Effects of Disclosing Influencer Marketing in Videos: An Eye Tracking Study Among Children in Early Adolescence

This study focused on the effects of sponsorship disclosure timing on children's ability to understand that social influencer videos are sponsored. The study also investigated how sponsorship disclosure timing affects children's attitudes toward the sponsoring brand, the video, and the influencer. An experiment among 272 children in early adolescence (10–13 years of age) was conducted using eye tracking. Results show that a disclosure shown prior to the start of the videos leads to more visual attention than a disclosure shown concurrently with the start of videos. Consequently, disclosure prior to the start of videos is better processed, as indicated by disclosure memory, which then leads to a better understanding that the content is sponsored. This understanding evokes a more critical attitude toward the sponsored content in the video, and results in less positive attitudes toward the brands, the videos, and the influencers. Theoretically, this study provides insights into the mechanisms that explain disclosure timing effects among children in early adolescence. Practically, this study offers recommendations to policy makers to develop sponsorship disclosures that can increase transparency of online embedded advertising to minors.

"Eye tracking shows that when the disclosure is shown prior to the start of videos, children look at the disclosure around two and a half times longer, which results in better disclosure recognition than when the disclosure is displayed concurrent with the start of the videos." (Van Reijmersdal et al., 2020 p. 102) "Second, disclosure timing affects the understanding that the content is sponsored. Our results show that, compared to no disclosure or a disclosure concurrent with the start of the video, the disclosure prior to the start of the video is most effective in activating early adolescents' understanding that the content is sponsored. These effects are explained by children's increased visual attention to the disclosure prior to the video, which consequently facilitates processing of the disclosure" (Van Reijmersdal et al., 2020, p. 103) "Third, this study shows that an enhanced understanding that content is sponsored due to the disclosure affects early adolescents' susceptibility to the persuasive effects of sponsored online videos because of a more critical attitude towards the sponsored content. When children in early adolescence understand that a video is sponsored, they show more critical attitudes, which results in less susceptibility and more negative attitudes toward videos and the influences who create them."(Van Reijmersdal et al., 2020, p. 103) "Fourth, our study is the first to show that disclosure timing has consequences for persuasion and attitudes toward the video and the influencers themselves. A disclosure that is shown prior to the start of the sponsored online video indirectly results in the most negative brand, video, and influencer responses."(Van Reijmersdal et al., 2020, p. 103) "Our study shows that for children in early adolescence, although indirectly, disclosures can have a negative impact on the attitudes toward the content and the influencer who created the content."(Van Reijmersdal et al., 2020, p. 103)