Download EREADING ADVERTISING AS A PART OF INTEGRATED

EREADING ADVERTISING AS A
PART OF INTEGRATED
MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS:
ADVERTISER’S PERSPECTIVE
Master’s Thesis
Hanna Kännö
23.03.2012
Marketing
Approved in the Department of Marketing __.__.2012 and awarded the grade
_______________________________________________________
AALTO UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS
Department of Marketing
Master’s Thesis
Hanna Kännö
ABSTRACT
EREADING ADVERTISING AS A PART OF INTEGRATED MARKETING
COMMUNICATIONS: ADVERTISER’S PERSPECTIVE
Objectives of the Study
This study has two objectives. First, the purpose of the thesis is to provide an
insight into integrated marketing communications and the role of eReading
advertising in this context. Second, from a managerial perspective the study aims
to provide an understanding of the current state of eReading advertising in the
Finnish media market and to identify related challenges and opportunities.
Research Methods
The research approach is qualitative. The research data was collected in the fall
2011 through eight semi-structured interviews. The interviews were targeted at
digital marketing professionals in media agencies. The sampling method was
judgment sampling. The interviews resulted in a total of 627 minutes of interview
data, which was analyzed using thematic analysis technique.
Findings
The study pointed out that integrated marketing communications is a strategic
approach to marketing communications planning. It was found that eReading
advertising is at an early stage of development in the Finnish media market and its
role in integrated marketing communications is minor so far. Different media
evaluation models were discussed and it was shown that media selection is a
multifaceted resource allocation decision. The analysis of research data revealed
that the major challenges of eReading advertising concern low reach, high costs,
inadequate measurement system and limited know-how. A dynamic media
environment and diverse advertising opportunities were addressed as the main
advantages.
Keywords
eReading advertising, tablet, integrated marketing communications, media
planning.
AALTO-YLIOPISTON KAUPPAKORKEAKOULU
Markkinoinnin laitos
Pro Gradu -tutkielma
Hanna Kännö
TIIVISTELMÄ
EREADING-MAINONTA OSANA INTEGROITUA
MARKKINOINTIVIESTINTÄÄ: MAINOSTAJAN NÄKÖKULMA
Tutkimuksen tavoitteet
Tällä tutkielmalla on kaksi tavoitetta. Ensiksi, tutkielman tarkoitus on perehtyä
integroituun markkinointiviestintään ja eReading-mainonnan rooliin osana sitä.
Toiseksi, liikkeenjohdollisesta näkökulmasta tutkimuksen tavoite on lisätä
ymmärrystä
eReading-mainonnan
nykyisestä
tilanteesta
Suomen
mediamarkkinoilla sekä tarkastella siihen liittyviä haasteita ja mahdollisuuksia.
Tutkimusmenetelmä
Tutkimusote on kvalitatiivinen. Tutkimusdata kerättiin syksyllä 2011
puolistrukturoiduissa teemahaastatteluissa, joita tehtiin kahdeksan kappaletta.
Haastattelut kohdennettiin mediatoimistoihin digitaalisen markkinoinnin
ammattilaisille. Otantamenetelmänä käytettiin harkinnanvaraista otantaa.
Haastatteluaineistoa kerättiin 627 minuuttia ja se analysointiin temaattisen
analyysin menetelmin.
Tutkimustulokset
Tutkimuksessa todettiin, että integroitu markkinointiviestintä on strateginen
lähestymistapa markkinointiviestinnän suunnitteluun. Tutkimustulokset osoittivat,
että
eReading-mainonta
on
varhaisessa
kehitysvaiheessa
Suomen
mediamarkkinoilla ja sen rooli osana yrityksen integroitua markkinointiviestintää
on vielä vähäinen. Tutkimuksessa tarkasteltiin useita mediavalinnan malleja ja
osoitettiin, että mediavalinta on monitahoinen resursointipäätös. Analyysin
perusteella eReading-mainonnan suurimmat haasteet ovat matala peitto, korkeat
kustannukset, mittausjärjestelmän puutteellisuus, sekä mainonnan heikko
tunteminen. Keskeisimmät hyödyt ovat dynaaminen ja monipuolinen
mediaympäristö sekä sen tarjoamat rajattomat mahdollisuudet luovalle
suunnittelulle.
Avainsanat
eReading-mainonta,
mediasuunnittelu.
tablet-tietokone,
integroitu
markkinointiviestintä,
Table of contents
1
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................1
1.1
Background ...............................................................................................1
1.2
Research Problem and Objectives .............................................................4
1.3
Research Methodology ..............................................................................5
1.4
Structure ....................................................................................................6
2 LITERATURE REVIEW ..............................................................................8
2.1
Key Drivers of Integrated Marketing Communications ............................8
2.2
Definitions of Integrated Marketing Communications ...........................11
2.3
Media Planning in Integrated Marketing Communications ....................15
2.4
Advertising Medium Selection ................................................................17
2.4.1
Quantitative Media Evaluation Criteria ...........................................20
2.4.2
Qualitative Media Evaluation Criteria .............................................22
2.5
Synthesis ..................................................................................................23
3 METHODOLOGY .......................................................................................27
3.1
Research Design and Methods ................................................................27
3.2
Data Collection ........................................................................................30
3.3
Data Analysis ..........................................................................................32
3.4
Quality of the Research ...........................................................................34
4 FINDINGS .....................................................................................................36
4.1
Utilization of eReading Advertising ........................................................36
4.2
Challenges of eReading Advertising .......................................................39
4.2.1
Low Reach .......................................................................................40
4.2.2
High Costs ........................................................................................43
4.2.3
Measurement Problems ....................................................................44
4.2.4
Limited Know-How .........................................................................46
4.3
Opportunities of eReading Advertising ...................................................50
4.3.1
Dynamic Media Environment ..........................................................50
4.3.2
Unlimited Creativity.........................................................................52
4.3.3
eReading Advertising Concepts .......................................................53
5 DISCUSSION ................................................................................................57
6 CONCLUSIONS ...........................................................................................64
6.1
Research Summary ..................................................................................64
6.2
Managerial Implications ..........................................................................66
6.3
Limitations and Suggestions for Future Research ...................................67
REFERENCES .....................................................................................................69
iv
List of tables
Table 1: Criteria for Media Evaluation ................................................................. 25
Table 2: List of Interviewees................................................................................. 31
Table 3: Relevance of Media Evaluation Criteria in eReading Advertising ......... 62
List of figures
Figure 1: Key Drivers of Change in Marketing Environment ................................ 9
Figure 2: The Four Pillars of Integrated Marketing Communications.................. 13
Figure 3: The Four Stages of Integrated Marketing Communications ................. 14
Figure 4: The ARF Model for Evaluating Media.................................................. 19
v
1 Introduction
This chapter introduces the topic of the thesis briefly. The chapter begins with a
description of the background of the study, which is followed by the definition of
the research problem and the research objectives. The methodology and the scope
are then described. Finally, the structure of the thesis is presented.
1.1 Background
Over the last few decades, marketing environment has undergone substantial
changes, which have strongly influenced the field of marketing communications.
A few decades ago an advertiser would have most likely used television, print,
radio or out-of-home media to communicate marketing messages (Reynar et al.
2010). Today, marketers have an expanding number of ways to communicate with
consumers because the variety of media outlets and advertising formats have
expanded rapidly and aggressively due to the development of technology (Cheong
et al. 2010). Consequently, consumer media behavior changes more rapidly than
ever before, mainly in response to the benefits of technological innovation
(Reynar et al. 2010). Consumers are increasingly adopting highly fragmented and
interactive digital channels which correspond to their diverse interests and
lifestyles. Hence, the time people spend with digital media is constantly growing
whereas the time spend with other media has stayed the same or declined. (Enoch
& Johnson 2010). In response to these changes in media-consumption patterns,
advertisers have shifted their attention to online channels (Reynar et al. 2010).
Print media has long had a firm foothold in Finland, but the era of digitalization
has significantly affected traditional media. Newspapers and magazines are still
important channels, but economic, social and technological changes have
weakened their positions in the advertising landscape (Nyilasy et al. 2011). Media
fragmentation results in hard competition for audiences and advertising revenues
among different media. Online communication accounts for an expanding share of
1
the total spending on media advertising in Finland, and thus newspapers and
magazines have experienced a period of change as they have lost a part of their
advertising revenues to other channels. (TNS Gallup 2011). Truong et al. (2010)
argue that growth in digital advertising spending is likely to continue to account
for an increasing proportion of total advertising expenditure.
Changes in media consumption and spending on advertising have increased
publishers’ interest to provide their content in a digital format, and journalism has
therefore experienced a major growth in the electronic medium in recent years
(Flavián & Gurrea 2006). One of the latest phenomenon is electronic reading,
which is a rising trend affecting the print industry. Electronic reading refers to
reading digital content, such as newspapers or magazines on an electronic reader.
Electronic reading is also known as eReading and in this study these terms are
used interchangeably referring to the same phenomenon. Furthermore, an
electronic reader, or eReader, can be described as an electronic device that can be
used for the purpose of reading digital content. Desktop, laptop and tablet
computers, as well as smart phones, represent different types of eReaders.
However, the term eReader often refers to handheld devices. Some of them are
designed primarily for the purpose of reading, while others are also able to
perform activities such as watching videos, listening to music or playing games.
The history of electronic reading dates back several decades, but despite all the
attempts, it has not peaked until recently (Muniz et al. 2002). Over the last years,
the adoption of eReading and portable digital reading devices has proliferated
among consumers. The world of eReading is still fairly novel, but growing
rapidly. It is predicted that eReading will become more prevalent in the near
future, which unavoidably has an influence on the future of publishing business—
both on content production and advertising. Advertising is here defined as any
paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods, or services
by an identified sponsor, who aims to inform, persuade or remind consumers
(Kotler & Armstrong 2006, 455). Advertisements are placed in a chosen medium
to reach audiences that are attracted by its content. Print advertising refers to
2
advertising that is printed on physical paper and placed next to the news, editorial
or entertainment content of a print media. The term eReading advertising means
advertising in electronic reading context.
Advertising is an important means for revenue generation both in newspaper and
magazine publishing businesses. Wirtz et al. (2011) explain that newspaper and
magazine publishers depend on a mixed financing system as they work
simultaneously on two buyer markets, which are the reader and the advertiser
market. Even though both aspects are critical for the economic survival, the
importance of advertising must be underlined. Thus, newspaper and magazine
publishers’ prior interest is not only to present their eReading content in a well
performing format, but also to contribute to the success of advertising in eReading
context. Multifunctional tablet computers offer newspapers and magazines a
possibility to create creative, interactive and engaging multimedia content, and a
context for advertising that can exploit many of these features. Several publishing
companies in Finland released their first tablet newspapers and magazines in the
late 2010 to test the markets rapidly after the launch of the iPad, which was the
first multifunctional tablet that gained significant popularity among consumers in
Finland. The new media has attracted advertisers, but many details of eReading
advertising are still far from defined.
The great number of different communication channels poses challenges to
marketers in terms of developing an optimal marketing communication program
(Keller 2001). Marketers should be media neutral and consider new media in an
integrated manner along with traditional channels (Keller 2009). All
communication channels have different qualities, which influence advertisers’
interest to utilize them. As eReading media and eReading advertising are fairly
new phenomena, it is relevant to examine the challenges and opportunities related
to their utilization.
Since the concept of integrated marketing communications, or IMC, was
established in academic marketing literature in the late 1980s, it has gained a lot
3
of attention among marketing scholars. Anyhow media planning as a part of IMC
have raised the interest of academics recently (Kliatchko 2008). This research
topic is closely related to the continuous fragmentation of media landscape and
prevalence of digital media. However, the role of eReading advertising as a part of
integrated marketing communications remains still underdeveloped, and thus
there is a need for further research in this field.
1.2 Research Problem and Objectives
The increasing interest in eReading advertising has created a need to advance the
research of its role in integrated marketing communications. The main research
question can be stated as:

What is the role of eReading advertising in integrated marketing
communications?
In order to approach the main research question, the theoretical part of the study
provides an overview of the academic discussion that encompasses the concept of
integrated marketing communications. Furthermore, media planning and
advertising media selection are examined. The empirical part of the study focuses
on the utilization of eReading advertising and related opportunities and
challenges, which are discussed in the light of the theoretical background of the
study. Hence, the main question is approached through three sub questions that
can be stated as:

What is integrated marketing communications? (Chapter 2)

What influences advertising medium selection? (Chapter 2)

What are the challenges and the opportunities of eReading advertising?
(Chapter 4)
This study has two objectives. First, the purpose of the thesis is to provide an
insight into integrated marketing communications and the role of eReading
4
advertising in this field. Second, from a managerial perspective, the study aims to
provide an understanding of the current state of eReading advertising in the
Finnish media market and to identify related opportunities and challenges.
