Validating Self-Reported Ad Recall as a Measure of Exposure to Digital Advertising: An Exploratory Analysis Using Ad Tracking Methodology

Many mass media campaigns aimed at changing young people’s health behavior air on digital platforms rather than on broadcast media (e.g., television), given the intended audience’s preference for web-based communication. While research suggests self-reported ad recall correlates with exposure to television advertising, it remains unclear whether self-report measures are correlated with exposure to digital advertising. This study examined the association between an objective measure of digital ad exposure and self-reported recall of digital ads from the truth® tobacco prevention campaign. Digital ad tracking methodology was employed to identify members of an online panel (ages 18−34) who had been exposed to ads during their regular web browsing. Demographics of exposed participants were used to develop a matched control group of non-exposed panel members. Members of the Exposed group (n = 458) and matched Control participants (n = 506) were surveyed on recall of truth ads, media use, and demographics. Results indicated that Exposed participants had significantly higher odds of reporting ad recall compared to Control participants. With each additional ad exposure, the odds of self-reporting higher frequency of ad exposure increased by 8% (OR = 1.08, 95% CI = 1.01−1.16). Findings suggest self-reported measures of ad recall are a valid measure of campaign exposure in a digital media environment.