‘Hello,Mrs. Sarah Jones! We recommend this product!’Consumers' perceptions about personalized advertising: comparisons across advertisements delivered via three different types of media

As new technologies (e.g. online, mobile and interactive TV) develop worldwide, numerous types of personalized advertising, in which companies use an individual's name and/or other types of personal information, have become more popular in many countries. Using many types of information about specific individuals, personalized advertising is designed to convey a customized message at the right time to the right person using diverse media. However, despite its universally increased use, few academic studies have explored the effectiveness of personalized advertising and consumers' response to it. This exploratory study focused on consumers' perceptions of personalized advertising delivered online (e‐mail) and offline (letter and telephone call). The results show that consumers generally have negative perceptions of personalized advertising, regardless of how it is delivered, with the strongest negative reaction to telephone calls.