The research concentrates on eReading advertising in the Finnish media market.
In this study eReading advertising is limited to concern tablet in-application
advertising in newspaper and magazine context. Hence, the results apply to this
context only. Any other market area or form of eReading advertising is beyond
the scope of this study.
1.3 Research Methodology
For the empirical part of the study a qualitative approach was chosen with the aim
to form an in-depth understanding of eReading advertising as a phenomenon.
Interviewing provided a means to enter into other persons’ perspective and
explore their thoughts, feelings and experiences. (Patton 2002). Among different
interviewing methods semi-structured technique was adopted and eight in-depth
interviews were conducted with digital marketing professionals in media agencies.
The interviewees were selected using judgment sampling, which provides a means
to include only information-rich cases to the sample (Patton 2002). Potential
interviewees were identified partly by key advisers in the research project, and
partly by the researcher.
According to Wirtz et al. (2011) the advertising business partners of newspaper
and magazine publishers can be classified in two groups, which are direct
advertisers and indirect advertisers. Direct advertisers refer to advertisers who buy
advertising space directly from the media seller, whereas indirect advertisers refer
to intermediaries in the media buying process, such as media agencies. Here
interviews were targeted at media agencies, which are obliged to compare and
analyze the merits of different media options. As advertising in electronic reading
context is a fairly recent phenomenon, it was considered that media agencies have
a deeper insight into the topic than direct advertisers themselves. The role of a
5
media agency is to help advertisers to reach their business objectives by allocating
the advertising budget to the best possible media mix. In addition, advertisers are
increasingly using media agency services as the fragmentation of media landscape
makes media planning more complex than before. Hence, media agencies serve as
an important intermediary between media and advertisers.
The interviews were conducted in the late fall 2011 between October 21 and
November 15. They ranged from 60 minutes to 90 minutes resulting in a total of
627 minutes of interview data. The analysis in this research is based on thematic
analysis technique, which enables to break the data into patterns according to
specific themes relevant to the research question (Miles & Huberman 1984).
1.4 Structure
The thesis is structured into six chapters starting with the introduction that
describes the background of the study and provides an overview of the research.
Chapter 2 outlines the theoretical background of the study. First, the key drivers
that have resulted in the need to integrate marketing communications are
discussed. Second,
different
definitions
given to
integrated marketing
communications in previous academic discussions are examined. Third, the
principles that shape media planning in integrated marketing communications are
discussed and finally criteria that can be used to evaluate advertising media are
presented. The chapter ends with a synthesis of the theoretical background.
Chapter 3 describes the research methodology and presents in detail the empirical
study conducted with the aim to examine the current state of eReading advertising
in the Finnish media market. The chapter starts with a discussion of the research
design and method, which is followed by a description of the data collection
process and data analysis. The chapter ends with the evaluation of the quality of
the research.
6
Chapter 4 presents the empirical findings of the study. The level of
implementation of eReading advertising in the Finnish context is examined and
both challenges and opportunities related to its utilization are explored.
Chapter 5 elaborates the findings of the study and discusses them in the light of
the theoretical background of the research.
Chapter 6 returns to the objectives of the study and provides a conclusion and the
implications of the research. The chapter ends with a discussion about the
limitations of the study and suggestions for future research.
7
2 Literature review
This chapter reviews literature related to the theoretical background of the study.
The chapter starts with an examination of the key drivers that have evoked the
need for integrated marketing communications. A review of definitions of
integrated marketing communications is presented in order to illustrate the nature
of the concept. Moreover, the principles of media planning are examined, and
finally different criteria that can be used to evaluate advertising media are
discussed. The chapter ends with a synthesis that concludes the theoretical
background of the study.
2.1 Key Drivers of Integrated Marketing
Communications
Over the last few decades marketing environment has undergone various
interrelated changes, which have strongly influenced the field of marketing
communications and called for its strategic coordination. Since the concept of
integrated marketing communications was established in academic marketing
literature in the late 1980s, it has gained a lot of attention among academics and
practitioners around the world (Kliatchko 2005). IMC has been widely discussed a
few decades and it continues to occupy a central place in academic marketing
research. Before exploring the definitions of IMC in more detail, this section
presents an overview of the key drivers that has resulted in the need for integrated
marketing communications.
The emergence of IMC was initially based on situations existent in the US market
in 1980s, but it gained rapidly international attention (Kitchen & Schultz 2009).
According to Kliatchko (2005) the changes that have influenced the evolution of
IMC concern primarily the three following areas: (1) marketplace, (2) media and
communications and (3) consumers. Changes in these fields mainly stem from the
development of technology and digitalization, which can be considered as a key
8
driver of IMC (Schultz 1996; Kliatchko 2005). IMC is expected to result in
greater effectiveness and efficiency in all marketing communications activities
(Eagle & Kitchen 2000; Kitchen & Schultz 2009). Figure 1 illustrates the
elements that have influenced the marketing environment.
Digitalization
Digitalization
Marketing
Environment
Communication and Media
Consumers
Figure 1: Key Drivers of Change in Marketing Environment
Regarding the changes in the marketplace, digitalization has had extensive
economic effects leading many companies to reconsider their key factors of
competitive success. Schultz (1996) argues that technology is shrinking the globe
to one vast interconnected marketplace. The proliferation of internet has widened
geographic markets and resulted in an ever expanding number of competitors
(Porter 2001). Also deregulation of markets and globalization of the economy
have significantly tightened competition in the marketplace (Holm 2006). As
more firms operate in the same market, communication clutter expands and the
importance of brand differentiation as a means of competitive success increases.
This has made organizations to consider the significance and benefits of
employing marketing communications that are integrated through their businesses
(Luck & Moffat 2009). Reid (2005) points out that tightened economic conditions
have also increased the cost-awareness of marketers. Marketers have become
increasingly price conscious and the efforts to measure and improve marketing
communications return on investment have been given greater emphasis.
Advances in technology have resulted in fragmentation of media (Rust & Oliver
1994). According to Mulhern (2009) digitalization has broadened the concept of
media to include almost any kind of digital experience and organizations have
9
constantly more opportunities to interact with consumers, as more aspects of life
digitalize. Pilotta and Schultz (2004) argue that almost everything in the field of
media advertising has changed. For example wireless and electronic media
applications have grown and traditional media forms have fragmented.
As Schultz (1996) argues, in communication systems, the whole is generally
greater than the sum of its parts. Today, there are multiple factors and sources of
information that simultaneously influence and persuade consumers. The more
fragmented media landscape becomes, the more integration is needed (Rust &
Oliver 1994, Lee & Park 2007). Researchers (see e.g. Schultz 1996; Lee & Park
2007; Finne & Grönroos 2009) point out that consumers integrate marketers’
communication whether it was intended or not. Thus, integration is not just up to
the marketer, it is rather up to the consumer. Schultz (1996) argues that the ways
in which consumers might integrate marketing messages can be roughly divided
in three groups. Firstly, consumers might integrate the messages as the marketer
wanted. Secondly, they can ignore the messages and third, put them together in
ways the marketer did not consider and which may even have negative effects on
marketers’ organization or brand. Furthermore, the marketing organization can
help the consumers to understand the marketing communication in the preferred
way through strategic integration of all marketing communications.
In the field of communication, advances in information technology enable
marketers to gather extensively information about customers and learn about
them, which have raised the head using databases in marketing (Kitchen &
Schultz 2009). Thus, mass communication activities have been replaced with
more targeted communication programs, which aim to build closer relationships
with customers (Lee & Park 2007, Holm 2006). New technologies have also
resulted in the empowerment of consumers (Rust & Oliver 1994). Consumers can
access information from their preferred channels, which might also be out of the
control of the marketer. One-way and out-bound communication is being replaced
with two-way systems. Communication environment is faster, more digitalized,
networked, interactive and global (Mulhern 2009). It is also important to note that
10
that the focus of marketing has shifted from product orientation to customer
orientation (see e.g. Eagle and Kitchen 2000; Schultz 1996; Luck & Moffatt 2009;
Vargo & Lusch 2004). Kitchen and Schultz (2009) argue that companies are
starting to understand that consumers are the force that drives all marketing
activities.
Finally, audiences splinter into smaller and smaller groups, which also pose
challenges to traditional mass media advertising. Consumers are increasingly
adopting new, fragmented, interactive and highly targeted communication
channels, which correspond better to their diverse interests and lifestyles. As a
consequence their loyalty to traditional media decreases and mass communication
becomes less effective. (Lee & Park 2007; Rust & Oliver 1994; Reid 2005). New
media have quickly become reliable sources of information for consumers (Lee &
Park 2007). Thus, marketers need to manage multiple and diverse tools targeted at
multiple and diverse audiences, which underlines the need for integrated
marketing communications (De Pelsmacker et al. 2007, 23). The next section
explores definitions given to IMC.
2.2 Definitions of Integrated Marketing
Communications
Despite the growth and popularity of the concept of IMC, there has been little
consensus about what it really is or what needs to be done in order to implement it
in an organization (see e.g. Fill 2001, Gould 2004). Since its inception some
decades ago, IMC has remained a controversial theoretical concept and scholars
have not yet agreed on its general scope. Definitional issues have been one of the
most often discussed topics up to the date (Kliatchko 2005; 2008; 2009). Various
explanations have emerged and underlined its multiple aspects, benefits and
consequences (De Pelsmacker et al. 2007, 8; Kliatchko 2005). This section does
not seek to repeat all the definitions, but rather presents an overview of various
perspectives to IMC and looks at some of its common characteristics.
11
“One look, one voice” thinking shaped the early development of IMC (Miller &
Rose 1994; Schultz & Kitchen 2009). Beyond this phrase is the idea that
advertisements should have the same look and personality across different
markets and different media. (Kliatchko 2005; Christensen et al. 2008). This view
serves as an appropriate starting point for discussion of IMC. However, it does not
acknowledge the more profound elements that are required to support and
maintain IMC in an organization, which refers to its strategic aspect. (Fill 2001).
For many, IMC is concerned with consistent coordination of various marketing
communication tools and synergy seeking (Duncan & Everett 1993). From this
point of view, combining marketing communication tools in a mutually
reinforcing way, results in greater efficiency (Duncan & Everett 1993). One
widely used definition that relies on this perspective is the one provided by the
American Association of Advertising Agencies in 1989 describing IMC in the
following way:
“IMC is a concept of marketing communication planning that
recognizes the added value of a comprehensive plan that
evaluates the strategic roles of a variety of communication
disciplines, e.g. general advertising, direct response, sales
promotion and public relations, and combines these
disciplines to provide clarity, consistency and maximum
communication impact.” (Cited in Eagle and Kitchen 2000).
Duncan and Moriarty (1998) provide resembling definitions, but underline the
customer-orientation of marketing communications. Customer-centricity has
remained a key element in various definitions up to date. This aspect is also
supported by Kliatchko (2008), who describes IMC as follows:
“IMS is an audience-driven business process of strategically
managing stakeholders, content, channels, and results of
brand communication programs.”
12
As the citation above shows, Kliatchko (2008) regards IMC as a customer-centric
business process and makes a distinction of the so called four pillars of IMC.
These are stakeholders, content, channels and results. Figure 2 illustrates the four
pillars of IMC.
Integrated Marketing Communications Pillars
Stakeholders
Content
Channels
Results
Strategic Management of Brand Communications Programmes
Figure 2: The Four Pillars of Integrated Marketing Communications
(Kliatchko 2008)
Kliatchko (2008) argues that his definition and the four pillars sum up the many
principles surrounding the concept of IMC. The first pillar, stakeholders, refers to
all relevant internal and external audiences, with whom the organization interacts.
Second pillar, content, describes the messages provided by the firm. This pillar
has been strongly influenced by digital technology, which has shifted content
creation away from mass advertising paradigm towards a more interactive
approach that does not perceive customer just as the receiver of a message.
Channels, as the third pillar, refer to different sources of information that serve as
contact points with consumers. Finally, the fourth pillar, results, underlines that
IMC programmes must be accountable for business results. (Kliatchko 2008).
Over the years, discussion on IMC has evolved from a view of coordinating
communication tools towards considering it as a process of strategically managing
marketing communications in line with the overall business strategy (Kitchen &
Schultz 2009). As Schultz and Schultz (1998) have proposed, IMC can been
viewed from a more strategic perspective. From their point of view IMC can be
13
seen as a four-level business process. The four stages describe the phases that
firms go through in their efforts to practice integration (Kliatchko 2008). Figure 3
represents the four stages of integrated marketing communications.
