The Effectiveness of Personalised Advertising : An exploratory study on personalised advertising done on Facebook.

The Effectiveness of Personalised

Advertising

An exploratory study on personalised advertising done on Facebook.

DARNÉUS EKEROTH, JULIA

JONSON, AMANDA

School of Business, Society & Engineering Course: Master Thesis in Business Administration. Course code: FOA-403

15 cr

Supervisor: Konstantin Lampou Date: 02/06/2021

ABSTRACT

Level: Master Thesis in Business Administration, 15 cr

Institution: School of Business, Society and Engineering, Mälardalen University Authors: Amanda Jonson Julia Darnéus Ekeroth (88/12/03) (96/07/24)

Title: The Effectiveness of Personalised Advertising - An exploratory study on personalised advertising done on Facebook.

Tutor: Konstantin Lampou

Research Questions: How effective is personalised advertising on Facebook from a

consumer’s perspective?

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore the effectiveness of personalised advertisements. This thesis is focused on the social networking site of Facebook and takes the standpoint of a consumer perspective. To measure the effectiveness of advertising, the framework of Perceived Advertising Value and Attitude will be applied.

Method: For the thesis at hand, a qualitative approach was taken. To gather empirical data, nine semi-structured interviews were carried out through Zoom. The sample of informants chosen was Swedish informants, aged 21-45, with prior knowledge about Facebook and experience of personalised advertisements on that specific platform. Previous literature was derived from established databases such as ABI/Inform, Emerald Insights, Google Scholar, and ProQuest to form the theoretical framework of the present study.

Conclusion: Based on the empirical findings gathered, it is to be concluded that personalised advertisements done on Facebook are effective when constituting elements of informativeness, entertainment and credibility. Thus, these factors provide positive advertising value to the consumer, whilst elements of irritation lessened the perceived advertising value and consequently its effectiveness. Consumers identified usefulness in personalised advertisements where it was preferred to exposure of a randomly generated advertisement on Facebook. Keywords: Social Media, Facebook, Personalised Advertisement, Perceived Advertising Value and Attitude, Online Consumer Behaviour

TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 5 Problem Discussion 6 Research Question 7 Purpose 7 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 9 Online Behaviour 9 Social Media 9 Personalised Advertisements 10

Perceived Advertising Value and Attitude 11

Informativeness 12 Entertainment 13 Irritation 13 Credibility 14 Conceptual Framework 14 METHODOLOGY 17 Design of Study 17 Literature Collection 18

Empirical Data Collection 18

Questions Operationalisation 19 Interviews 20 Selection of Informants 21 Thematic Analysis 23 Quality Criteria 26 Trustworthiness 26 Credibility 26 Transferability 26 Dependability 27 Confirmability 27 Authenticity 28 Ethical Considerations 28 EMPIRICAL FINDINGS 30

Informativeness 31

Entertainment 33

Irritation 34

Credibility 36

ANALYSIS 39

Personalised Advertising on Facebook 39

Informativeness 40 Entertainment 42 Irritation 43 Credibility 44 CONCLUSION 46 MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONS 47 FUTURE RESEARCH 48 REFERENCES 49

Appendix A - Operationalisation of Interview Questions 58

Appendix B - Interview Details 60

INTRODUCTION

The Internet has evolved through time, making it pivotal to review its expansion and continuously acknowledge its evolvement (Chiu, 2017). In today’s world, there are over four billion Internet users globally (Statista, 2021a). Thereby, digital innovations have become part of individuals’ everyday life (Daroch et al., 2020). Consequently, the digital penetration of people’s social life and the business environment has created new behaviours among individuals (Hunjet et al., 2019). More specifically, in the digital environment, people have established a strong requirement for information searches, and a want to vocalise opinions and express their values.

Previous research by Sultan et al. (2019) explained how the offerings of e-marketing are not solely a channel for enhanced economic performance for companies. Still, they can also provide opportunities to enhance relations with the target audience. With the advancement of the Internet, social media (SM) has become increasingly used by marketers (Berthon et al., 2012). Research by Haida and Rahim (2015) showed how SM has provided new opportunities to exploit consumers to advertising. Whereby consumers have concluded a high appreciation towards the informative value of advertisement, while spamming and sole entertainment is a source of irritation.

Social media marketing (SMM) has provided new ways for companies to develop strategic approaches to target their consumers, where brands follow the consumers to be present on the same online platforms (Ashley & Tuten, 2015). According to Hutter et al. (2013), brands today use SM platforms to advertise their offerings and subsequently present a strong influence on consumers’ decision-making process. One of the most used platforms among companies today is Facebook (Shen & Bissell, 2013). Therefore, Facebook has been chosen as the platform of interest for the thesis at hand. With a revenue of over 86 billion USD in 2020 (Statista, 2021b),

and over 2,7 billion monthly users world-wide, Facebook is the largest social networking site in the world (Statista, 2021c). Consumers nowadays are overwhelmed with the amount of advertising messages presented online (Kwon et al., 2020). This has resulted in that the SM platforms entice marketers to use different strategies to attract attention and stand out from the thriving competition. One of these strategies is applying personalised advertisement, which uses customers’ personal data, such as a name, age, and purchase behaviour to identify a person’s characteristics online (Aguirre et al., 2015). Most of this information is gathered through automated electronic data collection programs (Kazienko & Adamski, 2007).

Problem Discussion

There are mixed perceptions among researchers regarding the effectiveness of personalised advertising on SM (Haida & Rahim, 2015). Advertising that lacks value tends to result in negative consumer responses, or in contrast, the advertisements are more likely to be effective when the perceived value is high (Ducoffe, 1995). Consumers have adapted new ways to gather information through the expansion of social networks (Hunjet et al., 2019). And advertising done on SM contributes new possibilities to advertise personalised, targeted information to a widely dispersed group at a low cost (Shafigullina & Palyakin, 2016).

By applying personalisation to advertising, the reactions can vary greatly, due to many fundamental factors such as context and the recipient (Van den Broeck et al., 2020). With a lack of understanding of the driving forces of personalisation, the factors of credibility, informativeness, entertainment and irritation become highly relevant to study to form the effectiveness of the advertisements (Gaber et al., 2019). It also requires that the personalisation components are clear to the recipient to not trigger avoidance towards the advertising presented (Boerman et al., 2017). There have been established downsides to this new way of marketing,

where it has been portrayed to inflict perceptions of being intrusive and coming off as un-informative and ineffective (Gaber et al., 2019; Shareef et al., 2019).

