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The ten participants aged 18-24 allowed for an introduction to a younger demographic’s affinity for brands that use the snapshot and Canva aesthetics in their sponsored advertisements. Many participants explained the major changes that Instagram has implemented within the last decade and a shift to allowing more promotional campaigns has altered their daily interactions with Instagram. Prior to supporting sponsored advertisements on Instagram, users could freely scroll through their feeds without interruption; however, since the prioritization of business accounts and ads on the social platform, users find their feeds flooded with sponsored content. The study’s findings revealed intricate attitudes toward brands that use the snapshot or Canva aesthetics as well as overall impressions of sponsored advertisements on Instagram. Notably, most participants preferred advertisements that used the snapshot aesthetic, describing it as casual and relatable, while other participants favored the Canva aesthetic for its informative nature and professionalism. Prior to analyzing affinity for brands that use different aesthetics, it was essential to analyze attitudes toward general advertisements on Instagram, regardless of design style.
Sponsored Advertisements on Instagram
Generally, participants expressed neutral sentiments toward sponsored advertisements on Instagram. When asked about their attitudes toward advertisements, most participants felt neutral or even positive toward Instagram advertisements. Nick did not have much experience interacting with advertisements, yet feels neutral: “probably 80% of the time, I just scroll right past it or tap past it. And then if it catches my eye, very rarely do I actually click on it because I never end up buying anything… I just act like it's not even there.” John also felt neutral towards sponsored ads and explained, “No, I don't mind them, especially when it's good stuff... If I see something I don't like, obviously I'll just swipe right past it and think nothing of it.” While some participants simply ignored or scrolled through the ads, others were more invested in the promotional posts.
AnnMarie is an avid interactor with sponsored posts and conveyed her observations with the advertisements: “I consider myself a marketer's dream because I interact with so many promotional posts, and I actually buy a decent amount of stuff from them…the more I interact with them, the more niche ones that I get.” AnnMarie had the only positive response to Instagram ads and was one of the only participants to purchase from a sponsored post. Although some participants were able to tune out the ads without eliciting a negative response, others maintained unfavorable opinions towards the sponsored content.
Some participants expressed negative impressions of sponsored ads due to their pre-existing attitudes or the irrelevance of the ads. While most participants expressed neutral feelings about sponsored advertisements, some viewed the ads in a negative light (see Figure 4).
Figure 4: Negative impressions of sponsored ads
While Betty noted that irrelevance sparks her annoyance, David explained that he has a pre-existing, unfavorable impression of advertising on social media platforms. As Betty stated in her response, relevancy is essential to her perspective of ads.
Relevance plays a key role in participants’ perceived efficiency of sponsored ads. While participants noted their experiences with sponsored advertisements on Instagram, several noted the accuracy and relevance of advertisements in relation to their personal interests. Figure 5 organizes participants’ responses relating to their impression of sponsored advertisements’ relevancy on Instagram.
Figure 5: Participant awareness surrounding relevant advertisements on Instagram
The relevance of ads was an emerging thread throughout several respondents’ answers. Participants not only observed how relevant their advertisements were to their demographics and shopping habits but also indicated a preference for relevant ads, noting that they are only intrigued by an advertisement that is applicable to their interests. Notably, Don felt polarized by sponsored ads, only appreciating them if they were relevant to him, but feeling annoyed if they were not. Relevancy plays a key role in participants’ evaluations of the effectiveness of an advertisement on Instagram; therefore, branded accounts should consider their target audiences’ psychographics and interests when creating and targeting ads.
Some participants noted that the ability to scroll through Instagram ads improved their overall attitudes toward sponsored ads. In the contemporary social media realm, advertisements are essential to the structure of social media platforms, and every social platform displays ads in a unique way. Figure 6 exhibits consumer attitudes toward the structure of advertisements, specifically on Instagram.
Figure 6: Responses that discuss the advertisement structure on Instagram
Both Cathy and Nick expressed that the ability to scroll by ads allows for a more positive stance on Instagram advertising. Both participants compared Instagram ads to YouTube ads and expressed that the ad structure on Instagram is preferred to platforms like YouTube. On YouTube, the viewer is oftentimes forced to watch a portion of an advertisement without the ability to skip through to the content they were initially interested in. Participants noted that having jurisdiction over how long they want to see an ad led to a neutral elicitation toward advertisements on Instagram, as opposed to the negative attitudes they held toward YouTube ads.
Generally, most participants reflected positively or neutrally on sponsored advertisements due to their relevance to interests and ability to scroll if disinterested, while participants who felt negatively toward sponsored advertisements felt resentful toward all advertisements on social media platforms or had advertisements that were not relevant to them. It is important to analyze general opinion toward sponsored advertisements before analyzing brands that use different aesthetics to gain a sense of the overall sentiment of users toward advertising on Instagram.
