Mia Hill Media

COMM 553: Marketing Theory and Application  – USC Master of Communication Management Capstone Course

Final Thesis Essay

By: Mia Hill

2020

It has become commonplace for advertising to appear on the internet since the first banner ad made its debut back in 1994 (Liu-Thompkins, 2019). In 2019, U.S. marketers spent a total of $123 billion on online advertising (Guttman, 2020). That is $52 billion more than what advertisers spent on television advertisements. Furthermore, digital video advertising makes up 17% of the online advertising market, generating a total of $21 billion in advertising spending in 2019 (Guttman, 2020). Advertisers spent a total of $1.8 billion in digital video advertising on the online streaming platform Hulu in 2019 alone (Guttman Gross, 2020). With 74% of American homes subscribing to at least one streaming service, it is understandable that advertisers would want to promote their products and services through these streaming service platforms (McCarthy, 2020). However, with so much of the advertising budget dedicated to streaming services, it is important to make sure that not only is the ad remembered, but more importantly, the brand as well.

Brands have difficulty advertising efficiently online for many reasons (Dix & Phau, 2010). Many advertisers on online streaming services are fighting for consumers’ attention (Dix & Phau, 2010). For brands to have a chance at making a profit from advertising on streaming services, the viewer must be willing to direct his or her attention to the advertisement (Poltrack, 1997; Hallward, 2000; Patchen & Harris- Kojetin, 2001). Perceived intrusiveness is defined as “the degree to which ads in a media vehicle interrupt the flow of an editorial unit” (Ha, 1996 p.77). Studies show that viewers become irritated by ads and tend to avoid ads they feel are intrusive and block them from achieving their goals (Cho & Cheon, 2004). 

Ad avoidance is a pattern that has trickled over from television viewership, as viewers for both television and online streaming videos avoid ads in similar ways. For instance, in an attempt to avoid the ad, viewers may mute the ad, leave the room, focus their attention on something else, and much more (Speck & Elliott, 1997). Because of this, advertisers cannot use views as a key performance indicator because they do not know if viewers have watched the ad. Therefore, advertisers may be paying for more views than they receive (Cronin, 1995). Because ad avoidance is prevalent amongst internet users, it is essential to grab viewers’ attention before they decide to avoid the ad (Cronin, 1995). Advertising researchers have many ways to gauge a viewer’s attention.

Since the 1950s, researchers have used brand recall to measure advertisements’ quality and see if it is in-fact attention-getting (Newstead & Romaniuk, 2010; Stewart et al., 1985). The concept behind brand recall is that consumers have the ability to recognize a brand through their memory (Bagozzi & Silk, 1983). Researchers have found that increased brand recall equates to increased product purchases (Huang & Sarigöllü, 2011). However, a considerable amount of brand recall research consists of television advertisement studies (Anderson & Bower, 1972; Pieters & Bijmolt, 1997; Newstead & Romaniuk, 2010; Furnham et al., 2002). Very few researchers have applied the concept to online streaming services (Li & Lo, 2015; Goodrich et al., 2015). There have been studies for the platform, YouTube, but none for subscription-based services, such as Hulu (Li & Lo, 2015; Goodrich et al., 2015).

Since there is a lack of research regarding online streaming services and brand recall, the literature review will encompass research concerning television and online streaming services. Furthermore, this paper will evaluate how HelloFresh can improve brand recall for its advertisements on the online streaming service, Hulu. This paper’s primary purpose is to offer new insights into consumers’ brand recall of advertisements on online streaming services. In conclusion, this paper will analyze how brands can increase brand recall in online streaming services. 

Literature Review

Brand Recall 

As previously discussed, when people perceive ads as intrusive, they may choose to avoid them by turning their attention to something else (Speck & Elliott, 1997). To understand this phenomena fully, it is essential to understand the difference between a person’s System 1 and 2 processing systems (Kahneman, 2011; Barden, 2013). Kahneman theorized that people’s brains process information through two separate systems (2011). System 1 is the side of a person’s brain that is second-nature and makes decisions naturally, intuitively, and efficiently (Kahneman, 2011). Metaphorically speaking, it can be seen as a person on autopilot, meaning he or she is taking action, but there is no mental strain on the brain to complete that action (Barden, 2013). On the other hand, System 2 processing or Pilot mode takes over when the mind realizes it needs more mental energy to complete complex problems or tasks (Kahneman, 2011; Barden, 2013). People are more aware/attentive to their actions when using System 2. However, the mental strain causes people to use System 1 more often (Kahneman, 2011). 