As the research on this topic is unfolding, the possibility to address the recipients with personalisation is consequently evolving and in need of continuous research (Dodoo & Wu, 2019; Sunikka & Bragge, 2012). Concerning this topic, further research is needed to expand the understanding and examine further expressed attitudes and values among consumers on social networks, using the framework of perceived advertising value (Gaber et al., 2019). In the present study, the established framework of perceived advertising value and attitudes by Ducoffe (1995) is used to explore the effectiveness of personalised advertising on Facebook. This will be done by looking into the factors of irritation, credibility, entertainment and informativeness that have been previously established to measure the effectiveness of personalised advertising (Gaber et al., 2019). The complexity of the topic requires further exploration (Boerman et al., 2017; Haida & Rahim, 2015), and the study at hand will contribute to this field of marketing research and provide expanded knowledge.

Research Question

The purpose of this study will be inquired into through the following research question:

- How effective is personalised advertising on Facebook from a consumers’ perspective?

Purpose

The focal point and purpose of the present study are to disclose additional insights and a more profound knowledge concerning the effectiveness that personalised advertisements generate on Facebook. This will be done by exploring consumers' perceived advertising value and attitudes by attending a consumer perspective. However, the knowledge provided in the study at hand will also be of great use for practitioners that desire to apply this marketing approach. To

explore this area of research, a qualitative methodological approach will be taken, and semi-structured interviews will be conducted.

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

Online Behaviour

Humanity is forever altered by the development of the Internet and has been, throughout history, influencing our physical, physiological, and social evolution (Miranda & Lima, 2011). The World-Wide Web has been growing continuously for a long time (Adamic & Huberman, 1999), and for society, the Internet is an escalating component (Miranda & Lima, 2011).

Nowadays, we are surrounded by digital evolution, and everything from how we socialise, connect with actors in a business environment, and shop can be done online (Daroch et al., 2020). With the growth of the Internet and its corresponding usage, companies are more willing to invest in their practices to gain the advantage of the digital communication tools directed towards consumers (Kireyev et al., 2015).

Social Media

Since the beginning of the 21st century, marketing practitioners have established new ways of reaching customers through the Internet and digital platforms (Winer, 2009). In turn, the pressure has increased for companies to invest in the expanding online marketing opportunities (Liang et al., 2011). As defined by Kaplan and Haenlein (2010), SM is a collective term for differentiated platforms and applications that distinguish themselves through specific characteristics and identify the following categories: “…collaborative projects, blogs, content communities, social networking sites, virtual game worlds, and virtual social worlds.” (p.59). As a medium of communication, SM has become a platform for storing data and providing information, consequently treating business practitioners and other users as equals (Peters et al., 2013). Further established, the complexity of being interactive, immediate, informative, and also particular sets apart SM from the traditional media approaches.

By assessing motivations and goals for using SM, companies can lead customers on the platforms (Li et al., 2021). SM also provides an interrelatedness between practitioners and consumers, making it possible to shift from encouraging consumption to instead encourage value creation (Berthon et al., 2012). The interference of the Internet and how it can be implemented to SMM provides advantages of delivering information effectively, to widely dispersed recipients, at a low cost (Kaplan & Haenlein, 2010; Papasolomou & Melanthiou, 2012; Shafigullina & Palyakin, 2016). Consequently, this makes SMM a solid tool to be implemented by brands that aim to increase awareness and consciousness among its consumers (Fu & Wu, 2010).

Partaking in a social network is part of the majority of individuals' everyday life (Shiau et al., 2018). And with the opportunity to use SMM on these platforms, it becomes vital that the marketing practices follow trends, interact with target groups, and cater to the word of mouth it can generate (Algharabat, 2017). Shen and Bissell (2013) found a positive relationship between consumer engagement and the control that companies have on Facebook due to them adapting marketing efforts.

Personalised Advertisements

According to López and Sullivan (1992), personalisation has been used as a marketing strategy for a long time and could be found already in the 1980s in marketing letters. The concept of personalisation was defined by Winter et al. (2021) as “incorporating recognisable aspects of a person in the content information” (p. 768). These aspects include personal information, such as name, age, gender or information retrieved from previous behaviour, preferences, purchase history (Pfiffelmann et al., 2020; Winter et al., 2021).

Even though personalisation is a rather old concept, it is closely connected with the rise of SM usage (Gregurec et al., 2011). Winter et al. (2021) stated that one way companies have found

to differentiate themselves from the competition is through personalisation. Additionally, personalisation allows companies to precisely identify the needs of the consumers and communicate the offers relatively cost-efficiently. At the same time, it can increase the perceived value of the advertisement for the consumer (Kumar & Reinartz, 2016).

According to Van den Broeck et al. (2020), Facebook is known for personalising advertisements for users world-wide. Shanahan et al. (2019) reported that consumers have shown a positive attitude towards social networks and especially how personalisation can offer better, and more unique solutions to increase customers’ satisfaction. Facebook has access to a significant amount of information about its users, and their advertising programs allow companies to join this information together with the web shops’ own internal information (Youn & Shin, 2020; Maslowska et al., 2016). Retargeting campaigns on SM platforms through previous purchases have also shown a great acceptance among consumers (Gregurec et al., 2011).

Perceived Advertising Value and Attitude

In order to evaluate the effectiveness of advertisement, Ducoffe (1995) introduced the framework of the perceived advertising value and attitude. The framework initially intended to evaluate traditional media, however, in 1996, Ducoffe tested his model to explore the World-Wide Web and confirmed that attitude toward Internet advertising is also dependent on advertising value (Ducoffe, 1996). Ducoffe (1995), defined perceived value as the overall assessment the consumer makes of a product. The perception is based on how consumers feel regarding the product, and the information given to obtain that specific product. Four factors were initially developed that contributed to understand consumers' perceived advertising value: content, informativeness, entertainment, and irritation. Brackett and Carr (2001) later validated Ducoffe's (1995) framework and extended the model to include credibility and demographics.

They further highlighted the importance of understanding that the perceived value and attitudes created by the advertisement are interrelated but compose different concepts.

