillagreatdealofuncertaintyaboutthe long-term

benefitsofthisnewformofmarketing.WhereassomeresearchersexpectthatARMwillcontribute

toapositiveCBR(e.g.Owyang,2010;Yaoyuneyongetal.,2016),othersareconvincedthatitisonly

usefulattheinitialstageofconsumption(seeBulearca&Tamarjan,2010).

TheexistingliteraturefocusesprimarilyonARMapplicationswithafunctionaluse(e.g.virtualfitting

rooms). However, purely entertaining AR ads (e.g. Signal’s custom Snapchat filter or the Lay’s AR

advergame)haverecentlybecomemuchmorepresentandrequireinvestigatingaswell.Moreover,

hedonicexperienceswithARmightbeamoreimportantdeterminingfactorinthepositiveattitudes

peopleholdtowardsARapplications(Javornik,2016b).Startingfromthecloselyrelatedconceptof

consumer experience, hedonic aspects will be observed to explain the effect on consumer

responses,asopposedtomoreutilitariancharacteristicsofARM.Tocomplementpreviousresearch,

thepresentstudyaimstoexaminethe linkbetweenentertainingARMandbrandattitude.Special

attention will be paid to the aspects of novelty and entertainment in this process. The research

questionthisstudyattemptstoansweristhefollowing:Towhichextentdoestheuseofentertaining

AugmentedRealityMarketingcorrelatewithapositive consumerattitude towards thebrand? The

results are expected to contribute to existing literature on the effectiveness of hedonic ARM

applicationsandprovidemoreclarityabouttheadvantagesofthismediumovernon-ARadvertising.

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2 CONCEPTUALBACKGROUNDANDHYPOTHESES

2.1 DefiningAugmentedRealityMarketing

The technology of augmented reality (AR) arose around 1960 as a see-through head-mounted

display(Roxo&Brito,2017).Atpresent,however,ARcanbeattainedbymeansofdifferentmedia

ordevices,makinghead-mounteddisplaysnolongeranabsolutenecessity.Especiallyrelevanttoday

isareapplicationsofARthatemploythesmartphoneasamedium.Becauseofthediversewaysof

achieving AR simulations, researchers have developed different conceptualisations and,

consequently, definitions vary in the existing literature. The exact features and boundaries of AR

technologyarehence somewhatdisputed.Overall, researchers in the field seem toagree thatAR

falls within the realm of Virtual Reality (VR) (e.g. Azuma, 1997; Martin-Gutierrez et al., 2010;

Milgram&Kishino,1994;VanKrevelen&Poelman,2010)and themain ideaof this technology is

thatitaddsvirtualinformation,intheformofanextralayer,totherealworldaroundtheuser.

MilgramandKishino(1994)considerARaformofMixedReality(MR),asubclassofVRthatmerges

reality and virtual space in the same visual display environment. They distinguish two possible

definitionsofAR.Therestricteddefinition,whichwaspredominantlyusedinliteratureatthetime,

onlyviewedtechnologiesthatincorporatedhead-mounteddisplaysasARtechnologies.Theauthors,

conversely,adoptamuchbroaderdefinitionofthetermARanduseittoreferto“anycaseinwhich

an otherwise real environment is ‘augmented’ by means of virtual (computer graphic) objects”

(Milgram&Kishino,1994,p.4).ThisdoesnotonlyincludeARusingsee-throughorimmersivehead-

mounteddisplays,butalsovirtualoverlaysuponmonitor-basedvideodisplays.MilgramandKishino

(1994) further introduce the concept of the virtuality continuum, which describes the different

display situations that are created by varying kinds of technologies and ranges from ‘real

environments’to‘virtualenvironments’,onwhichMRisplacedinbetweenthosetwoextrema.AR

findsitselfclosertotheextremumoftherealenvironments,sinceitstartsfromarealsceneandis

supplementedwithvirtualelements,asopposedtoAugmentedVirtuality(AV)environments,which

is a predominantly virtual world and contain fewer real-world objects than computer-generated

ones.

Inamuch-citedstate-of-the-artonthetopic,Azuma(1997)definesARasasysteminwhichreal-life

andvirtualelementsarecombined,makingitseemasthoughtheyarepresentinthesamespaceat

thesametime.AccordingtoAzuma,thesystemshouldmeetthefollowingthreecriteriainorderto

belabelledAR:Itcombinesrealandvirtual,itisinteractiveinrealtime,anditisregisteredinthree

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dimensions. The difference to VR lies in the fact that, with AR, the user still sees the real world

around him as opposed to being completely immersed in the computer-generated world. As do

multiple other researchers (e.g. Roxo& Brito, 2017;Wu et al., 2013), Van Krevelen and Poelman

(2010)followthedefinitionprovidedbyAzuma(1997).TheauthorsadditionallynotethatARisnot

restrictedtoapplicationsinvolvingahead-mounteddisplay.Furthermore,thetechnologyisnotonly

limited to the enhancement of sight, but can apply to all of our senses. Lastly, diminished or

mediatedreality,whichreferstotheremovalofrealobjectsbyoverlayingvirtualones, isalsofalls

withinthescopeofaugmentedreality(VanKrevelen&Poelman,2010).

SincethemajorityofresearchersinthefieldseemtofollowthebroadapproachtoAR(e.g.Azuma,

1997;VanKrevelen&Poelman,2010;Klopfer,2008),thecurrentstudywillalsoconsideritaformof

VRinwhichtherealworldissupplementedwithvirtualelements.Subsequently,theARapplication

in this study will not use a head-mounted display but a smartphone as medium. With the

proliferation of smartphones and the increasing availability of AR smartphone applications,

professionals and academics believe that the mass market is ready to adopt the technology

(Siltanen,2017).

