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Do digital technologies of early 21st century capitalism promote or reduce consumer sovereignty? This chapter addresses this question by examining John Kenneth Galbraith’s critique of consumer sovereignty during the post-war period of industrial society and looks at the insights he provides to understand the impact of platform capitalism on consumer sovereignty today. This chapter has the following sections: (1) I review the main postulates of Galbraith’s theory; (2) I highlight the main differences between traditional advertising and online behavioral advertising; (3) I explain how online behavioral advertisement strengthens Galbraith’s dependence effect and revised sequence theories; (4) I then discuss normative challenges raised by digital platform corporations to individual sovereignty; and (5) finally, I argue that platform capitalism is a mature form of Galbraith’s “new industrial state.”

Previous research on advertising in digital contexts has emphasized its persuasive and information processing roles for the customer. This paper aims to problematize this point of view and argues that the converged and interactive nature of digital media makes all advertising content into potential points of engagement in a digital media journey.

The paper is conceptual in nature and applies service logic (SL) and customer engagement to reconceptualize digital advertising and selling.

The authors present digital advertisements and digital media content as elements that contribute to a digital media journey, which ideally leads to a purchase. Advertising content is regarded as a resource used by consumers in their underlying value-creating processes. Thus, the digital advertising process is conceptualized as a customer-driven process of engaging with digital media content, where a purchase is incorporated in (and naturally follows from) the theme of engagement.

The paper introduces the concept of contextually embedded selling, which refers to a process where digital advertising content is thematically congruent with the surrounding editorial content, so that both contribute to the same consumer journey. Otherwise, consumers experience a contextual jump – a disconnect in theme, place or time during the consumer’s process of engagement with the digital content.

The paper contributes to advertising theory on advertising, engagement and the emerging research on consumer journey design by presenting an approach based on SL, namely, contextually embedded digital selling.

The purpose of this paper is to focus on transformations in the advertising industry from the point of view of the role and position of account planners. It questions the current viability of account planning (AP) as a result of digital disruptions.

In total, 18 face-to-face responsive interviews were conducted among professionals who hold planning responsibilities at advertising agencies. A theoretical thematic analysis revealed five main themes which are associated with the disruption of AP roles.

The research points out that AP is a profession in transition as part of the advertising industry that is undergoing a major shift. Digital transformations have not yet crystallized in the business domain, and so this period is one of learning and adjustment.

It is suggested for advertising practitioners, as well as marketing executives, to encourage AP departments to re-think the core significance of the AP department since the AP role needs to be repositioned or even redefined.

The current research has several significant implications for theory and practice: confronting the role of the strategist in advertising agencies vs digital strategy and Big Data; contributing to the understanding of the dynamics of AP transitional roles as a starting point for re-examination of the advertising creative process; and calling for more research exploring the relationship between agency adoption of digital tools and its approach to AP.

This paper aims to develop a framework for understanding consumers’ response to digital advertising using the affect transfer hypotheses and incorporating search behaviors. The paper also offers future research suggestions.

A quantitative approach is used in this paper by conducting survey research on a research panel. Structural equation model with multi-group comparisons is conducted. The research is conducted using a general US population sample.

Findings demonstrate that the affect transfer hypothesis is sufficient to enhance extant understanding of consumers’ response to digital advertising, but the incorporation of search intentions into the model improves the explanatory power.

To date, little research in digital marketing has studied search intentions and less has done so in the context of digital video advertising. Interestingly, theory from a more traditional domain can lends support for the authors hypotheses.

The research aims to investigate how individuals can be persuaded to make purchases through repeated and personalized messages. Specifically, the study proposes a framework of the potential benefits and risks of the online behavioral and data-driven digital advertising (OBA), which can help researchers and practitioners to better understand shopping behavior in the online retailing setting. In addition, the research focuses on the role of privacy concerns in affecting avoidance or adoption of OBA.

The authors apply a structural equation modeling (SEM) approach with partial least square (PLS) regression method to test the research hypotheses through data coming from a structured questionnaire.

OBA is a controversial type of advertising that activates opposing reactions on consumers' perspective. Specifically, acceptance of the OBA is positively related to relevance, usefulness and credibility of the personalized advertisements, while the intention to avoid personalized ads is strictly related to the privacy concerns. Consequently, OBA acceptance and avoidance affected the click intention on the ad and the behavioral intention that are decisive for the success of data-driven digital advertising.

Prior research came up with complex theoretical frameworks that explain antecedents of OBA focusing only on ethical issues in marketing, on the effectiveness of a single OBA campaign or on how to create a successful advertising campaign. However, no study focuses on the intended or actual behavior of shoppers. Specifically, filling the gap in the existing literature, our research applies an SEM approach to identify both benefits and risks and the antecedents of the actual behavior of individuals in terms of actual purchases promoted by OBA.