According to Ducoffe (1995), advertising is two-way communication between the company and the consumer that experiences the message. Therefore, it is essential to understand its effectiveness on consumers. Attitudes toward advertising is a multidimensional construct that incorporates affective and cognitive dimensions of evaluation (Petty et al., 1997; Zhang et al., 2008; Zhang & Sun, 2009). The attitude is usually dependent on perceived value, and it is often used as a strong indicator of consumers’ behavioural intention (Zhang & Sun, 2009). According to Haghirian et al. (2005), by producing advertising value, consumers' attitudes are positively impacted. A considerable predictor of consumer attitude towards the advertisements is personalisation, which has been considered an important aspect of advertisements for determining consumers’ attitudes (Robins, 2003; Zhang & Mao, 2016; Zeng et al., 2009; Tsang et al., 2004). According to Gaber et al. (2019), it is important to understand the driving forces of personalised advertising using the factors of credibility, informativeness, entertainment, and irritation.

Informativeness

According to Haida and Rahim (2015), the fundamental value of advertising appears to come from informativeness, as it is mainly designed to provide relevant information about a product. In fact, this continues to be the primary purpose of advertising. Previous research in the field has shown that generally, consumers show positive reactions to the informational value of advertising (Gupta & Singh, 2020). Ducoffe (1995, 1996) observed a steady positive relationship between the overall perceived advertising value and to what extent the consumers feel the advertised message is informative. This concluded that the more informative a consumer perceives an advertisement to be, the greater the perceived advertising value will be

captured in that consumer’s mind, it will thereby be perceived to be more effective (Ducoffe & Curlo, 2000). According to Muntinga et al. (2011), searching for product information is one of the important reasons for the usage of SM. SM advertisements can therefore provide relevant product-related information and capture consumers' attention (Van-Tien Dao et al., 2014). The relevance of the SM advertisement perceived by a consumer will generate a positive value (Zeng et al., 2009).

Entertainment

Enjoyable advertisement is a great way to catch consumers' attention (Ducoffe, 1995; Haghirian et al., 2005; Liu et al., 2012; Shimp, 1981). In a digital world, advertising can satisfy consumers' hedonic needs by offering pleasant entertainment through advertisement (Edwards et al., 2002). In the digital world of SM, the entertainment value remains in the ability to fulfil audience needs for fun (Muntinga et al., 2011). This can be achieved by allowing the users to exchange information and experiences through connections on the SM platforms (Kim et al., 2011). Ducoffe (1996) found a positive response between perceived entertainment and advertising value. According to Tsang et al. (2004), entertainment has a positive connection to advertising value and may influence consumers’ overall attitudes towards advertising.

Irritation

The irritation variable is considered a negative indicator, and as a result, the effectiveness of advertisements declines with irritation (Aaker & Bruzzone, 1985; Ducoffe, 1996). Beuckels et al. (2017) stated that the advertisement cluster had shown irritation among consumers. SM is considered a strong and vital aspect of marketing practices. It is also a venue for consumers to get updated and where their data is gathered to generate tailored advertising (Ducoffe & Curlo, 2000). However, Liu et al. (2012) explain that consumers are less likely to be persuaded by this information if the advertisement is perceived as annoying, offensive, or manipulative. Previous

studies have also reported that irritation and intrusiveness have a negative effect on consumers' attitude towards personalised advertising (Okazaki, 2004; Rau et al., 2013; Tsang et al., 2004; Ducoffe & Curlo, 2000).

Credibility

According to MacKenzie and Lutz (1989), credibility in advertising is explained by the extent to which consumers perceive the claims regarding the product to be believable and truthful. Previous studies have shown that credibility has a positive impact on the attitude towards the advertising expressed by consumers (Jin & Villegas, 2007). When it comes to SM advertisements, Chu and Kim (2011) explained that the content in SM advertisements is often considered to be reliable and trustworthy due to the feedback available from the existing social connections. Consequently, SM advertisements are generally considered a credible source to gain knowledge of a product (Mangold & Faulds, 2009).

Conceptual Framework Personalised Advertisements on Facebook Perceived Advertising Value Informativeness Entertainment Irritation Credibility Attitudes Towards Personalised Advertisements Online Behaviour

Figure 1: Conceptual Model.

To further comprehend the effectiveness of personalised advertising on Facebook, the framework of perceived advertising value by Ducoffe (1995), later extended by Brackett and Carr (2001), is used to explore attitudes towards the advertisements. Considering the amount of advertising consumers are exposed to in today’s world (Haida & Rahim, 2015), it is important to understand how consumers feel about it. Figure 1 provides the visual representation of the relation between the exposure to personalised advertisement done on Facebook, and the four factors of perceived advertising value. Together they generate the attitudes towards personalised advertisement that will be explored in this present study to conclude their effectiveness. The four factors that facilitate the advertising value and generate attitudes towards the advertisement will be challenged by personalised advertising done on Facebook. The solid lines and arrows of the model show the main interrelatedness explored in the present study, and the dotted lines emphasise the continuous nature of these relations.

The chosen factors of perceived advertising value of interest for the present research are informativeness, entertainment, credibility, and irritation as established by Ducoffe (1995) and previously researched by Gaber et al. (2019) in relation to the personalised advertisement. The first three factors are positive predictors of advertising value and generate positive attitudes that influence the effectiveness of the advertisements, whilst the last factor of irritation serves as a negative indicator (Gupta & Singh, 2020). Therefore, for the thesis at hand, each of the factors will be explored correspondingly and as a result, look for independent and interdependent effects on the attitudes generated among the consumers towards the personalised advertisements. Advertising that lacks advertising value would result in negative consumer responses (Ducoffe, 1995). And on the contrary, advertising that is found to be high in value is likely positively perceived and thus more effective. As further shown in Figure 1, there is a circular effect visually represented by the dotted lines between each of the elements of the model. The outcome of the effectiveness and attitudes generated circles back to the consumers’

continuous exploration of the personalised advertising on Facebook and their general online behaviour.

METHODOLOGY

Design of Study

For the explorative thesis at hand, considerate reasoning took place to select a well suitable and justified methodological approach. The chosen research structure was designed based on a qualitative approach and applied semi-structured interviews, as this approach is helpful to provide great in-depth insights into a research field of interest (Bryman & Bell, 2019; Saunders et al., 2020). On closer deliberation, it was agreed upon by the authors of this thesis that semi-structured interviews were the most suitable tool to capture reasonings and in-depth knowledge of each informant of the present study. It was highly suitable for the present study to use a qualitative approach, and semi-structured interviews since interviews gave room for adaptability during the interview process (Saunders et al., 2020). Considering the current global pandemic of COVID-19, electronic interviews were held in real-time on the online platform Zoom.

