Relative Effectiveness of Print and Digital Advertising: A Memory Perspective

Posted: 24 Sep 2018 Last revised: 2 Jul 2021

See all articles by Vinod Venkatraman

Vinod Venkatraman

Temple University - Department of Marketing and Supply Chain Management

Angelika Dimoka

Temple University - Department of Marketing and Supply Chain Management; Center for Neural Decision Making, Temple University

Khoi Vo

Center for Neural Decision Making, Temple University

Paul A. Pavlou

University of Houston - C.T. Bauer College of Business

Date Written: September 1, 2018

Abstract

The exponential growth in digital media has raised questions about the relevance of print media in the overall marketing mix. In this study, we evaluate the relative effectiveness of print and digital media in advertising using a multi-methodological approach. Using eye-tracking and neurophysiological measures during exposure, we show that print ads are associated with greater levels of engagement and arousal, while digital ads are associated with shorter but more directed processing. When participants retrieved information about the ads a week later, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we demonstrate increased activation in the hippocampus and the parahippocampus regions for print relative to digital ads. Based on the postulated role of these brain regions in memory retrieval, we hypothesize that print ads lead to better encoding of contextual information and associations among the ad contents. We validate these hypotheses in an independent follow-up behavioral study. These findings suggest that print media have certain notable advantages in terms of memory encoding and retrieval, highlighting the importance of both print and digital media in advertising and marketing communications.

Keywords: Print media, digital media, episodic memory, fMRI

Suggested Citation

Venkatraman, Vinod and Dimoka, Angelika and Vo, Khoi and Pavlou, Paul A., Relative Effectiveness of Print and Digital Advertising: A Memory Perspective (September 1, 2018). Fox School of Business Research Paper No. 18-037, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3254528 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3254528

Vinod Venkatraman (Contact Author)

Temple University - Department of Marketing and Supply Chain Management ( email )

Philadelphia, PA 19122
United States

Angelika Dimoka

Temple University - Department of Marketing and Supply Chain Management ( email )

Philadelphia, PA 19122
United States

Center for Neural Decision Making, Temple University ( email )

Philadelphia, PA 19122
United States

HOME PAGE: http://www.fox.temple.edu/minisites/neural/index.html

Khoi Vo

Center for Neural Decision Making, Temple University ( email )

1801 Liacouras Walk A502
Marketing Department
Philadelphia, PA 19122
United States

Paul A. Pavlou

University of Houston - C.T. Bauer College of Business

Houston, TX 77204-6021
United States

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