Promotion on the Internet: The Impact on the Consumer and Its Effects – Selected Examples

Purpose: The cognitive purpose of this study is to identify consumers’ opinions about various types of advertising, with particular emphasis on its visual form, as well as to determine the specificity of advertising recipients’ reaction in selected areas of socio-economic activity. Research problem is to look for an answer to the question whether there are differences in the way advertising messages are received depending on the subject of advertising; if so, in what features are they noticeable? Such a formulation of the problem is related, among others, to the fact that in many aspects, marketing in Poland has already achieved a quality similar to that found in more developed markets but research on advertising is still insufficient. Design/methodology/approach: Critical analysis of literature, analysis of website content, a questionnaire allowing for a comparison of the advertising recipients’ reactions to selected verbal and visual messages using a selection of sample advertising messages on the Internet and analysis of the recipients’ opinions. Findings: Identification of differences and similarities in the advertising recipients’ reactions to controversial messages compared to awareness-raising promotion. Practical Implications: This study has implications for how managers could encourage citizens to accept a brand based on advertising. Furthermore, visual analysis and perception of content of advertisement is a new direction for interdisciplinary way of exploring the topic. The study's practical implications are connected with the possible application of the different forms of advertisement for succesful marketing communication. Originality/Value: To the best of the author’s knowledge, there is not enough research on controvercial forms of advertisement and presenting this as a dialog searching tool between the image or content of advertising and society, shaping attitudes to goods,services or experiences.