To disguise or disclose? The effects of sponsorship disclosure on the recognition and evaluation of sponsored content on Instagram
Abstract
This study investigates the implications of disclosures in sponsored posts on
Instagram. The background for this study is the development of Instagram as an
advertising platform with an enormous reach and influence. In sponsored posts on
Instagram, the presence of a disclosure is often the only piece of information that
delineates the communication presented as advertisement. Therefore, the
effectiveness of a disclosure plays an important role in regards to how the
consumer understand and recognize the content as commercial. The purpose of
this study is to (1) discover if and how disclosures affect advertising recognition
and (2) how level of reported advertising recognition affect source credibility,
sponsor sincerity, brand attitude, purchase intention and brand recall. To answer
the following questions, an extensive literature review was conducted on relevant
academic topics within native advertising and the role of disclosure on advertising
recognition and evaluations of sponsored posts on Instagram. The study finds that
transparency is so of importance and highlighted in today's society, that all
disclosures including non, provides a strong advertising recognition. The result is
a reflection of its importance to research the area. Implications and future research
of sponsorship and influencer marketing is presented. The authors hope the reader
finds the paper enjoyable and entertaining to read.
Description
Masteroppgave(MSc) in Master of Science in Strategic Marketing Management - Handelshøyskolen BI, 2018