           Just as people use these systems for everyday life, they also use them when interpreting advertisements (Barden, 2013). A 2016 Facebook study found that viewers on mobile devices will only spend on average 1.7 seconds looking at an advertisement and merely 2.5 seconds when viewing an ad on a desktop computer (Facebook, 2016). For video advertisements on digital media, this means a brand has around two seconds to grab a viewer’s attention (Facebook, 2016; Barden, 2013). This short attention span is most likely due to a person’s System 1 processing. It only took them a few seconds to decide that they did not want to view the ad anymore because their System 1 perceived it as intrusive and not something a person should pay attention to. Using System 1 processing may then affect brand recall. 

Brand recall was first used as a measurement tool in 1955 by the Advertising Research Foundation (ARF) and supervised by the Committee on Printed Advertising Rating Methods (PARM) (Lucas, 1960). The study sought to understand many advertising research methods centered around advertisements and consumers’ behavior (Bagozzi & Silk, 1983). Further studies found that consumers can recall brands not only when aided but also unaided (Anderson & Bower, 1972; Pieters & Bijmolt, 1997). In studies, aided brand recall is the process of prompting the participant with cues such as brand name or logo to test if the participant recalls seeing the brand in an advertisement. In contrast, unaided brand recall occurs when participants can recall a brand without any cues (Anderson & Bower, 1972). The most significant value that researchers can take from researching brand recall is the ability to dissect and confirm what does and does not create brand recall. These findings are of high interest to marketers because studies have shown that high recall brands are purchased the most (Huang & Sarigöllü, 2011). However, what contributes to high brand recall?

A 2015 study was conducted to analyze the effectiveness of advertisements that are featured on online streaming services (Li & Lo, 2015). The study sought to understand how certain contextual elements, such as advertisement length on streaming videos, factored into brand recall (Li & Lo, 2015). During the study, participants were able to select from YouTube videos that thematically consisted of either fashion, technology, or sports. An advertisement was presented along with the video. Participants were asked a variety of questions regarding the advertisement they had seen. The study found that ad length was significantly related to ad recall. For instance, 30-second ads were significantly more recognizable than 15-second ads (Hao & Hui-Yi, 2015). 

These findings coincide with Pieters and Bijmolt (1997). The researchers conducted a study to understand the patterns between television advertisements and consumer memory. The study concluded that longer advertisements on television positively impact brand-name recall (Pieters & Bijmolt, 1997). However, a different study found no significant difference in brand recall between 15- and 30-second television advertisements (Newstead & Romaniuk, 2010). There may be discrepancies between these two studies because neither of them focused on when the advertisements were presented within the television programming. 

For instance, there are three different sections, pre-, mid-, and post-roll, where advertisements are placed within streaming and television videos (Interactive Advertising Bureau & PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2013). Pre-roll advertisements occur before the video has started, mid-roll advertisements are placed within the video, and post-roll ads are seen after the video has ended (Interactive Advertising Bureau & PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2013). A study found that having longer advertisements in pre-roll slots will increase brand recall for viewers watching online streaming services (Goodrich et al., 2015). In the study, a higher percentage of participants could recall brands with longer pre-roll advertisements than shorter pre-rolls (Goodrich et al., 2015). However, this is not to say that mid-roll and post-roll ads are not effective in brand recall as it may depend on an ad’s congruency or incongruency (Li & Lo, 2015).

The previously mentioned study by Li and Lo tested the effects of congruent and incongruent ads on pre-, mid-, and post-roll sections on YouTube (Li & Lo, 2015). Congruent advertisements are those ads that are similar in nature to the content a user is viewing (Hornikx et al., 2013). Incongruent ads have no relation to what the viewer is watching (Hornikx et al., 2013). For instance, if a person is watching how to make a cold brew coffee on YouTube, a congruent ad may be a commercial for coffee beans. In relation to the cold brew video, an incongruent ad may be a commercial for dog sitting, which has nothing to do with cold brew. The study found that mid-roll advertisements are more effective in creating brand recall when the ad’s theme is congruent with the video (Li & Lo, 2015). However, incongruent post-rolls ads are more effective at brand recall than congruent post-roll ads (Li & Lo, 2015). These findings relate to the theory that people are goal-oriented when using online media (Ha & McCann, 2008). Meaning, viewers are less irritated when they see congruent mid-roll ads because it coincides with the goal at hand, which is to get information from the video (Li & Lo, 2015). Furthermore, once a viewer is done watching the video and sees a post-roll ad, they may find it less irritating because he or she has completed the goal (Li & Lo, 2015). Therefore, advertisers should place incongruent ads in post-roll positions and congruent ads in mid-roll positions to optimize brand recall.

