9/16-Rich Media, Poor Media- Julia Duchossois

In Rich Media, Poor Media: The Impact ofAudio/Video vs. Text/Picture Testimonial Ads on Browsers’Evaluations of Commercial Web Sites and Online Product, Appiah argues that users think more highly of “rich media” sites that have audio or video testimonials rather than sites that do not have these features.

Appiah begins by defining rich media as sites that “contain complex animation or instantly play audio or video.” Appiah explains the vividness assumption, which says that increasing the vividness of a site in turn makes it more persuasive. To test whether users exposed to media with audio/video will show increased recall of the information on the site than those exposed to a parallel without audio/video, Appiah explains a study in which subjects browsed multiple conditions of a site and completed a questionnaire evaluating the site. The results of the study showed that there are significant differences in attitude and identification with sites that have audio/video testimonials, and suggest that companies could benefit from incorporating these types of media on their sites. Additionally retail businesses could enhance their advertising with audio/video testimonials.

I found the study very interesting and the results valid. In my own experiences, I do find myself leaning toward sites with interactive, visually aesthetic aspects. One thing about this paper that I particularly appreciated was that it had a thorough limitations section with clear ideas for future research.

One thought on “9/16-Rich Media, Poor Media- Julia Duchossois

  1. I agree that I find myself looking more and more for sites that I can interactive with, as I guess I do find them to be more credible than those that do not. I read a similar article that did a study just like this one. I find the concept of labelling it rich and poor media really interesting, and am not surprised that rich media is the more highly regarded than the poor. I also really liked that your article gave you suggestions on how to better integrate rich media into businesses and other fields. I think this is a really great strategy to help others enhance and improve their credibility and user experience.

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