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The Six Principles of Digital Advertising

Article  in  International Journal of Advertising · January 2009

DOI: 10.2501/S0265048709200679

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 Editorial
The Six Principles of Digital Advertising
Charles R. Taylor
Villanova University

With the recent publicity surrounding the growth of the social networking site
Twitter, as well as the growth of social media and user-generated content sites
(e.g. Facebook, Cyworld, Flickr, Wikipedia and various blogs), it is timely to
reflect on what the advertising discipline has learned about interactive/digital
advertising that may apply to these new forms. This article will examine what
has been learned about digital advertising on the internet and new media, and
propose that there are six principles of digital advertising that can be widely
applied to new media.
In examining new media and how to use them, it is important to realise that
internet advertising is still relatively young, having begun in 1994. Moreover, for
much of the first decade of its existence, it is probably fair to say that failure­ was
more common than success. Ill-fated attempts to apply principles from other
media (e.g. outdoor advertising, direct mail) led to advertising formats such as
simple pop-up ads, email advertising or newsgroup advertising, which contributed­
to these early failures. Indeed, it was not that long ago that some were predict-
ing that the internet would never become a major advertising medium.
Over the past five years, multiple factors have, however, contributed to the
internet achieving the status of major advertising medium. First, in major mar-
kets such as the US, the EU and several East Asian nations, for the first time,
a large cross-section of the population had access to the internet as compared
to earlier periods when only a subset of the population had internet access.
According to Pew Internet and American Life Project Surveys, as recently as the
year 2000, for example, just 50% of US adults were online. Second, technologi-
cal improvements such as the advent of broadband allowed for more effective
use of rich media content, allowing more options for internet advertisers. Third,
by 2005 there was a realisation of the unique potential of search engines as an

International Journal of Advertising, 28(3), pp. 411–418

© 2009 Advertising Association
Published by the World Advertising Research Center, www.warc.com
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 International Journal of Advertising, 2009, 28(3)

advertising vehicle, leading to the pre-sale of media space on sites such as Google
and Yahoo!. By this time, advertisers as well as search engine companies under-
stood how consumers searched for information online, and noticed a substantial
opportunity­ for advertising and behavioural targeting by matching advertise-
ments to searches.
In general, by 2005 advertisers knew more about the unique characteristics of
the internet and this allowed it to be used more effectively than had previously
been the case. An Ad Age report in 2005 showed that, among the top 200 large
brands, the internet had surpassed radio and outdoor in terms of measured ad
spending for the first half of 2005, coming in behind only television, magazines
and newspapers (Advertising Age 2005). Subsequently, internet advertising has
grown at faster rates than other media, and new forms of digital advertising, such
as SMS, MMS, advergames and advertising on user-generated content sites, have
also begun to grow. While the level of growth of advertising on these new media
remains to be seen, research has given us a deeper understanding in terms of
what drives effective internet advertising.
As the field of advertising moves forward and is substantially impacted, if not
revolutionised, by developments in these new media, it is time to take stock of
what the field has learned about advertising in new media. In this context, I put
forward six principles of new media advertising that my own read of the litera-
ture suggests have been well established and can be applied to other new media.
While it is my hope that a summary of these principles is of value in and of itself
to the advertising community, I also hope to generate discussion of what other
principles may exist, and what types of research would be needed to establish
additional principles.
Of the six principles, three relate to consumer considerations, two to execu-
tional factors that can be incorporated into the design of the ad, and one to the
general philosophy behind the advertising.

Digital advertising principles related to understanding

consumer considerations
Undoubtedly, consumers have concerns about receiving advertising via new
media. As advertising is ubiquitous in economically developed societies across
the world, marketers simply must be sensitive to concerns about privacy, trust-
ing the sender, and the relevance of the message. Prior research documents the
importance of these concerns in getting people to be receptive and responsive to
digital advertising.

