Exposure and Consequences of Soft Advertising: Consumer Recognition and Insights into Advertising Strategies

Abstract

The research question of this paper explores the consequences of soft advertising as recognized by consumers through surveys and text analysis. This includes the limits of consumer tolerance towards soft advertising, as well as their attitudes towards the companies initiating soft advertising and the advertisers themselves. The paper mentions that while advertising agencies know that deploying soft advertising may infringe upon consumers' interests, resulting in negative feedback, the limits of consumer tolerance and their direct attitudes toward advertising companies and advertisers still need to be clarified. Therefore, the goal of this study is to fill this information gap to reduce marketing decision errors. The research design includes two research methods: surveys and text analysis. Surveys collect consumer opinions and attitudes, while text analysis delves deeper into text data, such as comments and feedback on social media. Combining these two methods allows a more comprehensive understanding of the relationship between soft advertising and consumers. Overall, the research findings emphasize the importance of soft advertising in consumer interaction and attitudes, particularly in the digital media environment. The study indicates that maintaining an appropriate balance in advertising and adopting innovative approaches is crucial for the advertising industry to avoid angering potential customers. This provides valuable guidance for advertising decision-makers to meet consumer expectations better and provide valuable advertising content.