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Research Brief
A Research Brief is a brief summary of research
findings.
Consumer Generated Advertising
THE PROBLEM
Social media can be an incredibly effective way to spread a message. In 2010, a Facebook
campaign led to Betty White being invited to host SNL and in 2012, a viral YouTube video
led to Joseph Kony becoming a global fugitive. In addition to the potential sizable audience,
marketing conducted through social media can more readily produce engagement with a
brand through website visits, re-posting of information, and consumers generating their own
content.
Existing major social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, FourSquare, Google+,
Instagram, YouTube, and Yelp provide a number of methods to share and create brand pro-
Prashant Malaviya
Associate Professor of Marketing and
Contributing Researcher at the Georgetown Institute for Consumer Research
moting content. Consumers post information to acknowledge brand experiences, to indicate
they are currently located at a business, to share pictures or videos incorporating products,
and review past experiences. Consumers’ online brand related activities (COBRAs) and
electronic word of mouth (EWOM) can serve as free advertising for a brand.
Beyond consumers’ independent social media participation, companies are increasingly
involving consumers in the process of developing ads and marketing tools. Social media
marketing and consumer generated advertising are expected to significantly increase
engagement with the brand for both those creating the content as well as those viewing it.
However, only limited research exists examining how consumers view peer created content
relative to traditional content.
To investigate this issue, Debora Thompson and Prashant Malaviya presented advertisements to consumers and varied whether the source of the ads was attributed to fellow
consumers or ad agencies. In actuality, some of the ads were consumer generated and some
were professionally generated. They also considered whether factors such as brand loyalty,
distraction while viewing the ad, and identification with the ad’s creator impacted consumers’
perceptions.
FINDINGS
Results from four studies show that awareness an ad was consumer-generated triggers
two opposing effects: skepticism about the competence of the ad creator and identification
with the ad creator. Skepticism emerges when the audience challenges the ability of regular
consumers to design effective advertising, perhaps recognizing that effective advertising
requires particular skills and expertise. Identification emerges when the audience perceives
similarities between themselves and the consumer creating the ad. The effectiveness of consumer created advertising, therefore, depends on factors that hinder skepticism and heighten
identification with the ad creator.
Debora Thompson
Associate Professor of Marketing and
Contributing Researcher at the Georgetown Institute for Consumer Research
More specifically, the research shows that attributing the ad to a consumer backfires when
Key Points
the ad creator is simply portrayed as an unspecified fellow consumer. Importantly, this neg-
• Advertising content
ative effect can be mitigated and even reversed in the right conditions. For example, when
attributed to fellow
the audience identifies with the consumer creating the ad, such as if they are depicted as
consumers is perceived
sharing a background trait with the viewer, consumer generated advertising is perceived to
differently than content
be better than traditional advertising. Moreover, if the audience consists of loyal consumers,
attributed to agency sources.
attributing the ad to fellow consumers enhances viewers’ perceptions of the ad and the focal
brand. In this case, loyal consumers identify with peers that are engaged in creating the ad.
Finally, in high distraction viewing conditions, when consumers’ ability to activate skeptical
thoughts is limited, attributing the ad to a consumer did not significantly affect liking for the
ad or the brand.
• Consumers are skeptical
about the competence
of fellow consumers to
generate content.
• This skepticism is mitigated
by identification with the
Perception of Ads According to Source
advertisement creator.
Evaluations
6
5.5
5
4.5
4
Consumer Generated
Agency Generated
Consumer Generated
(with Identification)
Attributed Source of Ad
IMPLICATIONS & CONCLUSIONS
Overall, the research shows that marketers should continue to engage consumers and benefit from their creativity, but they must be careful about how they publicize this content. When
consumers were distracted during viewing, their reaction to the fact that an ad was consumer-generated was positive, but when they were able to devote greater attention to the ad, their
reaction was negative. This finding creates a dilemma as marketers’ motivation for using consumer-generated ads is to increase consumer engagement (which requires greater attention).
To prevent this issue and reap the greater benefits from consumer-generated ads, it is important to develop a narrative about the ad creators that connects with the target audiences.
Marketers can prevent heightened skepticism about the abilities of ordinary consumers by
increasing identification between creators and viewers. For example, when selecting winners
for dissemination in a consumer generated ad contest, the creator’s biography is likely to be
just as important as the content of their product. Consumer generated advertising thus lends
itself to engaging existing loyal customers and potential consumers that identify with these loyal
customers.
Source: Malaviya, P., and Thompson, D. (2013). Consumer-Generated Ads: Does Awareness of Advertising Co-Creation Help
or Hurt Persuasion? Journal of Marketing Research, 5, 33-47.
This Brief, based on the work of Prashant Malaviya and Debora Thompson, was composed by Chris Hydock in collaboration
with Prashant Malaviya and Debora Thompson.
The Georgetown Institute for
Consumer Research, Sponsored
by KPMG, develops innovative,
ground-breaking research to illuminate
the challenges and opportunities
of understanding and marketing
to consumers.
For more information, visit
http://consumerresearch.
georgetown.edu