The purpose of the present study is to explore the effectiveness of personalised advertising on Facebook from a consumer perspective, which considers their personal feelings and reflections. Thus a qualitative research approach was deemed suitable. According to Bryman and Bell (2019), qualitative research accommodates the tools to gain more profound knowledge about certain situations by reviewing interpretations and observations. Furthermore, the approach focuses mainly on details and words rather than quantities, which were of great importance for the scope of the present study. Since the thesis at hand explored values and attitudes, the authors of this study believed that through a qualitative approach, there was a greater possibility to capture direct reactions and give room for deeper elaborations. It was further concluded that the qualitative approach aided in fulfilling the research purpose. By allowing the informants to be

more descriptive when conducting the interviews, the authors of this thesis could capture a deeper understanding of the effectiveness of personalised advertisements on Facebook.

Literature Collection

To comply with the thesis work, it was highly relevant to review existing literature (Bryman & Bell, 2019). This was essential to enable previous knowledge in the chosen subject area. It helped form a vision for the desired research strategy, methodological approach, and the theoretical operationalisation used for the study at hand.

All previous literature was collected and reviewed using a selection of validated databases provided by Mälardalen University’s library. The utilised databases for the present work were: ABI/Inform, Emerald Insights, ProQuest, and Google Scholar. Through the aforementioned databases, the filter of peer-reviewed articles was constantly used to assure further validity of the references. Additionally, it was deemed necessary to ensure that the mass of articles referenced was from established journals to assure reliability. A selection of keywords in the searches were used, these being: perceived advertising value and attitude, online behaviour, personalised advertising, online marketing, social media, social media marketing, and Facebook advertising.

Some of the theories presented to form the theoretical framework of the present study were established over 20 years ago. The authors of this thesis were aware that its relevance could be questioned. However, as the theories have been applied and validated in newer research it provided the authors of this thesis confidence in their reliable applicability.

Empirical Data Collection

To carry out research that provides the opportunity to show genuine perspectives and perceptions of informants, a qualitative research approach of primary data collection was

deemed suitable (Bryman & Bell, 2019). To collect primary data and gain relevant knowledge regarding the research topic, a total of nine semi-structured interviews were conducted via the digital video communication tool Zoom. The semi-structured approach was deemed suitable for the present study since this methodological distinction is mainly used in explorative qualitative research and provides flexibility for the interviewer in the ongoing research process (Bryman & Bell, 2019).

Questions Operationalisation

To cover the scope of the present study an interview guide was established to direct the interviewees. For the questions to be easily understood, they were formulated by using simple language and terminology not to confuse the participants that do not have English as their mother tongue. All interview questions were designed with close consideration of the research question, purpose and relevant concepts for the present research. The framework consisted of ten open-ended questions, giving the interviewees’ room to freely express their opinions and elaborate on their given answers (Bryman & Bell, 2019). Since the study at hand applied open-ended questions to comply with the semi-structured approach described by Saunders et al. (2020), the questions were further divided into four different variables: credibility, irritation, informativeness and entertainment. This dispersion was decided upon by the authors of this thesis to comply with the scope of the research and incorporate the relevant theoretical connections previously established.

To deepen the discussions, a set of follow-up questions were created to deepen the understanding and give the informants room for further development during the interviews (Bryman & Bell, 2019; Saunders et al., 2020). These questions were asked to the informants when the interviewer desired further clarification on the answers given and to keep the discussion on the right path.

An initial interview guide was established and tested in a couple of interviews. Afterwards, the authors of this thesis discussed the questions and came to a mutual agreement that some of the items needed adjustments to minimise repetitiveness and cover the aim of the study entirely. Consequently, the interview guide was edited, and all the following interviews followed the new guidance provided in Appendix A.

Interviews

According to Saunders et al. (2020), “in an in-depth interview, the interviewee is given the opportunity to talk freely about the topic or event being explored or about their experiences, behaviours and beliefs…” (p.439). The conducted semi-structured interviews gave the possibility to address the previously decided upon key topics that covered the scope of the study. And consequently, this made it more possible to explore participant thoughts, feelings, and beliefs. Through personal interviews, the opportunity was provided to reflect on the topic of the study and gave the researchers a more controlled environment of who to gather data from.

After the informants had been confirmed for participation, they were contacted via email 24 hours prior to the interview. In the aforementioned email, the informants were sent a link for the Zoom meeting as well as the interview guide constructed by the authors of this thesis, excluding the follow-up questions prepared. This was done to allow the informants to familiarise themselves and address any concerns or clarifications that could have arisen prior to the interview taking place. To strive away from the interviewee bias where the interviewee’s perception of the interviewer can interfere (Saunders et al., 2020), the authors of this thesis applied a unique dynamic. The informants that were known to one of the authors were interviewed by the other author. Another form of bias that was carefully addressed was interviewer bias. This is explained by Saunders et al. (2020) as the interviewers’ verbal, as well as non-verbal, expressions that can influence how the interviewee’s answer to the questions

asked. This was considered highly important, and therefore a neutral expression of body language and words were actively used to not interfere with the interview process in this matter.

All the interviews lasted between 15-30 minutes and were recorded to not derive focus from the interviewer having to take notes during the process (Saunders et al., 2020). The accumulated recordings provided a foundation for the written transcriptions. After each completed interview, the transcripts were written within 10 hours. Since the present study aimed to explore the effectiveness and perception of a digital phenomenon outside of its digital environment and platform, careful considerations were taken during the interviews to eliminate this interfering with the process. Since perceptions are immediate responses and therefore can be differentiated when developed later in new settings (Argyriou & Melewar, 2011), however, there were no signs of disturbance in the process regarding this.

All interviews were conducted in English, which is neither the authors of this thesis nor the informants’ mother tongue, which could create a limitation. When communicating in a foreign language could have affected the informants’ way to express themselves, which was noticed a few times. It was acknowledged that some informants needed some extra time to find the “right” words in English. To address this potential issue, it was made sure that the informants had enough time to answer the questions and were not interrupted during the interview.

Selection of Informants

To gather informants for the present study, three criteria were chosen to single out a sample. These criteria were decided upon by the authors of this thesis to purposely sample with relevance for this study, which is important (Bryman & Bell, 2019). Firstly, all informants were Swedish citizens, which was chosen to create a geographical cluster of informants that could represent the sample in the present study. Secondly, they had to be active Facebook users. By being active Facebook users, it was ensured that the participants were familiar with the platform

chosen for the present study. Through familiarity and understanding of Facebook, the participants were assumed to provide fair and present-day insights and experiences. Furthermore, it was assured in the process of recruitment that all informants had used Facebook regularly recently. Lastly, age limitations were set to gather information from a determined age group. For the present study, the span decided upon was 21-45 years of age.

