Can I @handle it? The effects of sponsorship disclosure in TikTok influencer marketing videos with different product integration levels on adolescents’ persuasion knowledge and brand outcomes

Abstract

TikTok influencer videos are becoming increasingly popular for promotional purposes and are appealing to adolescents. Yet, the products' level of integration into the storyline of such videos influences their recognizability as advertisements, which is concerning as they expose adolescents to unhealthy social media food marketing, leading to unhealthy consumption. This study investigated whether a sponsorship disclosure in a TikTok influencer video with different levels of product-plot integration increases adolescents' persuasion knowledge and impacts their brand outcomes. This between-subjects 2 × 2 experiment included 245 Dutch adolescents with a mean age of 13.6 (SD = 1.42). Participants watched a TikTok video in which the brand Doritos was shown passively or integrated into the storyline, with or without a disclosure. The sponsorship disclosure significantly increased recognition of advertising (F(241) = 4.48, p = .035) and understanding of persuasive intent (F(241) = 13.28, p = <.001), regardless of product-plot integration level. Yet, brand attitude and product choice were not affected significantly by the disclosure. Overall, sponsorship disclosure in TikTok influencer videos helps create transparency and increase adolescents’ recognition and understanding of commercial and persuasive intent. This study is the first to investigate disclosures in the context of popular short-format social media videos.