Finally, a small experimental literature indicates how media characteristics influence
marketing effectiveness.
Magee (2013) reported the results of a field experiment in which
subscribers of a promotional magazine received either a print or a digital version of the
magazine. Although most readers expressed a preference for the digital version, those
who received the print version were more likely to open it, spend more time browsing
it, and retain more information.
Brasel and Gips (2013) manipulated the physical interface
experimental subjects used to access the Internet. They found that touch-based interfaces,
such as those found in smartphones and tablets, increase perceived psychological own-
ership and the endowment effect. The implications for online commerce may be sub-
stantial, as the authors conclude that “touch-based devices like tablets can lead to
higher product valuations when compared to traditional computers.”
5.4. DISCUSSION
Market data show very clearly that video consumption has yet to fall, despite competition
from new media and the prevalence of mobile devices, though the forms in which people
consume video are evolving. Digitization has increased consumer control over media by
offering services such as OTT video and digital video recorders. Screen proliferation has
led to an enhanced tendency to multitask using “second screen,” both enabling imme-
diate consumer response to advertisements and increasing the already-intense competi-
tion for scarce consumer attention.
Important gaps in our understanding remain. Some research opportunities are implied
directly by the preceding discussion. Of first-order importance: How do media multi-
tasking and advertising avoidance alter advertising effectiveness? How does multitasking
affect consumer habit formation and the tendency to become a regular viewer of a
program? How do program and advertising content affect the impulse to start, stop,
or continue diverting attention to a second screen? For example, how do multitasking
tendencies vary with the viewer’s past experience with the program? How and why does
viewer-generated content online influence, enhance, or detract from the experience of
consuming a live program? How can television networks and advertisers use online chan-
nels to try to influence consumer attention during live programs?
A second important area of inquiry is the degree to which incumbent media platforms
are able to generate, sample, and adopt new strategies and business models. Traditional
newspapers have appeared surprisingly risk-averse as advertising budgets have moved
online and newspaper revenues have fallen. Will the incumbent television networks
and conglomerates take advantage of the opportunities that digitization affords, or will
those opportunities be realized more effectively by a new generation of media platforms?
To what extent will individual program creators start offering their content directly to
consumers via OTT services or direct download, as is occurring in the recorded (audio)
music and comedy markets?
221Recent Developments in Mass Media
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