Influence of Consumers’ Temporary Affect on Ad Engagement: A Computational Research Approach

This study examined the influence of consumers' temporary affective states during ad exposure on their engagement with different types of ads that are categorized based on theoretically derived attention-grabbing characteristics. A computational research approach was used, cross-analyzing proxy measures of real-time affective fluctuation of viewers during the 2019 Super Bowl broadcast and their tweets regarding the ads aired during the Super Bowl. The results demonstrated significant impact of consumers' temporary affective states, induced by the performance of the team they cheer for, on their engagement with different types of ads, even when they were exposed to the same set of ads during commercial breaks. Specifically, consumers in the positive affective state showed greater tendency to be drawn to engage with high semantic-affinity ads than those in the negative affective state. Consumers in the negative affective state showed greater tendency to be drawn to engage with more positively valenced ads than those in the positive affective state. This study provides theoretical contributions regarding the role of consumers' affect in their engagement with ads and practical implications for ad targeting and ad placement strategies based on consumers' temporary affect.