Context Effects: Can context make advertising more effective?

A large body of research showing how context is likely to affect ad performance, both positively and negatively, has gained relevance as advertisers worry about seeing their ads placed in inappropriate places – especially in digital environments.

Whenever a consumer sees an advertisement, it is not in isolation, but in a context. “Context” usually refers to the media space in which the advertisement is embedded: for example, a commercial in a television program, an ad in a magazine or on the radio, a banner on a website or a video in a social media feed.

Does this kind of context impact consumers’ perceptions of and response to the advertising and, if so, how does context impact advertising?

A large body of research, spanning six decades, has shown that context is likely to affect ad performance, both positively...

Not a subscriber?

Schedule your live demo with our team today

WARC helps you to plan, create and deliver more effective marketing

  • Prove your case and back-up your idea

  • Get expert guidance on strategic challenges

  • Tackle current and emerging marketing themes

We’re long-term subscribers to WARC and it’s a tool we use extensively. We use it to source case studies and best practice for the purposes of internal training, as well as for putting persuasive cases to clients. In compiling a recent case for long-term, sustained investment in brand, we were able to support key marketing principles with numerous case studies sourced from WARC. It helped bring what could have been a relatively dry deck to life with recognisable brand successes from across a broad number of categories. It’s incredibly efficient to have such a wealth of insight in one place.

Insights Team
Bray Leino

You’re in good company

We work with 80% of Forbes' most valuable brands* and 80% of the world's top top-of-the-class agencies.

* Top 10 brands