De Keyzer et al. (2025), Journal of Advertising — meta-analysis: actual personalization outperforms imagined / scenario personalization via stronger self-referencing and perceived relevance
Created 2026-06-20
Summary
Claim: De Keyzer et al. (2025), Journal of Advertising meta-analysis: actual personalization outperforms imagined / scenario personalization via stronger self-referencing and perceived relevance.
Source: De Keyzer et al. (2025), Journal of Advertising.
Confidence: Verified (meta-analysis).
Caveat: Personalization can trigger privacy concern; evidence suggests relevance's pull on attention typically exceeds the privacy drag for relevant, non-creepy use.
Why this matters for Candid: Single sharpest finding in the brief. A calculator's output is ACTUAL personalization (computed from real user input), which the meta-analysis says is the more effective kind. Closes the loop from psychology → measured outcomes in advertising contexts.
Related entries
Depends on
- reference Symons & Johnson (1997) meta-analysis — self-reference effect: information encoded in relation to the self is better recalled; the self is a well-developed elaboration construct
- reference Tam & Ho (2006), Information Systems Research — content relevance + self-reference mediate the effect of web personalization on attention, processing, decisions; users clicked self-referent offers far more
Referenced by (4)
- reference Research brief: why interactive tools deepen a business's relationship with its audience — a mechanism-level research package (June 2026) relates-to
- rule R1 — When recommending an interactive tool, LEAD on peer-reviewed mechanism evidence (goal-gradient, self-reference, IKEA, reciprocity, anchoring) — NOT vendor "2× / 47% / 16.9×" stats depends-on
- rule R3 — Maximise self-relevance in the output: show the user's own number, not "people like you average X"; the personalization mechanism is the best-evidenced lever in the brief depends-on
- reference Sundar & Marathe (2010), Human Communication Research — customization (user acts) vs personalization (system acts): the appeal of customization is tied to the user's sense of agency relates-to