The authors study how communication agencies became important sites for the rise of measurement expertise in the government of consumer conduct following the development of online consumption. The purpose of this paper is to focus on the processes by which digital measurement developed (within the agencies) as a new legitimate form of expertise, able to produce relevant and detailed knowledge about the government of web users.

The authors carried out a field examination in France, predicated on 100 interviews with actors involved in communication consultancy. Drawing on the concepts of governmentality and inter-jurisdictional experimentation, the authors examine how digital measurement expertise acquired legitimacy within agencies. The authors also analyze how contemporary technologies of measurement and surveillance, as operated by in-house digital experts, provide advertising specialists and advertisers with increasingly precise data on consumer conduct and thought.

The constitution and legitimization of digital measurement expertise was characterized by experimentation, culminating in the production of persuasive claims of tangibility concerning communication impact, and in relative agreement on the relevance of digital expertise in operating increasingly powerful technologies of measurement and surveillance.

While the role of experts in promoting and implementing neoliberal governmentality is emphasized in the literature, the study indicates that considerable work is needed to develop and legitimize expertise consequent with neoliberalism. Also, the analysis highlights that the spread of digital measurement expertise and knowledge production in the government of web users constitutes a noteworthy step in the neoliberalization of society. Behind the front of “free” conduct lies an increasingly powerful network of technologies and expertise aimed at rendering consumer conduct knowable and predictable.

This study aims to investigate whether digital advertising can be effective despite consumer inattention and how certain common combinations of ad characteristics increase or decrease ad effectiveness under conditions of low attention.

Using two online experiments in naturalistic environment, the authors compare ad effects under focussed, divided and incidental attention, for certain ad characteristics, namely, appeal type and (mis)matching between appeal and brand type. The results are analysed using logistic regression.

Ad exposure under low attention does increase brand consideration and choice. The greatest uplift in impact occurs when moving from non-exposure to incidental attention. Under incidental attention, emotive advertising was more effective than rational advertising, as was matching rather than mismatching an emotional appeal to a hedonic brand. Conversely, under divided attention, rational advertising and mismatching a rational appeal to a hedonic brand were more effective.

This research explores the effectiveness of Twitter ads with an emotional or a rational appeal and the (mis)matching between appeal and utilitarian or hedonic brand type. Future research can examine other formats and creative elements of digital advertising that can affect the low-attention processing and the effects that occur.

Intrusive, attention-getting advertising strategies may not be necessary. Certain common creative devices can increase advertising effectiveness despite low attention, so marketers can ensure consumer-centric marketing communication.

There has previously been limited understanding of low-attention mechanisms in advertising and little evidence of ad effectiveness under conditions of low attention. The research also demonstrates that certain ad characteristics, linked to common creative devices, enhance the impact of advertising despite low attention.

The use of mobile devices by children and adolescents is increasing significantly; therefore, it is relevant to research the level of advertising literacy (AL) of parents who act as mediators between children and mobile advertising. This study aims to explore the conceptual, moral and attitudinal dimensions of AL and its relationship with different styles of parental control.

A cross-sectional survey was applied simultaneously to a sample of parents with children between 5 and 16 years old in three Spanish-speaking countries: Mexico, Spain and Colombia. Participants from the three countries were recruited via online social media networks and were asked to fill in an online survey. A questionnaire, which has been adapted from previous literature to suit the mobile advertising context and the population of interest, was designed. Cross-country samples of varying sizes, with a predetermined quota of 200 participants for each country, were used. The total sample consisted of 1,454 participants.

Four factors of mobile AL were found, which, to a greater extent, correspond to the dimensions of AL proposed in the literature. The following are the dimensions that were identified: cognitive, moral, attitudinal and an emerging factor is known as “children’s perceived mobile AL.” Differences in parents’ perceived knowledge of mobile advertising, parental control styles and AL levels in the three countries were identified. Parents with an authoritative style were identified to have more knowledge than those with an indulgent style. Differences were also identified between countries concerning the amount of exposure that children have to mobile advertising, while no significant differences were found in the moral dimension.

Marketing practitioners and public policymakers must consider that parents differ in some dimensions of AL. Parents also seem to lack adequate knowledge about the advertising tools available to announcers that affect children and adolescents in a mobile communication environment. Therefore, government agencies should consider developing mobile digital media literacy programs for parents.

This paper explores the dimensions of AL applied to the mobile context and identifies the level of parental mobile AL in three Spanish-speaking countries, as well as the differences between these sub-samples concerning parental mobile AL profiles and parental control styles, thus expanding the literature on AL with a cross-cultural approach.