Advertising from traditional to digital media: A study on digital immigrants and digital natives

Contemporary technological developments are rapidly transforming the form and structure of mass media from singularity into plurality as they affect many areas of modern life. These changes and developments in communication technologies manifest themselves also in the field of advertising. Traditional advertising media are not seen as sufficient by themselves to reach the consumers in the digitalized age, and the digital dimensions of advertising come into prominence. It can be suggested that there is a significant difference between attitudes of digital natives -people born into the era of ubiquitous technology- and digital immigrants who were raised prior to the digital age and later adapted to technology towards digital advertising. The aim of this study is to reveal the integration process of traditional advertising with digital advertising from the perspective of consumers. The theoretical framework of the study is based on the Technology Acceptance Model and the Theory of Diffusion of Innovations. In the empirical part of the research, quantitative analysis is employed in the first place in order to understand the thoughts of the consumers on digital advertising and to reveal the general situation. Then, empirical research is completed with complimentary qualitative analysis which is carried out to make comparisons with the special inferences obtained from the general picture and to make sense of the quantitative findings in order to understand thoughts of consumers in a closer way. In this way, this study has benefited from the advantages provided by two different data collection techniques using quantitative and qualitative analysis methods in a mixed manner. 412 usable questionnaires were obtained on the internet by using the easy sampling method and the online questionnaire technique. The data were analyzed using SPSS 21 Windows and Lisrel package programs. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, frequency analysis have been used in the analysis of data. Correlation and Anova tables were used to reveal descriptive statistics regarding research questions. In addition to the literature review carried out within the scope of the research, Attitudes Towards Digital Advertisements (DRITT) Scale is developed as a result of the exploratory factor analysis of the measurement tool which consists of 5 factors including "positive judgments", "negative judgments", "mobile advertising", "viral advertising", "interactive advertising" and 23 expressions in total. In this context, the experts and academics also provided opinions and consultation. By applying convenience sampling method, the scale was applied on 412 people who represent the digital natives and immigrants in equal numbers and tested with exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. The findings indicated that the 23-statement DRITT scale is a valid and reliable one (Cronbach Alpha value of 0.89). In the fourth section of the study, which is based qualitative research design, the semi-structured interviews, selected as the second method of the research, have been conducted with a total of 40 participants, each 20 participants representing separate consumer groups as digital natives and digital immigrants. The data acquired from the participants were divided into eight categories and evaluated under findings section. The similarities and differences that emerged in the attitudes of both generations towards digital advertising were evaluated and discussed in detail at the end of the research. The results of the study indicate that the quantitative and qualitative findings support and complement each other, and there is a substantial similarity between the attitudes and opinions of digital natives and immigrants regarding the future of digital advertising.