However, the study also found that pre-roll advertisements were more effective at brand recall when the ad was incongruent to the streaming video (Li & Lo, 2015). Although one would expect the incongruent pre-roll advertisement to irritate the viewer for interrupting their goal, it may be trumped by the distinctiveness effect (Li & Lo, 2015; Hunt & Worthen, 2006). Hunt and Worthen view distinctiveness as an independent variable that has the ability to create increased memorability (Hunt & Worthen, 2006). Hence, if an ad is more distinct, meaning it stands out from its surroundings, then it may increase a viewer’s brand recall. This concept coincides with a 2014 study that examined the effects of high-impact digital advertising on brands. The study found that rich media ads that garner attention increase brand recall (Baron, Brouwer & Garbayo, 2014). Therefore, advertisers whose goal is to increase brand recall should place attention-getting incongruent ads in the pre-roll section of streaming videos.

Nonetheless, these attention-getting advertisements may be considered more intrusive to the viewer (Goldstein et al., 2014). Ad intrusion may create negative sentiment towards the intruding brand (Edwards, Li & Lee, 2002; McCoy et al., 2008). In an escalated scenario, perceived ad intrusion can lead to video abandonment, meaning the viewer disengages in viewing the video altogether (Goodrich et al., 2015). This abandonment could then affect brand recall (Goodrich et al., 2015). Research has concluded that informational and humorous pre-roll advertisements help decrease perceived ad intrusiveness on online streaming videos (Goodrich et al., 2015). Meaning the funnier or more informational the pre-roll ad, the less a viewer believes it to be intrusive (Goodrich et al., 2015). Furthermore, if ads lack humor and information, they are considered highly intrusive (Goodrich et al., 2015). However, this study only tests the effects of intrusiveness on pre-roll ads. Therefore, more research needs to be conducted to understand the correlation between intrusiveness for mid- and post-roll ads.

There is further evidence that humor helps decrease perceived ad intrusiveness. Humor is directly related to both entertainment and positive feelings (West & Ford, 2001). One study found that participants tasked with viewing YouTube videos had more ad viewership when the ad was entertaining rather than logical (Joa et al., 2018). Since humor and entertainment are used synonymously in research, one could assume that viewers see humor as less intrusive like entertaining ads. However, it is important to note what type of humor certain age groups find funny. 

A 2014 study sought to understand humor preferences among different age groups, including 17-21 year-olds, 35-56 year-olds, and 64-84 year-olds (Stanley, Lohani & Isaacoqitz, 2014). Participants viewed clips of comedic TV shows such as The Office, Golden Girls, and Mr. Bean. Their reactions and comments were recorded and later coded to understand their sentiment towards different humor types. Each clip was affiliated with one of four humor types; affiliative, self-enhancing, aggressive, and self-defeating humor. Affiliative humor relates to jokes that everyone can relate to and will ultimately bring people together. Self-enhancing humor occurs when people can laugh at themselves or at the absurd situations they find themselves in, in their life. Aggressive humor is targeted jokes made at the expense of others. Self-defeating humor occurs when a person telling a joke is putting him or herself down. Meaning they make themselves the butt of the joke. The study results showed that middle-aged adults had a higher preference for affiliative humor than older adults and preferred self-enhancing humor more than younger adults. Young adults preferred aggressive humor styles significantly more than older and middle-aged adults. Young adults also preferred self-defeating humor styles more than older adults. Each clip was also coded for its amount of inappropriateness to see which age groups recognized whether the clip was socially inappropriate and whether they enjoyed the clip or not. The findings were significant and show that the younger and middle-aged groups found inappropriate clips more socially appropriate than the older age group and found the clips funnier than the older group (Stanley et al., 2014).

