Implicit Memory Measures for Web Advertising Effectiveness

Abstract

Most studies investigating memory for advertisements have relied heavily on examining effects of explicit memory. In the Web advertising environment, however, consumers often try to avoid Web ads during online activities, resulting in poor explicit memory and dismal click-through rates. The study introduces the measure of implicit memory as an alternative to assess the effectiveness of Web advertising. The results of an experiment suggest that implicit memory measures would complement the shortcomings of the current measures (e.g., recall, recognition, and click-through rate), especially in cases where consumers do not actively engage in ad processing.