AugmentedRealityMarketing(ARM)istheformofmarketingthatincorporatesARtechnologyinto

itscampaigns.IntuitivelyanddrawingfrompersonalexperienceswithAR,quiteafewtypescanbe

distinguished, for instancebasedontheobjectthat isaugmented,the locationwhere it isusedor

thepurposebehindit.ThetechnologyofARcanbeappliedinmarketingina largevarietyofways

and at various locations ranging from stores to the consumers’ homes. Bonetti et al. (2018)

distinguish the popular retail applications of virtual fitting rooms in the physical shopping

environmentandmobileAR,which involvespersonalmobile technology.Evenon the streets, this

type ofmarketing is starting to appear. The soda company Pepsi, for example, installed a screen

displaying highly realistic animations in a bus shelter in London, creating the illusion of tigers,

destructive robots and flying saucers passing by outside of the bus stop (Convince & Convert).

Interactivewindowshopping,wherepassers-byaimtheirsmartphonesatshopwindowstoreceive

additional information about theproducts ondisplay, is alsoon the rise (Techworld, 2017).Aside

fromARinpublicareas,someapplicationsworkinconjunctionwithprintadvertisingandadvertising

on screen or are integrated in apps andwebsites, where the function is usually activatedwith a

smartdevice.Asa formofhybridmedia,ARcanenrichprintadvertisingby linking it toadditional

digital content that can be accessed through scanning the ad (Siltanen, 2017). Based on these

examples, a primary distinction can be made between fuctional ARM applications and purely

entertainingorexperientialonesusedforadvertising.

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The way in which ARM is applied depends on the goal the company seeks to achieve, such as

strengtheningtherelationshipwiththecustomer,offeringanexperienceoraidingthecustomerina

practicalsense.Marketingisabroadfieldonitsownaswellwithvaryingpurposesandapproaches,

whichalsocontributestothevariationpossibilitiesinARM.Itisimportanttokeepinmindthatmost

formsof technology areevolving ratherquicklynowadays and that themostpopular applications

from a few years ago might not be as popular today. Nevertheless, AR technology itself is still

growingasanindustryandnewwaystoapplyitinthemarketingworldkeepemerging.

2.2 Experientialmarketingparadigm

The present relevance of ARM can be demonstrated by taking a closer look at the prevailing

marketingparadigmintoday’seconomy.Implementedinmarketing,ARcouldofferconsumerswhat

they expect to gain from their consumption activities, aside from the functional properties of the

desired product or service. Indeed, consumers do not merely seek to fulfil utilitarian needs, but

shopping can also provide hedonic value (Bloch & Bruce, 1984; cited by Babin et al., 1994). It is

thereforeevidentthatbrandsalsoneedtocatertotheirhedonicneeds.

Inlinewiththisobservationisthecurrentlydominantparadigmofexperientialmarketing,inwhich

consumers look for interesting and unique experiences rather than mere goods or services. The

experienceeconomyisbelievedtobethenextstepintheprogressionofeconomicvalue,following

the agrarian economy, the goods-based industrial economy and the service economy (Pine &

Gilmore, 1998). In this newparadigm, the focus has shifted fromproducts’ functional benefits to

sensory, emotional, cognitive, behavioural, and relational values. In other words, consumption is

regarded as a holistic experience rather than a collection of separate products (Schmitt, 1999).

Augmented reality is believed to tap into this need for experience the consumer has,making its

implementationinmarketinginevitable(Roxo&Brito,2017).

2.3 PreviousresearchonARMeffectiveness

Certain experts and marketers believe that AR encapsulates the future of advertising and that

brands need to start adopting the technology into their campaigns (e.g. Gleb, 2017). However,

researchsupportingthisbeliefisgreatlylacking.Uptodate,moststudieshavefocusedonutilitarian

ARapplicationsinmarketing,retailande-commerce,butthehedonicapplicationofthetechnology

withinadvertisinghaslargelybeenneglectedinresearch.Onlyahandfulofstudieshaveapproached

theimplementationofARfeaturesinadvertisingandcomparedittotraditionalmediumadvertising.

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Yaoyuneyong (2016).These findingsbringus to thegeneralexpectation thatanARadvertisement

willevokemorepositiveconsumerresponsesthanatraditionaladvertisement.

Becauseof itswidearrayofpossibleapplications inmarketing,ARhasbeen founduseful inmany

differentways.Thatiswhyresearchonthetopicisremarkablydivergentandhasthusfarproduced

immenselyheterogeneousresults.Previousstudieshavemeasuredverydiverseaspectstomapthe

efficacy of ARM, ranging from purchase intentions (e.g. Poushneh & Vasquez-Parraga, 2017) to

informationrecall(e.g.Connollyetal.,2010).Overall,theresultsofpreviousstudiespointtowards

the idea that the implementation of ARM can have positive outcomes for brands and even

consumersthemselves.However,notallapplicationsservethesamemarketingobjectivesandthe

desiredoutcomescanvarygreatlyacrossadvertiserd.

ThepresentstudywishestoinvestigatetowhichextentadvertisingusingARismoreeffectivethana

traditional advertising format. Advertising effectiveness is commonly measured by a number of

consumer responses,which typically include attitude toward the ad, brand attitude andpurchase

intentions.SeveralresearchershaveexploredtherelationshipbetweenARMandvariousconsumer

responses (e.g. Hilken et al., 2017; Javornik, 2016a; Pantano et al., 2017; Poushneh & Vasquez-

Parraga,2017),whichcanbeofhigh interest tomarketers.Theconceptofconsumerresponses is

verybroad,asthoseresponsescanbecognitive,affectiveorbehaviouralinnature(Javornik,2016a).

As stated above, the present paper is particularly interested in the affective (i.e. attitudes) and

behavioural responses resulting from exposure to an advertisement, which is why the following

literaturereviewwillfocusonpreviousfindingsregardingthesespecificconsumeroutcomes.

