Effects of the characteristics of online multimedia synergy on consumers’ message acceptance and message response
| Published date | 11 September 2017 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/OIR-11-2016-0328 |
| Date | 11 September 2017 |
| Pages | 710-727 |
| Author | Xuebing Dong,Yaping Chang,Xiaojun Fan |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Information behaviour & retrieval,Collection building & management,Bibliometrics,Databases,Information & knowledge management,Information & communications technology,Internet,Records management & preservation,Document management |
Effects of the characteristics of
online multimedia synergy on
consumers’message acceptance
and message response
Xuebing Dong
School of Management, Shanghai University, Shanghai, China
Yaping Chang
School of Management, Huazhong University of Science and Technology,
Wuhan, China, and
Xiaojun Fan
School of Management, Shanghai University, Shanghai, China
Abstract
Purpose –Marketers recognize that the internet is crucial in the lives of consumers; thus, they invest money
on online advertisements. Using multiple online media primarily influences the message acceptance of
consumers. The synergistic effect of online multimedia relies on form, content, and sources of information,
and time. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach –A model that reflects the influence of the characteristics of online
multimedia on message response through message acceptance is established based on theories of information
persuasion, encoding variability, and multiple-source assumption. Based on a survey of 411 online media
users, the study applies partial least-squares regression to test the research model.
Findings –The results show that variety of forms, complementary of contents, diversity of sources, and time
interval influence message response via message strength. Complementary of contents and diversity of
sources affect message response via perceived credibility. Synergy type moderates the relationship between
variety of forms and perceived credibility and between diversity of sources and perceived credibility.
Research limitations/implications –The current study mainly tests the effect of these characteristics on
message response and the moderating effect of synergy type. Future research can examine the effect of these
characteristics on information seeking and consumption behavior and the moderating effect of the cognitive
mode of consumers.
Practical implications –This study provides insight into the characteristics of synergy and contributes to
the literature on integrated marketing communication. The results provide guidance for practitioners to
effectively plan online multimedia practices.
Originality/value –This study explored the influence of the characteristics of online media synergy on
message response through message acceptance. The study also discussed the moderating effect of the type of
online multimedia synergy.
Keywords Synergy, Message acceptance, Message response, Online multimedia
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
The number of internetusers has grown with the development of the internet;companies tend
to increase online promotions. Online media marketing communication is becoming the most
important and fastest-growing promotion strategy in this century (Stephen and Galak,2012).
In the past decade,various approaches in marketingcommunication were used by enterprises
and were rapidly modified with the advent of new communication tools, such as blogs,
bulletin board service (BBS), micro blogs, and other interactive social media. Revenues
from internet advertising in the USA reacheda total of $49.45 billion in 2014, which is higher
Online Information Review
Vol. 41 No. 5, 2017
pp. 710-727
© Emerald PublishingLimited
1468-4527
DOI 10.1108/OIR-11-2016-0328
Received 22 November 2016
Revised 29 March 2017
Accepted 2 May 2017
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/1468-4527.htm
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (71372132; 71602106).
710
OIR
41,5
by 16 percent from the $42.78 billion reportedin 2013. The compound annual growth rate for
internet advertising over the past tenyears is 17 percent, which outpaced theUS GDP growth
of 3 percent over that period (Interactive Advertising Bureau, 2014).
By consciously integrating various forms of media, enterprises, such as P&G and Coca
Cola, created a new mode of multimedia synergistic promotion (Stephen and Galak, 2012)
and gained multimedia synergy effect (1+1W2). In total, 64 percent of the Fortune
500 enterprises adopted two or more online social media for marketing communication,
including blogs, micro blogs, Wikipedia, BBS, and SNS (Culnan et al., 2010).
These enterprises also combined various media as marketing communication models.
Before the advent of social media, “media synergy”did not play a primary role in
marketing communication. However, enterprises subsequently adopted direct marketing
communication through social media. This type of communication has accurate and direct
targets, thus is efficient. Since the advent of social media, the environment for the marketing
communication of enterprises changed dramatically. The high speed, extensiveness,
spontaneity, storability, timelessness, low cost, and initiative of online interactive
communication provide substantial opportunities and challenges to marketing directors
(Haythornthwaite, 2005). These new channels provide advertisers a perspective to reach
different types of customers and to better satisfy the personal and specific needs of the
audience at different levels of strength (Danaher et al., 2010).
The effect of “1+1W2”can only be achieved when the different types of marketing
communication strategies support each other. Therefore, marketing directors, particularly
online marketing directors, focus on the synergy among different media in working out
integrated marketing communication plans (Tang et al., 2007). Compared with the synergy
among traditional media and that between traditional media and online media, the synergy
among online media is quicker and has a higher degree of integration in mass
communication, interpersonal communication, and inter-group communication. Other
advantages include more information and stronger media link and storability (Table I).
Previous studies focused on the synergy among traditional media (Smith et al., 2006) and
that between traditional media and online media (Tarkiainen et al., 2009; Havlena et al., 2007;
Graham and Freeman, 2012; Stephen and Galak, 2012). However, studies on the synergy
among online media are few. Experiments were conducted to study the influence of the
characteristics of synergy on message response (Taylor et al., 2013; Voorveld, 2011).
However, studies that considered how the characteristics of the synergy among online
media influence the message response of consumers are limited.
From the perspective of information persuasion, this study explores the mechanism
through which the characteristics of online media synergy influence message response via
message acceptance. The current study explores how various forms and complementary of
Between traditional
media
Between traditional media
and online media Between online media
User coverage Offline Offline and online Online
Target Slow speed Very low speed High speed
Type of
communication
Mass, interpersonal Integration of mass,
interpersonal and groups
High degree of integration of mass,
interpersonal and groups
Information
structure
Few information; low
accurate marketing
Rich information; half
accurate
Enormous information; accurate
marketing
Media link Weak Somewhat weak Strong
Information
flow
Unstorable Storable to some degree Storable
Controllable Uncontrollable to
some degree
Uncontrollable
Table I.
Differences of three
types of synergy
711
Characteristics
of online
multimedia
synergy
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