Journal of Current Issues & Research in Advertising

ISSN: 1064-1734 (Print) 2164-7313 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ujci20

Rich Media, Poor Media: The Impact of Audio/

Video vs. Text/Picture Testimonial Ads on
Browsers'Evaluations of Commercial Web Sites
and Online Products

Osei Appiah Ph.D.

To cite this article: Osei Appiah Ph.D. (2006) Rich Media, Poor Media: The Impact of Audio/
Video vs. Text/Picture Testimonial Ads on Browsers'Evaluations of Commercial Web Sites
and Online Products, Journal of Current Issues & Research in Advertising, 28:1, 73-86, DOI:
10.1080/10641734.2006.10505192

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10641734.2006.10505192

Published online: 08 May 2012.

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 Rich Media, Poor Media: The Impact of Audio/Wdeo vs.
Text/PichrreTestimonial Ads on Browsers’ Evaluations
of Commercial Web Sites and Online Products
Osei Appiah

There has been some debate among advertisers concerning the practicality, necessity, and
efectiveness of using multimedia on Internet Web sites. Most companies have been slow to
use multimediafeatures on their site, and it seemed worthwhile to test whether this behavior
is warranted by testing the impact of multimedia ads on a commercial Website. In particular,
Downloaded by [University of Sussex Library] at 00:30 28 November 2015

this study attempted to test whether browsers’ responses to multimedia like audiolvideo
testimonial ads on a commercial Web site would signifi’cantly diferfrom their responses to
either a commercial Web site with textlpicture testimonials or a commercial Web site with
no testimonials. Thefindings indicated that Internet browsers were more likely to believe a
site was targeting them, rate a site morefavorably,and rate the product morefavorably when
thesite contained audiolvideo testimonials than they were when thesite contained either text/
picture testimonials or no testimonials. Vividness efects of media modality and the
availability-valence theoretical fiamework are discussed. (Key Words: vividness effects,
modality, availablility-valence,multimedia, online shopping)
Rich media refers to visual effects that contain com- necessity of using rich-media on Web sites. Some crit-
plex animations or instantly playing audio and video ics argue that web users are not ready for rich media
that exist on a Web page (Elkin 2002~).The use of rich because many users depend on dial-up modems with
media, particularly rich media testimonial ads, may slow connection speeds and lack patience for timely
enhance the customer experience and lead to satisfied downloads of ads that incorporate both audio and
customers who have more favorable attitudes toward video (Bannan 2003; see Zeff and Aronson 1999 for a
the product and the site. Despite the increasing ability review). Moreover, there is some concern that the cost
of the Internet to include a variety of multimedia fea- of serving and creating rich media is higher than the
tures on Web sites, most marketers and large compa- cost of serving ad campaigns using standard formats
nies have been slow to adopt the use of multimedia (Harwood 2004). These critics are reluctant to believe
features such as animation, video and audio (Bannan that brand advertisingis hindered by not using audio/
2003; Cho and Leckenby 1997). video, and they claim consumers may be just as effec-
Many companies have been reluctant to use multi- tively persuaded by the use of simple text graphics as
media features on their sites because high-speed broad- they can by rich media (Zeff and Aronson 1999).
band technology is required to best view the rich-media On the other hand, proponents maintain that rich
effects (Elkin 2002b). This rich-media viewing limita- media creative costs are declining (Harwood 2004)
tion is particularly troubling to companies doing con- and connectionspeed is no longer an issue for Internet
sumer business online because nearly half of Internet users since broadband users outnumber dial-up users
browsers use slow-speed dial-up modems (Elkin2002a), and comprise a growing proportion of the overall
which make downloading audio and video features online population (Elkin 2002a; Vauhini 2004). Addi-
from a site very slow and nearly impossible. tionally, according to the Online Publishers Associa-
This has led to some debate among proponents and tion, broadband users vis-h-vis dial-up users are not
opponents of rich-media about the practicality and only online in greater numbers but are more likely to
~ ~~ ~~
be affluent, and spend more time researching and
Osei Appiah (Ph.D., StanfordUniversity)is anassistant professor at
the School of Communication at the Ohio State University. I would ~ ~

like to thank Lindsay Hoffman, Misty Alli, and Jame Mullins for lournal of Current Issues and Research in Advertising,
their help in collecting data for this study. Volume 28, Number 1 (Spring 2006).
 74
purchasing goods and services online (Elkin 2002b;
Elkin 2003).
This study attempts to test whether browsers’ re-
sponses to multimedia like audio /video testimonial
ads on a commercial Web site would significantly
differ from their responses to either a commercial Web
site with text / picture testimonials or a commercial
web site with no testimonials.
Typica1- User Testimonia1 Ads
Although there is some work on the effectiveness of
”typical user’’ testimonial ads in traditional media
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(e.g., Atkin and Block 1983; Freiden 1984; Kamins 1989),
there is little if any empirical data on the effectivenessof
audio/video testimonial ads on commercial Web sites.
A typical user testimonial generally has a satisfied
ordinary customer discuss his/her own experiences
with the brand and the benefits of using it (Belch and
Belch 1998). This person is neither a celebrity nor an
expert but rather an average user speaking for the
brand (O’Guinn, Allen, and Semenik 2000). Accord-
ing to Belch and Belch (1998))many businesses prefer
to have their messages delivered by way of testimoni-
als where consumers praise the product or service
based on their personal experience with it.