2.3.1 ARMandconsumerresponses

Marketing blogs and academic literature point toward the overall idea that ARM is superior to

traditional forms of marketing. Certain features that are inherent to interactive technologies

(referring to computer-mediatedanddigital environments,ofwhichAR is anexample)havebeen

found to contribute to a positive attitude toward the ad aswell as the brand inmultiple studies

(Javornik, 2016b). Particularly, the experience of immersion that occurs when interacting with

certain innovativemedia is known to triggerpositive consumer evaluations (Yimet al., 2017).We

thereforeexpecttheARadvertisementinthepresentexperimenttoreceivehigherscoresthanthe

traditionaladvertisementintermsoftheexaminedconsumerresponses.

Most studies comparing ARM with more traditional marketing techniques include the type of

functionalapplicationsthatallowconsumerstotryoncertainaccessoriesortoplacevirtualpieces

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offurnitureintheir livingspaces.Althoughthepresentstudyisexclusivelyinterestedinthepurely

hedonic variation of ARM, this body of research provides useful insights into the consumer

responsesthatARiscapableofeliciting.SincehedonicARadvertisinginvolvesthesametechnology

as functional ARM applications, it is expected to generate similar effects. Javornik (2016b) even

suggests that the experiences consumers havewith ARmay be rather hedonic than utilitarian in

nature and that the affective componentmaybemoredetermining in leading to thebehavioural

responses.

Attitudetowardthead

Previous research overall suggests that consumers have positive attitudes towards AR technology

and applications of it inmarketing. In a studybyHuang and Liao (2015), for example, consumers

werefoundtorespondtoAR’sentertainingandexperientialvalueinapositiveway. InYimetal.’s

(2017) study, participants had more favourable attitudes toward the ARM application than the

traditional e-commerce website. In the field of consumer behaviour, it is generally known that

people’s attitudes toa certainobject canbe transferred toanassociatedone. Therefore,positive

attitudestowardARtechnology,ARapplicationsortheexperienceofusingitcanbetransferredto

the advertisement that encompasses this feature. This is demonstrated in Yaoyuneyong et al.’s

(2016)study,whichcomparedconsumers’attitudestowardthreedifferenttypesofadvertisements.

TheyfoundthatconsumerspreferredtheARadvertisementovertheotherformats(QRandprint).

H1: An AR advertisementwill lead to amore positive attitude toward the ad in comparison to a

traditionaladvertisement.

Brandattitude

Thepurposeofadvertisingisnotmerelyforpeopletoenjoyit,butthepracticeisoftendeployedas

a means to instill in consumers positive feelings towards the brand. These feelings are usually

referred to with the term brand attitude, which can be conceptualised as someone’s overall

evaluationofabrand(Lietal.,2002;citedbyJavornik,2016a).Researchonhowadvertisingworks

hasindicatedthatconsumers’attitudestowardsadvertisementspositivelyinfluencetheirrespective

brandattitudes(Gardner,1985).ThisiswhyweexpectthepositiveevaluationsofARMtotransferto

theadvertisedbrand.

ARadvertisementsaresaidtoestablishanemotionalconnectionwiththeconsumer(ForbesAgency

Council, 2017; Gleb, 2017), leading to feelings of affection toward the brand (BCM, 2018). This

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connectionisalsobelievedtoresultinbrandaffinity(ForbesAgencyCouncil,2017;Gleb,2017),an

enhancedbrandreputationandpositiveassociationswiththebrand(Gleb,2017).Theseclaimslead

ustobelievethatARMcouldeffectmorepositiveattitudestowardtheadvertisedbrand.

The concept of brand-related affective responses frequently surfaces in academic papers onARM

andrelatedresearch.MarketingapplicationsusingARarecommonlyseenasaneffectivemedium

for brands to build strong relationshipswith their customers (Owyang, 2010; Yaoyuneyong et al.,

2016).AfeatureofARthatisespeciallyusefulinamarketingcontextisthatitposesanewformof

communicationbetweenbrandandconsumer(Roxo&Brito,2017).

Anumberofstudieshaveshownthatcertainfeaturesof innovativetechnologies inmarketingcan

ultimately lead to a positive attitude towards the brand (see Javornik, 2016b for an overview).

However, relatively littleknowledgeon this relationexists in the fieldofARMspecifically.Overall,

academicresearchsuggeststhatARMisindeedcapableofenhancingconsumers’brandattitudes,as

a few studieshavementionedapositiveeffectofARonbrandattitude (Hopp&Gangadharbatla,

2015;Yaoyuneyongetal.,2016;Yimetal.,2017).Enjoymentinparticular,whichisoftencitedasa

keycharacteristicofpeople’sexperienceswithAR,isbelievedtocontributetofavourableattitudes

toward thebrand (Mathwicket al., 2001).Basedon this, the followinghypothesis canbederived

fromtheliterature:

H2:AnARadvertisementwill leadtoamorepositivebrandattitudeincomparisontoatraditional

advertisement.

Behaviouralintentions

Another purpose of advertising is the persuasion of people to perform actions in favour of the

advertisedbrand.ResearchsurroundingARMhasbeentryingtoanswerthequestionwhetherthis

formofmarketingcanbesuccessfulinthisrespect.Accordingtobothprofessionalsandacademics,

itiscapableofboostingconsumers’engagement(ForbesAgencyCouncil,2017;Yaoyuneyongetal.,

2017). The emotional connection that this form of advertising is believed to establish can direct

consumers to deeper content (Forbes Agency Council, 2017) and drive them to make purchases

(Gleb,2017).

Academic research on ARM strongly supports these claims. The emotions that are evoked when

engagingwiththeARapplicationmaydriveimmediateproduct-relatedbehavioralaction(Menon&

Soman,2005;citedbyChehimietal.,2007).Morespecifically,certaincorecharacteristicsofARM,

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like enjoyment and playfulness, have been found to increase consumers’ willingness to make a

purchase(Huang&Liao,2015).Theexperientialvaluethataugmentedrealityandotherinteractive

technologiesprovidearebelievedtoenhancepersuasioneffects(Fogg,2003).Thisimpliesthatthe

use of AR in advertising could lead to stronger purchase intentions than traditional non-AR

advertising,whichusuallylackstheaformentionedqualities.

