Citation

Maslowska E, Putte BV, Smit EG. Cyberpsychol. Behav. Soc. Netw. 2011; 14(12): 765-770.

Affiliation

Amsterdam School of Communication Research, University of Amsterdam , Amsterdam, The Netherlands .

Copyright

(Copyright © 2011, Mary Ann Liebert Publishers)

DOI

10.1089/cyber.2011.0050

PMID

21790275

Abstract

Personalizing communication means creating persuasive messages that refer to aspects of a person's self. Although the use of personalization is increasing, research on its effectiveness is limited and the results are mixed. This study examined the persuasiveness of personalized e-mail newsletters in terms of increased attention, cognitive activity, evaluation, attitude, intention, and behavior by means of an experiment (n=109). Participants randomly received either a personalized or a generic newsletter advertising a sports center. Personalization triggered a more positive evaluation of the message; however, it did not influence the other effect variables. The effects were moderated by consumers' need for uniqueness, trust, and privacy concerns, suggesting that personalization is a good strategy to increase message evaluation only among individuals who have a high need for uniqueness.

Language: en