Stage 4
Financial and Strategic Integration
Stage 3
Application of Information Technology
Stage 2
Redefining Scope of Marketing Communications
Stage 1
Tactical Coordination
Figure 3: The Four Stages of Integrated Marketing Communications
(Schultz 2011)
As represented in the Figure 3, the first level of IMC focuses on tactical
coordination of communication tools. The second level is about redefining the
scope of marketing communications. The third level concerns application of
information technology and on the top fourth level is financial and strategic
integration. The four stages illustrate that integration is not only concerned with
the integration of the various functional areas of marketing and communications,
but includes all the other functional areas within an organization (Kliatchko
2008). This view of IMC as a dynamic and strategic process that deal with
multiple functional areas of an organization, is also supported by a number of
other academics (see e.g. Fill 2001; Gould 2004).
Even though the majority of academic research acknowledges the importance of
integrated marketing communications, the concept has been criticized. Some have
claimed that IMC is only management fashion based on weak theoretical
foundations and lacking of academic rigor (see e.g. Cornelissen & Lock 2000;
Cornelissen 2001). Cornelissen et al. (2006) propose that IMC should be rather
understood as a metaphor, which allows a certain flexibility to adapt thinking in
14
compliance with different needs.
Furthermore, it has been claimed that an
extremely disordered and fragmented marketing context cannot be responded to
by IMC frameworks (see e.g. Christensen et al. 2005; Cornelissen et al. 2006;
Christensen et al. 2008). However, despite the debate IMC has established itself
within marketing both in literature and in practice (Vargo & Lusch 2004).
The definitions reviewed in this section show that IMC can be approached from
various perspectives. This paper does not aim to review all the definitions but it
has presented some of the diverse conceptualizations and perceptions of IMC in
order to explain its complex nature. To summarize, common elements that appear
in the various definitions can be recognized despite the lack of consensus on the
general concept of IMC. They involve consistency and a way of managing
marketing communications in a holistic manner in order to achieve strategic
objectives (Fill 2001; Kitchen et al. 2004). The disciplines associated with IMC
are also numerous. They range from coordination of communication tools to total
integration of corporate strategy. Hence, IMC shapes multiple dimensions of the
organization and evolves level by level. In this research the focus will be turned to
the tactical level of IMC in order to examine in detail eReading advertising as a
promotional tool. Coordination of media is a predominant theme in IMC, hence
the next section discusses media planning.
2.3 Media Planning in Integrated Marketing
Communications
The objective of media planning is to assess the most suitable means to deliver
advertising communication to consumers and to allocate advertiser’s budget to the
best possible media mix (Bogart 2010). Media planning has gained the interest of
scholars in the field of integrated marketing communications quite recently.
Discussion has initially been opened decades ago, but it has been given more
attention lately as competitive pressures and expanding media alternatives
increase the need for media selection efficiency (Kliatchko 2008; Smith et al.
15
2010). This section discusses some key concepts that should shape media
planning as a part of IMC. As stated earlier, IMC aims at strategically consistent
communications thus this principle dominates also media planning. Furthermore,
media neutral planning, zero-based planning and measuring are other key
concepts in this field.
According to Duncan and Moriarty (1998) marketing communications planning
should be based on a zero based planning process that determines objectives and
strategies based on current brand or marketplace conditions. It aims to avoid
prejudices that come from past experiences and can give an image of a market
environment that may not exist anymore. Because marketing environment is
dynamic, also circumstances for media planning evolve. Duncan and Moriarty
(1998) propose that SWOT-analysis is a good way to start media planning and to
identify the most suitable marketing communication functions for achieving
desired objectives.
Media neutrality means that each media is considered as a potential choice
depending on particular circumstances of the organization, in a particular market,
at a particular time (Tapp 2005). According to Mitchell (2003) media neutral
planning demands for open minded thinking that goes beyond any single media
channel or discipline. This point of view is relevant as new media emerge
constantly as a result of technological innovations. Consumers’ media
consumption patterns change and marketers need to reconsider the right media
channels for communication (Mitchell 2003). Strong customer understanding is in
the heart of media neutral planning. As Kliatchko (2005) argues, audience drives
the planning and selection process, not the interest of the advertiser or the media
agency.
Measuring is an essential part of IMC. It may be considered as a complex and
challenging process as the aim is to measure the results of a combination of
marketing communication elements (Schultz 2011). According to Welsh (1965)
marketing communication goals should be specific, measurable and achievable.
16
Goals that are challenging motivate, whereas non-specific targets that are difficult
to measure should be avoided.
Based on these principles marketers should carefully consider all available
communication channels when they form their media mix. An optimal marketing
communication program consists of a mix of communication channels, where
each channel alone and as a part of a whole has a special role for reaching the
desired goals (Keller 2001). Advertising in eReading context is not an exception
and it should be considered in an integrated manner along with other promotional
tools. In order to facilitate integrated marketing communication planning different
conceptual frameworks have been developed to help marketers understand and
compare capacities of each communication channel (Mirbagheri & Hejazinia
2010). These will be discussed in the following section.
2.4 Advertising Medium Selection
Organizations often spend heavily trying to communicate with their current and
prospective customers through multiple media (Smith et al. 2006). Advertising
people have long given considerable attention to media selection (Hornik 1980).
This is due to the fact that the majority of advertising funds are invested in media
space and time (Gensch 1970). Bronner and Neijens (2006) specify that this refers
to approximately 80 % - 85 % of the total advertising budget. However, the
economic importance of media selection is not the only reason that makes it
challenging. Media planning consists of a series of decisions designed to assess
the best means of delivering advertising communication to target audiences
(Coulter & Sarkis 2005). The wide and expanding range of media alternatives,
which each has certain advantages and disadvantages, makes the decision more
demanding, and challenges advertising industry to consider how media can be
compared (Harvey 1997, Romaniuk & Gugel 2010).
When aiming to determine the media mix, each possible media vehicle such as
TV show, magazine or newspaper should be evaluated. Given the very large
17
number of alternative choices, a person is likely to face great difficulty in
comparing all reasonable media combinations in order to arrive at the best mix.
(Zangwill 1965). Hence, various computer models have been created to help
evaluate media and audience data. Many of these ask for the specification of
media weights that reflect the difference in suitability of the various media
channels. (Dyer et al. 1992). Even though computer models help to handle large
amounts of data, there are also limitations. Bogart (1975) states that media models
can misguide media planning unless it is recognized that there are no all-purpose
answers. It is important to acknowledge that different frameworks highlight
different aspects and any model is rarely complete. Thus, computer modeling and
executive judgment should be considered to complement one another. (Dyer et al.
1992; Kotler 1963).
One widely discussed framework for evaluating commercial media is the ARF
model, which was published in 1961 by the Advertising Research Foundation (see
e.g. Romaniuk & Gugel 2010; Harvey 1997). This model describes advertising
media evaluation as a six-stage process and recommends that media should be
compared within each of these six phases (Harvey 1997). Figure 4 represents the
ARF model.
18
Prospects
Non-Prospects
I
II
Vehicle
Vehicle
Distribution Exposure
III
V
Advertising Advertising
Exposure
IV
VI
Advertising
Sales
Perception Communication Response
Figure 4: The ARF Model for Evaluating Media (Harvey 1997)
As shown in Figure 4, the model consists of six levels. Harvey (1997) explains
that at each of these levels the ARF Model distinguishes between prospects and
non-prospects. The former refers to potential customers, whereas the latter refers
to people, who will not buy despite all the advertising that might be directed to
them. As can be seen from the figure, there are some non-prospects in all but the
last level. The first level of the ARF model is (1) vehicle distribution, which
describes a count of the physical units through which the advertising flows. For
example, copies of a magazine issue. The second level is (2) vehicle exposure. It
refers to the number of individuals, who are exposed to the particular media
channel. The third level, (3) advertising exposure, concerns the number of
individuals, who are exposed to advertising in the media. The fourth level is about
(4) advertising perception, which refers to the number of individuals noticing the
advertising, whereas (5) advertising communication at level five is more than the
19
simple act of noticing. It describes the number of individuals, who receive some
level of communication from the advertising. The last level of the model is (6)
sales response, which refers to the actual sales created by the advertising.
Among other models the ARF model represents one way to evaluate advertising
media. However, the media landscape has changed a lot due to digitalization since
the model was introduced. Various researchers have aimed to reformulate the
advertising media evaluation criteria to better correspond with the current
situation. Romanik and Gugel (2010) point out that as new technology is released
all the time, it is difficult to come up with a model that would include all the
relevant standards. Rather than adopting one particular media evaluation model,
this research looks at some of the key underlining characteristics that appear in the
various frameworks. These features include both quantitative and qualitative
aspects of media (Dyer et al. 1992) and they are examined next. The first
subsection that follows focuses on quantitative criteria and the second one on
qualitative criteria.
2.4.1
Quantitative Media Evaluation Criteria
Media planners’ objective is to find combinations of media that enhance the
firm’s advertising program and reach the target audience at minimum cost (see
e.g. Sissors 1982; Hornik 1980). One initial concern that shapes the utilization of
any medium is cost effectiveness (see e.g. Harvey 1997). Assessing media
vehicles in terms of quantitative criteria, such as reach, frequency and cost is a
very conventional and widely employed approach to media selection (see e.g.
Assael & Cannon 1979; Hornik 1980). These variables are examined in the
following.
Media selection is based on the principle of optimal reach of a defined target
group (Assael & Cannon 1979). Reach refers to covering a certain percentage of
the target audience by one medium or by multiple media and defines how many
people will see the campaign (Hornik 1980, Sissors 1982; Romaniuk & Gugel
2010). Media consumption patterns of the target audience ultimately determine
20
media selection. For example, if a target audience is not exposed to a certain type
of media, a campaign using this same media mix will not reach those people
either. Hence, the advertising media and the target marked are matched by
determining the relative concentration of target market members in various media
audiences (see. e.g. Cannon 1986; Gensch 1970; Romaniuk & Gugel 2010; Smith
et al. 2010). Advertisers can identify their target audience based on different
characteristics, such as demographics, psychographics or behavioral traits (see
e.g. Assael & Cannon 1979; Cannon & Linda 1982; Gensch 1970; Hornik 1980).
To the advertiser, some variables are more important than others (Gensch 1970).
In addition to reach, the amount of optimal frequency must be considered.
Frequency usually represents the average number of vehicle exposures that media
audiences receive in a given time period or for example in a given number of
magazine issues (Sissors 1982). Sissors (1982) explains that every vehicle
exposure does not result in advertising exposure, thus it must be made clear that
there is a certain difference between these two concepts. This difference was also
made in the ARF model presented in Figure 4. Sissors (1982) agrees that exposure
to a media vehicle is often greater than exposure to advertising in the same
channel. High frequency increases the likelihood of audience exposure to
advertisements. Sissors (1982) proposes that media plans can be much improved
through better use of frequency.
Media decisions aim to achieve the highest reach at the lowest cost (Mevik &
Vinding 1966; Barnes et al. 1982). Keller (2001) proposes that all criteria that are
used to assess media selection must be weighed against their cost to arrive at the
most
effective
and
efficient
communication
program.
All
marketing
communications are somewhat costly, although there can be differences and
budget decisions can turn some media unavailable for advertisers (Gensch 1970;
Keller 2001). One key figure that can be used to compare prices of different media
options is cost per thousand (CPT). It represents the cost of a medium per
thousand members of audience. (Fleck 1973). The ideal criteria for media
comparisons involve also measures of sales responses, such as the actual sales
21
created by the advertising (Smith 1965; Harvey 1997; Romaniuk & Gugel 2010).
However, purchase decisions are not solely dependent on advertising. Many other
variables interact with advertising to determine purchase and it is challenging to
ignore the actions of these other variables. (Gensch 1970; Smith 1965).
Even though reach, cost and frequency are important factors they can provide a
somewhat simple media analysis (Hornik 1980). Selection of media to convey
marketing messages is not only dependent on quantitative criteria. In addition to
quantitative factors, qualitative characteristics of media are considered more and
more important (see e.g. Dahlén 2005; Dahlén et al. 2008a; Dahlén et al. 2008b).
These are explored in the next subsection.
2.4.2
Qualitative Media Evaluation Criteria
One widely discussed topic in the field of advertising and media selection is the
influence of media environment on advertising effectiveness. Media environment
can be defined as the qualitative characteristics of the media in which an
advertisement has been placed (see e.g. Janssens & De Pelsmacker 2005; Cannon
& Linda 1982; De Pelsmacker et al. 2002; Bronner & Neijens 2006). Consumers
use media because of their content, thus media environment should have a central
role in media planning (Wang & Calder 2006).