H3: An AR advertisement will lead to a higher purchase intention in comparison to a traditional

advertisement.

Accordingtowell-establishedtheoryonadvertisingeffects,theconsumerresponsescoveredinthis

paperarenotseparateconcepts,buttheyareusuallyinterrelatedandcaninfluenceeachother.Itis

widely known that favourable attitudes toward an advertisement can be transferred to the

advertisedbrandandultimatelyinfluencebrand-relatedconsumerbehavior.Takingintoaccountthe

general literatureonadvertisingeffectivenessaswellas findings frompreviouslydicussedpapers,

wecandrawupthefollowinghypothesis:

H4:Theeffectoftypeofadonpurchaseintentionwillbemediatedbyattitudetowardtheadand

brandattitudeconsecutively.

2.3.2 Explanatoryroleofnoveltyandentertainment

The main reason why marketing experts seem to strongly believe in the effectiveness of AR

advertisementsisbecausetheyaresupposedtobefunandoriginal.Thankstothesequalities,they

allegedly are capable of breaking through the advertising clutter, attracting consumers’ attention

and motivating them to engage (BCM, 2018; Gleb, 2018; Rucker, 2017). Unlike conventional

advertising formats, which have become boring and even annoying to the viewer, AR ads are

generallywell-receivedandlikedbythepublic(Rucker,2017).TakingintoaccountJavornik’s(2016b)

proposal that itmight be the hedonic experience rather than the functional aspect that leads to

positiveattitudestowardsAR,noveltyandentertainmentwereselectedaspotentialantecedentsof

attitudetowardtheadbasedontheliterature.

Inordertoexplaintheexpecteddifferencebetweenthetwoadvertisingtypesintermsofattitude

towardthead,twodeterminingfactorsaretakenacloserlookat.Previousresearchonthetopicof

AR has studied various characteristics of interactive media and their impacts on consumer

responses.Twooftenrecurringcharacteristicsthatarerelevanttothepresentstudyarethelevelsof

noveltyandentertainment.Basedonthestatements thatARcanmakeadvertising funandthat it

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formsadistinctivequalitythatcancauseanadvertisementtostandout,itwouldbeexpectedthat

AR ads will be perceived as more novel and entertaining than non-AR ads. Novelty and

entertainmentareindeedregularlyrecurringconceptsinacademicliteratureonARM.

Novelty

AR is a fairly new technology that has only recently started tomake itsway into themainstream

market.SinceARadvertisingissucharecentdevelopmentinmarketing,wenaturallyexpectthatan

AR ad will be seen as more novel than a regular non-AR ad. This is confirmed in the study by

Yaoyuneyongetal.(2016),inwhichtheARadvertisementyieldedhigherscoresfornoveltythanthe

otheradvertisements.Marketingprofessionalsareconvincedthatinnovativewaysofadvertisinglike

ARMarebetteratbreakingthroughtheclutteredadspace,grabbingtheviewer’sattentionandare

hencemoreeffective(BCM,2018;Gleb,2018;Rucker,2017).

NoveltyisanoftenrecurringterminARMacademicliteratureandthemajorityofresearchesviewit

asabeneficialcharacteristicofAR,althoughitseffectsaresomewhatdisputed.Thesignificanceof

perceivednoveltyoftheARMapplicationisclearlydemonstratedinthestudybyYimetal.(2017).

ThepositiveconsumerevaluationsofARthattheresearchersdiscoveredcanpartlybeattributedto

perceptionsofthemedium’snewnessanduniqueness.Thetechnologyisfoundtogenerategreater

novelty,whichsubsequently results inbetterattitudes toward themedium(Yimetal.,2017). It is

however important to note that this so-called novelty effect fades over time. Hopp and

Gangadharbatla(2016),ontheotherhand,reportanegativeinfluenceofnoveltyonattitudetoward

the ad. However, because AR advertising is still emerging and its newnessmay be an important

factorinthisstudy’sfocusonhedonicaspects,weexpectapositivenoveltyeffect.

A clear direct link between novelty and attitude toward the ad has not been established in the

reviewed literature. The present study wants to examine to which extent this frequently cited

attribute of ARM contributes to people’s attitude toward the ad. A positive relationship can be

expectedbasedonthemajorityofthefindingsandstatementsmentionedabove.

H5:AnARadvertisementwillbeperceivedasmorenovelthanatraditionaladvertisement,whichin

turnwillleadtoamorepositiveattitudetowardthead.

Entertainment

Asmentioned before, the concept of ARM is firmly associatedwith the paradigm of experiential

marketing in previous research. Many academic articles have stated that the technology offers

12

consumersacertainexperience(e.g.Alimamyetal.,2017;Bulearca&Tamarjan,2010;Roxo&Brito,

2017; Yaoyuneyong, 2016; Yuan & Wu, 2008) that they find enjoyable (Poushneh & Vasquez-

Parraga,2017). Inotherwords, theexperienceofusingARoffersconsumersentertainmentvalue,

whichtheypositivelyrespondto(Huang&Liao,2015).

Entertainmentisconsideredakeyantecedentofattitudetowardtheadandwasevenfoundtobe

themostdeterminingpredictorofviewers’attitudetowardmobileadvertisinginastudybyTsanget

al. (2004; citedby Yaoyuneyong, 2016).Advertisements that are consideredentertaining enhance

people’s attitudes toward those ads and the advertiser, positively influencing purchase intentions

(Stern&Zaichowsky,1991;citedbySung&Cho,2012).Yimetal.(2017) revealedthattheuseofARin e-commerce outperforms the traditional website medium in terms of media enjoyment and

attitudetowardthemedium.Theyfoundthatthehigherlevelofenjoymentcouldbyexplainedby

theoccuranceofimmersion,akeycharacteristicofusers’experiencewithAR(Javornik,2016a;Yim

etal.,2017).Inadditiontothis,ARMallegedlyprovidesmoreexperientialandentertainmentvalue

thantraditionalformsofadvertising(Yaoyuneyong,2016).