Recent surveys demonstrate that because consum-
ers are likely to trust, believe, and have confidence in
the words of a satisfied customer, typical-user testi-
monial ads given by satisfied customers are extremely
effective (Raphell997).However, little is known about
the effectiveness of multimedia testimonial ads on
retail Web sites.
Vividness Eflects and Modality
Advertising strategies used to influence consum-
ers’ attitudes towards brands and products have fre-
quently involved the use of vivid information such as
television and other pictorial media (Kisielisu and
Sternthall984). This is based on the general assump-
tion among many advertising scholars and marketing
professionals that increasing the vividness of a mes-
sage enhances its persuasiveness. According to Nisbett
and Ross (1980), %formation may be described as
vivid, that is, as likely to attract and hold our atten-
tion and to excite the imagination, to the extent that it
is: (a) emotionally interesting, (b) concrete and imag-
ery-provoking, and (c) proximate in a sensory, tem-
poral or spatial way” (p. 45). However, research on
the effects of vividly presented information has not
provided definitive conclusions. This study tries to
determine if using advertising strategies on the Web
Journal of Current Issues and Research in Advertising
that rely on the potential power of vividly presented
messages via audio-video testimonial ads would truly
be stronger than non-vividly presented pallid infor-
mation such as text-based ads.
Although the popular press and industry research
seem to suggest that vividness has a positive effect on
consumers, the empirical academic literature does not
provide consistent support for the greater persuasive
power of vividly presented information compared to
more pallid and dull information (Collins, Taylor,
Wood, and Thompson 1988). Past studies on vivid-
ness effects seem to show mixed results. That is, viv-
idly presented information sometimes enhances
persuasion (e.g., Reyes, Thompson, and Bower 1980;
Shedler and Manis 1986), sometimes vividness un-
dermines persuasion (Frey and Eagly 1993)while other
findings seem to demonstrate that vividly presented
information has no effect on attitudes (Borgida 1979;
Edell and Staelin 1983; Wright and Rip 1980).
Perhaps these mixed results suggest that positive
effects of vividly presented information may occur
but only under certain conditions. In fact, the lack of
effects from some empirical studies using vividly pre-
sented material may rest with how ”vividness” has
been operationalized. This notion is supported by
Kisielius and Sternthal(1986),who state that ”in many
cases the observation of a null effect was probably
attributable to inadequate operationalization rather
than to the nonexistence of a vividness effect” (p. 420).
Vividness effects research has often involved the use
of colorful, concrete language to manipulate the viv-
idness of information (e.g., Borgida 1979; Gottlieb,
Taylor, and Ruderman 1977; Sheldler and Mannis
1986) rather than manipulating vividness using pre-
sentation format such as a picture condition vs. a text-
only condition. In fact, the most commonly employed
vividness manipulation in advertising and social psy-
chological investigations-concrete versus abstract
presented information-has rarely produced vivid-
ness effects (see Taylor and Thompson 1982; Collins
et al. 1988). Presentation format of the stimulus may
be a key in inducing vividness effects that have been
absent in other studies.
Much of the research on vividly presented informa-
tion has been conducted outside an advertising con-
text, examining respondents’ judgments on juvenile
crime (Collins, et al. 1988) defendants charged with
drunk driving (Reyes, Thompson, and Bower 1980),a
woman’s fitness as a mother (Shedler and Mannis
1986) legalization of alcohol (Andreoli and Worchel
1978),news stories (Frey and Eagly 1993;Sundar 2000),
and skin cancer and smoking (Keller and Block 1997;
Block and Keller 1997). None of these studies used
 Spring 2006
audiovisual presentation formats that feature testi-
monial advertisements with moving images and back-
ground sound that resemble television commercials.
Audiovisual stimuli that resemble television commer-
cials may more closely represent the true spirit and
nature of what is meant by vivid communication.
Information presented in a multi-modal format like
commercials enables advertisers to capture and ben-
efit from the multi-sensory interaction of sight, sound,
and motion. Unlike simple text-only or text-picture
appeals, commercials can be better used to ”convey a
mood or image for a brand as well as to develop
emotional or entertaining appeals that help make a
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dull product appear more interesting” (Belch and
Belch 2001, p. 354). The perceptually pleasing ability
of commercials may have led researchers to conclude
that vividly presented information is inherently inter-
esting, attention-getting, thought-provoking, image
producing, emotionally arousing and easy to elabo-
rate upon (Kim, Kardes, and Herr 1989;MacInnis and
Price 1987; McGill and Anand 1989; Nisbett and Ross
1980).Early work on the vividness effects of rich me-
dia demonstrate that the persuasiveness of informa-
tion decreases progressively with televised, oral, and
textual forms because the media become ”less r i c h
and transmit less information (Keating and Latane
1976)and is less involving (Anreoliand Worchell978).
Steur (1994) argues that vividness is based on its
sensory breadth (i.e., the number of senses engaged
by it) and maintains that text would be low in viv-
idness whereby audio and moving images like
video would be high in vividness. According to
Biocca (1997), the senses are channels to the mind,
and since multimedia features appeal to a variety
of senses, they should generate more immersion
with the content. One general premise behind viv-
idness ”lies in the assumption that messages ap-
pealing to multiple perceptual systems are better
perceived than those that call on single perceptual
systems” (Li, Daugherty, and Biocca 2002, p.45).
