Understanding the Influences of Consumers´ Mood States Induced by Web Page Content on Advertisement Effectiveness to Improve Internet Advertising Services

Customers´ mood states influence the advertisement effectiveness on traditional media. This research investigates the influences of customers´ mood states elicited by web page content on the effectiveness of web advertisements. We hypothesize that customers in induced-content-induced positive mood would have better recall and attitude, higher purchase intention, and more clicks on the online advertisement than those in negative mood. The moderating effects of advertisement types, product types, carefulness of reading ad, and product involvement are explored. A laboratory experiment and a follow-up investigation were conducted for testing the hypotheses. The results show that mood states elicited by web page content do affect the effectiveness of banner ads. The effects are also moderated by advertisement types, product types, involvement, and carefulness. Accordingly, guidelines for Internet advertising service providers and advertisers are provided.