How context can make advertising more effective

This article looks at context in advertising, a topic which has had much interest yet still has significant gaps in scholarship, as part of the ARF’s ongoing How Advertising Works initiative.

Editors’ Note

There is a rich body of scholarship—nearly 60 years’ worth—on context effects in advertising, yet significant gaps remain. Most of the literature involves television, but with the digital marketplace in constant flux, advertisers and marketers risk missing key opportunities to be more effective at promoting their products and services across a variety of media. In 2017, in response to renewed interest among its members—and as part of its ongoing How Advertising Works initiative—the Advertising Research Foundation (ARF) addressed context effects by first reviewing the literature to date and then conducting its own original experiments with partnering firms. Around...

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