Each individual modality (e.g., text, picture, audio,
video) contains unique characteristics, and individu-
als generally encode this modality-specific content
when they process information (Unnava, Burnkrant,
and Erevelles 1994).According to Chaiken and Eagly
(1983), video and audio modalities enhance the sa-
lience of communicator-related information because
nonverbal communicator-related cues (e.g., physical
appearance, voice) that are absent in written commu-
nication are present in video and audio messages.
For example, they found that likable communica-
tors are more persuasive in audio and videotaped
modalities than they are in a text condition.
75
Availability-Valence
Kisielius and Sternthal (1984, 1986)have proposed
a theoretical framework-availability valence hypoth-
esis-that may also help to explain and predict the
process by which vividly presented information in-
fluences consumer attitudes. This framework is based
on the premise that the vividness of information pre-
sented in a message affects the extent to which people
will engage in cognitive elaboration (Kisielius and
Strernthal 1986). The availability of information can
be enhanced by stimulating cognitive elaboration of
message relevant information (Kisieliusand Sternthal
1984). In this study it is argued that audiovisual testi-
monial ads should stimulate such elaboration.
The reason messages containing vivid stimuli are
more persuasive is that they cause individuals to
cognitively elaborate on the message information
(Kelley 1989). Vivid stimuli are more available in
memory and have a greater influence on decisions
because they are attended to and encoded in greater
numbers than pallid stimuli (Nisbett and Ross 1980;
Taylor and Fiske 1978). There are a couple of factors
that are likely to stimulate cognitive elaboration when
individuals are exposed to vivid stimuli. According
to Kelly (1989), vivid stimuli contain two properties
that make them more persuasive: 1)attentional cues
(e.g., audio, pictures, motion) which direct the
processor’s attention; and 2) ”elaborative cues that
facilitate cognitive elaboration such that the vivid
stimuli are more available for making decisions” (p.
575). Kisielius and Sternthal(l986)maintain that these
factors foster the availability of a rich set of cues that
are relevant to a judgment being rendered concerning
a product. Moreover, they argue that these cues are
likely to be made more readily available by virtue of
the stimulus. Because of the greater richness in cues
in audio-visual messages than in messages from other
presentation formats, there should be greater cogni-
tive elaboration, resulting in more opinion change for
the individual processor (Kisieliusand Sternthall986).
The favorableness of the information received from
the stimulus determines the direction the individual’s
judgment is likely to be persuaded (Kelley 1989). If
vividly presented information stimulates the elabora-
tion of associations that are closely related to the fa-
vorable information presented in the message, the
vivid information is expected to enhance persuasion
(Kisielius and Sternthal 1986). For example, Kim,
Kardes, and Herr (1989) found that when a vividly
presented (face-to-face) testimonial message was fa-
vorable, more favorable brand attitudes were formed
than when the testimonial message was presented in
 76
a pallid (printed) manner. Moreover, they found when
the testimonial was unfavorable, less favorable brand
attitudes were formed when the testimonial was pre-
sented in a vivid as opposed to a pallid manner.
When a judgment is made, a substantial number of
routes in memory would be available by which mes-
sage-relevantinformation could be retrieved (Kisielius
and Sternthall986). By contrast, relatively few asso-
ciative pathways would be established in processing
pallid information; hence, there would be few routes
by which message-related information could be ac-
cessed (Kisielius and Sternthall986).
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Hypotheses
The overall expectation in this study is that increas-
ing the vividness of a business Web site by incorpo-
rating multimedia testimonial ads should make the
site more persuasive based in part of the modality
used (i.e., text, picture, audio-visual)and the enhanced
cognitive elaboration that is inherent in information
that is presented in a vivid rather than a pallid format.
This notion has been substantiated by Coyle and
Thorson (2001), who found that increases in the viv-
idness of a Web site-going from no multimedia to
audio to animation-is directly associated with more
positive attitudes toward the web site. They main-
tained that, ”within a company’s home page, rich
media tools such as video, audio, and animation may
be considered tools that increase vividness by enhanc-
ing the richness of the experience’’ (p. 68). Any in-
crease in the level of vividness in a Web site by
incorporatingaudio / video testimonial ads should also
increase the browsers’ sense of ”connection” with the
characters in the testimonials since vividness contrib-
utes to the amount of socially rich interpersonal inter-
action a medium can deliver (Lee2004; Short, Williams,
and Christie 1976; Steur 1992). Short, Williams, and
Christie (1976), for instance, maintained that the me-
dia vary in ”social richness,” which they define as the
salience of the other person (e.g., the communicator)
and the consequent salience of interpersonal relation-
ships. They argued that the social richness of inter-
personal interaction is greatest in face-to-face
communication, followed by videotaped, audiotaped,
and written forms of communication.
