LAUSR

Abstract Media multitasking is on the rise due to the adoption of new technologies such as smartphones and tablets. In this article, we study how visual attention affects the impact that media multitasking has on brand recognition. We theorize that media multitasking will have a different impact on brand recognition depending on whether consumers pay attention to the ad. We tested our hypothesis by creating a laboratory experiment that simulates consumers’ internet browsing experience. We exposed participants to two conditions – executing one task (no multitasking condition) and executing two simultaneous tasks (multitasking condition) – and identified when participants paid attention to the banner ad using an eye-tracking device. In line with our theory, our results indicate that multitasking decreases brand memory but only when participants do not pay attention to the banner ad. The implications of this finding for researchers and advertisers are discussed.