THE ROLE OF DISCLOSURE DURATION

This study examined how sponsorship disclosure on television infl uences persuasion knowledge and brand responses (i.e., brand memory and brand attitude). Moreover, we tested whether extending disclosure duration increases its effect. By conducting an experiment (N=116) we compared the effects of no disclosure to a 3-second and a 6-second disclosure. Results showed that especially a 6-second disclosure activates conceptual and consequently attitudinal persuasion knowledge. Regarding brand responses, we found that disclosure directly increased brand memory, regardless of duration. In addition, a 6-second disclosure indirectly resulted in less favorable brand attitudes through higher rates of attitudinal persuasion knowledge. Theoretically, this study provides insights into how sponsorship disclosure infl uences the persuasion process and the role of persuasion knowledge within this process. 3. THE ROLE OF DISCLOSURE DURATION 66 INTRODUCTION To reach the consumer, advertisers are increasingly integrating brands, products, or persuasive messages into traditionally noncommercial contexts, such as television programs, magazines, and computer games (Cain, 2011; Van Reijmersdal, Neijens, & Smit, 2007). This phenomenon is called sponsored content. Sponsored content can take various forms and encompasses the simple placement of a product or brand into a television program, but also brand integration whereby brands play a key role in plotlines and the creative development of programs (Hudson & Hudson, 2006). Both forms of sponsored content are common and especially the use of brand integration is growing. Brand integration is even seen as “the future of advertising” (Hudson & Hudson, 2006; Smit, Van Reijmersdal, & Neijens, 2009). Examples of sponsored content are the insertion of Nike shoes in the NBA 2K basketball games and the show America’s Next Top Model in which the winner wins a $100,000 Cover Girl Cosmetics contract and various episodes feature competitions using Cover Girl products. Since sponsored content is embedded in noncommercial media content, the source and persuasive intent of the message is not obvious. This makes it harder for viewers to distinguish between editorial and commercial content. Consequently, viewers may process the persuasive message less critically than traditional advertising (Nebenzahl & Jaffe, 1998), which could lead to unaware persuasion. Therefore, sponsored content is often referred to as deceptive and misleading (Cain, 2011; Nebenzahl & Jaffe, 1998), and is a serious cause of concern for policy makers and consumer organizations. As a result, sponsorship disclosure on television is now obligatory in the European Union, while such regulations are being developed in the United States (Cain, 2011). Although the application and use differ between countries, the principle is the same: Sponsorship disclosure should explicitly inform the audience when commercial content is integrated into editorial content to guarantee fair communication and avoid persuasion without audience awareness (Cain, 2011; Woods, 2008). Only two studies have investigated the effects of sponsorship disclosures on television. Campbell, Mohr, and Verlegh (2007) found that disclosure can decrease top-of-mind awareness of the brand and alters brand attitude depending on its timing in the television program. Dekker and Van Reijmersdal (2010) focused on different disclosure types but found no signifi cant effects of disclosures on brand attitude and product claim acceptance. Other studies showed a positive effect on brand recall of a disclosure that lists all products appearing in a movie (Bennett, Pecotich, & Putrevu,1999), and a negative infl uence on brand attitude of disclosures in radio shows (Wei, Fischer, & Main, 2008). Interestingly, these studies tested how disclosures alter the effect of sponsored content on brand memory and persuasion. However, the primary goal of disclosures is to discourage deception by activating persuasion knowledge (Cain, 2011). Persuasion knowledge comprises a general understanding of persuasion and knowing how to cope with persuasive attempts (Friestad & Wright, 1994). There is a lack of research investigating the effect of sponsorship disclosures on persuasion knowledge. It is unclear whether