One study found that ad length affects perceived intrusiveness (Goodrich et al., 2015). A study also found that shorter pre-roll ads of three seconds are more intrusive to viewers than longer pre-rolls (Goodrich et al., 2015). Since viewers perceive shorter pre-roll ads as more intrusive, viewers, in return, create negative sentiment toward the advertisement (Goodrich et al., 2015). This negative sentiment towards the ad creates negative sentiment towards the brand (Goodrich et al., 2015). Therefore, one could assume that pre-roll ads that are long and humorous in nature have the best chance of decreasing perceived intrusiveness. This assumption coincides with the notion that attention-getting and longer pre-rolls create better brand recall (Baron, Brouwer & Garbayo, 2014; Pieters & Bijmolt, 1997).One could then assume that brand recall is stronger in longer and more humorous pre-roll ads because viewers perceive it as less intrusive.

Discussion

HelloFresh

HelloFresh is a meal-kit delivery service based out of Berlin (HelloFresh About, 2020). The concept of meal delivery services is received positively by consumers because it is essentially cooking minus the headache that comes with grocery shopping (Tweney, 2014). Consumers do not have to worry about buying a product that they will only use once in a blue moon because the ingredients come precisely proportioned for each meal (HelloFresh About, 2020). Founders Dominik Richter and Thomas Griesel started the company in 2011 when meal-kits services were unheard of (Hiner, 2020; Helm, 2018). The company rapidly gained hundreds of millions of investment capital because the demand for meal kits warranted investors’ attention (Helm, 2018). HelloFresh now operates across 14 countries, including the United States (HelloFresh About, 2020). HelloFresh broke into the U.S. market back in 2013, two years after its inception (Hiner, 2020). Many companies, such as Blue Apron, were already dominating the market. However, it did not take long for HelloFresh to show a strong presence in the U.S. market, even acquiring other U.S. companies such as Green Chef along the way (Hiner, 2020). Now, HelloFresh controls over 49% of the meal-kit sector, which is a major strength for the company (Hiner, 2020).

However, HelloFresh has only recently become profitable in the U.S. for reasons out of its control (Hiner, 2020). In the first quarter of 2020, HelloFresh’s revenue grew 82.4% due mainly to the impact of COVID-19 on American households. The need for meal-kit delivery services became less of a luxury and more of a necessity for people during the stay-at-home orders that swept the country (Hiner, 2020). However twisted it may be, COVID-19 has shown to be a significant opportunity for HelloFresh because the fear of getting sick has directly impacted its revenue (Compton, Cyr, Swerdlow, 2020; Hiner, 2020). Contrastingly, a major threat to HelloFresh is the potential for decreased revenue post-COVID-19 (Hiner, 2020). Revenue for meal-kits services is highly volatile, mainly because entry barriers are so low (Hiner, 2020). Firstly, COVID-19 has forced many restaurants and grocers to create their own meal-kit and delivery services, which will only increase competition for HelloFresh moving forward (Compton, Cyr & Swerdlow, 2020). After the threat of COVID-19 has subsided, these new consumers will be less likely to choose HelloFresh for the same reasons they did not use the service pre-COVID-19; it is too expensive, and the options are limited (Compton et al., 2020). A major weakness of HelloFresh, COVID-19, or not, is its retention problem (Helm, 2018). An industry report showed that, on average, merely 30% of consumers use a meal-kit service for more than a year (Helm, 2018). HelloFresh currently has millions of subscribers, but half of them will quit the service past a month (Helm, 2018).

Because of this high churn rate, HelloFresh is continuously marketing to new consumers (Helm, 2018). Eugene Auh, a financial advisor, even went as far as to say that “without marketing, the business is dead” after evaluating it for an interested investor (Helm, 2018). The statement adds up, seeing that HelloFresh dedicates a third of its budget to marketing efforts each year (Helm, 2018). The most significant part of its marketing strategy is leveraging its big data (Writer, 2020; Helm, 2018). HelloFresh uses the data collected from its past subscribers to market to new consumers both digitally and traditionally. HelloFresh uses social media to market to new consumers through celebrity partnerships such as Mindy Kaling and influencers like Ashley Iaconetti from The Bachelor (Helm, 2018). HelloFresh utilizes the enormous amount of user-generated content (UGC) it receives through social media as part of its marketing strategy. Chief Marketing Officer Aaron Kwittken believes that UGC allows two-way interactions between the brand and its consumers and helps foster better relationships(Kwittken, 2018). HelloFresh also uses real stories told by real customers to advertise on television and has seen a positive reaction from consumers from those types of ads (Kwittken, 2018).