Multimedia testimonials should therefore enhance
the feeling of social ”richness” among browsers by
making them feel more connected to both the charac-
ters in the testimonial ads and the Web site, thus gen-
erating stronger beliefs of being the target audience of
a site with multimedia features and perceiving more
identification with characters on a site with multime-
Journal of Current Issues and Research in Advertising
dia testimonial ads compared to a site without multi-
media testimonial ads. This leads to the first set of
hypotheses:
H1: Browsers will identify more strongly
with charactersin audio/video testimo-
nial ads on a commercialWeb site than
they will with characters in text/pic-
ture testimonials on an equivalent site.
H2: Browsers will more likely believe they are
the target audience of a commercial Web
site with audio/video testimonials than
they will an equivalentsitewith eithertext/
picture testimonialsor no testimonials.
The previous discussion also leads to the expecta-
tion that more vivid audio/video testimonial ads on a
commercial Web site should result in increased favor-
able cognitive elaborationleading to positive attitudes
toward the site, the endorsers, and the product than
either a site with less vivid text/picture testimonial
ads or a site with no testimonial ads. More specifically
it is hypothesized that:
H3: Browserswill rate a commercialWeb site
that featuresaudio/video testimonialads
more favorablythan they will an equiva-
lent site that features either text/picture
testimonials or no testimonials.
H4 Browserswill rate a product on a commer-
cial Web site that featuresaudio/videotes-
timonialadsmore favorablythan a product
on a site that features either text/picture
testimonialsor no testimonials.
H5: Browsers will be more likely to pur-
chase a product from a commercialWeb
site that features audio/video testimo-
nial ads than they will from an equiva-
lent site that features either.text/picture
testimonials or no testimonials.
Recall and the Limited Capacity Model
In addition to their interest in browsers‘ attitudes
toward the product, businesses are also quite inter-
ested in potential customers’ ability to recall product
information. The scant research in this area offers no
definitive conclusions of the impact of multimedia on
audiences recall. Some scholars suggest that multi-
media tends to hinder memory for content (e.g.,
Sundar 2000), while others believe multimedia en-
hances comprehension of information (e.g., Smith
1991). Research specific to advertising and multime-
dia suggest that advertising presented in audio and
video modalities may heighten attention to commu-
nicator cues compared to text-based ads (Chaikenand
 Spring 2006
Eagly 1983). However, audiences’ focus on the com-
municator or endorser might occur at the expense of
their attention to product content (Chaiken and Eagly
1983), leading to more challenges in overall recall of
Web site or product information.
The recall process may also be explained by the
limited capacity model (see Lang 1995; Lang 2000).
This theoretical process implies that the availability
of resources for encoding, rehearsal, and memory stor-
age tasks is finite (Lang 1995; Sundar 2000). Media
messages delivered simultaneously in a number of
modalities are cognitively complex and can serve to
overload audiences’ processing system (Sundar 2000).
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Some studies comparing the delivery of information
through different modalities support the notion that
adding extra modalities to text can challenge audi-
ences‘ ability to remember content (e.g., DeFleur, Dav-
enport, Cronin, DeFleur 1992; Sundar 2000). The
addition of multimedia features incorporated in testi-
monial ads on a site may simply result in more infor-
mation to process thereby commanding more
cognitive resources for encoding, storage, and re-
trieval. In other words, adding multimedia testimoni-
als to a text-based site may require browsers’ to recall
even more information than they would in a text-
based condition. Although research shows that vivid
modalities increase the salience of information (Smith
1991), this benefit may be overstated given the need
for audiences to recall more information than they
would in less vivid modalities. This leads to the pro-
posed research question.
RQ1: Will browsers exposed to a commercial
Web site that features audio/video tes-
timonial ads show any difference in the
amount of product information recalled
compared to those exposed to an
equivalent commercial Web site that
features either text /picture testimoni-
als or no testimonials?
Method
Subjects and Design
Two hundred ninety-six undergraduate and gradu-
ate students (ages 18-40, median age 21) from a large,
public Midwestern university participated in the
study. Since college students represent the most ac-
tive group on the Internet and are the most likely group
to research and purchase products online (see Macias
2003), they are an ideal sample group for this study.
Sixty-four percent were female and thirty-six percent
were male. Subjects were recruited from courses in the
77
School of Communication and voluntarily participated
in the study for either extra course credit or to have
their name included in a drawing to win $250.
The experiment investigated the use of multimedia
testimonial ads featured on a commercial Web site
and their effect on browsers’ evaluations of a com-
mercial Web site and a laptop computer advertised
on the site. The independent variable was modality of
testimonial ads (i.e., audio /video, text/picture, no tes-
timonial ads / control condition) and the dependent
variables were: 1) identification with characters; 2)
belief Web site intended for me; 3) attitude towards
the Web site; 4) attitude towards the product; 5) pur-
chase likelihood; and 6) recall of product information.
Stimulus Materials
Past studies that have examined multimedia have
used advertising stimuli that focused primarily on
audio (e.g., Unnava, Burnkrant, and Erevelles 1994;
Unnava, Agarwal, and Haugtvedt 1996). This study
uses strong rich media advertisements such as au-
dio/video testimonial ads embedded in a Web site.
Moreover, unlike past studies that used inferior au-
dio and video quality (e.g., Sundar 2000), this study
used high fidelity CD quality audio and cable televi-
sion quality video. This is important given research
by Reeves and Nass (1996) that states audiences’ sen-
sory immersion with media begins with audio. Reeves
and Nass imply that substandard audio can serve to
break down audiences’ sensory immersion in a multi-
media Web site, which then can translate to negative
perceptions of the content.
