Abstract
In the current digital landscape, digital consumers look for exciting and aesthetically attractive posts (Ray and Nayak, 2023) and aesthetic appeal of an advertisement can hide a company’s motive of inspiring the consumer to consume more by means of satisfying the viewer’s need for gratification (Dagalp and Sodergren, 2023). Generation Z as customers are extraordinarily different compared to other generations. Approximately 40% of the adult Gen Z population ranging from age 12 to 26 years old identify that social media influences their purchasing decisions (Francis & Hoefel, 2020). Gen Z prefers social media advertising over traditional advertising strategies but the advent of AI is something to better understand among this consumer cohort. This study explores the use of AI as a marketing tool and its disclosure as a means to better understand perceptions among Gen Z consumers of AI advertisements. Two Gen Z online focus groups (n= 20) were conducted, as well as an online survey (n=118). There were two ads that were shown and a series of 2 open ended and 1 likert question was asked regarding each photo. A heat map of results was also collected. The disclosure of which ad was developed by AI was delivered at the midpoint of the questionnaire and AI perceptions were discussed. Descriptive statistics and overall themes were discovered using NVivo 14 software to better understand Consumer Perceptions of AI-generated content, the impact of AI Disclosure; and AI Customization in Marketing among Gen Z consumers. Implications for academia/industry are explored.
Presenters
Lauren CopelandAssociate Professor, School of Fashion, Kent State University, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Artificial Intelligence, Marketing, Gen Z, Advertising