Media environment provides a communication setting that can either strengthen or
hinder the effectiveness of advertisers’ message (Kennedy 1971). Hornik (1980)
states that people are in different mental and emotional states when they are
exposed to different media. For example, people read newspapers in a different
way than they read magazines, which can affect advertising response even if the
advertising approach in each vehicle is the same. Some media can be more
suitable for a particular product due to their mood or prestige (Gensch 1970). For
example, high-end products that have an exclusive quality image can prefer high
prestige magazines as advertising vehicle (Gensch 1970). Hornik (1980) and
Bogart (1975) state that there is an interrelationship between the vehicle and the
advertising message it delivers to an audience. Hence, the media and the message
22
are inseparable. Also creativity in media planning and advertising provides a
possibility to increase consumers’ interest towards advertisements (Dahlén 2005;
Dahlén et al. 2008a; Dahlén et al. 2008b).
According to Hornik (1980) media selection requires knowledge of competitive
activity in the media vehicle. Many advertisements occur with other competing
ads, which might influence recipients’ response to the message (Yi 1990).
Competition for media space and time is likely to influence negatively the
response to a certain advertisement and diminish its effectiveness (Hornik 1980).
Each medium can also be characterized by its technical merits. Media vehicles
have different technical capabilities, which have an influence on the visibility and
quality of an advert in the medium. All media have typical characteristics which
refer to their ability to deliver certain types of messages, such as interactive versus
static content (Gensch 1970; Hornik 1980). Technical capabilities differentiate
media from each other also within media genres making some vehicles more
suitable for certain purposes (Gensch 1970). For example print media can be
assessed based on paper quality, binding and print technique (Hornik 1980). The
characteristics of the advertised product or service are likely to set requirements
for the selection of advertising media. To illustrate Gensch (1970) proposes that
some products must be seen to be understood, which is opposed to the use of radio
as an advertising medium. For long the differences between media genres were
clearly separate but now digital methods of distribution have changed and there
are media that can carry any type of content.
2.5 Synthesis
This section synthesizes Chapter 2, which discusses the theoretical background of
the research. The theoretical approach of the study is based on literature in the
field of integrated marketing communications (see e.g. Duncan & Everett 1993;
Schultz & Kitchen 1997; Keller 2001; Kitchen et al. 2004; Kliatchko 2005, 2008;
Kitchen et al. 2008). There has been an increasing interest towards media
23
planning within this field (Kliatchko 2008). The topic has been given more
attention lately as competitive pressures and expanding media choices increase the
need for media selection efficiency (see e.g. Kliatchko 2008; Pilotta & Schultz
2005; Smith et al. 2010). Above all integrated marketing communications is a
strategic approach to marketing communications planning, which is expected to
result in greater effectiveness and efficiency in all marketing communications
activities (see e.g. Eagle & Kitchen 2000; Kitchen & Schultz 2009; Kliatchko
2005). Strategic media planning should be executed in line with the overall
business objectives and be shaped by the principles of zero based planning and
media neutrality.
Media planning consists of a series of decisions designed to assess the best means
of delivering an advertising communication to target audience. Media selection is
an important decision due to the fact that the majority of advertising funds are
invested in media space and time. (Gensch 1970). However, the economic
importance of media selection is not the only reason that makes it challenging.
Coulter and Sarkis (2005) note that the wide and expanding range of media
alternatives, each which has certain advantages and disadvantages, makes the
decision more demanding. The emergence of new media challenges advertising
industry to consider, how media can be compared (Harvey 1997). Consequently,
various attempts for evaluating media selection have emerged. Discussion has
concerned both quantitative and qualitative characteristics of media, such as costeffectiveness (see e.g. Smith et al. 2010) or media environment (see e.g. Dahlén
2005; Dahlén et al. 2008a; Dahlén et al. 2008b; Hornik 1980; Gensch 1970).
Table 1 provides a summary of the criteria that have been discussed in Subsection
2.4.1. and Subsection 2.4.2. These criteria can be used to compare the advertising
media in their suitability to transfer advertisers’ messages.
24
Quantitative
Qualitative
Criterion
Description
Reach
A percentage of target audience covered by
one medium or multiple media.
Frequency
Average number of vehicle exposures media
audience receives in a given period of time.
Cost
The expenses of the media space and
production of an advertisement.
Sales response
The actual sales created by the advertising.
Media environment
Qualitative characteristics of the media in
which the advert has been placed.
Competitive activity
Competing adverts in the same medium.
Technical qualities
Ability to deliver certain types of messages.
Table 1: Criteria for Media Evaluation
As can be seen from Table 1, the criteria for media evaluation are divided in
quantitative criteria and qualitative criteria. Reach, frequency, cost and sales
response represent quantitative criteria. Media environment, competitive activity
in the medium and technical qualities are qualitative criteria. A short description
of each criterion is provided in the table. It is important to remember that there is
no solid agreement about the criteria based on which advertising media should be
evaluated. Different models highlight various variables. The criteria listed in
Table 1 represent some of the multiple aspects of media that influence the
selection of an advertising vehicle.
After these theoretical considerations, the focus is now turned to the empirical
part of the study. Newspapers and magazines in eReading format represent new
advertising media thus it is relevant to examine the factors that influence the
interest to integrate them in marketing communications plans. The empirical
research conducted for this study explores the current state of eReading
25
advertising in Finland. Through this investigation opportunities and challenges
related to the utilization of eReading advertising will be identified. The following
Chapter 3 discusses the methodology of the empirical study.
26
3 Methodology
This chapter describes the research methodology of the empirical part of the
study. The discussion starts with the presentation of the research method and
research design. Then the data collection and data analysis are discussed. The
chapter ends with the evaluation of the quality of the research.
3.1 Research Design and Methods
The setting for the research was decided upon the purpose of the study. First, the
objective of the thesis was to provide an insight into integrated marketing
communications and the role of eReading advertising in this field. Second, from a
managerial perspective the study aimed to examine the current state of eReading
advertising in the Finnish media market and identify related opportunities and
challenges. The research is two-fold. It is based on a theoretical review of
academic literature in the field of IMC and on an empirical research of eReading
advertising in Finnish context.
The research was conducted as a qualitative study. This approach was chosen,
because the aim was to form an in-depth understanding of eReading advertising as
a phenomenon. A qualitative inquiry is a suitable way to explore the topic because
it aims to provide rich descriptions and explanations in order to make sense of
different phenomena (Miles & Huberman 1984, 14). Some of the main differences
between qualitative and quantitative research concern the breadth and depth of the
study. A qualitative inquiry aims to observe phenomena in great depth with
attention to detail, context and nuances. A quantitative research is rather
concerned about classifying, counting and constructing statistical models. (Patton
2002, 227).
There are various ways to collect qualitative data and different techniques are
used for different purposes. Interviewing is one of these methods. It is a useful
27
tool to enter into other persons’ perspectives and explore their thoughts, feelings
and experiences (Patton 2002, 341) thus it was suitable for this research.
Furthermore, there are multiple interviewing techniques, which differ from each
other in the extent to which interview questions are predetermined and
standardized before the actual interview. The different techniques can be roughly
divided in three categories, which are open-ended interview, semi-structured
interview and structured interview. Of these methods open-ended interview is the
most informal, whereas structured interview is highly standardized. (Patton 2002,
342). For this study a semi-structured interview method was adopted and eight
interviews were conducted.
Semi-structured interview is also known as thematic interview. This refers to the
idea that before the interview, an interview guide is prepared in order to list the
themes that will be discussed during the interviews. This outline guides the semistructured interview in such a way that all the important themes are explored with
each interviewee. Moreover, an interview guide helps to carefully consider the
focus of the interview. However, semi-structured interview method allows great
flexibility to elaborate relevant themes that may arise unexpectedly during the
interview. Regarding the fact that the research phenomenon is fairly new, this
aspect was considered important. Thus, semi-structured research method was
chosen for data collecting. The method also permits spontaneous wordings of
questions and a conversational interviewing style. (Patton 2002, 343). It must be
noted that the questions should open-ended, which allows the interviewees to
express freely their personal perspectives in their responses. For comparison
closed ended questions which are more often used in quantitative inquiry, oblige
respondents to adjust their knowledge, experiences and feelings into
predetermined categories. (Patton 2002, 348).
A qualitative research aims to result in insights and in-depth understanding based
on relatively small samples rather than empirical generalizations, whereas
quantitative research is rather concerned about gathering standardized information
from a statistically more representative sample. (See e.g. Patton 2002; Miles &
28
Huberman 1984). For this study the interviewees were chosen using judgment
sampling, which is a widely utilized sampling strategy in qualitative research
(Marshall 1996). According to Patton (2002, 230) the strength of judgment
sampling is that only information rich cases can be included in the sample. This
means selecting interviewees from who it is possible to learn the most about
topics that are central for the objectives of the research. In this case potential
interviewees were identified and listed partly on the advice of some key advisers
in the research project and partly by the researcher. Judgment sampling is a well
justified sampling strategy for this study because eReading advertising is a fairly
new phenomenon in the field of marketing. For many marketing professionals it is
still a somewhat obscure and unknown area. Thus, it was purposeful to identify
and interview people, who were likely to be able to give insights into the topic.
The interviews were targeted at media agency representatives, because they were
considered to have a deeper understanding of the topic than direct advertisers
themselves. According to Wirtz et al. (2011) the advertising business partners of
newspaper and magazine publishers can be classified in two groups, which are
direct advertisers and indirect advertisers. Direct advertisers refer to advertisers
that buy advertising space directly from the media, whereas indirect advertisers
refer to intermediaries in the media buying process, such as media agencies. In the
newspaper and magazine businesses media agencies are important clients for the
publishers. A majority of advertising sales comes through media buying
professionals.
One reason explaining the extensive use of services provided by media agencies,
is the fragmentation of the media landscape, which makes advertising more
complex than in the past. Advertisers who invest in cross media campaigns need
to buy and manage a large variety of media. Thus, they can face the difficulty to
compare and analyze the merits of all the different options. In addition, media
agencies have strong negotiation power, and they are able to buy media at a
competitive price. The role of a media agency is to help advertisers to reach their
business objectives by allocating the advertising budget to the best possible media
29
mix. Thus, they are obliged to compare and analyze the merits of different media
options. Furthermore, media agencies serve as an important intermediary between
media and advertisers, thus their perceptions about media vehicles are especially
valuable for this study. After these considerations the collection of the data is
described in detail in the following.
3.2 Data Collection
To start the data collection process the potential interviewees, who were selected
through judgment sampling, were approached by phone or email in order to
propose an interview. Reactions to interview requests were very positive and most
of the persons contacted were willing to participate. The interviews were
conducted between October 21st 2011 and November 15th 2011. The majority of
them took place at the interviewee’s office, which provided a calm environment
for interviewing. Two of the interviews were organized in cafes in the city center
of Helsinki. Despite some background noise this environment was well suitable
for interviewing providing a relaxed atmosphere. All the interviews were
conducted in Finnish and lasted from 60 minutes to 90 minutes totaling 627
minutes of interview data.
All the interviewees were media agency employees specialized in digital
marketing and having a working experience of many years in this field. Some of
the interviewees had more experiences of eReading advertising and were involved
in tactical operations and some had a rather strategic approach to the topic. It can
be concluded that all the interviewees are experts in the field of digital marketing
but approach it from slightly different perspectives. Table 2 provides a list of the
interviewees’ positions in their organizations and the duration of the interview.
30
Interviewee no.
Position
Duration
1
Digital Strategist
86 min
2
Digital Director
83 min
3
Digital Strategist
75 min
4
COO
60 min
5
CEO
90 min
6
Digital Strategist
87 min
7
Strategy Director
72 min
8
Head of Digital
74 min
Table 2: List of Interviewees
The collection of data was finished after the eighth interview, because the data
was well saturated. In a qualitative inquiry there are no given rules for sample
size, but it must be decided based on the purpose of the study. Data saturation is a
well justified reason to limit the number of interviews. Saturation means that the
data collection has reached a point where additional interviews are not likely to
bring in any new and relevant information to the study. (Patton 2002, 230). It was
noted that the field of media agencies in Finland is quite homogenous. There were
a few additional names on the list of potential interviewees, if more data would
have been needed.
All the interviews were recorded in order to capture the actual wording of the
persons interviewed. In addition, notes were made during the interviews. They
served as a tool to show emphasis on some topics and to help in formulating
questions as the interview moved along. As the discussion was recorded it was not
necessary to make verbatim notes. Thus, the researcher was able to fully
concentrate on the interviewee and interactive in-depth interviewing. Directly
after the interview the tapes were checked in order to ensure the quality of the
31
recorded interview. Also details of the interview setting were noted. The
interviews were transcribed soon after the interview. The interviews were
transcribed in Finnish which was the language used in interviewing. Some
citations were later translated in English for this study. In the translation process,
special attention was paid to maintain the meaning of the original citations.