A version of the Apple Computer Web page for the
Macintosh PowerBook G4 laptop computer was re-
created by a professional Web designer. The Web de-
signer created three versions of this Web page, each
with identical pictures showing the G4 laptop and
accompanying text describing features of the
Macintosh G4 laptop. However, the three versions dif-
fered in either the presence of testimonial ads or the
“richness” (i.e., audio/video vs. text /picture) of the tes-
timonial ads used on the site. These testimonials repre-
sent true accounts from real people that were obtained
from an unspecified page on the Apple Web site.
In the first condition (control/no testimonial ads),
two pictures of the PowerBook G4 are shown at the
top of the Web page; underneath the pictures are eight
short paragraphs detailing various features of the
laptop computer, which include its weight, dimen-
sions, costs, wireless networking capabilities, process-
ing speed, and graphics. In this control condition there
are no characters providing testimonials (see Figure 1).
Downloaded by [University of Sussex Library] at 00:30 28 November 2015
 Spring 2006
In the second condition, three pictures were added
to the right side of the site (see Figure 2). The first
picture shows Jentry Poss, and above the picture is
text that tells the browser to "Read this True Story.
Click to Read." The picture directly below Jentry Poss
shows Janie Porche, accompanied by the same text,
"Read this True Story. Click to Read." When brows-
ers click on either image they are immediately linked
to another page which provides a text version of a
testimonial for the product and brand.
The testimonial ads for both Jentry Poss and Janie
Porche detail how problems in their daily work and
home lives-many of these problems associated with
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using a PC computer-are seamlessly solved by us-
ing an Apple computer such as the Macintosh
PowerBook G4. For example, Jentry Poss states that
he initially bought two PCs because they were inex-
pensive. Soon after bringing them home the comput-
ers kept crashing and Jentry had problems with the
computer talking to the printer and logging on to the
Internet. As a result, he purchased a Macintosh laptop.
It has had no problems and is compatible with all the
gadgets he owns. He states that there is no easier or
more reliable computer in the world. In the testimo-
nial by lawyer Janie Porche, she points out that she
had only used PCs in law firms and found herself
experiencingseveral computer problems that required
an IT person to fix. After starting her own law firm
she felt it necessary to acquire computers that would
not require services of technical personnel. While on
an airplane she noticed a passenger with a PowerBook
G4 and eventually realized that this was the solution
to her problems. After purchasing the PowerBook she
discovered that she never experienced the consistent
computer crashes as she did with PCs and found the
Mac much easier to use.
The last picture on this Web page is of a young
woman wearing white earphones listening to music
on the new POD. Subjects could not click on this
image to retrieve a testimonial. The pictures and testi-
monials on the page were all taken from an unspeci-
fied page on the Apple Web site and represent true
accounts from real people.
The audio / video modality represented the third
condition. This condition featured the same char-
acters from the text/picture condition (see Figure
3). The first picture shows the same man used ear-
lier, Jentry Poss, and above the picture is text that
tells the browser to "Watch this True Story. Click
to Play." In this 30-second testimonial ad Jentry
Poss speaks the same information presented in the
text / picture condition. Pictured below Jentry Poss
is Janie Porche. When the browser clicks on this
79
image they are linked to Janie's 30-second spoken
testimonial ad. Due to the limitation of using only
commercials that were available from Apple, this
testimonial was slightly different than the one she
expressed in the text / picture condition. She em-
phasized the problems that her father had down-
loading pictures to his PC laptop. She mentions
that she simply connected a cord from his camera to
her PowerBook and was able to immediately down-
load pictures. The last picture on the audio/video
site was of the same young woman wearing white
earphones listening to music on the new iPOD.
Procedure
Respondents participated in a lab located in the
School of Communication. Each person was seated at
his / her own private cubicle with a personal desktop
computer. On occasion two subjectsbut no more than
three were run in the same lab; however, each partici-
pant was seated in a private cubicle separated from
other participants' cubiclesby large wall dividers. Each
participant was randomly assigned to browse through
one of the three experimental conditions.
Prior to navigating on the Web page, participants
were told that the purpose of the Internet study
was to learn more about the types of Web sites
they like best, which would enable researchers to
improve the look, style, and content of Web sites.
They where told that the Web page was a proto-
type that may soon appear on the World Wide Web
and were asked to spend as much time as they
needed to examine the page. Participants who were
assigned to browse the sites with testimonial ads
were asked to click on the testimonial ads. Subjects
were told that they would complete a question-
naire pertaining to the Web page once they fin-
ished browsing, and they would be asked to provide
their honest evaluation of the site when complet-
ing the questionnaire. During the debriefing, par-
ticipants were told once again that this was a study
about the types of Web sites they liked best and
their responses could help researchers improve the
look and style of the Web site. Each participant
was told after the study to not reveal any informa-
tion related to the study or the site with anyone
because it could jeopardize the integrity of the
study. It should be noted that on the questionnaire
participants were asked about the purpose of the
study. Only 2.5% of the participants mentioned
anything related to the study's purpose-advertis-
ing modality or media richness. These respondents
were not included in the study's results.
