The Role of Advertising Disclosure and Persuasion Knowledge in Travel Influencer Videos on Instagram

The study investigates the role of advertising disclosure and persuasion knowledge in travel influencer videos on Instagram. In a 2 (ad disclosure: present vs. absent) x 2 (level of persuasion knowledge: high vs. low) between-subjects factorial experiment, the study explores the role of advertising disclosure on consumers’ awareness of persuasive intent, travel intent and sharing intent. In addition, the moderating role of persuasion knowledge about influencer marketing is investigated. The results indicate that the presence of advertising disclosure in the form of “#sponsored” is effective in informing consumers about the commercial nature of the video, without having a significant effect on behaviour. For marketers and influencers, the study is particularly important as it shows that advertising disclosure is a critical element in informing consumers about the sponsored partnership, without having a detrimental effect travel intent and sharing intent. .Whereas previous studies on advertising disclosure have primarily considered blog posts or images, this study focuses on travel videos on Instagram. As a contribution to literature, the Persuasion Knowledge Model is extended in the context of travel influencer videos on Instagram.