The interviews started with defining the topic in question. This was considered
important because eReading advertising in general is a broad concept and people
might give different meanings to it. It further was specified that in this study
eReading advertising refers to tablet in-application advertising in newspaper and
magazine context. In the next section the analysis of the data is examined.
3.3 Data Analysis
Data analysis and interpretation is making sense about what people said in the
interviews, looking for patterns, putting things together and integrating what
different interviewees have said. It is a process of transforming the data into
findings. (Patton 2002, 380). According to Patton (2002, 432), there are many
ways to analyze the data. The researcher has to adapt the analysis procedures to fit
the specific situation and research in question. Thus, the purpose and the audience
of the study guide the process. Regardless of the analysis method, the researcher
is obliged to observe and report his or her analytical procedures as truthfully as
possible.
The data set consists of 627 minutes of recorded interviews. All the interviews
were conducted and transcribed by the researcher, which provided an opportunity
to familiarize oneself with the whole data set very intensively. After the
transcription process the interviews were read through carefully in order to form a
general understanding of them. Special attention was paid to challenges and
opportunities related to eReading advertising.
32
In this research the analysis is based on a thematic analysis, which is a widely
used analysis method in qualitative inquiry. The thematic analysis is a tool that
enables to break the data into subsets or different patterns according to specific
themes. A theme represents an important issue about the data related to the
research question and captures a somewhat patterned response or meaning (Braun
& Clark 2006, 82). According to Patton (2002, 453) qualitative analysis is
typically inductive in the early stages especially when discovering themes and
developing the coding manual. The final stage of the analysis can be deductive
after the themes have been established.
Through inductive analysis themes that emerge from the data were identified and
listed. This served as the first step of coding the data into topics. Coding refers to
creation of manageable classifications according to which the data will be
grouped. A code integrates different instances of the data. In order to
systematically code the data a coding manual was established. The idea behind
this manual is to indicate a name for a theme, define what it concerns and provide
a description of how to decide a theme occurs in the data. (Patton 2002, 463).
When rereading the data a formal coding procedure was started. Different themes
were color coded in such a way that each color indicated a piece of text belonging
to a certain theme. Several readings were necessary before the data was
completely processed. After coding, parts of the data that belonged to the same
theme were grouped together in order to examine the meanings various
interviewees gave to topics. Accordingly to Patton (2002) particular attention is to
be paid to the extent to which the different instances of the data fall in a certain
pattern. Furthermore, differences among various data patterns were examined too.
Before going to the findings in Chapter 4 the quality of the research is assessed in
the following section.
33
3.4 Quality of the Research
Traditionally quality of an academic research is evaluated by three criteria, which
are (1) reliability, (2) validity and (3) generalizability. These measures are widely
employed in quantitative research, but qualitative inquiry produces knowledge
that cannot be evaluated exactly in the same way. It is important to note that in
qualitative research there are no absolute or objective criteria that could indicate
whether findings are valid and procedures robust (Moisander & Valtonen 2006,
21; Miles & Huberman 1984, 231). However, reliability, validity and
generalizability can be interpreted from a qualitative perspective.
According to Moisander and Valtonen (2006, 24), reliability usually describes the
degree to which the findings of a research are independent of accidental
circumstances of their production. The concept of replicability is closely related to
reliability. It refers to the possibility that other researchers could repeat the study
and come up with same results, interpretations and claims (Moisander &
Valtonen, 2006, 27). Qualitative research is rather contextual of time and place it
is not normally possible to end up with similar findings as earlier. For example,
the topic of this research is constantly developing and evolving because eReading
advertising is in a development stage. Thus, the findings are closely related to the
present moment. Advertising in eReading context is likely deal with different
challenges and opportunities and have a different position in the media market in
the future. In qualitative research reliability can be also considered to deal with
the transparency of the research process (Moisander & Valtonen 2006, 27). Thus,
it is important to describe in detail the processes that shape data collection and
analysis. This paper aimed to provide a detailed description of the data collection
and data analysis procedures in order to ensure transparency of the study.
According to Moisander and Valtonen (2006, 24) validity often refers to the truth
or accuracy of the claims the researcher makes. Validity can be also described in
terms of how well a study represents the features of a phenomenon that it was
intended to describe. Thus, the criteria that are used to evaluate the quality of a
34
qualitative inquiry are based on the theoretical and methodological perspectives
that are chosen for the study (Moisander & Valtonen 2006, 21; Patton 2002, 542).
As described earlier, there is no universally objective way to evaluate qualitative
inquiry. Hence, Moisander and Valtonen (2006, 26) propose that validity should
rather be seen as an agreement of the interpretations of a research judged by its
audience.
In quantitative research generalizability is a central topic referring to the extent
that the research findings and conclusions of a specific sample apply to a larger
population (Moisander & Valtonen 2006, 28). Typically, in qualitative inquiry
this is not the primary goal. Qualitative research often deals with smaller samples,
which do not statistically represent a larger population. The nature of qualitative
research is rather to expand the understanding of a specific phenomenon in a
specific context. Moisander and Valtonen (2006, 28) further suggest that in
qualitative inquiry it is more relevant to discuss transferability. This refers to the
idea, that the readers of a research report could establish connections between the
results of the study and their personal understanding and experiences. Thus, it is
important to provide a thick description of the research setting, as this study aims
to do. This chapter has discussed the research methodology. The focus is now
turned to the findings, which are presented next in Chapter 4.
35
4 Findings
This chapter presents the findings of the empirical research. The chapter discusses
first to which extent eReading advertising is utilized in the Finnish media market.
Then challenges related to eReading advertising are explored. The chapter ends
with a discussion of the opportunities of advertising in eReading context.
4.1 Utilization of eReading Advertising
Advertising in eReading context is a fairly new concept of advertising. Electronic
reading content can be accessed from a number of different devices, but this study
focuses only on advertising in newspaper and magazine applications that are
designed for multifunctional tablet computers, such as Apple’s iPad or similar
devices.
Development stage of eReading advertising
In Finland, electronic publishing is at an early stage of development. Various
newspapers and magazines have released their first tablet editions within the last
years. This has offered also advertisers a possibility to adopt this new media
environment. To gain an overall understanding of the current state of eReading
advertising, the interviewees were asked to describe its utilization. It can be
clearly seen from the quotes that advertising in eReading context is experimental
at this point, as the following quote show:
“eReading advertising is still only dabbling. It is still an
experiment on a small scale, but it does not have financial
impact.” (Interviewee 1)
“It is a cherry on the cake. -- I have not seen that tablet
advertising would have been given much importance in the
success of a campaign.” (Interviewee 3)
36
“Today eReading advertising is still in its infancy and we are
taking the first steps.” (Interviewee 6)
“eReading advertising is only an additional element included
in the campaign. No big results are expected from it.”
(Interviewee 8)
As pointed out in these quotes above, eReading advertising is still in its infancy.
The interviewees described it most often as an experiment or a supplement to
other forms of advertising. This is due to the fact that eReading advertising is far
from a mature advertising concept. It stems from the interviews that it is still in
the process of finding its position in the field of advertising.
Integrating eReading advertising in marketing plans
Despite the novelty of the medium, same principles that shape media planning in
general apply in the case of eReading advertising too, argue the interviewees.
Thus, eReading advertising may be utilized if it is relevant for the objectives set
for advertising and reaches defined target audiences. According to the
interviewees, however, eReading advertising is quite loosely bound to overall
business objectives. Today, it is not given substantial emphasis in the success of a
campaign.
Furthermore, there is one additional factor that may motivate advertisers for
experiments with this medium in its early development phase. Interviews indicate
that some advertisers are interested in eReading advertising, because they want to
be forerunners and associated with innovativeness. Thus, visibility in a novel
media brings along desired reputation, as argued in the following citation:
“Many advertisers want to lead the way and try out new
solutions before the others.” (Interviewee 8)
37
Rising interest towards eReading advertising
Media agencies are a significant player in the field of advertising as an increasing
number of advertisers use their expertise in media planning. Thus, it is reasonable
to find out, how media agency representatives perceive eReading advertising.
Many of the interviewees argue that media agencies consider tablet newspapers
and magazines as one medium among all the other media as the following quote
shows:
“It is just one emerging medium among the other media. We
are examining it and trying to gather as much information
about it as possible.” (Interviewee 8)
It stems from the interviews that media agencies have a rising interest towards
eReading advertising. This is natural as media agencies aim to help advertisers to
reach their business objectives by allocating the advertising budget to the best
possible media mix. They need to be up to date of the variety of possibilities in
the field of advertising, as expressed in the following quote:
“In principle, media agencies are interested in everything
new, because it lets us show to the client what is happening
and that we can create something new.” (Interviewee 1)
It was pointed out in the interviews that planning advertising for some new media
has changed the traditional division of tasks in media agency. One reason
explaining this is media convergence, which refers to technology driven
unification of different media channels. For a long time different media, such as
print, TV and radio were clearly separated. Now digital methods of distribution
have changed this and one medium can carry many types of content. One
interviewee expresses it as follows:
“The trend is that new media cannot be categorized whether
they are print, TV or online. They combine a bit of everything,
and everybody should acknowledge that.” (Interviewee 8)
38
Interviews showed that in media agencies eReading advertising falls into digital
planners’ sphere of responsibility. However, interviewees point out that even
though advertising in electronic reading context deals with online environment, it
cannot be strictly categorized. Advertising in eReading context appears very often
linked to other advertising, such as print or television. Thus, it should be rather
considered as interdisciplinary advertising, which requires co-operation among
specialists from many fields.
Pioneering media in eReading advertising
Interviewees were asked to name actors that have performed well in the Finnish
media market in this early development stage of eReading advertising in tablet
newspapers and magazines. Some were not willing to name any particular media.
However, Teknari, which is a technology magazine published by T-Magazines,
was mentioned a few times as a good example of a tablet magazine. It was
considered that Teknari’s tablet magazine has been developed in terms of the
media environment, and thus it utilizes the unique characteristics of the tablet
device and offers also interesting advertising concepts. Another media that must
be highlighted is HS iPad, which is the iPad version of Helsingin Sanomat
newspaper. During the interviews all the interviewees mentioned it in some
context, thus HS iPad can be considered as a top of mind tablet newspaper among
these interviewees.
In this section it was pointed out that media agencies consider eReading
advertising an interesting advertising format. However, it is still in its infancy and
is not given substantial emphasis in the success of an advertising campaign. There
are some obstacles that reduce its utilization at this point. In the next section these
challenges are discussed in more detail.
4.2 Challenges of eReading Advertising
The challenges of eReading advertising are discussed in this section. In order to
make eReading advertising a more attractive advertising concept the obstacles that
39
reduce advertisers’ interest to use it must be understood. Four challenges stem
clearly from the interviews. These are related to low reach, high costs,
measurement problems and limited know-how.
4.2.1
Low Reach
Reach plays a central role in advertising (see e.g. Assael & Cannon 1979; Hornik
1980; Sissors 1982; Romaniuk & Gugel 2010). In the Finnish market, the
penetration rate of tablet devices is still at a very low level. As a result there are
only a handful of people who read newspapers or magazines using eReading
applications. All interviewees explain that the very low reach is considered as the
main problem that decreases advertisers’ interest to advertise in electronic reading
context, as expressed in the following quotes:
“The growth of tablet market penetration is critical in order
for eReading to become a respectable and a natural part of
everyday media planning.” (Interviewee 7)
“Are there enough readers? The answer is often no. Hence,
we have to consider if it is worth doing extra job because of
eReading advertising.” (Interviewee 4)
“When readership is low there is no reason to invest more in
advertisement production.” (Interviewee 3)
However, it can be argued that low reach is typical for a new medium. In this case
it must be also remembered that we are talking about a totally new user interface.
Consumers are still learning to use tablet computers and the content that can be
accessed with them. Tablets and electronic reading are still looking for their place
in consumers’ media consumption. Interviewees point out that the adoption of
electronic reading will grow with the proliferation of tablet devices as the
following quotes illustrate:
40
“In order to increase the readership, Kindle-like solutions are
required. It is probably only a good thing that there will be
competition between different manufacturers. If one has
monopoly, prices will remain high.” (Interviewee 5)
“There are good signs regarding the growth of tablet
penetration. Sony and Kindle are going to introduce cheaper
devices, which will enhance competition. It will let everyone
buy a tablet at some point, which will start to increase the
penetration and thereby advertising coverage.”
(Interviewee 7)
As expressed in the citations, launches of new tablets will increase competition in
the gadget market and push prices down. Apple’s iPad was the first
multifunctional tablet device that gained substantial popularity in the Finnish
market and it has dominated the market until now. However, it can be considered
to be expensive and, as one interviewee argues, a luxury product.