 80 Journal of Current Issues and Research in Advertising

Figure 2
Apple Macintosh PowerBook G4 Web Page with Text/Picture Testimonial Ads
Downloaded by [University of Sussex Library] at 00:30 28 November 2015
 Stwing:2006 81

Figure 3
Apple Macintosh PowerBook G4 Web Page with AudiolVideo Testimonial Ads

The smallest,
most affordable
PowerBook G4 ever.
P-' .--' J
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f
 82
Measurement Instrument
The measurement instrument collected information
for the six dependent variables: 1)identification with
characters; 2) belief Web site is intended for me; 3)
attitude towards the Web site; 4) attitude towards the
product; 5) purchase likelihood; and 6 ) recall of prod-
uct information.
Attitude Towards the Product. Subjects were asked to
provide their attitude towards the PowerBook G4. An
index was created by averaging the mean scores of
eleven, 7-point semantic differential scales: boring/
interesting, bad / good, negative/positive, useless /
Downloaded by [University of Sussex Library] at 00:30 28 November 2015
useful, worthless/valuable, poor /outstanding, not for
me/for me, weak/strong, not appealing/appealing,not
attractive/attractive, and not likable /likable. These
scales have been used successfully in other studies and
have shown strong evidence of reliability (e.g., Appiah
2001). The coefficient alpha for this index was .95.
Attitude Towards the Web Page. Subjects were asked
to provide their attitude towards the Web page using
the same eleven, 7-point semantic differential scales
from the attitude towards the product index: boring/
interesting, bad /good, negative /positive, useless/
useful, worthless/valuable, poor /outstanding, not for
me/for me, weak/strong, not appealing/appealing,
not attractive/attractive, not likable/likable. The co-
efficient alpha for this index was .94.
Recall of Product Information. The questionnaire as-
sessed aided recall of specific product information
from the Web page. Aided or cued recall is a com-
monly used technique in media research (e.g., Beattie
and Mitchell 1985; Gunter, Furnham, and Frost 1994)
and is mentioned as an effective way to measure at-
tention and comprehension of specific media (Beattie
and Mitchell 1985).The recall procedure used in this
study was modeled after that used by Gunter and
colleagues (1994)and Appiah (2002).Participants were
asked eight questions concerning the product, which
included the price, weight, width, thinness, screen
size, and type of wireless capabilitiesof the PowerBook
G4. For example, “How much does the PowerBook
G4 weigh?” and “What is the starting price of the
PowerBook G4?”
Other Measures. Subjects where asked to indicate
how strongly they identified with the characters in
the testimonial ads (Aaker, Brumbaugh, Grier 2000)
on a seven-point Likert scale ranging from not at all
(one) to very strongly (seven). Since there were no
testimonial ads in the control condition, this question
was not asked for participants who were randomly
assigned to browse the control condition. The last
dependent measure asked subjectsto indicate whether
Journal of Current Issues and Research in Advertising
they thought the site was intended for people like
them (Aaker et. al. 2000) on a seven-point Likert scale
ranging from disagree completely (one) to agree com-
pletely (seven).
Results
The results of the experiment are presented and dis-
cussed according to the hypotheses presented earlier.
In order to test the hypotheses a series of analyses of
variance were used to test whether the audio/video
testimonial condition would sigruficantly differ from
the text/picture testimonialcondition and the no testimo-
nial condition in its ability to influencebrowsed attitudes
toward the site and the product. The same analyses were
conducted for all six dependentvariables.
IdentFcation with Characters in Testimonials. It was
hypothesized that browsers would identify more
strongly with characters in audio / video testimonial
ads on the Apple Web site than they would with char-
acters in text/picture testimonial ads on the same site.
The results demonstrated that browsers identify sig-
nificantly (F (1,211)=4.09, pc.05) more strongly with
characters in audio/video testimonial ads (M=3.74,
-
SD=1.83)than they do with characters in text/picture
testimonial ads (M=3.25, ==1.72). Hypothesis one
was supported (see Table 1).
Belief Site Targeting Me. It was hypothesized that
browsers would more likely believe they are being tar-
geted when the site featured audio/video testimonials
compared to a site with either text/picture testimonials
or no testimonials. The results indicated a significant
difference based on modality @ (2, 292)=6.28, p<.OOl).
Follow-up analyses using one-way analysis of variance
demonstrated browsers were more likely to believe they
were being targeted when the site featured audio/video
testimonials (M=3.87, ==1.85) than they were when
the site featured eithertext/picture testimonials(M=3.28,
-
SD=1.74, p<.Ol) or no testimonials (M=2.98, ==1.58,
p<.Ol). Hypothesis two was supported.
Attitude Towards the Web Site. It was expected that
browsers would rate the Apple Web site that featured
audio/ video testimonial ads more favorably than they
would the same site featuring either text/ picture tes-
timonials or no testimonials. The results indicated a
significant difference based on modality (E (2,
278)=6.79,p<.OOl).Follow-up analyses using one-way
analysis of variance demonstrated that browsers rated
the Apple site with audio/video testimonials more
favorably (M=4.59, ==1.31) than they did the Apple
site with either text/picture testimonials (M=4.19,
==1.13, p<.05) or no testimonials (M=3.93, ==1.19,
p<.05). Hypothesis three was supported.