Thefollowinghypothesiscanbedeductedfromtheliterature:

H6:AnARadvertisementwillbeperceivedasmoreentertaining thana traditionaladvertisement,

whichinturnwillleadtoamorepositiveattitudetowardthead.

2.4 Conceptualmodel

Basedonthepreviouslyproposedhypothesesthatweredeductedfromtheliterature,thefollowing

conceptualmodelcanbeproposed:

Figure1.Conceptualmodel.

NoveltyEntertainment

Typeofad

Attitudetowardad

Brandattitude

Purchaseintention

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3 METHODOLOGY

3.1 Experimentdesignandprocedure

The objective of this study was to investigate if AR advertising leads to more positive consumer

responsescomparedtotraditionaladvertisingandwhetherthisdifferencecouldbeexplainedbythe

ads’ levels of novelty and entertainment. To gain insight into these effects and to be able to

generalise the results, the research questions were examined by means of a between-subjects

experimentwhich consistedof anAR and a non-AR condition and included a quantitative survey.

ThedatawasgatheredbymeansoftheonlinesurveysoftwareQualtrics.

Thesurveystartedwithashortintroductioncontainingsomebackgroundinformationonthestudy,

a few instructionsandthenecessarydisclaimers.Oncetheparticipantshad indicatedtheirexplicit

consent, a short series of questions regarding their demographics followed. People that did not

belong to the intended age category, were immediately directed to the end of the survey.

Participantswere then randomlyallocated tooneof the twoconditions,eachofwhichpresented

themwithanadvertisement,eitherwithorwithoutARfeatures.Theywererequestedtothoroughly

observetheadsandthencontinuetothesurveyquestions.Oncethedatacollectionwascomplete,

therecordedanswerswereexportedandimportedintoSPSS25.0forsubsequentstatisticalanalysis.

3.2 Stimuli

Theexperimentalstudyopted fora fictionalbrand (WanderLabs) tobeadvertised inorder torule

out any influence of previous attitudes and this way isolate the effect of the stimulus. A travel

agency was chosen as the topic of the advertisement, since a vacation is a gender-neutral, non-

controversialandhigh-involvementproductthatyoungadultsareassumedtobefairlyinterestedin.

Unlikealow-involvementproductcategory,ahigh-involvementadsubjectmayenticetheviewerto

engagewiththeadvertisementandvisitthewebsitetoobtainmoreinformation.Therespondents’

general interest in theproductwasmeasuredusinganadaptationof thepurchase intentionscale

thatasked themabout theiroverallwillingness tobookaholidaywitha travel agency. This could

later be taken into accountwhen interpreting the results. Pictures of various holiday typeswere

includedintheadvertisementsinordertoappealtoallpossiblepreferences.

The two ads were kept as similar as possible in terms of their content (images, brand logo and

slogan)andlayout.Theyonlydifferedinthewaythecontentwasdisplayed,duetotheinteractive

ARfeaturethatwasaddedtotheadvertisementintheexperimentalcondition.TheARfunctionwas

14

created using an online tool called ZapWorks. In the non-AR condition, participants saw a static

image of a traditional travel agency advertisement (Figure 2). It was not specified whether it

concernedadigitaloraprintad,sincethiscomparisonwasnotpartofthestudyandARadvertising

combinesboth formats. The ad could represent any kindof traditional advertising,with themost

importantcharacteristicbeingthelackofARelements.

Figure2.Traditionaladvertisement

Thead in theAR conditionwasprecededbya short introductionon the technologyandhow the

viewercouldinteractwiththeadbypointingasmartphoneatit.Theparticipantsinthisgroupfirst

saw an image of the slightly adjusted ad that now contained an indication of theAR feature and

showedblurredpicturesinstead(Figure3).

15

Figure3.MarkerfortheARadvertisement.

Theysubsequentlyviewedavideo thatdemonstrated the interactive featurescarefully. It showed

themhowthehiddenpicturesofdifferentdestinationscouldberevealedandlookedatbyclicking

onthevirtualbuttonsthathadappearedontopofthead(Figure4).

Figure4.VideodemonstratingtheARfeatures.

Thetraditionaladexplicitlymentionedthelinktothewebsite,whereastheARadcontainedavirtual

buttonthatcould leadtheviewerdirectlytothewebsite.TheARfeaturesthatwereaddedtothe

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advertisement were based on commonly occurring features used in existing AR advertising

campaigns. Naturally, the design was limited by the available options within the ZapWorks AR

application.Inreality,thepossibilitiesaremuchbroader.

Prior to the online experiment, a small-scale pretest was conducted through Qualtrics among 26

acquaintances,17ofwhichwerefemaleand9weremale.Thepurposewastoverify ifthestimuli

were clearly visible to the respondents and tomake sure thatbothadvertisementsweredeemed

sufficiently realistic. Eachparticipantobservedbothadsandwas thenasked to rate the following

threestatementsonseven-pointscalesrangingfrom‘completelydisagree’to‘completelyagree’:(1)

Theadvertisementsinthissurveylookedrealistic,(2)TheadvertisedbrandWanderLabscouldbean

existing travel agency, (3)Thenameand logoofWanderLabs looked realistic. The first statement

received amean score of 5.54/7,meaning the advertisements as awholewere deemed credible

enough. The second and third statements were attributed mean scores of 5.69/7 and 5.35/7

respectively, indicating that the advertised brand, too, was realistic enough to be used in the

experiment.The respondents further stated that thematerialwasclearlyvisible,but twoof them

wereslightlyconfusedbythecontentofthevideo.Abriefclarifyingtextwasthereforepresentedat

thebeginningoftheexperimentalcondition,abovethestimulus.Thisismorerealisticaswell,since

people can only interact with AR advertising when they have the according software on their

smartphonesandthereforeknowaboutthetechnology.