Interviewees note that consumers use media because of their content, which is a
view supported also by Wang and Calder (2006). From this point of view media
can primarily boost eReading phenomenon by providing interesting material that
attracts readers. Some interviewees suggest that media could also try to facilitate
the adoption of eReading applications and aim to create user experiences by
offering content with lower prices or for free, as the following citations show:
“I think it is good that publishers have quite aggressively
attempted to increase the readership by distributing free
samples. They should generate user experiences
free-of-charge in the beginning. In the long run they can
become subscribers, who pay for the content.” (Interviewee 7)
41
“If you distribute a well performing and interesting magazine
or newspaper for free it has more readers for
sure.”(Interviewee 3)
However, interviewees understand that free-of-charge distribution can be harmful
for media’s profit generation concept. Furthermore, interviewees propose that
user experiences could be also created in co-operation with advertisers. For
example, in terms of sponsoring:
“Sponsorships such as ‘Today’s newspaper is provided by X’
could be a good means to familiarize people with eReading.”
(Interviewee 4)
It must be also noted that eReading media environment is highly selective, which
enables advertisers to reach a distinct target market. This is one reason that favors
the utilization of eReading advertising despite the low reach. Thus, the size of the
market cannot be considered as intrinsic value. Users of tablets and readers of
tablet newspapers and magazines may actually be the most preferred target group
for some advertisers. Quality of the contacts counts, as the following quotes
present:
“In my opinion you cannot consider everything as mass
media. It is extremely important to make the target group,
which you have reached, engage themselves and spend time
with your brand. They may become brand advocates, who
spread the word of the brand.” (Interviewee 2)
“We found a medium that reaches our clients target group.
There is no reason to ignore it.” (Interviewee 6)
To advance the discussion about barriers to use, it is important to note that the
main disadvantage of low reach is related to costs, which are discussed next.
42
4.2.2
High Costs
Effective allocation of advertiser’s media budget is one of the principles that
shape media planning (see e.g. Mevik & Vinding 1966; Barnes et al. 1982). It
stems from the interviews that low reach influences significantly how much
advertisers are willing to invest in advertising. The costs of advertising can be
roughly divided into two categories, which are the cost of buying advertising
space and the cost of producing advertisements. Interviewees point out that media
should take into account the low reach in their pricing policies. In general, media
agencies have a favorable attitude towards innovations, but cost effectiveness is
emphasized in decision making as the following citations illustrate:
“New products are always welcome, but then you hope that
they would be priced reasonably enough so that our clients
would be willing to try them.” (Interviewee 5)
“The readership is still so low that the cost per contact tends
to be too expensive. It is a sad thing that even if the ideas
would be as good as ever, we cannot implement them.”
(Interviewee 2)
High costs and a limited reach are not a combination that encourages for
experiments. In this early stage of development, it would be important for both
media and advertisers to gain experiences from eReading advertising, which
should influence pricing. Some interviewees note that media have been willing to
negotiate prices, which gets positive feedback.
All interviewees highlight that production costs are high with respect to reach.
The problem lies in the fact that eReading advertising represents a totally new
advertising format, which means that advertisers have to produce materials
specifically for this purpose and the small target group they want to reach.
Interviewees argue in the following way:
43
“It is not worth to invest much in a very small audience. The
cost of advertising production must be reasonable compared
to reach.” (Interviewee 4)
“It is yet another reason not to advertise in eReading context
that the advertising production cost becomes too high.”
(Interviewee 1)
However, eReading advertising may be a part of a cross media campaign, which
includes for example print, online or TV. Advertisements for eReading context
are often edited from materials that are produced for the other media vehicles.
Combining these elements into a new format naturally causes extra costs for
advertisers. Interviewees also point out that planning of the creative choice takes
more time as there is no set standard for this advertising format, which again
increases costs.
Interviewees indicate that media can facilitate the adoption of this new advertising
concept by providing help to produce the needed materials. For example, some
media offer services to convert existing print ads into iPad format. All the efforts
that lower the barriers to use are welcomed. Some interviewees also mention
diverse pricing principles among media as a challenge. From interviewees’
perspective, consistent pricing models would make it easier to compare the merits
of different media.
4.2.3
Measurement Problems
Advertisers expect to see returns on their investments in advertising, thus
accountability is an important part of media planning. As advertising in electronic
reading context deals with online media environment, the pressure of
measurement is increased. Basically, in online environment everything is
measurable. For comparison, it is more often accepted that advertising
performance in offline media is not evaluated in the same extent.
44
According to the interviewees, there are problems related to measuring
advertising response and success in electronic reading context. As we are talking
about a novel medium and the majority of advertisers are taking initial steps in its
utilization, it would be extremely important to provide advertisers information
about the effectiveness of advertising, as the following citations illustrate:
“Planners do not necessarily want to recommend eReading
advertising, if there is no evidence of its effectiveness. In any
such pilot study it would be good to get information on the
performance in order to assess whether it is a good thing or
not.” (Interviewee 1)
“If there are two equally cost effective media and only one can
be chosen, then at some level it matters whether advertising
performance can be measured or not. It would provide a
competitive advantage to the media.” (Interviewee 3)
Thus, the lack of information on advertising effectiveness in eReading context can
lower the interest to invest in this medium. Without tracking the performance of
advertisements, there is no information about the success or failure of advertising
efforts. As a consequence, it is difficult to assess how the new advertising idea
worked and should it be utilized in future.
It stems from the interviews that measurement issues concern largely media
agency’s sphere of responsibility. Many of the interviewees argue that the media
agency is often responsible for measuring online advertising activities with their
own tracking systems and it is likely to continue to be so. In this case media needs
to ensure that media agency’s tracking system can be utilized in the media
environment it provides. Thus, measurement issues demand efforts and cooperation from media agencies and media. The development of measurement
requires financial resources, which is one reason explaining its delay. It must be
noted that even though the media agency would take the main responsibility of
tracking the performance of ads, it would be a benefit for media to have its own
45
measurement system. Above all, the role of media is to provide sufficiently
information about the media environment, and providing information about
advertising effectiveness would create a competitive advantage. The problem does
not concern every media, as some have already overcome this challenge.
All interviewees agree that it is relevant to advance the discussion on how the
effectiveness of advertising should be measured and how people react on
advertising in eReading context. It must be kept in mind that advertising should be
always measured in accordance with the objectives set for it. Advertisers have
different goals, even though it can be generalized that the ultimate aim is often to
sell a product or a service. Interviewees argue that similar indicators that are used
to measure advertising performance in any other forms of online advertising are
relevant also in this case. These indicators include basic information such as
number of clicks and impressions, which can already be retrieved from the
majority of media. Furthermore, it is relevant to measure, in what kind of action
advertising resulted, such as interaction time, number of leads or generated sales.
Also such things as word-of-mouth should be retrieved.
“This all helps us to understand what kind of media
environment works or evokes desired reactions in consumers.”
(Interviewee 3)
Today, measurement issues have been solved case by case. It can be seen that the
interviewees, who have more experience in advertising activities in electronic
reading context, do not perceive measurement as such a problem. Some of the
interviewees argue that in this early phase of testing eReading advertising all
advertisers have not demanded such information, but this situation will probably
not last very long.
4.2.4
Limited Know-How
It becomes evident from the interviews that the novelty of the medium brings in
challenges related to know-how. The media environment is considered somewhat
46
obscure and interviewees clearly indicate that there is a need for more information
concerning its utilization. It can be noticed from the interviews that the majority
of the interviewees feel that they do not have sufficiently information about the
media environment. Information need concerns multiple aspects, but primarily the
ways to utilize the unique potential of eReading advertising. In the Finnish media
market there are not extensively advertisements that could be benchmarked.
Inspiring case examples showing different ways of doing eReading advertising
would be warmly welcomed, as expressed in the following citations:
“If I were a media representative I would ask some media
agencies to develop an ideal example of eReading advertising,
which would exploit all the aspects of tablets.” (Interviewee 4)
“It would be a good starting point to tell the creatives
planners what all is possible. Now they focus too much on this
problem instead of creative planning. Case examples would be
a great way to demonstrate what can be done and how
different elements can be combined.” (Interviewee 3)
It stems from the interviews that a lack of information does not only concern
media agencies, but also advertising agencies, which are typically responsible for
creating advertisements for different media. Advertising in a totally new medium
challenges to consider creative solutions, which could utilize the characteristics of
the novel media environment. Advertising agencies should come up with fresh
and engaging ideas in a limited period of time. Interviewees see this as a
challenge and point out that in some advertising agencies there is not yet any
experience of tablet media environment.
“The problem in the first place is finding a creative solution
that suits tablet media, rather than its technical
implementation.” (Interviewee 3)
47
“How can an advertising agency exploit the media space in
the best way? Can they make it inspiring and interesting
enough so that the advert will activate readers?”
(Interviewee 6)
Thus, in addition to media agencies media should approach also advertising
agencies with different case examples illustrating creative choices in electronic
reading context. The third party, who should be approached, is the advertisers.
Interviewees point out that there are advertisers, who do not have a favorable
attitude towards new advertising solutions, such as many forms of digital
advertising. In the end, advertiser is the one, who accepts or declines media
agency’s recommendation on a media plan. Some advertisers are old-fashioned in
the way that they do not perceive new media potential, even though consumers
have changed their media consumption and increasingly adopted online channels.
One reason to reluctant behavior is that advertisers do not have any personal
experience of tablets. In addition, it stems from the data that interviewees consider
that media has been quite silent about their new solutions after the early
enthusiasm that shaped eReading advertising after the launch of iPad in Finland.
As one of the interviewees argue:
“Media has been very quiet about these, which surprises me.”
(Interviewee 2)
Even though some case examples would be needed to boost imagination and
creativeness, media do not have to aim to do the job of creative planners. It
becomes evident from the interviews that media should rather provide the
specifications and guidelines, which shape creative planning. The wide range of
different devices such as Apple’s iPad or Samsung Galaxy Tab, which use
different operating systems, poses some technical challenges as expressed in the
following quote:
“If you want to create an advanced tablet advert, you need to
create separate versions for iOS and Android and for other
48
platforms as well. For comparison, if you would have to make
different versions of a TV spot for different channels, I doubt it
would be popular. Standardization would be a good thing for
sure.” (Interviewee 4)
For example, iPad’s operating system iOS does not support Flash, which has been
widely used to display video or animation in online advertising. As a consequence
advertisers have to make adjustments to accommodate ads across multiple
devices. The use of HTML5 provides a solution, but it is not yet widely adopted.
(IAB 2011). Interviewees argue that even if we discuss only one operating system,
technical specifications and guidelines may vary from one media to another. For
example, some media may restrict the utilization of special elements in an
advertisement differently than other media do. For comparison, print media has
highly standardized technical guidelines for advertisements. For example, many
magazines of the same genre have same page size thus the advertiser can easily
include multiple magazines in a print campaign and use the same materials in all
of them. There would be a need for standards concerning technical specifications
and guidelines, at least at operating system specific level. Interviewees see that
this is a question on which Finnish Newspapers Association and Finnish
Periodical Publishers’ Association could commit on. Also IAB (The Interactive
Advertising Bureau) Finland is seen as an organization, which could provide
recommendations concerning advertising in electronic reading context.
“The role of media is the most important. -- They should
somehow together decide the standards that guide advertising
planning.” (Interviewee 4)
In this section the challenges of eReading advertising were examined. Despite
obstacles that are related to low reach, high costs, measurement issues and limited
know-how eReading advertising contains a lot of potential. These opportunities
are examined in the next section.
49
4.3 Opportunities of eReading Advertising
Interviewees indicate that eReading advertising has a lot of opportunities, which
are closely related to the qualitative characteristics of the tablet media
environment. The potential of this medium is associated with the diversified
media environment and the ability to create interactive and engaging
advertisement. These qualities are examined in the following.
4.3.1
Dynamic Media Environment
Tablets offer newspapers and magazines a possibility to create creative,
interactive and engaging multimedia content, and a context for advertising that
can exploit many of the same features. Interviewees seem to think that this vehicle
combines the benefits of print media and online media, as the following citations
illustrate:
“An eReading advert has the good features of traditional print
media but additionally it combines the strengths of online
media. In a certain way it is a completely new form of
advertising. It is neither print advertising nor conventional
online advertising. The truth is somewhere in between.”
(Interviewee 7)
“It is neither a print advert nor an online advert. It is rather a
combination of both.” (Interviewee 3)
According to the interviewees, a favorable print-like feature is the good quality of
image, which has long been the trademark of magazines. A fairly large and sharp
screen of an eReading device provides a favorable media environment for visually
impressive advertising, but it is not limited by page size. Furthermore, advertising
in electronic reading context can utilize all the interactive elements of online
advertising, but tablet device provides a user interface that is much more intensive
50
than smart phone, laptop or desktop. The following citations describe these
benefits:
“In tablet advertising it is possible to use many elements that
cannot be utilized in print advertising. Tablet advertising can
show to the readers so much more than a print ad.”