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 editorial: The Six Principles of Digital Advertising

Digital advertising principle 1: marketers must be sensitive to

consumer concerns about privacy and spam
In the era of iPhones, BlackBerrys, androids and other multifunctional devices,
consumers operate in an ‘always on’ mode. As opposed to the consumption of
traditional media, which took place in defined blocks of time, most of today’s
consumers leave their mobile device on for a majority of the day and, in effect,
can be reached almost any time. At the same time, consumers view their mobile
devices as part of their own ‘personal space’ and are very sensitive to privacy
issues in this context (Hart 2008). As a result, advertisers who simply bombard
the consumer with unwanted messages are likely to be unsuccessful and, worse
yet, annoy the consumer.
With the number of spam messages over both the internet and mobile devices
continuing to increase, marketers must be very cautious about the number of
messages they send. An early study by Barwise and Strong (2002) found that,
when consumers opt in to receive SMS messages, they react to them favourably,
and that these consumers thought that a total of three text messages (from all
advertisers combined) was about right. In general, no matter how much a con-
sumer likes an advertiser, there will be significant limits on how many messages
he/she wants to receive on their mobile device. Therefore, advertisers are wise
to carefully limit the number of messages.
Subsequent studies by Barnes and Scornavacca (2004), Carroll et al. (2007),
Unni and Harmon (2007), and Sultan and Rohm (2008) have also found that
getting permission from the user prior to sending messages led to both higher
acceptance and effectiveness of mobile advertising. These findings are consist-
ent with the notion that marketers need to be sensitive to consumer concerns
about privacy (Carroll et al. 2007).

Digital advertising principle 2: consumers are more likely to be

receptive to digital ads from marketers they trust
A study of 723 consumers aged 18–54 conducted by Return Path (2005) found
that the number-one factor in getting email read is the consumer knowing and
trusting the sender of the email. This factor ranked above such factors as the sub-
ject line, promise of a discount, and only opening emails normally read. Similarly,
academic research has demonstrated that consumers are more receptive to digital
advertising from marketers they trust.
Several studies have found that trust in the advertiser is among the most
important factors in digital advertising acceptance (e.g. Barnes & Scornavacca

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 International Journal of Advertising, 2009, 28(3)

2004; Carroll et al. 2007; Okazaki 2008). Notably, Carroll et al. (2007) found that
consumers preferred to have their service provider screen advertisers to provide
some assurance that the message would come from a trusted source. Okazaki
et al. (2007) also found trust to be closely linked to attitude towards the ad and
message recall. Additionally, Choi et al. (2008) found that trust and advertiser
credibility led to better results for advertisers. Collectively, these studies and
others with similar findings point out that marketers dealing with consumers who
already know and trust them are likely to have more success using digital media
than those with whom consumers do not have a previous relationship.

Digital advertising principle 3: consumers are more likely to be

receptive to respond to digital ads for products that are relevant
to them
As noted by Nasco and Bruner (2008), the relevance of the message to the
recipient is a key factor associated with the effectiveness of digital advertising.
Consistent with this assertion, Carroll et al. (2007) found that consumers are more
likely to be accepting of messages when the content is relevant to them. Pagnani
(2004) also found that usefulness and relevance of the message was the number-
one factor in acceptance of MMS messages.
While the importance of relevance is not unique to new media, it clearly
matters­ in an environment where consumers are concerned about privacy. Young
singles, for example, have little interest in receiving text ads or emails advertis-
ing disposable nappies and other baby products. Thus, in an environment where
consumers are sensitive to which messages they should be receiving, making
sure the message is relevant is of high importance.

Digital advertising principles related to executional

variables
When designing an ad, advertisers have lots of options in terms of the specific
execution of the ad. For example, they can choose from various types of appeal,
vary the length or number of words in the commercial, or choose to include music
or celebrities in the ads. There are many aspects of executions that can be var-
ied in an ad, and executional variables have spurred a large volume of research.
While additional research is needed, it is clear that two aspects of execution take
on additional importance in advertising in new digital media: interactivity and
entertainment value.

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 editorial: The Six Principles of Digital Advertising

Digital advertising principle 4: digital approaches that incorporate

interactivity are more likely to be effective
In a key early study of website effectiveness, McMillan et al. (2003) found that
research on the internet suggests that interactivity is a key driver of success.
Because of the internet’s ability (or potential ability) to engage the consumer for
a longer period of time and in greater depth than traditional media, incorporat-
ing interactive activities, such as quizzes, voting, chatting or providing input or
feedback on something, is a key to getting the consumer engaged and interested
in staying on the website. Websites such as becomeanm&m.com, where con-
sumers can turn their picture into an M&M’s figure or create an avatar based on
an M&M’s candy character, and carrerbuilder.com, where an individual can age
their photo 50 years, use creative approaches to interactivity that keep the con-
sumer highly engaged and involved in the website.
Academic research verifies that new media advertising approaches that incor-
porate interactivity are more successful than those that do not. For example,
Dickinger et al. (2004) found interactivity related to more effective ads. Similarly,
Jelassi and Enders (2005) found advertisers that incorporated interactivity
achieved higher success. Given the greater capacity of new media to fully engage
consumers, it is important that advertisers incorporate interactive approaches if
they want to maximise success.