By using a purposeful gathering of participants to fit into the set sample criteria, the use of a non-probability design and a convenience technique was applied (Bryman & Bell, 2019). This approach generates an element that cannot confidently be representative for the whole population or generalised. However, with the qualitative method and exploratory nature of the present research, the objective was to gather perceptions and reactions. Thereby, this methodological approach was deemed suitable. When qualitative research is conducted, it is important to ensure the data reaches saturation (Saunders et al., 2020). The number of observations needed to reach saturation can vary greatly depending on what type of study is done (Saunders et al., 2018). However, for this study, an initial number of 10 interviews were decided to be carried out. Yet after nine interviews had been conducted, the empirical findings showed saturation through repetitiveness in the answers and reasoning provided by the informants and no more interviews were carried out. This number of interviews have previously shown to be enough to reach saturation in this field of research (Guest et al., 2006), and the findings were considered sufficient to enable the development of meaningful themes and useful interpretations.

Facebook was used to contact potential participants where the authors of this thesis made informative posts about the objectives of the present study. The feedback was not as extensive as anticipated and, therefore, several acquaintances were contacted through personal direct messages. In these messages, the potential informants were given a brief description of the study

and the importance of their participants to generate a positive reaction and create interest in the work at hand. This was done to ensure that the participants would be able to give informed consent to the part-taking (Saunders et al., 2020). Once the desired number of participants had been confirmed, they were further informed and given the opportunity to address a preferred time and date for the interview to take place. This was done to reach a mutual agreement for both parties (Saunders et al., 2020).

Thematic Analysis

Thematic analysis is one method widely used to analyse qualitative data (Saunders et al., 2020). Thematic analysis is an interpretive process whereby the researcher systematically searches through data to identify patterns, with the aim to describe the phenomenon of interest. By following Braun and Clarke’s (2006) established process and adapting a theoretical approach to thematic analysis, the researcher can ensure good use of interview data. For the thesis at hand, the thematic analysis of the data was inspired by a theoretical approach when deriving codes and themes. This thematic analysis provides a more detailed analysis of the theoretical framework previously decided upon, and when the data is coded, it is done tailored to the theoretical research scope (Braun & Clarke, 2006).

The first step involved becoming familiar with data through transcribing, repeatedly reading and creating an understanding of the contents (Braun & Clarke, 2006). All transcripts from the interviews were read and revised multiple times by both authors of this thesis to get familiar with the data. The transcripts encompassed all words, pauses and expressions from the interviewees, and were not done with the use of any specific tools.

Once the authors of this thesis felt well familiarised with the data, the second step was taken. This step required identifying codes (Braun & Clarke, 2006). A code is a basic segment of the raw data that enables categorising data with similar meanings (Saunders et al., 2020). Each

transcript was read top to bottom, and any intriguing details were then noted in the margin of the document. Each code identified a segment of data that was considered valuable for the research question to be answered. Thereby throughout the coding process, some key similarities and differences were established corresponding to the theoretical aspects investigated. All the different codes found were systematically marked in different colours. As a result of this process, an analytical sensibility was kept in mind to produce deeper insights into the meaning behind the information.

Data extract Code Theme

No, I think that pretty much all the ads you see on Facebook are poorly on the information side of what it actually is

that they are advertising.

Lack of informative substance of the products advertised.

Informativeness

I think I often trust them because I think it is a lot about the brand where they publish the ad because if I already

trust them then I will trust the ad.

Established knowledge increases credibility.

Credibility

Table 1: Data extract with code and theme applied.

Step three involved sorting the codes together into clusters to create meaningful themes. According to Braun and Clarke (2006), the themes capture the words that are the fundamental essence of the data in relation to the research question. Furthermore, the themes could be descriptive or abstract as long as they retained the aspects of what the informants shared about their reality and experience. The authors of this thesis discussed how the codes would be most suitably sorted into comprehensive themes. In the third step, the relevant codes were selected and sorted into relevant themes and assigned an identifying colour. For example, codes focusing on perceived informative value were put into the theme of informativeness and marked in the same colour as the respective codes were, to stand out in the transcripts and form a unity.

Once the themes had been arranged, step four was taken. This step involved refining the themes and confirming that they reflected the data set (Braun & Clarke, 2006). In step four, two levels must be considered. Firstly, the coded extracts must be reviewed for each theme and determine if a coherent pattern has been developed. Secondly, each theme is thoroughly identified to make sure it captures the essence of the data. Step four was done by searching and reviewing the themes in accordance with the theoretical framework previously established in the thesis. This part was inspired by Braun and Clarke's theoretical approach. To complete the first level, it was made sure that coherent themes were identified to reflect the theoretical framework. For the second-level analysis, the entire data set was read to ensure the themes suited the empirical data gathered. This provided the opportunity to ensure nothing important was left behind and that all nuances were acknowledged.

Step five involves identifying the essence of the themes to tell “the overall story the analysis tells, generating clear definition and names for each theme” (Braun & Clarke, 2006, p.87). In this step, it was decided to use the same titles for the themes as applied in the theoretical framework, to comply with the theoretical thematic analysis. The chosen themes were

personalised advertising on Facebook, informativeness, entertainment, irritation and credibility. This process provided the opportunity to address any additional data that needed to

be coded, but nothing was added.

When all previous steps had been completed, the last step was conducted. The sixth and final step involves the “write-up” (Braun & Clarke, 2006). This goes beyond the descriptions and arguments to also “provides a concise, coherent, logical, nonrepetitive and interesting account of the story the data tell-within and across themes” (p.93). All empirical data was then written out in text following the themes.

Quality Criteria

Trustworthiness

To ascertain trustworthiness in the work at hand, each step of the process has been explained in detail to show transparency. As stated by Bryman and Bell (2019), for qualitative research, there are four alternative criteria to validity and reliability to ensure quality and trustworthiness. These have been established by Lincoln and Guba (1985) as cited in Bryman and Bell (2019) and consist of credibility, transferability, dependability, confirmability and authenticity.

Credibility

The first criterion of credibility is to be considered to establish confidence that the results and information gathered are credible and believable (Lincoln & Guba, 1985; as cited in Bryman & Bell, 2019). To ensure further credibility in the empirical findings, the interview questions were thoroughly discussed and revised by the authors of this thesis and with help from trusted colleagues and acquaintances to make sure all questions were understandable and purposeful for the present study.