However, there are other tactics found in the literature review that HelloFresh can employ. Of these findings, HelloFresh should employ three tactics to increase brand recall on ads via Hulu. Firstly, the literature review uncovered that incongruent advertisements do better in pre-and post-roll positions (Hao & Hui-Yi, 2015; Goodrich et al., 2015). To understand how HelloFresh can benefit from these findings, it is essential to first look at its target demographic. HelloFresh’s most successful target demographic is busy moms and families (Kwittken, 2018; Cleverism, 2016). 30-49 year-olds make up the largest age group of U.S. adults with children under 18. Therefore it is essential to look at how HelloFresh can increase brand recall for 30 to 49-year-old moms who watch Hulu. One study that researched moms’ viewing habits found that they are more likely than dads to watch television solo (Adobe, 2017). One can then assume that, more often than not, moms have control over what they are viewing when they sit down to watch a show. What they are choosing to watch is less intuitive than one would think, as their favorite genres are crime and action (Adobe, 2017). HelloFresh is more than likely going to be incongruent to any show under the crime and action genre because there simply are not any shows about food under those genres. Therefore, to target its demographic on Hulu and still create high brand recall, HelloFresh should place its advertisements in pre- and post-roll positions on crime and action shows and films on Hulu. Nevertheless, Hulu does not disclose its demographic data to the public, so it is worth asking Hulu which crime and action shows will target HelloFresh’s audience the most. 

Secondly, HelloFresh should create thirty-second advertisements for Hulu. The research has shown that shorter adverts such as 15-second and 3-second ads do not increase brand recall (Hao & Hui-Yi, 2015; Pieters & Bijmolt, 1997; Goodrich et al., 2015). A quick look at HelloFresh’s YouTube channel, where it displays its ads, shows that almost all U.S. adverts are over 30-seconds long (HelloFresh, 2013). Therefore, HelloFresh should stick to the 30-second format length it has created for its U.S. commercials to increase brand recall. 

Third, HelloFresh should create humorous or informational advertisements for pre-roll positions (Goodrich et al., 2015). In terms of informational ads, HelloFresh could talk about the health benefits, the cost-effectiveness, and the convenience of its product in its advertisements. Some of the ads on HelloFresh’s YouTube Channel are informational (HelloFresh, 2013). However, most of them are cooking video tutorials and consumer product reviews (HelloFresh, 2013). If HelloFresh incorporated more informational ads, it might increase its brand recall. It is also important to understand what type of ads women between the ages of 30 and 49 find funny in terms of humorous advertisements. As previously discussed, different age groups are drawn to certain types of humor (Stanley, 2014). 30-49 year-olds find self-enhancing, affiliative, and inappropriate humor most funny (Stanley et al., 2014). Of these humor types, HelloFresh should utilize affiliative humor. Affiliative humor relates to jokes that everyone can relate to and will ultimately bring people together (Stanley et al., 2014). This type of joyful humor relates directly to HelloFresh’s brand messaging, which is for its consumers to enjoy their food (HelloFresh, 2020). The entire experience should be enjoyable, from unboxing to cooking to eating the food (HelloFresh, 2020). After studying the advertisements posted on its YouTube Channel, HelloFresh does not have any humorous U.S. commercials (HelloFresh, 2013). However, HelloFresh has created humorous ads for its Canadian and Australian markets, often using satire as its primary form of humor (HelloFresh Canada, 2020). HelloFresh should also consider using humorous ads for the U.S. market but change the humor to affiliative humor to accommodate its target demographic in the U.S. (Stanley et al., 2014).

Furthermore, as consumers find themselves in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, they want to forget about the world’s current state and feel enjoyment when watching advertisements (Whiteside, 2020). They want to feel secure and less worried about what is going in the world around them. That is why any inappropriate humor concerning COVID-19 should be avoided (Whiteside, 2020). Consumers do not want to be reminded of the hardships they face; this will only create sadness that does not drive long-term sales or growth (Whiteside, 2020; Simon, 2017). Seeing as though HelloFresh’s main threat is a decrease in revenue post-pandemic, they should steer clear of the inappropriate humor (Hiner, 2020). Therefore, implementing affiliative humor in the pre-roll position may increase HelloFresh’s brand recall. 

Hulu

Hulu launched in 2008 and first started as a free, ad-supported online streaming service (Hulu Corporate, 2020). By 2010, Hulu launched a subscription-based service for $9.99 per month, giving subscribers more access to shows and availability across multiple platforms such as iPad and smart TV viewing. The year 2015 marked the first time Hulu offered TV networks on its platform. Now, Hulu offers Showtime, HBO Cinemax, and Starz as add-ons. In the same year, Hulu also rolled out an ad-free option for viewers that did not want to be bombarded with ads. Hulu added Live TV to its service in 2017 and was acquired by Disney in 2019. Today, Hulu has over 36 million subscribers, more than 70,000 TV episodes and movies, and over 65 live channels (Hulu Corporate, 2020).