3.3 Measures

All variables weremeasured using empirically validated scales that have previously been used in

relevant published research. To assess their reliability for the current sample (N = 122), the

Cronbach’sAlphaofeachmeasurewascalculated.Noneofthescalesneededadjustingbydeleting

items,astheywereallproventobesufficientlyreliable(α>.70).Theconstructswereallmeasured

onseven-pointLikertscalesrangingfrom“completelydisagree”to“completelyagree”oronseven-

pointsemanticdifferentials.AppendixCcontainsamoredetailedoverviewofthemeasuresusedin

theexperiment,includingtheindividualitemsthescaleswerecomposedof.

Attitude toward theadwasmeasuredusing the site/applicationattitude scale (Fortin&Dholakia,

2005)thatJavornik(2016a)usedinanARMcontext(α=.877).Thescaleconsistedofnineitemson

seven-pointsemanticdifferentialscales.Brandattitude(Lietal.,2002;usedbyJavornik,2016a)was

measured using six items on seven-point semantic differential scales (α = .914). To measure

Purchase intention (Yim et al., 2017), four items on seven-point semantic differential scaleswere

used(α=.909).IntentiontovisitthewebsitewasmeasuredusingthesamefouritemsofYimetal.’s

17

(2017) purchase intention scale (α = .942). Perceived novelty (Yim et al., 2017)wasmeasured by

meansoffouritemsonseven-pointLikertscales(α=.893).Perceivedentertainment(adaptedfrom

Tsangetal.,2004)wasmeasuredusingthreeitemsonseven-pointLikertscales(α=.867).

3.4 Participantsandsamplingmethod

Theexperimentwasconductedonline,withoutanyincentivebeingoffered.Youngadultsbetween

theageof18and25weredeliberatelychosenas thetargetgroup.Thereason for thisdecision is

that avid smartphone users are themost likely to get in touchwith ARM (Sashittal et al., 2016),

because AR advertising campaigns target people that are familiar with these innovative

technologies. Naturally, in reality, only people who are familiar with AR will have the according

applications installedon their smartphones and thususe it onAR advertisements. Therefore, it is

more relevant toexamine their experiences than thoseofpeoplewhoarenot at all familiarwith

new technologies. This way, any distorting effects resulting from the lack of comprehension can

hopefullybeeliminated.

Aconveniencesamplingmethodwasemployedtoreachmembersofthetargetgroup.Participants

were recruited through the student’s online social network and through requests in multiple

Facebook groups consisting of Flemish college students. A total of 130 completed surveys were

collected,withafall-outof50respondents.Fiveanswersweredeletedbecausetherespondentsdid

notbelongtothetargetagecategory.Completedsurveysofabnormaldurationwerereviewedand

leftoutoftheanalyseswhendeemednecessary.Aftereliminatingrespondentswhoseemedtohave

carelessly answered thequestions orwhose answerswere systematically contradictory, a total of

122 usable surveys remained. Therewere 61 participants in the AR condition, 30 of whomwere

female and31male. Theother 61participants fell into thenon-AR condition and consistedof 32

femalesand29males.

4 RESULTS

4.1 Differencesbetweentheconditions

ToobtainaninitialinsightintotherelativeeffectivenessoftheARandthenon-ARadvertisements,a

series of T-tests was conducted. We can observe a marginally significant difference in attitude

towardthead(p=.066).Morespecifically,theARadvertisementreceivedabetterevaluation(M=

4.31,SD=0.90) than the traditionaladvertisement (M=3.99,SD=1.00).Therearenosignificant

18

differences between the conditions in terms of perceived entertainment, brand attitude and

purchaseintention.

Based on the T-tests, the first hypothesis is accepted, whereas hypothesis 2 and 3 have to be

rejected.

4.2 Sequentialmediationanalysis

Totestifattitudetowardtheadandbrandattitudeformtheunderlyingmechanismthatdrivesthe

effectof typeofadonpurchase intention,a sequentialmediationanalysis (Hayes2019;model6)

wasconducted.Bias-correctedbootstrappingwith5,000bootstrapsampleswasusedtogeneratea

95%confidence interval around the indirecteffectsof attitude toward theadandbrandattitude,

where there is amediation if the confidence interval does not include zero (Hayes, 2009, 2019).

Importanttonotehereisthatthenon-ARconditionwascodedas1andtheARconditionas2.

Theresultsoftheanalysis(5,000bootstrapsamples;bias-correctedconfidenceintervalsestimated

and reported) show a positive indirect effect of ad type on purchase intention through attitude

towardtheadandsubsequentlybrandattitude,sincetheconfidenceintervaldoesnotcontainzero.

Given this finding, the fifth hypothesis can be accepted. The analysis further reveals a significant

indirect effect of ad type on purchase intention through attitude toward the ad, but not through

brandattitude.Therearehoweversignificantdirectpathsfromadtypetoattitudetowardthead,

fromattitude toward thead tobrandattitude, fromattitude toward thead topurchase intention

and from brand attitude to purchase intention. Figure 5 shows the full results of this sequential

mediationanalysis.