(Interviewee 6)
“The user experience of a tablet advert is much more intense
compared to an advertisement banner that is often
encountered on the computer screen.” (Interviewee 7)
Even though the interviewees see a high potential in tablet newspapers and
magazines, they do not believe that they would totally replace any other media in
the future. Compared to traditional printed papers, eReading offers a different user
experience but it does not mean that one or the other would be better or
replaceable. Some interviewees express that both printed newspapers and
magazines and their tablet versions will probably have their own roles in
consumer’s media consumption. A certain difference must be also made between
newspapers and magazines, because the motives to use these two media are not
the same. This is likely to influence also how their tablet versions are used and
what kind of advertising will be published in these two media.
Electronic reading context provides a unique media environment. According to
the interviewees, its main advantage is to provide deeper information about the
advertised product or service in an engaging and interactive way.
As a
consequence the time spent with the advertised brand may increase, which should
positively affect brand preference. Interactivity makes the user experience more
intensive, and thus may have a deeper impact on the consumer. Online activation
can directly generate sales. In addition, marketing communications can be highly
targeted as the reading device is very personal and the user can be probably
identified through newspaper or magazine subscription. Furthermore, few of the
interviewees mention location-based marketing as one future trend of eReading
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advertising. In addition to these features it is possible to measure all the actions
consumers take with the ad. At this early stage of development, advertisers can
also benefit from the novelty of the medium, as the next citation illustrates:
“It is still such a new media and everything new is terribly
interesting for consumers. The same applied to the early stage
of online advertising, too. People were clicking like crazy all
the banner ads just to see what is behind them.”
(Interviewee 7)
The charm of novelty is likely to increase readers’ interest towards advertising. As
stated above, the same phenomenon shaped the development of online
advertising. This advantage is likely to decline, when readers get more used to
tablets and the content they provide. It will not, however, reduce the interest to
advertise in eReading context. The following citation concludes the discussion of
the characteristics of electronic reading advertising and is supported by all the
interviewees:
“Tablet advertising has all the features of a great advertising
medium.” (Interviewee 1)
4.3.2
Unlimited Creativity
“You have there a screen where you can combine everything
within the limits of creativity.” (Interviewee 3)
The citation above summarizes in a comprehensive way the possibilities which
eReading advertising offers for marketers. As discussed in the previous
subsection, advertising in electronic reading context provides a media
environment, which can combine various characteristics of different media
vehicles that were previously separate. Interviewees were asked to describe
different cases of eReading in order to expand the understanding of what kind of
advertising formats are utilized and needed.
52
Interviewees were unanimous that advertising in eRreading context should utilize
the special characteristics of reading devices, such as interactivity and multimedia
elements. However, utilization of these elements cannot be considered as intrinsic
value. As many of the interviewees point out, “bad advertising is bad
advertising”. The use of fancy elements does not make an advertisement good, if
they do not result in the desired objectives. Thus, each element in an advert must
be justified and have a meaning.
Many of the interviewees mentioned that they had seen interesting creative
solutions concerning automotive industry. These ads had well utilized the
characteristic of tablet’s touch screen and included elements such as video or
gaming. In addition, there had been a possibility to reserve a test drive aiming at
generating
leads.
Other
examples
came
from
food
industry
and
telecommunications. However, it must be kept in mind that there is not only one
way of doing eReading advertising. The focus must be on desired results, which
shape creative planning. It stems from the interviews that yet it is difficult to
predict, what kind of advertisement will be needed in the future.
“Time will tell what kind of advertising concepts should be
offered in eReading context. You cannot know it yet. Time will
tell what kind of opportunities emerge and what needs it
creates for advertisers.” (Interviewee 6)
This quote leads to the next subsection, in which a discussion on different
eReading advertising concepts is set up.
4.3.3
eReading Advertising Concepts
In the end of each interview, eReading advertising concepts were discussed with
the interviewees. They were presented a set of adverts that had been published in
tablet newspapers and magazines overseas. The respondents were asked to
comment on the ads and different elements in them. The examples included both
53
conventional online adverts and advanced adverts that exploit the unique
characteristics of tablets.
Traditional online advertising in eReading context
Display advertising is one form of online advertising which can be published in
eReading context. It can be often referred to as banners which appear next to
online content. Interviewees consider that display advertising will have some kind
of role in eReading advertising, even though they do not see it as the best means
to advertise in tablets. In favor of banner advertising, interviewees argue that the
adverts are quite simple to produce, thus the production costs are decent.
However, their suitability for tablet newspapers and magazines depends strongly
on the lay out of the publication. Until now media have rather offered interstitials
which are regarded as more impressive and more effective due their larger size.
They can be static or can include interactive multimedia, such as rich media
elements.
Advertising experiments in eReading context
The static interstitial is a widely employed advertising concept in eReading
context. In other words, it is a full page advertisement that is displayed when
moving from one page to another in an eReading newspaper or magazine.
Interviewees express that the major benefit of using static adverts is low
production cost, which results from the fact that it is quite convenient to convert a
static interstitial from a print ad. However, interviews reveal that a static print
advertisement is not considered to be the ideal way to advertise in eReading
context, even though many of the early experiments with eReading advertising
represented this format. The quotes below illustrate attitudes towards this
advertising concept:
“This is taking the easy way out. Most of the people would
consider that this kind of advert is malfunctioning. There are
no clickable elements even though people are used them.”
(Interviewee 3)
54
“In my opinion it is abuse to use this media platform in such
an old-fashioned way.” (Interviewee 4)
Interviewees explain that a static interstitial can be visually appealing, but it does
not exploit the unique features of the media environment. However, it serves as a
decent starting point to eReading advertising. With rather low effort, a link can be
added to the static interstitial, which makes this advertising concept more
attractive from the interviewees’ point of view. The link may direct the interested
reader further to the advertiser’s web site, to an online shop or to any other
relevant landing page. The main benefit of this concept is that it enriches the user
experience and allows the consumer to look for further information. The
advertisement can also expand within the application when initiated by the reader.
Hence, in this case the user will not leave the application at any moment.
Utilization of interactivity in eReading advertising
As mentioned already earlier, tablets offer a media environment that can carry any
type of content, such as sound or video. Interviewees consider the use of
multimedia elements interesting but all the elements in an advert must have a
meaning and work together. Interviewees also note that the elements should not
irritate the reader in a way that is not beneficial to the advertiser. For example, it
is recommended that video and audio adverts should be click-initiated and not too
long. These are some specifications which apply in any other online media too.
Rich media adverts can utilize the full potential of the user interface in a very
comprehensive way. Game-like adverts activate and engage the user to spend time
with the brand. However, the production costs of game like adverts are very likely
to be high. Interviewees also point out that they work only for certain target
groups and for a limited period of time. It is possible that rich media adverts will
lose their novelty value after readers have familiarized themselves with tablets.
The benefits of game-like adverts are related to their entertaining and experiential
nature.
55
Advertising in eReading context can be also more indirect. One way to enter the
world of eReading advertising is sponsoring. Here it refers to sponsoring
eReading content to readers. It provides added value for the consumer and offers a
possibility to enhance the brand image.
It stems from the interviews that there are many factors that influence the
development of eReading advertising. Interviewees see a lot of potential in
eReading advertising, but there are challenges that must be overcome before it can
become a truly respectable channel. However, interviewees agree that we are
talking about an interesting media, which is supposed to grow in the future. They
see that eReading advertising has all the potential to expand and become a
competitive market. The findings presented here are elaborated further in
Chapter 5.
56
5 Discussion
This chapter presents an analysis and an overview of the research findings. First,
the results of the empirical study are elaborated. Second, the challenges and
opportunities identified in the interviews are discussed in the light of the
quantitative and qualitative media evaluation criteria retrieved from academic
literature.
Development stage of eReading advertising
The empirical part of the study explores the current state of eReading advertising
in the Finnish media market. The findings show that advertising in eReading
context is still in its infancy at the present moment. It is far from a mature
advertising medium, but in the process of finding its position in the field of
advertising. Some advertisers have integrated eReading advertising in their
marketing communications. For the majority of them its utilization is tentative and
it is not yet given substantial emphasis in marketing— most often it is considered
as an experiment. However, for some it has provided a means to reach niche
markets with encouraging results.
The findings point out that advertisers adopt eReading advertising according to
same principles that shape media planning on average. Furthermore, it is
remarked that presence in an innovative and novel medium provides an
opportunity to build one’s reputation as a forerunner which can also motivate
advertisers to experiment with eReading advertising.
The experience which media agencies have with eReading advertising varies from
one agency to another. However, all follow its evolution with interest. In media
agencies eReading advertising falls into digital planners’ sphere of responsibility,
but it cannot be strictly categorized. Because of its ability to carry any type of
content, it breaks the traditional task division of media agency. Its utilization asks
for co-operation among planners from many fields, and thus it should be rather
57
considered as an interdisciplinary advertising medium. This aspect can be
interesting from media’s point of view when they plan their selling efforts.
The results of the study indicate that whereas media agencies are naturally
interested in new media, direct advertisers can be more cautious. For many
advertisers eReading advertising is still an obscure area which can result in
reluctance related to its utilization. This can be considered critical because the
advertiser is the one who ultimately approves or disapproves media agency’s
recommendation about the media mix. The research findings allude that if
something must be cut down, eReading advertising can be under the pressure to
be left out of a media plan because still there is only little evidence and research
of its effectiveness.
Circumstances for media planning evolve due to the dynamic marketing
environment. Principles of integrated marketing communications demand for
open minded thinking that goes beyond any single media (see e.g. Mitchell 2003).
The wide range of media vehicles can be compared based on their pros and cons.
It stems from the interviews that the major challenges of eReading advertising
concern low reach, high costs, measurement issues and limited know-how,
whereas the dynamic media environment and diverse advertising opportunities are
considered as the main advantage.
Low reach as a major challenge
Advertising in eReading context provides a means to reach niche markets, but
extensive utilization demands for larger audiences. Adoption of eReading is now
highly dependent on situations in the marketplace and is likely to grow with the
proliferation of tablet devices. Competition in the device market will push prices
down and make them affordable for more people. The role of media is to provide
interesting content that attracts readers. This is likely to challenge media to
consider the relation of printed editions to tablet editions. It stems from the
interviews that both offer different user experiences and are likely to have their
own roles in consumer’s media consumption. In order to facilitate the adoption of
58
eReading, media can also aim to create user experiences. Means for this might
include offering content with lower prices or for free for a trial period.
Furthermore, user experiences can be created in co-operation with advertisers, for
example in terms of sponsorship.
High cost of advertisement production
Interviews show that the cost of advertising space has been negotiable with media,
but production costs that follow are high. Advertisers rarely have ready-made
tablet compatible materials, and thus they must produce advertisements to serve
this particular purpose and the small target group they want to reach. Planning
costs are relative high due to the novelty of the medium. The media is not yet
familiar for many creative planners and therefore it can take more time to find the
creative solution. Advertisements for eReading context are often edited from
materials that have been used in other media vehicles, such as print, online or TV.
Thus, the look of a creative choice is likely to be integrated with other campaign
materials. Media can ease the problems related to production for example by
providing services that help advertiser to produce the needed materials. This can
mean converting print ads to tablet format or addressing subcontractors. Any
means that reduce the costs provide added value for advertiser and lower barriers
to use eReading advertising.
Inadequate measurement of advertising performance
In online media environment the pressure of measurement is increased, because in
principle everything is measurable. The majority of advertisers are taking initial
steps in the utilization of eReading advertising thus it would be important to
provide information about its effectiveness. The lack of this information can lower
the interest to invest in eReading advertising. Interviewees indicate that media
planners can be unwilling to recommend the use of a medium if they do not get
data on advertising performance. Without any tracking, there is no information
about the success or failure of advertising efforts. Consequently, it is difficult to
assess should this advertising concept be utilized in future. Some media have
59
overcome measurement issues, but for many it is still a challenge and advertisers
are not provided sufficient reports on advertising performance.
Measuring issues concern both media and media agency. Media must be able to
give information about advertising effectiveness in the media environment it
provides. Media agencies have also traditionally their own tracking systems,
which measure the performance of advertising across different media. It is
relevant to advance the discussion on how advertising effectiveness should be
measured and how people react on advertising in eReading context. It must be
kept in mind that advertising should be always assessed in accordance with the
objectives set for it. Advertisers have different goals, even though it can be
generalized that the ultimate objective is often to sell a product or a service.
