ComputerInteraction 12 13 2018 Designing the Medium and the Message for Sponsorship Recognition on Social Media The Interplay of Influencer Type Disclosure Type and Consumer Culture
In the context of Instagram based influencer marketing, we examined the effect of distinct sponsorship disclosure types on consumers' ability to recognize the sponsorship's disclosure. Although prior research has focused on the impact of sponsorship disclosure recognition on brand related outcomes, limited attention has been given to unraveling the impact of disclosure cues on consumer disclosure recognition. Our findings indicate that any type of disclosure is effective, however, a combination of medium and message based disclosures is most effective. Results further revealed that consumers are less likely to recognize posts authored by microinfluencers rather than celebrities as sponsored. Finally, our findings show that cultural background has a strong influence on which sponsorship disclosure type is most effective. These findings offer a significant contribution to the human computer interaction literature in terms of informing the design of messages and media for native advertising. Furthermore, these findings have significant policy implications.