DMEF Conference Vodcast Paper Fall 2011

B E L A F L O R E N T H A L

W I L L I A M P A T E R S O N U N I V E R S I T Y

P R I S C I L L A A . A R L I N G

D E B O R A H S K I N N E R

K A T H R Y N W . K I N G

B U T L E R U N I V E R S I T Y

P A T R I C K J . R O N D E A U

S I X S I G M A A S S O C I A T E S , I N C .

Vodcast Impact on Students’ Attitudes and Behavioral Intentions

Research Questions

Are Vodcasts (video podcasts) effective as part of universities’ IMC strategy for recruitment?

Can Vodcasts be assessed using existing theoretical models of communication?

Ducoffe’s 1996 and extensions

Theoretical Background

Vodcasts Video podcasts

Interactive

Capture attention, raise interest, increase involvement, and lead to action-related commitment

Millennials (Gen M) Net Generation

Frequent users of the internet

More into visuals and kinetics

Multimedia taskers

On-line buying, socializing, and playing

Tend to learn on their own time


Ducoffe’s (1996) model and extensions

4 Motivations/benefits:

Entertainment, Informativeness, Irritation, Credibility

Relevant demographics

Inclusion by Brackett and Carr (2001)

Advertising value

Consumers and advertisers exchange benefits and costs from web-based media

Consumers derive value based on an exchange via communication

Consumers’ perceived value of the web-based advertising medium


Ducoffe’s (1996) model and extensions

Attitude toward advertising

Advertising outcomes that capture consumers’ gratification from interacting on-line with an advertisement

Behavioral Intentions

Action Intent

Developed to cater to desired university goals

Students’ intent to look for additional information based on the vodcasts

Attitude toward

Advertising

Theoretical Model

• Informativeness

• Entertainment

• Irritation

• Credibility

Advertising Value

Action Intent

Relevant Demographics

Theoretical Background & Hypotheses

Entertainment: Refers to consumers’ experience of fun, pleasure, and enjoyment

during media usage Ducoffe (1996) suggests:

Perceived entertainment of the ads impacts the value of the advertising

Included in the Web based Motivation Inventory (Rodgers et al. 2007) It has been used to explain attitudes toward websites

Gen M are used to watching reality based television or playing video games Vodcasts mimic that experience

H1: Perceived entertainment of the vodcast will be positively associated with the perceived advertising valueof the vodcast and with attitude toward the vodcast.


Informativeness: The degree to which consumers can receive resourceful and helpful

information on the Internet (Luo 2002; Ducoffe 1996). Ducoffe (1994) suggests:

Perceived informativeness of the ads impacts the value of the advertising

Included in the Web based Motivation Inventory (Rodgers et al. 2007) It has been used to explain attitudes toward websites

Vodcasts offer firsthand reviews of “typical” college coed experiences

H2: Perceived informativeness of the vodcast will be positively associated with the perceived advertising value of the vodcast.

H7: Perceived informativeness will be positively associated with the attitude toward the vodcast.


Irritation:

Advertising with unwanted outcomes

Results in reduced advertising effectiveness and value (Luo2002; Ducoffe 1996)

Gen M:

Their time is limited and the available website resources are numerous

Vodcasts may seem irritating if they are perceived to provide irrelevant information

H3: Perceived irritation of the vodcast will be negatively associated with the perceived advertising value of the vodcast.


Credibility:

Extension to Ducoffe’s model by Brackett and Carr (2001)

Perception that the information provided in the advertisement is truthful and believable (MacKenzie and Lutz 1989)

Previous research has established that the perceived credibility of a website impacts both the value and the attitude toward the website (Chiagouris, Long, and Plank 2008; Greer 2003)

The vodcast used in this study represents the website as the context of interest

H5: Perceived credibility of the vodcast will be positively associated with the perceived advertising value of the vodcast.

H6: Perceived credibility of the vodcast will be positively associated with the attitude toward the vodcast.


Relevant Demographics:

Research to support that people react to the web differently depending on variables such as gender and age

Students relate differently to the vodcast actors (male or female) and their characteristics (age, chosen major, field of study, etc.)

Attitude toward Advertising Brackett and Carr (2001) added this outcome construct

H8: Relevant demographics (e.g., gender, age, major of study, year in school and/or type of college) will have a direct relationship with the attitude toward the vodcast.

H4: The perceived advertising value of the vodcast will be positively associated with the attitude toward the vodcast.


