Effects of Disclosure, Placement Type, and Ad–Context Congruence on Brand and Advertising Recognition: An Exploration of CARE Model Processing

Abstract Despite industry and academic attention to disclosures in sponsored content over recent years, questions remain concerning how consumers process message and context-related characteristics. Primarily building upon the covert advertising recognition and effects (CARE) model, this study investigated the effects of disclosures (present versus absent), brand placement type (text versus picture), and ad–context congruence (lower versus higher) on ad recognition provoked by top-down versus bottom-up processing styles. Through an online experiment, we found that (1) disclosure directly increased ad recognition in a top-down manner, (2) in-text brand mention indirectly increased ad recognition by facilitating brand recognition in a bottom-up style, and (3) lower ad–context congruence further moderated the mediation effect of brand recognition observed in the in-text brand mention condition. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.