Getting Something for Nothing

Abstract

An Internet banner that advertised a free sample generated higher click-through than a banner ad with information only. The ad attitude and site focus of experiential users were positively affected by the sample offer, but this incentive had a negative effect on goal-directed searchers, who appeared to regard the sample-offer banner as a distraction that interfered with search goals and reduced satisfaction experienced at the host site. Beliefs about bias in the site information were unaffected and goal-directed searchers expressed more favorable return visit intentions than experiential users. Further research is needed to clarify the effects of incentive-offer banners on experiential versus goal-directed users. In particular, the Interactive Advertising Model theorizing concerning goal-directed searchers should be examined more closely.