Figure5.Sequentialmediationresults

Purchaseintention

Typeofad

Attitudetowardad

Brandattitude

d21=0.80,p<.001

b2=0.42,p=.003

b1=0.41,p=.008 (a2=0.00,p=.960)

a1=0.36,p=.037

c’=-0.33,p=.089

a1*b1=0.15,SE=.09,95%-CI=[0.00,0.35]a2*b2=0.00,SE=.06,95%-CI=[-0.13,0.11]a1*d21*b2=0.12,SE=.07,95%-CI=[0.01,0.29]

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4.3 Mediatingeffectsofnoveltyandentertainment

Inordertotestwhetherperceivednoveltyanduniquenessexplaintheeffectofadtypeonattitude

toward the ad, two simple mediation analyses (Hayes, 2019; model 4) were conducted. Bias-

corrected bootstrapping with 5,000 bootstrap samples was used to generate a 95% confidence

interval around the indirect effects of each of the two hypothesizedmediators, where there is a

mediationiftheconfidenceintervaldoesnotincludezero(Hayes2009,2019).Again,thetraditional

conditionwascodedas1andtheARconditionas2.IndependentsamplesT-testswereconductedin

advancetoexaminethedifferencesbetweenthetwoconditionsintermsofperceivednoveltyand

entertainment.

Tomeasuretheperceivedlevelofnoveltyoftheadvertisingtypes,respondentswereaskedtorate

four items on a seven-point Likert scale. The results of an independent samples t-test (t(120) = -

13.77,p < .001, r = .78)with the typeofadas the independentand theperceivednoveltyas the

dependent variable show that the perceived novelty of the AR ad (M = 4.92, SD = 0.97) was

significantly higher than that of the traditional ad (M = 2.64, SD = 0.86). Further, a marginally

significantpositiveeffectof typeofadonattitudetowardthead (b=0.32,SE= .17, t=1.85,p=

.066)wasfound.Theresultsofthefirstmediationanalysis(5,000bootstrapsamples;bias-corrected

confidence intervals estimated and reported) show a significant indirect effect of type of ad on

attitudetowardtheadthroughperceivednovelty.TheARadbeingpresentedresulted inahigher

perceivednovelty,whichinturnledtoabetterattitudetowardthead.Allthreedirecteffectswithin

the mediation model are positive and significant as well. For the path from novelty to attitude

towardthead,theunstandardizedresidualswerenotnormallydistributed.However,thehistogram

doesresembleanormaldistributionandProcess isknowntoberobust fornormality.Giventhese

results,thefifthhypothesisisfullyconfirmedandwecanreportapartialmediation.Figure6shows

thestatisticaldetailsofthestatedfindings.

Figure6.Mediationresultsofperceivednovelty.

20

Participantshadtoratethreeseven-pointLikertitemstoassesstheperceivedlevelofentertainment

oftheadvertisment.AnindependentsamplesT-test(t(120)=0.024,p=.981,r=.00)withthetype

ofadastheindependentvariableandthereportedlevelofentertainmentasthedependentvariable

showsthattheperceivedlevelofentertainmentintheARcondition(M=4.31,SD=1.28)doesnot

significantlydifferfromthatinthetraditionalcondition(M=4.32,SD=1.28).Thesecondmediation

analysis (5,000 bootstrap samples; bias-corrected confidence intervals estimated and reported)

shows that there is no indirect effect of ad type on attitude toward the ad through perceived

entertainment. Because the AR advertisement did not receive higher scores for perceived

entertainment and there is no mediating effect, the sixth hypothesis is rejected. Presenting the

respondentswithanARadversusanon-ARaddidnotaffecttheirperceptionofentertainment,but

perceivedentertainmentwas foundtobepositively related toattitude toward thead.Theresults

alsoshowthatthetypeofadhasasignificantpositivedirecteffectonattitudetowardtheadwithin

themediationmodel.Thedetailedresultsofthismediationanalysisaredisplayedonfigure7.

Figure7.Mediationresultsofperceivedentertainment.

5 DISCUSSION

TheaimofthisstudywastoexaminethedifferencesbetweenARandnon-ARadvertisingintermsof

theconsumerresponsestheyevokeandtoexploretherolesofnoveltyandentertainment inthis.

Overall, we can conclude that the beneficial effects of AR advertising are not as apparent as

marketersandacademicsseemtosuggest.Thiscouldbeattributedtothefactthatpreviousfindings

were applied to a completely new type of ARM, namely a purely entertaining ad instead of a

functional ARM application. The proposed model itself, on the other hand, proved to be quite

successfulinexplaininghowthevariableswereinterrelated,withmostpathsbeingsignificant.

In linewithourexpectations (basedonHuang&Liao,2015;Yaoyuneyongetal., 2016;Yimetal.,

2017),theadvertisementwithARfeaturesyieldedabetterattitudetowardtheadthanthenon-AR

advertisement. This effect can be partially explained by perceived novelty, which mediates the

21

relationshipbetweenadtypeandattitudetowardthead.Thissignificantmediationeffectextends

Yimetal.’s(2017)findingsinthatitdemonstratesamoredirectlinkbetweenperceivednoveltyand

attitude toward the ad. In addition, this novelty effect is potentially stronger for peoplewith low

previousmediaexperience(Yimetal.,2017).

Incontrasttoourhypothesis,theARadwasnotperceivedasmoreentertainingthantheregularad

and perceived entertainment had no mediating effect. The fact that no difference in perceived

entertainment between the ads was found, contradicts the results obtained by many previous

studies(e.g.Huang&Liao,2015;Poushneh&Vasquez-Parraga,2017;Yaoyuneyongetal.,2016).A

possibleexplanationforthis findingcouldbea lackof immersion,whichhasbeen identifiedasan

importantmediator(Javornik,2016a;Yimetal.,2017).PerhapstheARadvertisementinthepresent

experiment was not sufficiently immersive or interactive, since the participants could only

experience it through a video. This could diminish the entertainment value in the AR condition,

becauseimmersionandinteractivityaretwoimportantfeaturesofARtechnologythatcontributeto

enjoyment (Yim et al., 2017). Additionally, participants might have been distracted by their

surroundingsbecausetheexperimentwasconductedonline,thereforepreventionstrongimmersion

fromoccurring.

