Covert advertising as inadmissible presentation of information
| Date | 28 January 2014 |
| Published date | 28 January 2014 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/IMDS-04-2013-0204 |
| Pages | 107-122 |
| Author | Tina Tomažic,Damir Boras,Jelena Jurišic,Dušan Lesjak |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Information systems,Data management systems |
Covert advertising as
inadmissible presentation
of information
Tina Tomaz
ˇic
Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Institute of Media
Communications, University of Maribor, Maribor, Slovenia
Damir Boras
Department of Information Science, Philosophical Faculty,
University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Jelena Juris
ˇic
Department of Communication Studies, Faculty of Croatian Studies,
University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia, and
Dus
ˇan Lesjak
Faculty of Law, University of Maribor, Maribor, Slovenia and
School for Social and Business Studies, Celje, Slovenia
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify and redefine the categories of covert advertising,
to demonstrate the covert aspects of advertising in the press, to provide a high-quality comparison of
three leading Slovenian newspapers and to prepare a model for future researchers.
Design/methodology/approach – In this article, the authors defined, analyzed, and explored
covert advertising. In the first part, the authors used descriptive approach and method of compilation.
In the empirical part, the authors used content analysis to research texts of covert advertising; the
authors used analytical approach. Data were analyzed with the help of the computer programme SPSS.
Findings – The results of the research indicate that covert advertising appears on a daily basis in
daily newspapers and these articles are visually more attractive to garner greater attention from
readers and offer numerous visual presentations.
Research limitations/implications – The first limitation is presenting a lack of literature in this
area, especially very poor knowledge of covert advertising in English, American and German
literature. There is not a single word that around the world marked the same phenomenon. This
research is limited to print media; it cannot be generalized to all media. This is a survey of ads where
the authors cannot rule out subjective assessments.
Originality/value – The significance of this research is that texts with covert advertising in
Slovenia were for the first time scientifically investigated. The research approach and methodological
instruments could be used as a model, a simplified representation of reality for future researches.
Keywords Content analysis,Communication technologies, Media,Covert advertising
Paper type Research paper
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/0263-5577.htm
The authors thank the two anonymous reviewers for the constructive comments on this paper.
Received 24 April 2013
Revised 26 June 2013
Accepted 2 July 2013
Industrial Management & Data
Systems
Vol. 114 No. 1, 2014
pp. 107-122
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
0263-5577
DOI 10.1108/IMDS-04-2013-0204
Covert
advertising
107
Introduction
Technological developments, transitions of competition into a global sphere, the
increasing importance of information, greater and greater competitive surroundings,
and changes of demographic characteristics of consumers (e.g. the increase in the
number of employed females, changes in the family structure) have all contributed to
huge changes in marketing and advertising. Given these changes, classic advertising
becomes less and less effective and, moreover, does so because of excessive advertising
and effusive promises of advertisers. It is precisely this circumstance that contributes
to the deficiency (i.e. the decreasing reliability and quality of certain media).
Advertisers therefore seek all possible means to reach previously set goals to achi eve
the highest effect. These new information technologies satisfy not only classic
advertising strategies, but also newer, more popular, and more effective strategies like
covert advertising. Advertising is considered covert when the ordered and paid
content, which should be presented like an announcement, is presented as editorial
content of the defined media.
Furthermore, editorial content receives more attention than commercial messages
and is remembered better than advertorials (Cameron, 1994; Cameron and Curtin, 1996;
Dahle
´n and Edenius, 2007). Also a banner advertisement, commonly used in the www,
typically has a probability of about 50 percent of being seen by a surfer looking at a
page in which the banner is embedded. This number is dramatically lower than the 97
percent reported for television ads or 93 percent for Yellow Pages advertisements
(Tsaih et al., 2005). On the other side in the print media the lines between editorial and
commercial content are blurred, readers might be led to believe that commercial
(i.e. paid-for) information is objective and credible (Van Reijmersdal et al., 2005).
Cameron and Curtin (1996) describe this blurring as information pollution, which is the
disguising of commercial message sources as editorial.
Very close with the topic of covert advertising is product placement which is most
appropriate for television and movies. It is the most common form of stea lth marketing
in entertainment programming. According to Hackley (2005) the TV or movie viewer
may not be consciously aware that the use of the brand in a scene was conceived and
paid for by the brand organization. If consumers are not aware that the dramatic scene
they are enjoying is a paid-for brand promotion, their critical faculties may not be as
acute as if they were watching an explicit ad. As Goodman (2006) argued in many
cases, audience members will be aware that the editor is using the product for
promotional purposes, in which case the marketing is not by stealth. At their best,
product placements will be disguised. The promotional message will melt into
non-promotional plot lines, props, and dialogue, enabling advertisers to build brand
equity without interrupting the narrative flow of programming. As Blasco-Arcas et al.
(2011) argued, also IPTV can become an important purchase channel that offers new
possibilities for firms thanks to its interactivity and personalization features, such as
new advertising or product placement.
According to Mason and Staude (2009) marketing success in a turbulent
environment, like media markets are, requires a different approach by traditional
marketing theory, which is inadequate in changing, turbulent markets. Turbulence
involves rapid, unexpected change in the environmental sub-dimensions. It is caused
by changes in, and interaction between, environmental factors, including technology
and the confluence of the computer, telecommunications, and media industries.
IMDS
114,1
108
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