The effect of ad integration and interactivity on young teenagers’ memory, brand attitude and personal data sharing

Contemporary online advertising is characterized by the integration of advertising in other content and brand interactivity. Integrated advertising embeds a persuasive message into informative or entertaining content. Brand interactivity refers to interactions consumers have with brands in advertising messages. A two (integration vs. no integration) x two (brand interactivity vs. no brand interactivity) between subjects experiment (n = 576) examines the effect of online advertising's brand interactivity and its integration in other content on young teenagers' (11–14 years) brand memory, awareness of selling intent, critical processing, brand attitude, and their personal information sharing. Brand interactivity has a positive effect on memory, awareness of selling intent, brand attitude and personal information sharing. Integration of advertising in other content has a negative effect on memory, but has no effect on awareness of selling intent, brand attitude and personal information sharing. Surprisingly, awareness of selling intent leads to less critical processing. The main contribution of the study is that it disentangles the effects of brand interactivity and message integration in contemporary advertising formats, and suggests adaptations to well-known theories, such as the Affect Transfer Mechanism and the Persuasion Knowledge Model, in the context of young teenagers' responses to these formats. •Brand interactivity enhances young teenagers' brand information recognition.•Brand interactivity enhances young teenagers' brand attitude.•Not integrating brands in ads enhances brand information recognition & brand attitude.•Interactivity enhances awareness of selling intent & brand inclusion's appropriateness.•Brand attitude has a positive effect on personal data sharing.