Digital advertising principle 5: advertising messages that are

entertaining have a higher chance of success in the digital context
Research has also converged on entertaining messages being successful in the
new media context. While it may be acceptable in some traditional media for
highly informational approaches to be successful in many contexts, this is less
likely to be the case in an interactive advertising environment. Raney et al. (2003)
found that including a mini-movie with dramatic elements on an automotive
website increased purchase intention as a result of consumers being entertained
and staying on the website longer. Choi et al. (2008) also found entertainment
to be important, leading to more positive attitudes towards the ad and purchase
intention in messages in both the US and South Korea. Similarly, Okazaki (2008)
found that more entertaining messages were closely associated with convincing
consumers to respond to a Japanese advertising campaign.
While additional digital new media advertising principles relating to execu-
tions may arise from subsequent research (e.g. there is preliminary evidence
that humorous approaches can sometimes be effective) at the present time, it is
clear that digital advertising programmes that incorporate both interactivity and

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 International Journal of Advertising, 2009, 28(3)

entertainment­ tend to have a significant advantage. A good example of this is the

Survivor game that Purina’s Meow Mix ran in conjunction with Animal Planet in
2006. In this promotion, at the end of a regular programme on Animal Planet each
night for nine days, Purina had ‘cat-testants’ from ten cities compete in contests
such as purring, catching toy mice and falling asleep. Each night, viewers were
asked to vote for their favourite cat, and the cat with the fewest votes was voted
off the show (and adopted by a loving home that would receive a free year’s
supply of Meow Mix). Meanwhile, the contest stated that the winner would
remain on Madison Avenue, where the contest was filmed, and become the VP
of Research & Development for Purina, with the duty of personally tasting and
testing the product. While such a show might not have appeal for all consum-
ers (e.g. dog lovers), it incorporated interactivity in the form of voting and was
certainly entertaining to the target audience, which was cat lovers. By combining
interactivity and entertainment value, Purina’s Survivor is a good example of
effective interactive advertising.

A final general digital advertising principle

Digital advertising principle 6: in the long run, new media messages

need to build the brand to be effective
While some early discussions of interactive advertising focused on short-term
sales promotions, including techniques such as location-based messaging, in an
era where branding is more important to marketers than ever, as a general rule,
digital advertising needs to take advantage of new media’s unique brand-build-
ing capacity. As stated by Chiagouris and Wansley (2000, p. 35) in an early discus-
sion of the internet and how it should be used by marketers, ‘When it comes to
building a brand on the internet, never have so many talked so little of what may
be the internet’s most stunning capacity – strengthening the brand with custom-
ers and prospects.’
Because consumers can move from awareness to action quickly in an interac-
tive environment, there is an enormous opportunity for relationship building.
When consumers become aware of a product and visit a website, they may take
considerable time learning about the product, gaining familiarity and apprecia-
tion for it, and, in some cases, even initiate a purchase (Chiagouris & Wansley
2000). Thus, it is important for firms to take advantage of the brand-building
capacity of the internet when advertising. Consistent with this notion, Okazaki
and Taylor (2008) found that managers of Japanese and US subsidiaries of firms
operating in the EU believed that the ability to build brands was the single most
important factor in their intention to adopt SMS advertising.

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 editorial: The Six Principles of Digital Advertising

Discussion
It is now clear that new media will play a significant role in the future of adver-
tising. The degree to which individual new media forms become important may
vary, but the unique advantages of the internet allow for effective targeting of
consumers and potentially allow for greater engagement of the consumer. As a
result, it is important to continue to evaluate and compile knowledge on what
makes new media advertising effective. Submissions on this topic to IJA are most
welcome as it is an area where much additional research is needed. In this issue
some papers on new media topics have been intentionally clustered together to
provide the reader with new perspectives. It is my hope that you, the readership,
enjoy these papers as well as the others included in this issue.

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