Transferability

According to Lincoln and Guba (1985), as cited in Bryman and Bell (2019), this specific criterion entails considering how qualitative research, the social world and its context has strong uniqueness. Thus, transferability shows to what degree the presented findings are possible to generalise or can be transferred to other contexts. To address this, the authors of this thesis have provided full transparency when sampling for the chosen informants for the present study, and provided details regarding criteria for each participant and the surrounding social world. Also, extensive documentation and details have been provided in appendices to ensure a great

possibility for future researchers to determine its transferability and process any information of the study.

Dependability

Regarding dependability, it fostered trustworthiness by ensuring that documentation of the entire research process was kept and audited (Lincoln & Guba, 1985; as cited in Bryman & Bell, 2019). To further establish dependability, justifications for any theoretical conclusion had to be made when analysing and judging the results found in the gathered empirical data. Furthermore, full transparency has been provided throughout the entire methodological chapter to ensure that all steps taken to collect and analyse the results throughout the process can be accounted for in detail. As the operationalisation of the present research took place, it was done with significant theoretical considerations and respect for the results found.

Confirmability

In qualitative research, this quality criteria handles the extent to which other researchers could confirm the results of the present study in future research (Lincoln & Guba, 1985; as cited in Bryman & Bell, 2019). However, complete objectivity might be hard to reach. Therefore it is highly important that the work has shown not to let personal interpretations or theoretical preference influence the findings of the research conducted. To ensure this, the authors of the thesis at hand have been meticulous with keeping any personal values from steering or influencing the processing of the empirical data. As an example, the findings provided quotations throughout to make sure that the responses are not affected by personal predispositions.

Authenticity

To add to the aforementioned quality criteria by Lincoln and Guba (1985) as cited in Bryman and Bell (2019), it is further suggested to evaluate the authenticity of the work at hand. The present study has taken the viewpoint of consumers and therefore represents that aspect and does not include other stakeholders such as practitioners. Furthermore, the research at hand provides insights that can benefit the societal preferences and actions and provide patterns and could have provided implications for future shifts in behaviours.

Ethical Considerations

Bryman and Bell (2019) and Saunders et al. (2020) stated that when collecting data in research there are multiple factors of ethical considerations to take into account such as invasion of privacy, lack of informed consent, harm to participants and deception. For the thesis at hand, all these issues were considered carefully throughout the entire process to ensure safety and minimise any ethical dilemmas that could have harmed the research.

Firstly, the issues of invasion of privacy and lack of informed consent, as described by Bryman and Bell (2019), were addressed. It was confidently ensured that each informant was knowledgeable about the interview process and data analysis and given the opportunity to provide informed consent. This was very important for the authors of this thesis so that all informants felt comfortable in their participation and were aware of the possibility to withdraw if desired at any time in the process. All of this was considered to align with the ethical principles to retain the safest and mutual environment throughout the research process (Saunders et al., 2020). All participants were asked the question of consent to use their first name in the analysis and discussion chapters of this present study. They were also eligible to avoid answering any questions that could jeopardise their privacy, as considered by Bryman and Bell (2019). All informants were also asked about their consent for being recorded when

each interview was conducted. As stated by Saunders et al. (2020), considering consent to record all interviews were done to retain the most insights from the interviewees and for further assessing the transcripts. It is beneficial for the research to have the possibility to double-check the answers as it can eliminate any misinterpretation.

When the ethical considerations were addressed, harm to participants it is of the highest importance to monitor anonymity and confidentiality of the data gathered if negotiated and desired by the research participants (Bryman & Bell, 2019). As previously established, none of the informants required complete anonymity, and therefore, it was decided in unison that all transcripts and portraying of information should be done on a first-name basis. When decided upon, providing a first name was deemed suitable to still advocate for certain anonymity for all participants. Furthermore, all recordings and transcripts were safely monitored by the authors of this thesis to minimise the risk of leaking any confidential information to unauthorised people.

EMPIRICAL FINDINGS

Personalised Advertising on Facebook

All informants established that they have used Facebook going back 5-14 years and the daily use varied greatly in terms of time spent on the platform (see Appendix C). The informants expressed awareness of personalised advertisements on their respective Facebook pages and the processes behind it, “they are based on what my actions on Internet” (Keng, personal communication, May 4, 2021). According to Madeleine, Johan, Linda, and Viktor personalised advertising on Facebook creates knowledge of products and services to consumers. Informant Madeleine pointed out reflections of external factors that have impacted her perception of advertising “they (marketers) are sort of taking advantage of the information they know about me, so I don't know if they are just trying to make a connection with me or to buy more things” (personal communication, April 20, 2021). Olivia said that the advertisements she is exposed to are controlled by marketers that think they know what she likes, which is a concern for her, “the marketing people behind it they really choose what we are supposed to see and sometimes it can be bad because it really influences on what we are seeing and not the whole picture about everything” (personal communication, April 19, 2021).

Atosa, Gino, and Linda stated that through personalised advertisements, an awareness for new products of interest is provided, which could have been overlooked otherwise. Informants Olivia and Gino expressed a preference for personalised advertising over general advertising. Gino stated that “it is good because there are things that I like, they make ads of things that fit me” (personal communication, April 19, 2021). Mikael and Viktor do not find personalised advertising to be a source of increased interest, but solely a way to mirror recent purchases. Viktor stated that he acknowledged a significant increase in personalised advertising, “I can

definitely notice that during the maybe past 2-3 years it's been more personalised” (personal communication, April 26, 2021).

Informativeness

Multiple informants expressed a high informative value in the personalised advertisements that they are exposed to on Facebook. This value stemmed from the familiarity of the brands or products advertised. Johan, Madeleine, and Viktor explained that they find the information in the advertisements more trustworthy when there is familiarity and basic knowledge about the brand or offering. And according to Gino, Madeleine and Atosa, personalised advertisements fulfil their general desire for information. For Viktor and Mikael, the personalised advertisements of well-known brands and products require less information, whereby Viktor explained that for more complex offerings and situations, there is an additional need for information.

I don't think they have to give away too much information because it's basically products that I've been seeing, it's quite simple and easy to understand products. But sure, if you want to get into more of a complicated business to business services and such I think you should definitely maybe try to use more video and more explanatory graphics and such. (Viktor, personal communication, April 26, 2021)

Keng and Olivia stated that the informative value comes from the reminder that the advertisements provide of where they first encountered the offerings. Madeleine and Keng shared the appreciation of the visual elements used in personalised advertising that strengthened the advertisements' informative value.

