Examining Psychological Mechanisms Underlying Synergistic Communication Effects: The Case of Online Reviews and Display Advertising

Aim/Purpose: This study aims to evaluate the dual impact of online reviews and display advertising on consumer purchase behavior, addressing a critical gap in understanding how these multi-source communications interact and concurrently persuade consumers. Specifically, it examines the psychological mechanisms of skepticism toward advertising and priming, exploring their combined influence on the effectiveness of these communications. Background: Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) emphasizes the effectiveness of delivering consistent messages through multiple channels, creating a synergistic impact beyond individual messages. Studies reveal stronger persuasive effects when combining sources like social media, traditional marketing, and various media platforms, compared to single-source exposure, possibly due to the integration of psychological mechanisms involved in processing information from multiple sources. Methodology: Two experimental studies were conducted. The first study used a 2x2x2 between-subjects design with 317 participants exposed to eight media conditions, varying message sources, sequence, and content. Self-reported data was collected on established scales to measure skepticism toward advertising and priming. The second study involved 123 participants and used eye-tracking technology to assess their attention to the stimuli across four media conditions. Contribution: This research highlights how combining online reviews with display advertising creates powerful synergies, surpassing single-source communication. Examining psychological mechanisms like skepticism toward advertising and priming uncovers how multi-source messaging enhances consumer trust and engagement. The study provides a deeper understanding of consumer attention and behavior by exploring the impact of message sequence and variation, supported by eye-tracking insights. Extending IMC literature demonstrates how integrating marketer-controlled and consumer-driven sources boosts ad credibility and effectiveness. The findings empower marketers with actionable strategies to craft balanced, trust-driven communication while fostering informed consumer decision-making. Findings: Results show that combining online reviews and ads reduced skepticism, leading to stronger attitudes toward the ad and the brand and higher purchase intention. Participants exposed to reviews first were less skeptical and more influenced by ads. Eye-tracking in Study 2 showed that varied messages led to greater attention on product headlines, while similar messages made participants focus more on review credibility, indicating higher skepticism. Recommendation for Researchers: The research shows that underlying psychological mechanisms have an important role in creating media synergies. Nevertheless, examining such mechanisms is often challenging. Using novel approaches can help in uncovering such mechanisms. Future Research: Future research should explore similar phenomena in real-world settings, examine hedonic products, include online reviews with negative valence, and investigate additional psychological mechanisms using robust techniques like thought listing.