The roles of parasocial relationships, value co-creation, host-read ads, and persuasion knowledge in podcast ad outcomes: An online experiment

Abstract

Experimental research on the role of parasocial relationships (PSR), value co-creation (VCC), Persuasion Knowledge (PK), and other variables relevant to explaining the associated phenomena surrounding podcast use and persuasion is at the nascent stage. An online experiment was conducted among a sample of college students (n = 207) at a major public university in the U.S. wherein participants listened to a 2-minute podcast segment dealing with personal improvement, along with a 30-second ad inserted in the middle of the clip for “Rooted Lifestyle Wear,” a fictional brand. The ad was either read by the same voice presenting the podcast clip (“host- read ad”) or a different voice (“non-host read ad”). A series of regression analyses were conducted. Results indicated PSR positively and dispositional PK negatively significantly predict InfoSeek; VCC and PSR positively significantly predict attitude toward the ad; VCC and PSR positively and significantly predict purchase intention while ad avoidance negatively significantly predicts PI; and VCC significantly positively predicts attitude toward the brand. Post-hoc conceptual model testing revealed PSR partially mediates the effect of VCC on all tested persuasion variables, with PSR successfully moderating the deleterious effects of conceptual persuasion knowledge. Taken together, the results both provide support for the notion of parasocial relationship with hosts as a driver of persuasion, along with a novel finding of value co-creation’s role in producing positive outcomes for brands seeking to persuade over podcasts.