Olivia, Mikael, Linda, and Johan stated a lack of information about the specific attributes of the offerings in the personalised advertisements. Johan expressed that to him it is of great

importance that he understands what is being advertised to him for it to create awareness and informative relevance. Furthermore, Keng, Madeleine, and Mikael expressed limitations to the informative value of the personalised advertisement because of their conscious choice to not provide large amounts of personal information that could generate targeted advertisements on Facebook.

Keng pointed out that there are limitations in how much information there is room for in the advertisements. She stated, “I know that in that little square it's impossible to give me all information” (personal communication, May 4, 2021). Informants Linda and Atosa said that some advertisements use statements like “perfect for you” or “good for your skin”. Statements of this character need better justifications, “they can describe the product better and not just say this is perfect for you. They can say why” (Linda, personal communication, April 20, 2021). Johan expressed the importance of the advertisements to show the availability of the offerings where the advertisements trigger his interest but lack this information, “the only negative experience I potentially have with Facebook marketing is that they can market products that are already sold out or few rare sizes so in that sense more information would have been interesting” (personal communication, April 20, 2021).

Informants Olivia, Johan, Atosa, Madeleine and Viktor explained alternative ways to learn more about what is advertised. They explore options of clicking on the advertisements or visiting external websites where the offerings are presented. Consequently, they do not expect the informative value of the advertisements to fulfil their desire for detailed information but work more as an option.

They always have this little info that if you want to find out more you can click on it or click on a link. So, I think it is good if it's not too much info there as well otherwise I

would even read it since it would be just too much noise on my feed. (Madeleine, personal communication, April 20, 2021)

Linda, Madeleine, and Johan expressed that personalised advertisements on Facebook could improve the informative value by stating that they are based on previous online behaviours. This would also increase the general informativeness, “so maybe it would be nice for people to notice that it is for me and we are not creepy. We are trying to help you to buy something that you like. Maybe that type of information could be helpful” (Madeleine, personal communication, April 20, 2021).

Entertainment

The informants were neutral to the entertaining aspect of personalised advertising on Facebook. None of them pointed out a clear association between personalised advertisements and pure entertaining features and do not expect there to be a comedic value, “I don't analyse or feel like joy or happiness from using it but I don't get sad from it either, so I feel neutral to it” (Olivia, personal communication, April 19, 2021). Johan further expressed a state of neutrality to which he perceives that there is no apparent connection between entertainment and personalised advertisements.

I find it well fitted, I don't know if I would say it is enjoyable or anything like that. I guess I'm more neutral to the experience in that sense. I don't feel annoyed or angry at them and I don't feel good feelings. I'm more in the neutral spectrum. (Johan, personal communication, April 20, 2021)

The information provided in the advertisements creates an element of ease in the everyday life and the usefulness of the reminder is appreciated, “so, in a way, I really enjoy it because it gives me stress-free and time-saving for shopping trips” (Madeleine, personal communication, April

20, 2021). Gino and Linda expressed enjoyment in personalised advertisements that reflect their individual interests. As the personalised advertisements were tailored to their interests, it would catch their attention. Gino further explained that the attention towards the advertisements, in turn, works as a reminder of important events or happenings that he is interested in.

For Olivia, Johan, and Madeleine, the enjoyable and entertaining value lies in their preference of personalised advertising over random advertising. This preference is a strong indicator, “I would rather have ads on stuff that I like or stuff that I want to buy than having ads on something completely different” (Olivia, personal communication, April 19, 2021). Viktor however stated concern for how occasionally he is exposed to advertisements that are based on his previous searches but are not related to his interests. Which in turn takes away from the usually experienced entertainment, “in my experience with the personal ads is overall positive. But sure, sometimes it's, just as I said earlier, it's a bit amusing and you almost, can also get annoyed like why is this shown to me.” (personal communication, April 26, 2021).

For informant Mikael there is a desire for extensive improvement, “if they actually manage to figure out ads that have any relation to any interest that I had that would be in itself be a huge leap” (personal communication, April 19, 2021). He found no entertaining value in the personalised advertisements and would rather not be exposed to any type of advertisement on Facebook. He additionally explained that he had experienced a lack of tailoring to him in the personalised advertisements, which take away from other features on the platform that he greatly enjoyed, such as groups or forums.

Irritation

All participants pointed out a significant increase of personalised advertising done on Facebook. They stated that the increase of advertisements comes off as intrusive and irritating, “I think it

is a lot and I think all people want to have as less advertising as possible” (Olivia, personal communication, April 19, 2021).

There were mixed feelings among the informants towards the number of personalised advertisements and their impact on the general experience of Facebook. Madeleine and Johan expressed minimal feelings of irritation, “it doesn't disturb me right now if I don't want to see them, I just scroll by so it doesn't disturb my reading on Facebook at all” (Madeleine, personal communication, April 20, 2021). Yet, she explained that she finds them to be repetitive of products that have already been purchased. Viktor and Olivia pointed out particularly negative experiences when it comes to personalised advertisements about politics, “the only times really have been like political campaigns with parties coming away from the right-wing that I don't at all associated with” (Viktor, personal communication, April 26, 2021). Moreover, Johan explained that there are other characteristics in the advertisements that overcome the irritation aspect. That is the helpfulness he finds on the advertisements tailored to him, “I think especially on Facebook it’s managed pretty well to actually suit my interests” (personal communication, April 20, 2021).

Atosa explained that it could be overwhelming the amount of advertising sometimes, but at the same time, it can be enjoyable to look at clothes. Keng agreed with Atosa and Viktor, “it doesn't really bother me. Especially since you can always like shut them off and it's not too hard to get rid of them” (personal communication, May 4, 2021). Gino expressed positive associations with a large number of personalised advertisements, “when I search on the internet and I find things that I need and then it comes up on Facebook ads. Then the Facebook ads really help me in that kind of way. It has happened before” (personal communication, April 19, 2021).

Madeleine, Mikael, and Keng explained that they do not get an excessive number of personalised advertisements because of their lack of exposure on the platform. A reason for this

being, “I haven't noticed them so much lately maybe it's because I’m rarely on Facebook” (Keng, personal communication, May 4, 2021). Mikael stated that he does not feel overwhelmed by the personalised advertisements, but they create negative feelings.

