UNDERSTANDING CONSUMERS ATTITUDE TOWARD ADVERTISING

Literature in advertising and information systems suggests that advertising in both traditional media and the Internet is either easily ignored by the audience or is perceived with little value. However, these studies assumed that the audience was passive and failed to consider the motives of the users. In light of this, the present study measures consumers’ attitudes toward advertisements for different purposes/functions (brand building and directional) and different media (traditional and Internet-based). Literature suggests the following factors that contribute to consumers’ perceptions of ads: entertainment, irritation, informativeness, credibility, and demographic. We believe that interactivity is also a factor that contributes to consumers’ perceptions. By understanding consumers’ attitude towards advertising, designers and marketers can better strategize their advertising designs. A better understanding of interactivity can also help to improve the effectiveness of interactive media such as the Internet. A methodology for studying the factors that contribute to consumers perceptions of ads is proposed and implications for Internet-based advertising and e-commerce is discussed.

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