Digital Advertising Theory

Shelly Rodgers is a Distinguished Curators' Professor and Maxine Wilson Gregory Endowed Chair at the University of Missouri, USA.Esther Thorson teaches at Colorado State University, USA. She is Emeritus from the University of Missouri, USA, and Michigan State University, USA.

"This volume takes on the challenging task of theorizing about rapidly changing technologies. It provides many a theoretical lens with which to view the evolving landscape of AI-powered digital advertising. By focusing on core concepts such as interactivity, immersion, and personalization, it helps us to think theoretically about current and future developments in creation, dissemination, reception, and persuasion of advertising appeals."S. Shyam Sundar, The Pennsylvania State University, USA"While many fundamentals of communication remain, the rapidly changing media context necessities constant reevaluation of applications. As now people live in media, Digital Advertising Theory (4th edition) is an essential update to spur our thinking about how advertising works in the digital ecosystem. This new edition continues the excellent work of the prior versions, bringing together academicians and practitioners to discuss important theoretical perspectives through which to see and applications of those ideas to advertising practice. It's a valuable resource for the classroom and the workplace."Eric Haley, University of Tennessee, USA"The radical transformation of the advertising industry requires fresh insights and new perspectives on how to reach audiences. Digital Advertising Theory provides actionable and integrated theories and practices to create engagement and impact in this new ecosystem. Marketers have much to gain by understanding the use of AI, augmented reality, trans-media branding, social media, search engine advertising and more by reading this influential book."Debbie MacInnis, University of Southern California, USA"Digital Advertising Theory, 4th Edition, explores how AI, augmented reality, and real-time analytics are redefining advertising’s core principles and practices. This thoroughly updated volume offers fresh perspectives into personalization, immersive technologies, and transmedia branding, while critically revisiting foundational theories in today’s dynamic digital environment. Offering research-driven insights and practical guidance, it equips scholars, students, and professionals to navigate the complexities of an interactive, data-driven advertising ecosystem."Hong Cheng, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, USA"Bringing together the classic pillars of advertising theory with timely developments such as artificial intelligence, augmented and extended reality, and real-time social media analytics, this book offers a comprehensive, rigorous, and theoretically rich reflection on advertising in the digital world. It compellingly demonstrates how theory provides the conceptual tools needed to explain, predict, and critically evaluate digital advertising’s evolving forms and effects. Readers will encounter a captivating dose of top-tier research spanning diverse topics, offering a stellar illustration of how advertising scholarship maps, explains, and deepens our understanding of digital communication effects. Highly recommended for both scholarly inquiry and professional practice."Jörg Matthes, University of Vienna, Austria

• Part I: Defining the System 1. Defining Digital Advertising in a Fragmented, Evolving Landscape 2. From Definition to System: Toward a Theory of Digital Advertising as Connection Part II: Message: Persuasion and Communication in a Connected System 3. Simulated Persuasion: Theoretical Directions for Virtual Influencers in Interactive Advertising 4. Digital Advertising Efficiency: Taking Stock and Looking Forward 5. Hybrid Pathways to Persuasion: Integrating Online and Offline Advertising and Consumer Behavior 6. Rethinking the Role of Reversal Theory in Digital Advertising Part III: Experience: Interactivity, Immersion, and Engagement 7. Theoretical Landscapes in Influencer Advertising: A Framework-Based Review and Future Directions 8. What's in a Name? Exploring Consumer Perceptions of Social Media Personalities: Influencers, Content Creators, and Celebrities 9. Digital Advertising Clutter in an Age of Mobile Media and Artificial Intelligence 10. Immersion in Games Exemplifies Why Digital Media Create Complex Responses to Ads 11. Advertising in Video Games: An Overview and Future Research Considerations 12. Using Digital Media to Improve Public Health Communication for Both Physical and Emotional Health Part IV: Data: Computational, AI, and Programmatic Systems 13. Past, Present, and Future of Computational Advertising and Research Directions 14. Personalization in the Age of Artificial Intelligence-Powered Digital Advertising 15. Defining Ads in Metaverse: Concept Explication of Augmented and Virtual Reality Advertising 16. The Advertising Experience and the Power of (Tele)Presence 17. Exploring the Roles and Impacts of Artificial Intelligence in Advertising Part V: Ethics and Responsibility in Digital Systems 18. Targeted Digital Advertising and Privacy 19. The Role of Culture in Electronic Word-of-Mouth Communication 20. Algorithmic Absorption: Affective Alignment and Perceived Intrusiveness in ELM Persuasion Routes on Social Media Part VI: The Evolution and Future of Digital Advertising 21. Social Media Advertising 22. International Digital Advertising: Lessons from Around the World