It depends on how intrusive they are. But I would say that nine out of ten times I get annoyed and it tells me what not to buy. Because some might think that more intrusive ads and loud ads are a good idea. But that just puts me off. (Mikael, personal communication, April 19, 2021)

Linda, Viktor, and Madeleine explained that people in their close surroundings express feelings of irritation towards personalised advertising on Facebook. Viktor expressed a greater concern among people around him about being watched and monitored by their phone, which he disagrees with. Madeleine shared that some people have complaints about the amount but believe there is a reason for it.

They know that they have paid to get them into your feed and earlier maybe people didn't know that that was going on and they thought that someone posted or something. So, I think the rules on how you make advertisements have changed. So that has also changed the behaviour of people but yeah I would say that the amount has been increasing last year so it is not weird that people in my surroundings are complaining about it. (Madeleine, personal communication, April 20, 2021)

Credibility

Regarding the credibility of the personalised advertising on Facebook, it was strong among the interviewees. Commonly it reflected on the usefulness they find in the advertisements. A strong indicator among the informants when asked about credibility was the established familiarity of the products or brands that are advertised. This was something that the informants believed

highly influenced the credibility of the advertisements, “it is always from brands that I have visited before or maybe that I googled it or I’ve been in contact with the brand” (Madeleine, personal communication, April 20, 2021). Gino, Madeleine, Viktor, Olivia, Keng, and Johan stated that for them, the credibility stems from previous knowledge and relatedness of the brands and products that are visible in the advertising, “...but since it's brands that I already know I already trust them somehow because I do visit them and I do shop with them or interact with them so I think that makes them more trustworthy” (Johan, personal communication, April 20, 2021).

According to Mikael, he possessed hostile feelings towards personalised advertisements on Facebook. He pointed out that they did not suffice in targeting him personally, “and that's probably also why I get so poor results since I don't really provide anything to work on” (personal communication, April 19, 2021).

Linda expressed that she did not perceive personalised advertisements to be credible as she had issues of trust towards them. She explained that this originated from her previous experiences of purchasing from this type of advertising on Facebook, “it took a long time to get the delivery and it was expensive, more expensive than they said it would be” (personal communication, April 20, 2021). Atosa pointed out similar concerns, as she stated that there are too many “fake” advertisements circulating on Facebook. She explained that the credibility of the authentic advertisements gets shadowed by the ones that are fake or wrongfully tailored towards her.

Viktor, Madeleine, and Gino mentioned that Facebook is an excellent place for recommendations and tips, “we've got a lot of great tips on things that you might need” (Viktor, personal communication, April 26, 2021). While Linda explained that the recommendations she got on her Facebook did not correspond to her taste, “so I get loads of ads and

recommendations for other things on Facebook that are pretty much as far away from what I would be interested in as possible” (personal communication, April 20, 2021).

Keng stated that she found less credibility in the repetitiveness of personalised advertising. She explained that it is more credible if alternative products would have been advertised to her. Interviewees Olivia, Madeleine, and Johan expressed that personalised advertising provides information on new products. Further, Johan stated that the advertisements provide new insights into new offerings from familiar brands. Olivia added that this provides an inspirational aspect to the credibility of the advertising, “if I’m looking for dresses or something I often get those advertisements on dresses and if that is what I’m looking for it is useful for me because I get more options” (personal communication, April 19, 2021).

I would say that in that way I have discovered products that I didn't know existed without it or sales or opening stores like I mentioned before maybe if there is a store that I have looked for and I didn’t bother going back for it. Then I get the personalised ad when it's on sale or now we have a sale on this or that. (Johan, personal communication, April 20, 2021)

Linda expressed confusion towards the data gathering to form the personalised advertisements. She explained that the personalised advertising lacks a clear connection to her interests and created mistrust. She further stated that at times she feels forced to see them by the creators behind the advertising.

ANALYSIS

Personalised Advertising on Facebook

Shiau et al. (2018) highlighted that Facebook is part of people's daily life and according to Shen and Bisell (2013) has become a great platform for companies to market their offerings. The familiarity of Facebook and personalised advertising varies among the informants, yet all have an active experience on the platform. Some participants point out an increase of advertisements in their feed, where personalised advertising is preferred. Van den Broeck et al. (2020), illuminated that Facebook is a commonly used venue for personalised advertising. Thus, most participants have shared knowledge and understanding of the fundamental factors of data gathering to create personalised advertisements.

According to Berthon et al. (2012), the interrelatedness of SM platforms can generate a shift towards deeper value creation instead of solely increasing consumption. In general terms of advertising, informants Madeleine, Johan, Linda, and Viktor highlight the possibility for marketers to utilise personalised advertising to generate awareness of products and services among consumers. While Madeleine also points out that marketers can use personalised advertisements as leverage by encouraging consumption based on personal information and take advantage of their in-depth knowledge about their consumers. This can, in return, generate great effectiveness of the messages advertised. Additionally, Olivia expresses that the marketing practitioners are the ones that actively decide upon what to expose consumers with, which provides room to manipulate the content and limit the informative aspects of advertising practices.

Fu and Wu (2010) stressed how Social Media Marketing is considered highly informative as it provides the possibility to provide extensive information about products or brands to increase awareness. For some of the participants, the advertisements create awareness of new products

which risked being overlooked otherwise, while for other informants they are not considered to be a source of increased interest but solely mirror recent purchases and their previous online behaviour. However, when it comes to personalised advertising, Winter et al. (2021) and Pfiffelmann et al. (2020) justified that the messages communicated to the consumer are generated with the purpose to do just that, mirror previous interests and online behaviour.

Informativeness

Derived from the data gathered, the informative value of personalised advertisements on Facebook varies greatly among the informants of this study. Haida and Rahim (2015) stressed how the informative value creates the basis of the advertising value, thus without it the advertising value decreases. The informants express nuanced reasoning that undermines the informative value perceived of personalised advertising.

According to Gupta and Singh (2020), consumers expressed an effective use of the information provided in advertisements when it suffices their needs, which was confirmed by the informants in the present study. For some of the informants, the personalised advertisements fail to suffice their informational need, resulting in a decrease in the informative effectiveness of the advertisements. Atosa and Linda highlight a need for more personal clarifications within the advertisements when they are targeted personally. And Johan desires more information regarding availability. Yet for Keng and Madeleine, the informative value can be gained from the use of pictures and visual components to add value to the, at times, minimally written information provided.

Ducoffe (1995) illustrated the importance for the consumer to make a general assessment of the offering that is advertised and consequently assure the creation of perceived advertising value. This relationship is confirmed by the informants, who acknowledge that when the personalised advertisements generate enough information to assess the entirety of the offerings advertised,