Examining the (in)effectiveness of personalized communication

Personalized communication has become a very popular marketing strategy, but the research on its effectiveness is still limited. This study examined the persuasiveness of personalized digital newsletters in terms of increased attention, cognitive activity, evaluation, attitude, intention, and behavior. Participants (N = 289) were randomly exposed to one of five experimental conditions, namely generic, identification, raising expectation, contextualization, and combined condition. The personalized messages were not found to be more persuasive than the generic message. The effects were moderated by individuals’ need for cognition and privacy concerns. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.