Perception of Intrusiveness and Advertising Clutter in a Mobile News Feed - A Comparative Study of Native Advertising and Mobile Display Advertising

Sammanfattning: The mobile device is quickly becoming one of the most important advertising channels, due to its status as one of the most essential tools in our daily routine. However, mobile advertising is associated with a widespread advertising avoidance, mainly driven by the intrusiveness of ads and advertising clutter. Consequently, expectations for native advertising are sky-high, as this advertising format is widely assumed to be non-intrusive, which might contribute to a less cluttered environment. In the context of a mobile news feed, this thesis empirically investigated the assumed benefits of native advertising, by comparing this highly anticipated format with traditional mobile display advertising. An experimental study was conducted with the main purpose to examine whether the use of native advertising decreases consumers' perception of intrusiveness and advertising clutter to a greater extent than mobile display advertising. Contrary to what has been assumed by several researchers and practitioners, the main findings indicated that native advertising does not seem to decrease consumers' perception of intrusiveness or advertising clutter in a mobile news feed. Instead, the results from an additional analysis suggested that main drivers of perceived intrusiveness and advertising clutter in mobile context are consumer-specific factors. These results imply that it is of crucial importance for publishers and advertisers to focus on understanding their audience.