 SDring:2006
Table 1
Means for Users' Attitudes Toward the Apple Computer Web Site, Characters,
and Product as a Function of the Multimedia Manipulation of the Site
Mulfimeda Condifionof TesfknomalAds
NO
Tesfimoniak
Identification with Characters* - 3.25b
Belief Web Site Targeting Me 2.9gb
Attitude Towards Web Site 3.93b
Attitude Towards Laptop 5.22b
Likelihood of Purchase 3.95
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Recall of Product Information 3.77
Note: Means with different superscripts differ from each other at p . 0 5 . N=296.
*There were no characters on the site without testimonial ads.
Attitude Towards a Laptop Computer. It was hy-
pothesized that browsers would rate the laptop
computer on a site that featured audio/video testi-
monial ads more favorably than they would a
laptop on a site that featured either text/picture
testimonials or no testimonials. The results indi-
cated a significant difference based on the site mo-
dality (F (2, 283)=4.33, p<.Ol). As expected,
browsers rated the laptop on the site that featured
audio / video testimonials more favorably (M=5.68,
-
SD=.99) than they did the same laptop on the site that
featured either text/picture testimonials (M=5.36,
-
SD=1.08, p<.05) or no testimonials (M=5.22,SD=1.19,
p<.05). Hypothesis four was supported.
Likelihood ofPurchase. It was expected that brows-
ers would be more likely to purchase a product
from a commercial Web site that featured audio/
video testimonial ads than they would from an
equivalent site that featured either text/picture tes-
timonials or no testimonials. Although the means
were in the predicted direction, no significant dif-
ferences were found based on the modality of the
site. Hypothesis five was not supported.
Recall of Product Information. The research ques-
tion asked whether browsers exposed to a com-
mercial Web site that features audio / video
testimonial ads would display any difference in
the amount of product information recalled com-
pared to those exposed to an equivalent commer-
cial Web site that features either text / picture
testimonials or no testimonials. The results showed
no difference in the amount of product informa-
tion users recalled based on whether the Web site
featured audio / video testimonials, text / picture
testimonials or no testimonials.
83
Text/pfure Audo/Wdeo
Tesf/moniak Tesf/honials
3.74"
3.28b 3.87"
4.1gb 4.59"
5.36b 5.6aa
4.23 4.48
3.07 3.76
Conclusion and Discussion
Many companies have been reluctant to use "rich
media" features (e.g., Barman 2003; Cho and Leckenby
1997) on their retail sites despite evidence that dem-
onstrates that browsers exposed to a multimedia Web
site express a greater likelihood of revisiting the site
compared to those browsers exposed to a text-only
version (Berry 1999).
This research represents one of the first studies to
examine multimedia testimonial advertisements on
commercial Web sites and their impact on browsers'
evaluations of and intentions to purchase an online
product. The results from this study suggest that com-
panies would benefit from incorporating multimedia
testimonial ads on their retail Web sites. The findings
demonstrate that browsers identified more strongly
with characters on a site featuring audio/video testi-
monials than they did with characters on a site featur-
ing text / picture testimonials.Browserswere also more
likely to believe a site was targeting them, rate the site
more favorably, and rate the product more favorably
when the site contained audio /video testimonials than
they were when the site contained either text /picture
testimonials or no testimonials. These findings are con-
sistent with previous studies which demonstrate that
audiencesrespond more favorably to vivid multimedia
communication than they do to less vivid communica-
tion (Chaikenand Eagly 1983; Coyle and Thorson 2001;
Li et al. 2002). Video and audio modalities seem to
enhance not only the salience of communicator-related
information (Chaiken and Eagly 1983) but also the so-
cial richness of the endorser (Williams and Christie1976),
leading audiences to develop more favorable attitudes
toward the characters, product, and site.
 84
These findings are important for businesses attempt-
ing to enhance the customer experience on their retail
Web sites. People are spending a great deal more time
shopping and browsing on the Internet than ever be-
fore. Online shopping and product information
searches are the fastest-growing use of the Internet
and an accepted way to purchase many kinds of prod-
ucts and services (Forsythe 2003). Given competition
among online business to attract, hold the attention,
and eventually sell products to customers, online busi-
ness are in dire need of designing more effectiveways
to increase customer satisfaction, loyalty, and repeat
visits. The success of multimedia features like audio/
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video testimonial ads may lead commercial online
businesses to incorporate audio / video product dem-
onstrations, 3D or virtual reality product experiences
on their sites (e.g., see Li, Daugherty, and Biocca 2002).
Rich media on commercial Web sites may eventually
give consumers the feeling of being in a retail store
without the inherent problems associated with off-
line shopping such as time demands and convenience.
Some businesses have been reluctant to use rich
media on their Web sites since they believe most us-
ers connected to the Internet using "slow-speed" dial-
up modems. Recent findings, however, reveal more
users now connect to the Web using "high-speed
broadband service (Elkin 2002a; Vauhini 2004). In a
situation where a browser might visit a retail site with
a lower speed connection, "there is technology avail-
able that will immediately assess the browsers band-
width, then deliver him/her content that best suits
his/her connectivity s p e e d (Bannan 2003, p. 14).
Moreover, businesses can minimize their risk among
browsers with low-speed connections by making rich
media clips available in low- and high-bandwidth
options, and in more than one streaming video for-
mat (e.g., Windows Media Player, Apple QuickTime,
Real Player). Given these options, any low-speed con-
nection related reservations among online businesses
concerning using multimedia on commercialWeb sites
should be removed.
