Made to Impress: Examining the Influence of Tailored Advertising Disclosures on Persuasion Knowledge

Advertising disclosures play a critical role in promoting transparency of advertising for consumers. However, their success is affected by the degree of attention they receive from the audience. To address this challenge, this study examines the effects of tailoring disclosures employing cue-based personalization to increase their individual relevance. Using a between-subjects experimental design, we test the effects of tailored and non-tailored disclosures involving a representative sample of Italian participants using eye-tracking. Our results suggest that tailored disclosures have a significant positive effect on persuasion knowledge without compromising disclosure evaluation. Additionally, we demonstrate that tailored disclosures function as an attention primer, facilitating quicker identification of the sponsored content and maintaining viewer attention, which further amplifies persuasion knowledge. Benefits for advertisers and potential implications for regulators are discussed.