Similar indicators that are used to measure advertising performance in any other
forms of online advertising are relevant also in eReading advertising. These
indicators include basic information such as the number of clicks and impressions.
Furthermore, it is relevant to measure in what advertising resulted in, such as
interaction time, number of leads, generated sales or word-of-mouth. In this early
phase of testing eReading advertising all the advertisers have not yet demanded
such information, but this situation will probably change.
Lack of information and standardization
The novelty of the medium brings in challenges related to know-how and
concerns all the actors that are involved in the advertising process. The media
environment is somewhat obscure and there is a need for more information
concerning the ways to utilize its unique potential— what can and what cannot be
done. Media should approach all relevant interest groups with case examples
illustrating different creative choices, utilization of special elements and their
performance in eReading context. Media do not need to do the job of advertising
agencies, rather inspire and offer ideas. This issue would benefit the whole
publishing industry, thus it could be of federal-level interest (i.e. Finnish
Newspaper Association, Finnish Periodical Publishers’ Association). In addition
to reference cases, media should provide technical specifications and guidelines
60
which shape creative planning. Today, these might vary from one media to
another, which demands advertisers to make adjustments in order to accommodate
their advertisements across multiple media. Standards that would serve as a basic
guideline for planning would be highly recommended. This is an issue that
requires co-operation among media.
Potential of dynamic media environment
Despite the challenges eReading advertising contains a lot of potential, which is
closely related to the qualitative aspects of the media environment. It combines
the benefits of multiple media that were previously separately offering an
interesting context for advertising. The main advantage of eReading advertising is
to provide deep information about the advertised product or service in an
engaging and interactive way. Consequently, the time spent with the advertised
brand may increase, which should positively affect brand preference. Interactivity
makes the user experience more intensive, and thus may have a more profound
impact on consumer. Online activation can directly generate sales. Furthermore,
marketing communications can be highly targeted and location-based marketing is
seen as a future trend of eReading advertising. In addition to these features it is
possible to measure all the actions taken with the advertisement.
Only creativity limits the number of ways to integrate advertising in eReading
context. Interviewees are unanimous that advertising in electronic reading context
should utilize the special characteristics of tablet devices. However, it must be
noted that their utilization cannot be considered as an intrinsic value. The use of
fancy elements does not make an advertisement good, if they do not result in
desired objectives. Thus, each element in an advert must be justified and have a
meaning.
Relevance of media evaluation criteria in eReading advertising
In Table 3 the challenges and the opportunities of eReading advertising, found in
the empirical research, are discussed in the light of the media evaluation criteria
that were identified previously.
61
Quantitative
Qualitative
Other
Criterion
Description
Relevance in eReading advertising
Reach
Certain percentage of
target audience covered
by one medium or
multiple media.
Low reach is considered as the main obstacle
of eReading advertising. At the moment
eReading advertising can provide a means to
reach niche markets, but extensive utilization
requires larger audiences. Its growth is highly
dependent on market situations and likely to
increase with proliferation of tablet devices.
Frequency
Average number of
vehicle exposures media
audience receives in a
given period of time.
Frequency did not come up in the interviews,
hence it can be considered as a criteria that
does not at this point influence significantly
whether eReading advertising is integrated to
marketing communications or not.
Cost
The expenses of the
media space and
production of an
advertisement.
Low reach influences on the interest to invest
in eReading advertising. Cost of buying
advertising space is considered reasonable, but
cost of producing adverts is high relative to
reach. In the early stage of eReading
advertising it is important for both media and
advertisers to gain experiences from eReading
advertising, which should influence pricing.
Sales response
The actual sales created
by advertising.
In the case of a new media it would be import
to measure advertising performance in order to
assess how the advertising served. Today all
needed key figures cannot be retrieved from
media, however, some publishers have solved
the problem.
Media
environment
Qualitative
characteristics of the
media in which the
advertisement has been
placed.
The media environment offers a possibility to
create creative, interactive and engaging
multimedia advertising. The tablet media
context combines the strengths of both print
and online advertising and provides an
interactive and engaging user experience.
Competitive
activity
Competing adverts in
the same medium.
At this early phase of eReading advertising
there is not significantly competitive activity
in the media, which can be considered as a
benefit from advertisers’ perspective, because
it is easier to stand out.
Technical
qualities
Ability to deliver certain
types of messages.
Tablet media can carry any kind of content. It
combines various characteristics of media that
were previously separate.
Know-how
Ability to exploit the
media environment.
The media environment is considered
somewhat obscure and there is a need for more
information concerning the utilization of its
unique potential.
Table 3: Relevance of Media Evaluation Criteria in eReading Advertising
62
Table 3 shows that most of the media evaluation criteria retrieved from academic
literature are relevant in the case of eReading advertising. These criteria include
both quantitative and qualitative aspects of media. Reach was found to have a
major influence on the utilization of eReading advertising. In addition, costs and
ability to measure sales responses were noted to influence the interest to advertise
in eReading context. Frequency was found as the only quantitative criterion,
which was not mentioned in the interviews. It may be considered as a variable
which does not significantly influence on whether eReading advertising is
integrated to marketing communications or not. Regarding qualitative
characteristics, the media environment was considered important. Competitive
activity came also up in the interviews as well as the technical aspects of the
media. In addition to these criteria the interviews revealed that know-how can
influence the selection of an advertising medium. Hence, all these criteria could
be
considered
when
integrating
eReading
advertising
in
marketing
communications.
To sum up, eReading advertising is undergoing a critical period in the Finnish
media market. At the moment it is experimental and its development requires cooperation between media and advertisers, who are both in a testing phase and
looking for the best ways to utilize the unique potential of this channel. Now,
eReading advertising provides a means to reach niche markets, but more extensive
utilization demands for larger audiences. As the device market matures the
challenge of low reach is likely to disappear. Interviewees have a positive feeling
about the development of eReading advertising and agree that it is likely to
establish its position in the Finnish media market within the forthcoming years.
The following Chapter 6 will conclude the study.
63
6 Conclusions
This chapter provides the conclusions of the research. The chapter starts with a
brief summary of the study. Here the research questions that were set out for the
study are answered. Then the practical implications of the study are examined.
The chapter ends with the discussion about the limitations of the study and
suggestions for future research.
6.1 Research Summary
The study was motivated by the increasing importance of digital channels in
consumer media consumption, which has resulted in growth of digital advertising
spending at the expense of traditional media. These changes have increased
publishers’ interest to provide their content in digital format. Marketers have an
expanding number of ways to communicate with consumers as in recent years the
variety of media outlets and advertising formats has grown rapidly and
aggressively due to the development of technology. Over the last years the
adoption of eReading and portable digital reading devices has increased among
consumers. Multifunctional tablet devices offer newspapers and magazines a
possibility to create creative, interactive and engaging multimedia content, and a
context for advertising that can exploit many of the same features. However,
many details of eReading advertising were far from defined.
The purpose of this study was to explore the role of eReading advertising in
integrated marketing communications. Furthermore, this study has made an effort
to explore the current state of eReading advertising in the Finnish media market
and related opportunities and challenges.
For the empirical part of the study a qualitative approach was adopted. Eight indepth interviews were conducted with digital marketing professionals. Due to the
novelty of the phenomenon interviewees were chosen using judgment sampling,
64
which provided a means to include only information rich cases to the sample.
Interviews were targeted to media agencies, i.e. indirect advertisers. The
interviews were conducted in the late fall 2011 resulting in a total of 632 minutes
of interview data. The analysis was based on thematic analysis technique, which
enabled to break the data into patterns according to specific themes relevant to the
research question
The theoretical part of the study was based on academic literature in the field of
integrated marketing communications and media planning. It was a relevant topic
since lately competitive pressures and expanding media choices increase the need
for media selection efficiency. Various attempts to evaluate advertising media
have emerged. Different models were examined and key variables were identified.
The main findings of the study are concluded below and they are preceded by the
research questions that were introduced in the beginning of the study. The main
research question was to examine the role of eReading advertising in integrated
marketing communications. The research question was divided in three
subquestions, which are answered in the following.
What is integrated marketing communications?
Above all integrated marketing communications is a strategic approach to
marketing communications planning, which is expected to result in greater
effectiveness and efficiency in all marketing communications activities. Strategic
media planning should be executed in line with the overall business objectives.
Advertisers should be media neutral and consider all possible communication
channels in order to maximize their communication effort. New media should be
considered in an integrated manner along with traditional channels.
What influences advertising medium selection?
Media selection is a multifaceted resource allocation decision (Dyer et al. 1992).
The range and diversity of communication options poses challenges to advertisers
(Keller 2001). Hence, it is important to understand, what media options have to
offer and how they can be compared. In this research various media evaluation
65
models were examined and key variables that influence the selection of an
advertising medium were discussed. It was noted that media should be evaluated
based on both quantitative and qualitative criteria, such as reach, costs and the
media environment. The criteria presented in this study were summed up in
Table 1.
What are the challenges and the opportunities of eReading advertising?
In this study the challenges and the opportunities of eReading advertising were
identified through an analysis of in-depth interviews with digital marketing
professionals. It was found that the challenges of eReading advertising are
strongly related to the quantitative aspects of the media and its newness. Low
reach, high costs, measurement problems and limited know-how were addressed
as the key variables reducing advertisers’ interest in using eReading advertising.
Despite the challenges eReading advertising contains a lot of potential. The study
showed that the opportunities are associated to the qualitative aspects of the
media. The opportunities that were named in the study are dynamic media
environment and the unlimited creativity it provides. The challenges and the
opportunities of eReading advertising were presented in Table 3 and discussed in
the light of the media evaluation criteria.
The criteria that were identified to influence the decision to allocate resources on
eReading advertising are consistent with the media evaluation criteria retrieved
from previous academic literature and presented in Table 1. In contrast to these
criteria, however, frequency did not come up in the interviews as a key variable.
Hence, it was not considered to be a central challenge neither an opportunity in
the case of eReading advertising.
6.2 Managerial Implications
This research has indicated that eReading advertising is undergoing a delicate
period in the Finnish media market. At the moment, the development of eReading
66
advertising is sensitive to situations in the marketplace, but two implications of
this study for business practitioners can be made.
Need for more information and standardization
In the first place, it was noted in this paper that eReading media environment can
be considered somewhat obscure among advertisers and there is a need for more
information concerning the ways to utilize its unique potential— what can and
what cannot be done. These findings suggest that more attention could be paid to
approach all relevant interest groups with case examples illustrating different
creative choices, utilization of special elements and their performance in eReading
context. Following that, this paper pointed out ambiguity concerning the technical
aspects of eReading advertising. Today, these guidelines that shape creative
planning might vary from one media to another. It may demand advertisers to
make media specific adjustments in order to accommodate their advertisements
across multiple tablet magazines or newspapers. Hence, in addition to reference
cases, it can be recommended that technical specifications are developed in cooperation with multiple media in order to create standardized guidelines for
eReading advertising.
Both of these issues addressed here can be of the benefit to the whole publishing
industry. In this early stage of development of eReading advertising, co-operation
among various eReading media could be beneficial. It could be also of federallevel interest (i.e. Finnish Newspaper Association, Finnish Periodical Publishers’
Association) to make it their business to develop eReading advertising.
6.3 Limitations and Suggestions for Future
Research
One limitation of the paper arises from the qualitative research approach due to
which it must be carefully considered in what extent the results can be
generalized. However, it is typical for a qualitative research that it aims to
provide in-depth understanding of a phenomenon focusing on relatively small
67
samples rather than empirical generalizations. For this study only media agency
representatives were interviewed. This limitation was made because of the novelty
of the research phenomenon. In the future when eReading advertising matures
studies could also explore the thoughts of direct advertisers.
This study provides a description of the current state of eReading advertising in
the Finnish media market. It must be noted that the findings of the research are
limited to this context only because they are strongly linked to the current level of
adoption of eReading advertising in Finland. It is possible that in any other
context there are other challenges and opportunities. The world of eReading is
changing rapidly, and thus the results of the study are especially relevant at the
present moment. This is true in the case of exploring any other topic which is in
the development phase.
Three suggestions for continuing the research on eReading advertising are
addressed. First, the current study paves the way for further research into different
eReading advertising concepts. Based on the interviews it can be indicated that
eReading advertising formats should be established. It would be recommended
that these formats would apply across multiple media and devices. Second, more
research attention could be given to understanding the way consumers perceive
advertising in eReading media and how they interact with eReading adverts.
Third, possible further studies could concentrate on measuring eReading
advertising effectiveness. More specific and focused information is needed to
justify why and how eReading advertising could be used as part of a marketing
communication campaign. Marketing communications research must extend
beyond studying individual communication options in isolation to consider the
interactive effects of multiple communication options (Keller 2001).
68
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