Behavioral Intention:

Luo (2001) modified and extended Ducoffe’s (1996) model adding web usage as an outcome

Students will review the vodcasts and should be inclined to ask for or obtain further information to help in their university selection

H9: Attitude toward the vodcast will be positively associated with the intent to take actions toward the university.

Methodology

Study design and execution

A private Midwestern university was sampled

Vodcasts

Were created in the business school

Purpose:

Engage prospective business students with the college/university

Get into their “consideration set” earlier in the decision cycle (fall vs. spring)

Tell “the freshman story” through the eyes of two actual business students

Were placed on the university’s home page with links to iTunes and YouTube

Methodology

Study design and execution Sampling method:

924 questionnaires were sent out

63 questionnaires were collected in freshmen classes

Total of 157 usable questionnaires (16.99% response rate)

Sample characteristics:

57% were males

70% were ages 17-18

93% were freshmen

Enrolled:

48% into the College of Business

25% into college of Liberal Arts

15% into Pharmacy and Health Sciences

71% came from public schools

Methodology

Study design and execution Measures:

All were 5-point scales

Ducoffe’s (1996) measures of Entertainment and Advertising Value were used

Brackett and Carr’s (2001) measures of Informativeness, Irritation, and Credibility were used

Attitude toward the Vodcasts were adopted from Geissler, Zinkhan and Watson’s (2006) study

Action Intent was developed for this study using items such as:

The Vodcasts would prompt me to ask for additional information

I would use the information in the Vodcasts to help me decide about attending

Analysis and Results

Structural Model 1 based on Ducoffe (1996)

RSMEA = 0.10, GFI = 0.99, AGFI = 0.90, NFI = 0.99

Entertainment

Informativeness

Irritation

Advertising

Value

Atttitude

Toward

Advertising

0.12

(1.46)0.24**

(2.77)

-0.44**

(5.30)

0.18*

(1.96)


Structural Model 2 based on Brackett and Carr (2001) and Luo (2002)


Entertainment

Informativeness

IrritationAdvertising

Value

Atttitude Toward

Advertising

Credibility

0.12

(1.20)

0.05

(0.57)

0.06

(0.61)

0.18*

(1.99)

-0.42**

(-5.13)

0.05

(0.45)

0.12

(1.52)

0.15*

(2.39)

0.45**

(5.13)

Action Intent

0.47**

(5.91)

Business

College

Enrolled


Final Structural Model 3


Informativeness

Credibility

Advertising

Value

Atttitude

Toward

AdvertisingIrritation

Action Intent

0.43**

(5.65)

-0.43**

(-5.50)

0.19*

(2.25)

0.76**

(4.48)

0.33**

(4.24)

Business

College

Enrolled

0.15*

(2.38)

0.19*

(2.24)

Conclusions

The final model validates most of Ducoffe’s (1996) and Brackett and Carr’s (2001) hypothesized relationships

Three out of four motives, namely Informativeness, Credibility, and Irritation, directly contribute to perceived Advertising Value which in turn contributes to Attitude toward Advertising

In the vodacst context:

Perceived Entertainment does not significantly relate to either Advertising Value or Attitude toward Advertising

Conclusions

The type of college in which a student was enrolled was a relevant demographic for the vodcast context Students enrolled in the College of Business had a more

positive attitude toward the vodcasts than students enrolled in other colleges.

Action Intent was directly related to perceived Advertising Value and Informativeness The more informative the vodcasts are, the more viewers are

inclined to take university-related actions

The more the viewers see value in the vodcasts, the more they inclined to be action driven

Managerial Implications

Vodcasts used by universities to attract students Make sure they convey relevant and credible information

Make sure they are not irritating

Tracking viral marketing of vodcasts

Give incentives to students to watch the vodcasts (e.g., treasure hunt)

Using feedback mechanism Allowing students to rate vodcasts and make suggestions for

improvement

Focus on what drives Action Intent Focus mostly on informative vodcasts that keep students interested

Entertaining vodcasts that lack relevant information may not result in enrollment-related actions

Limitations

The sampled students already verbally committed to come to the university

A more balanced sample with non-committed students could be beneficial

Almost half of the sample was students enrolled in the college of business

A more even distribution across colleges could be beneficial

Action Intent

Was used in a small private university

Generalizability needs to be established for private and public universities

DMEF Conference Vodcast Paper Fall 2011

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Transcript of DMEF Conference Vodcast Paper Fall 2011