Based on the literature study, it was expected that the AR ad would have a stronger persuasive

effectonparticipants’behavioral intentionsthanthetraditionalad(e.g.Fogg,2003;Huang&Liao,

2015;Menon & Soman, 2005; cited by Chehimi et al., 2007) andwould elicit amore favourable

brandattitude(e.g.Hopp&Gangadharbatla,2015;Mathwicketal.,2001;Yaoyuneyongetal.,2016;

Yimetal.,2017).However,therewasnodifferenceinpurchaseintentionorbrandattitudebetween

thetwoconditions.Apossibleexplanationforthesedeviatingfindingsisthattheparticipantswere

generallynotveryinterestedintheadvertisedproduct,astheirgeneralintentiontobookaholiday

with a travel agency was quite weak. Furthermore, it is likely that a single exposure to an

advertisementdoesnotsufficefortheconsumertoformwell-roundedattitudesandtoevokestrong

behavioralintentions,evenmoresobecausetheexperimentoptedforahigh-involvementproduct

to be advertised. It is possible that this singular exposure to the ad was not entirely convincing,

becausepeopleprefertodomoreresearchandcomparedifferentoptionsbeforebookingaholiday.

While some findings were in line with previous research on ARM, the results from the present

experiment were generally less positive than expected. Even though AR advertisements are

evaluated more positively, the long-term benefits in terms of relevant consumer responses like

brandattitudeandpurchaseintentionremainuncertain.AdvertisementsinwhichtheARfeatureis

purelyforentertainmentpurposesmaynotbeaseffectiveasthefunctionalvarietiesofARM.The

22

experimentprovideda fewuseful insights, but the superiority ofAR advertisinghasnot yet been

conclusivelyestablishedandfurtherresearchonthetopicisnecessary.

6 LIMITATIONSANDRECOMMENDATIONSFORFUTURERESEARCH

While the conducted studydid generate interesting results, a few suggestions for future research

canbemade.

Inthepresentexperiment,participantswerepresentedwithavideoinwhichtheARfeaturesofthe

advertisementweredemonstrated.Thefact that theymerelywatchedademonstration insteadof

trulyexperiencingtheapplicationfirst-handmightexplainthelowscoresforentertainment,among

otherthings.FuturestudiesmightwanttoconsiderallowingtheparticipantstointeractwiththeAR

adthemselves,asthiscouldbeperceivedtobemoreenjoyable.

Moreover, the application of ARM that was chosen in this experiment is only one of the many

optionsthetechnologyofaugmentedrealityhastoofferthemarketingworld.Itcouldbethatthis

particular example is perceived as less entertaining than other kinds of AR advertisements. Of

course, thedesignpossibilitieswere limited to rather simpleaugmentations that theusedARapp

(ZappWorks)provided.Inreality,therearemanymoreapplicationsavailabletobrands,whichneed

tobeinvestigatedaswelltoobtainagoodideaofwhetherandhowARcanenhanceadvertising.

Nevertheless, theresultsof theconductedexperimentprovideacoupleofuseful insights into the

matterandformabasissuitableforfurtherresearch.

23

AppendixA

Thesurveythatwasusedintheexperimentconsistedofthefollowingmeasures.

Attitudetowardthead(adaptedfromFortin&Dholakia,2005;usedbyJavornik,2016a)Howwouldyouevaluatetheadvertisementasawhole?(1)Notfuntosee/Funtosee(2)Unpleasant/Pleasant(3)Notentertaining/Entertaining(4)Notimportant/Important(5)Notinformative/Informative(6)Useless/Useful(7)Notcurious/Curious(8)Boring/Notboring(9)Notenjoyable/EnjoyableBrandattitude(adaptedfromLietal.,2002;usedbyJavornik,2016a)Howwouldyouevaluatetheadvertisedbrand?(1)Bad/Good(2)Unappealing/Appealing(3)Unpleasant/Pleasant(4)Unattractive/Attractive(5)Boring/Interesting(6)Idon’tlikethebrand/IlikethebrandPurchaseintention(adaptedfromYimetal.,2017)HowwouldyoudescribeyourintentiontobookaholidaywithWanderLabs?(1)Uncertain/Certain(2)Unlikely/Likely(3)Improbable/Probable(4)Impossible/Possible Intentiontovisitwebsite(adaptedfromYimetal.,2017)HowwouldyoudescribeyourintentiontovisitthewebsiteofWanderLabs?(1)Uncertain/Certain(2)Unlikely/Likely(3)Improbable/Probable(4)Impossible/PossiblePerceivednovelty(adaptedfromYimetal.,2017)Indicatetowhichextentyouagreewiththefollowingstatements.Thewayofadvertisingis…(1)New(2)Unique(3)Different(4)Unusual

24

Perceivedentertainment(adaptedfromTsangetal.,2004)Indicatetowhichextentyouagreewiththefollowingstatements.Theadvertisementis…(1)Pleasant(2)Enjoyable(3)EntertainingMood(adaptedfromAllen&Janiszewski,1989)Howareyoufeelingtoday?(1)Bad/Good(2)Unpleasant/Pleasant(3)Sad/Happy(4)Negative/PositiveAdvertisingattitude(adaptedfromMuehling,1987)Howwouldyoudescribeyourattitudetowardadvertisingingeneral?(1)Bad/Good(2)Unfavorable/Favorable(3)Negative/PositivePersonalinnovativeness(adaptedfromAgarwal&Prasad,1998;usedbyKim&Forsythe,2008andLiuetal.,2010)Indicatetowhichextentyouagreewiththefollowingstatementsaboutnewtechnologies.(1)IfIheardaboutanewtechnology,Iwouldlookforwaystoexperimentwithit.(2)Amongmypeers,Iamusuallythefirsttotryoutnewtechnologies.(3)Iliketoexperimentwithnewtechnologies.

25

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