Although there are a few tactics that HelloFresh can employ, some findings are out of the brand’s control and are ultimately up to Hulu to implement. For instance, Hulu may want to discontinue shorter ads in the pre-roll position. Hulu gives brands the option to utilize ad spots anywhere between 5 to 60 seconds. Anything under 30 seconds does not help increase brand recall because it’s seen as more intrusive (Hao & Hui-Yi, 2015; Pieters & Bijmolt, 1997; Goodrich et al., 2015). This would in turn, increase brand recall for its ad partners and please its audience because they will be less annoyed.  

Furthermore, the literature review studies found that pre-, mid-, and post-roll positioning affects brand recall (Hao & Hui-Yi, 2015; Goodrich et al., 2015). Not only that, but congruent and incongruent ads do as well (Hao & Hui-Yi, 2015; Goodrich et al., 2015). When combined, Hulu should place congruent ads in the mid-roll positions and incongruent ads in the pre- and post-roll positions to increase brand recall (Hao & Hui-Yi, 2015; Goodrich et al., 2015).  For example, if HelloFresh came to Hulu and wanted to run its ads against Hulu’s content, it could employ these findings. Since HelloFresh is a meal-kit company, Hulu shows under the cooking genre such as Top Chef and Chopped would be considered congruent content. In that case, HelloFresh ads should be placed in the mid-roll position of Top Chef and Chopped. The placement is essential because viewers will find the ad less intrusive if it is in the mid-roll position. After all, it does not impede them from achieving their goal: to watch the Hulu content. 

Now, if HelloFresh wanted to run its ads in other genres such as crimeand action, these would be considered incongruent (Hao & Hui-Yi, 2015; Goodrich et al., 2015). Therefore HelloFresh’s ads should be placed in the pre- and post-roll positions. If Hulu were to run HelloFresh ads in the mid-roll position during a crime show such as Killing Eve, viewers might become annoyed because it is seen as intrusive because it interrupts them from achieving their goal. That is why HelloFresh ads would do better in pre- and post-roll positions when ran against a show like Killing Eve. Although one may assume that incongruent ads in the pre-roll position would be seen as intrusive, the findings suggest that the distinctiveness effect may overcome it. For instance, a HelloFresh ad may be so different from Killing Eve, the content the viewer was about to see, that it increases the memorability of that brand. As explained previously, humorous ads are also seen as less intrusive (Hao & Hui-Yi, 2015; Goodrich et al., 2015). Suppose those types of incongruent humorous ads were placed in pre-roll positions. In that case, brands can avoid being seen as intrusive and ultimately increase brand recall. Brand recall would also be increased if HelloFresh were placed in the post-roll position of Killing Eve because viewers have completed their goal and therefore would not find it intrusive to view an incongruent ad from HelloFresh (Hao & Hui-Yi, 2015; Goodrich et al., 2015).

In order to implement these findings into its service, Hulu can add it to the offerings it already provides to its ad partners. Hulu allows its advertisers to select their target audience, determine their bid pricing and control, and optimize in real-time (Hulu, 2020).  In addition to this, Hulu could categorize every submitted advertisement by its story content. That way, each ad can be placed in its correct positioning (pre-, mid-, post-) depending on whether it is congruent or incongruent to the show.  

After applying these findings to HelloFresh and Hulu, it is clear that not only do brands have the ability to increase brand recall, but advertising platforms like Hulu also possess the ability to increase brand recall for its ad partners as well. HelloFresh can increase brand recall on Hulu by creating informational and affiliative-type humor ads in the pre-roll position and focusing on 30-second advertisements instead of 15-second ads (Hao & Hui-Yi, 2015; Pieters & Bijmolt, 1997; Goodrich et al., 2015; Stanley et al., 2014). Furthermore, HelloFresh’s target audience can be found in the crime and action genres and should place its incongruent ads in the pre- and post-roll positions when advertising within these genres. Hulu can increase brand recall for its partners by placing incongruent ads in the pre- and post-roll positions and congruent ads in mid-roll positions. By implementing these tactics Hulu and HelloFresh can increase brand recall and create a better viewing experience for consumers.

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