Information from advertising is designed to be used
as inputs during the purchase process, and any delay
between the consumers' advertising exposure and
product purchase may increases the odds that a prod-
uct may not be remembered and thus considered dur-
ing the purchase decision (Costley and Brucks 1992).
As a result, businesses are particularly interested in
reaching potential consumers with ads at or near the
point of purchase. Online retailers, therefore, should
find rich media testimonial ads on a commercial Web
site even more attractive since consumers can make a
product purchase on the site within seconds of being
Journal of Current Issues and Research in Advertising
exposed to rich media testimonial ads. Another com-
pelling reason to incorporate rich media testimonials
on commercial Web sites is to extend an advertising
campaign by tying into television, print, and point-of-
purchase branding and sales activity.
Future research in this area should consider exam-
ining the impact that time on a commercial site, and
number of times playing and replaying rich media
testimonial ads might have on users' attitudes toward
the site and the product. It is likely that an online
shopper would make multiple visits to a site, and at
what point, if any, would the vividness effects of rich
media (or the potential charm of its novelty) wear
out? It could be argued that part of the appeal of rich
media rests with the charm of its novelty or infre-
quency on commercial Web sites. That is, since rich
media testimonial ads appear substantially less fre-
quently on commercial Web sites, browsers may, as a
result, perceive it unusual to see audiovisual testimo-
nial ads on a Web site. This may lead browsers to
exert more attention to and cognitive processing of
testimonial ads, and display more favorable evalua-
tions of these testimonials. However, there is some
question as to whether this sample of college students
would see rich media on a site as unusual or a nov-
elty. Given college students represent the most active
group on the Internet and are the most likely group to
research and purchase products online (seeMacias2003),
they may be accustomed to encountering rich media on
the Internet, particularly in other contexts such as online
games, animated banner and pop-up ads, and news
sites that frequently use audiovisual footage to accom-
pany news stones. Future research would benefit from
measuring respondents Internet usage and their level
of exposure to rich media to determine whether there
may be a novelty effect among those browsers who
may have lower levels of exposure to rich media.
Moreover, studies examining multimedia on Web
sites should consider testing potential differences in
consumer responses based on whether a browser con-
nects to the site with a slow-speed modem or a fast-
speed Ethernet connection. Multimedia download
time may be a significant contributing factor in brows-
ers' responses to a commercial Web site and the ad-
vertised product; and if so, how fast or slow must the
downloading of the multimedia features need to be
for rich media to have a positive impact on browsers?
Future studies should also consider different online
products that may vary in the amount of information
used or needed to describe them (e.g., high involve-
ment products like a computer or car vs. low involve-
ment products like toothpaste or toilet paper). When
shopping for a computer, Web site browsers may be
 Spring 2006
quite interested in the specific detail of the product
whether in text or spoken in a testimonial ad. The
careful evaluation process that accompanies such an
expensive purchase may be facilitated with the use of
testimonial ads. However, the potentially strong ef-
fect of testimonial ads may change when shown with
more emotionally-based products (e.g., jeans) or inex-
pensive, routinely purchased products (e.g., tooth-
paste or a candy bar). Therefore, it would be useful to
know whether a vivid multimedia testimonial ad
would have the same impact on consumers' attitudes
concerning inexpensive low involvement products as
they did for an expensive high involvement product
Downloaded by [University of Sussex Library] at 00:30 28 November 2015
like an Apple laptop computer.
People spend a great deal of time researching and
buying products on brand Web sites (Macias 2003). A
major goal of online businesses is to ensure consum-
ers enjoy their shopping and browsing experience. As
more people gain access to and browse on the Internet,
it becomes even more important to determine how
best to reach, satisfy, and persuade browsers visiting
commercial sites. It appears that the use of rich media
testimonial ads is one way businesses may not only
gain a competitive advantage but also better insure
that visitors to their site will have a favorable impres-
sion of their products and their site.
Limitations
In order to ensure that subjects would actually be
exposed to the vividness manipulation it was neces-
sary to instruct subjects to click on the testimonials. In
a "real-world setting whereby people are browsing a
site, it is possible that they would fail to click on a
testimonial ad. This study does not take into account
those real-world situations in which a user is on a site
with multimedia testimonials but fails to click on the
testimonials. Future research should consider includ-
ing an additional condition whereby multimedia tes-
timonials are on the site but browsers are not asked to
click on them in order to determine whether there are
differencesbased on those participants that were asked
to click on testimonials.
Also, this study did not take into consideration the
role that familiarity with the product and Internet
usage may play in mediating responses to rich media.
Future research should examine whether there are
differences in users' responses to vivid testimonial
ads on Web sites based on users' familiarity with the
product and their Internet usage patterns.
It should also be noted that the validity of an experi-
ment hinges on the successful manipulation of identical
testimonials presented in different media formats. Given
85
that the text/picture testimonial from Janie Porche was
differentthan her audio/ visual testimonial, there is some
question concerningwhether some of the observed dif-
ferences in the dependent measures resulted from dif-
ferences in the presentation format or differences in the
testimonials.Future research should ensure that identi-
cal wording is used for all testimonials.
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