The processing of native advertising compared to banner advertising: an eye-tracking experiment

This paper aims to better understand the effect of visual attention on the processing of banner and native advertisements on Facebook and consequently on brand recognition and brand attitude. Using an eye-tracking experiment (N = 90), we show that a native advertisement attracts more and longer visual attention (i.e., total fixation duration, fixation count, and average visit duration) compared to a banner advertisement. Moreover, we show that longer visual attention (i.e., total fixation duration and average visit duration) increases persuasion knowledge and the recognition of an advertisement, which in turn leads to better brand recognition. Second, we show that neither conceptual persuasion knowledge nor critical processing mediates the effect of visual attention on brand attitude.