Presentation Attributes

Analysis of information content of a communications message is a methodology proposed by Resnik and Stern (1977) in studying the informativeness of an advertisement. Recent literature has adapted this methodology to Websites in various studies examining information content and the presence of design features. These include modified versions of the Resnik and Stern approach (Philport & Arbittier, 1997; Ghose & Dou), and categories of Website content with regard to technology features (Huizingh, 2000; Palmer & Griffith, 1998). In these relatively recent studies, more aspects of a communication's message have been examined through content analysis criteria. In addition to information content, format or presentation attributes that contribute to the delivery of entertaining appeals have also been analyzed.

Philport and Arbittier (1997) studied the content of more than 2,000 commercial communications messages across TV, magazines, newspapers, and the Internet, and found that the number of unique ads for each brand varies by category, and that leading brands command a larger share of each media type than smaller brands. They included such content cues as customer or celebrity endorsement, facts and details, product display, availability of a Web address (for print or TV ads), 1–800 telephone numbers, customer service, and parent company references. They also considered whether a message presents any sort of sales incentive such as mentioning of a sale price, coupons, or favorable lease terms, etc. While they extended their coverage of media to Internet banner advertising, they found no distinguishing characteristics in Web advertising, i.e., banner ads were not particularly different in any dimension. Their study suggests marketing researchers are paying attention to advertising on the Web, yet the impact of a message delivered through a banner is fairly limited. This observation further solidifies our approach of looking at an entire Website, rather than a small banner ad, in the study of feature use in hypermedia commercial messages. We treat the integral collection of hypermedia-based documents, related image files, and systems functions as a whole in examining its effectiveness in Web communications.

Nonetheless, variables used in banner ads, such as product demonstration or display, special effect techniques like fantasies and virtual reality, and the employment of humor, reflect an attempt to assess message appeal enhanced by entertaining features (Philport & Arbittier, 1997).

Ghose and Dou (1998) performed an analysis linking the number of content attributes with site quality measured by being listed in Lycos's top 5 percent Websites. They find that greater degrees of interactivity, defined by the total count of interactive functions considered in their paper, relate positively to Website appeal, and the "customer support" component is most predictive of being included in the Lycos's top five percent list. In their study, presentation attributes include entertainment features such as electronic post card, surfer postings, and online games, and customer support features such as customer comments and inquiries section, online problem diagnostics, keyword search, personal-choice helper, dealer locator, user groups/chat room, and interactive job placement. Such interactive functions do not directly introduce product features or quality, but assist information retrieval and ease of browsing. For example, a personal-choice helper at www.ford.com is able to suggest an automobile based on user input and calculate monthly payments or present a comparison between buy and lease options. Though the entertainment features were not the feature group most predictive of inclusion in the Lycos top five percent, the presence of each feature increases the likelihood of being included. They adopted an appeal measure based on expert evaluations.

In a study of 651 companies from Yahoo! and Dutch Yellow Pages, Huizingh (2000) considers entertainment one of the content features, along with information and transactions, and has included elements like pictures, jokes, cartoons, games, and video clips. He finds that entertainment features appear in about one-third of all sites. Based on feature counts, he finds that larger sites tend to contain more forms of entertainment features.

Website designers for apparent reasons have examined presentation features in great length. A first-time visitor judges a site by its look: eye-catching graphics and animation, along with navigation buttons and company logos (Grotta, 2000). Software packages intended to enhance Website appeal have been developed by many vendors, e.g., Adobe Photoshop®, Adobe LiveMotion®, CorelDraw Graphics Suite®, Macromedia Flash®, and Macromedia Fireworks® (Pike, 2000). Technologies like Flash® and LiveMotion® have been used by many Websites as entrance pages. In a study on the effects of interactivity and vividness on consumer attitude, Coyle and Thorson (2001) find that a more vivid Website is related to a more positive attitude toward the site, where audio and animation were adopted to operationalize the vividness construct.

Along with the information being communicated, the formats through which product information is presented is undeniably an important dimension marketers need to explore because formats also communicate much non-product information that can affect company image and visitor attitude toward products and the Website. Together with information content, presentation attributes are important ingredients that impact the effective delivery of a commercial message because of their ability to enhance the interface between information content and consumers. Two effects may be of particular interest to both researchers and practitioners, on the use of presentation techniques in a Website: the means of delivering product information in a form perceived entertaining may enhance the communication of information, and may also create an affective response in the viewer.

In the hypermedia environment, marketers can also take advantage of the opportunities of incorporating certain system design features that further enhance a visitor's experience while visiting a Website. The significance of such an experience has been demonstrated in several studies.

For example, alongside entertainment and information, Chen and Wells (1999) identify a factor "organization" that consists of adjectives describing various feelings — confusing, distracting, irritating, cumbersome, and messy. Eighmey (1997) finds, in addition to information, structure and design of a Website are important factors contributing to better perceptions by the visitor. The following are some recent studies examining the effects of system design feature in Internet marketing sites.

Relating to site features, Lohse and Spiller (1998) performed a study measuring 32 user interface features at 28 online retail stores against store traffic and sales. They conclude online store traffic and sales are influenced by customer interfaces. In particular, they found that an FAQ page, promotional activities, and better organization of the product menu have significant influences on traffic and sales. Their study is one of a few to examine the impact of individual content features on the overall effectiveness of an e-store implementation. Recognizing content as the most important element of a Website, Nielsen (1999) provides several design principles based on his experience as a leading user interface design consultant in the field, e.g., speed, quality of a search mechanism, and structure and navigation.

Huizingh (2000) considers both the complexity of the navigation structure and search function design features. He finds that more complex structures are found in larger Websites, which are also more likely to have a search mechanism.

Research addressing the impact of different digital retailing interfaces by Westland and Au (1999) represents yet another attempt to study system design attributes as factors influencing user behavior and potentially attitude. They find that virtual reality storefronts increase a consumer's time spent searching for products but do not significantly increase sales. Such findings necessitate further explorations of the field.

In the area of human-computer interaction, significant research has been done relating network quality of service with usability and user satisfaction. One such factor affecting quality of service is system speed, which is a result of access speeds, processing delays, queuing delays, and propagation delays. These were manipulated in various studies to serve as independent variables, according to Sears and Jacko (2000). Such studies are gradually migrating to the study of Websites. Nielsen (1997) argued, based on a combination of human factors and computer networking, "speed must be the overriding design criterion." He asserts that research has shown that users need a response time of less than one second, moving from one page to another, based on traditional human factors research.

In a study linking the use of interruption implemented via pop-up windows, Xia and Sudharshan (2000) manipulated the frequency of interruptions and found that interruptions had a negative impact on consumer-shopping experiences. Intrusive formats of advertising like interstitials are found to have "backlash risks" in this new medium (Jupiter Research, 1999).