Is AI the future of Digital Marketing? An investigation into the consumer attitudes and purchase intentions towards AI-generated Marketing.

You are invited to participate in a research study examining whether AI is the future of digital marketing by exploring consumer attitudes and purchase intentions toward AI-generated marketing. This study is led by Alex Evans at the University of Edinburgh. Before deciding whether to take part, please take the time to read the following information carefully to understand the purpose of the research and what your participation will involve.

 WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THE STUDY?

The purpose of this study is to explore consumer attitudes and purchase intentions toward AI-generated marketing. The research aims to investigate:

1. How do consumers perceive the impact of AI-driven digital marketing on their purchase intention?
2. Does gender influence consumer purchase intention in the context of AI-driven advertisements?
3. To what extent do age groups differ in their response to AI and digital marketing strategies?
4. What ethical considerations arise from the use of AI in digital marketing, especially concerning data privacy and transparency?
5. How can businesses effectively leverage AI and digital marketing to enhance consumer purchase intention?

WHY HAVE I BEEN INVITED TO TAKE PART?

You are invited to participate in this study because you are a consumer who may have been exposed to AI-generated marketing and may have engaged with or made purchasing decisions influenced by AI-driven advertisements.

 DO I HAVE TO TAKE PART?

No – it is entirely up to you. If you do decide to take part, you are still free to withdraw at any time and without giving a reason. Deciding not to take part or withdrawing from the study will not have any effect on you. Please note that your data may be used in the production of formal research outputs (e.g. journal articles, conference papers, theses and reports) prior to your withdrawal and so you are advised to contact the research team at the earliest opportunity should you wish to withdraw from the study.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF I DECIDE TO TAKE PART?

If you decide to take part, please keep this Information Sheet for your reference. You will be asked to complete an online survey questionnaire, which will gather your opinions and experiences regarding AI-driven digital marketing and its influence on your purchase intentions. The questionnaire should take around 5-10 minutes to complete. By completing the survey, you will be providing consent for your responses to be used in the study. Your participation is voluntary, and you can choose not to answer any question or stop the survey at any time without any consequences. Your responses will be anonymous, and you will not be required to provide any personal identifying information.

WHAT ARE THE POSSIBLE BENEFITS OF TAKING PART?

There are no direct benefits, but by sharing your experiences with us, you will be helping Alex Evans and the University to better understand consumer preferences when it comes to the use of AI in marketing.

ARE THERE ANY RISKS OR DISADVANTAGES ASSOCIATED WITH TAKING PART?

There are no significant risks associated with participation.

WILL MY TAKING PART BE KEPT CONFIDENTIAL?

All the information we collect during the course of the research will be kept confidential and there are strict laws which safeguard your privacy at every stage. Your information will not be shared with other organisations.

HOW WILL WE USE INFORMATION ABOUT YOU?

We will need to use information from you for this research project. People who do not need to know who you are will not be able to see your name or contact details. Your data will have a code number instead. We will keep all information about you safe and secure. Unless they are anonymised in our records, your data will be referred to by a unique participant number rather than by name. If you consent to being audio and video recorded, all recordings will be destroyed once they have been transcribed. Your data will only be viewed by the researcher/research team. All electronic data will be stored on a password-protected computer file and all paper records will be stored in a locked filing cabinet.

Your consent information will be kept separately from your responses in order to minimise risk. Once we have finished the study, we will keep some of the data so we can check the results. We will write our reports in a way that no one can work out that you took part in the study.

WHAT ARE YOUR CHOICES ABOUT HOW YOUR INFORMATION IS USED?

• You can stop being part of the study at any time, without giving a reason, but we will keep information about you that we already have.

• We need to manage your records in specific ways for the research to be reliable. This means that we won’t be able to let you see or change the data we hold about you.

WHERE YOU CAN FIND OUT MORE ABOUT HOW YOUR INFORMATION IS USED? 

 For further information about data privacy for research participants please refer to: https://data-protection.ed.ac.uk/privacy-notice-research or contact the research team at s2190059@ed.ac.uk.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN WITH THE RESULTS OF THIS STUDY?

The results of this study may be summarised in published articles, reports and presentations. You will not be identifiable from any published results. Quotes or key findings will always be made anonymous in any formal outputs unless we have your prior and explicit written permission to attribute them to you by name. With your consent, your anonymised information may also be kept for future research. A summary of the findings from the study will be made available to participants who indicate they would like to receive this. This summary will be sent to participants by email.

WHO IS ORGANISING AND FUNDING THE RESEARCH?

This study has been organised by Alex Evans (Business Management (MA)).

WHO HAS REVIEWED THE STUDY?

The study proposal has been reviewed by The University of Edinburgh’s School Ethics Committee.

WHO CAN I CONTACT?

If you have any further questions about the study, please contact the lead researcher, Alex Evans, S2190059@ed.ac.uk If you would like to discuss this study with someone independent of the study please contact Kirsten Cowan Kirsten.Cowan@ed.ac.uk If you wish to make a complaint about the study, please contact: The Business School Research Ethics team ethics@business-school.ed.ac.uk