The Snapshot Aesthetic
When explaining the snapshot aesthetic to participants, the researcher provided corresponding visuals that showed an example of how brands could use the aesthetic. The researcher created Images 1 and 2, using a hypothetical Italian fashion brand to define the snapshot aesthetic.
Image 1: Defining the snapshot aesthetic (Feed)
Image 2: Defining the snapshot aesthetic (Sponsored Posts)
Participants stated that relatability contributed to their admiration of the snapshot aesthetic. Many participants claimed an affinity for brands that use the snapshot aesthetic due to its relatability. AnnMarie, a marketing consultant and a frequent interactor with sponsored ads on Instagram, provided great insight into why she loved the snapshot aesthetic:
"Love. Yeah, I'm a big fan of this style. It's very cohesive between all of them…I think it makes brands feel more approachable, warm, and…I feel like I envision myself either wearing the product, using the product or service, or whatever they're trying to sell."
AnnMarie indicated a strong affinity for brands that use the snapshot aesthetic and explained that the brand is shown cohesively, casually, and with relatability. She especially exhibited her affinity when she noted that she could envision herself in products advertised using this aesthetic. Figure 7 shows other participants who expressed this relatability to “the real world.”
Figure 7: Participants’ responses regarding the relatability of the snapshot aesthetic
Relatability was a common thread throughout participants’ answers who emphasized the importance of seeing a product in a more casual setting, such as clothing worn by real people, rather than models with a studio backdrop. This commonality replicates the findings of the 2021 study by Dávila-Ruiz and Vazquez that used an online experiment and survey to identify consumer preference between urban backdrops and studio backgrounds: “It may seem that the traditional scheme of skinny models and the assembled solid background of studios is beginning to lose relevance” (p. 114). Another notable comment regarding this aesthetic was its ability to blend into the feed because of its informality.
Casualness was also a key informer for participants’ admiration of the snapshot aesthetic. Not only did participants note the relatability of the snapshot aesthetic, but they also appreciated the casual nature of this type of design. Figure 8 exhibits this appreciation for the relaxed nature of the snapshot aesthetic.
Figure 8: Participants’ responses regarding the casual nature of the snapshot aesthetic
Because advertisements designed with the snapshot aesthetic are considered to be more casual, they are able to blend into users’ feeds. Most respondents expressed their observation of this blending technique, some of them stated that they initially did not recognize it as an advertisement until reading the caption or comments. Maddie even explained her thought process when seeing the snapshot aesthetic without knowing it is an advertisement, “Oh, I love that sweater she's wearing. How can I get it?” Additionally, the snapshot aesthetic does not immediately make it clear to the viewer that it is an advertisement, yet Don commented that he prefers a casual ad to an “in your face” one, and even goes so far as to say he’d look into it out of curiosity after finding out it was an advertisement.
Some participants indicated a preference for branded, casual content that’s arisen on Instagram, however, this change toward more informal content could be attributed to an overall culture shift on Instagram. Maddie explained this shift in her observations of changes on Instagram through her personal observations of how Instagram users have changed from caring about the number of likes on a post, to not caring at all.
This embracing of an informal approach to advertising on social media platforms was predicted by Serafinelli’s (2018) research in which he concluded that photography has become more accessible for people, ultimately causing a rise in casual photography for both brands and users. Additionally, positive sentiment regarding the casual nature of the snapshot aesthetic upholds Chi’s (2011) study in which he also indicated a preference for casualness in his survey research surrounding virtual brand communities and digital advertising. The study stated, “users might be oriented toward user-generated content, which is considered reliable and credible” (p. 57). User-generated content is a key element of the snapshot aesthetic and participants in the current study described the design style as realistic, “chill,” and thoughtful. This informal approach to branded content may also be reasoned by Latiff & Safiee’s (2015) interpretations of the 21st century, noting that smartphones are the new ‘man’s best friend’ which has offered a new generation of casual photography. While some participants appreciated the snapshot aesthetic for its ability to blend into their feed, others expressed unfavorable opinions about the design style.
Some define ads that utilize the snapshot aesthetic to be infiltrating and uninformative. David explained that the advertisements’ subtlety elicits a negative response, “It's infiltrating my life too much. I want to know what is an ad or what isn't. I don’t like playing guessing games, I just want to know if it's an ad; I don't want to be analyzing everything I see.” David asserted advertisements that require a further step of analysis are frustrating and would prefer an advertisement that does not blend into his feed and directly informs him that it is a sponsored ad.
Those who admired the Snapshot aesthetic expressed that the ads were casual and relatable while those who disliked the aesthetic explained it to be infiltrating and uninformative due to feeling blindsided by the furtiveness of the ads. Most sentiments toward this aesthetic were positive with only one participant demonstrating negative feelings toward the snapshot aesthetic.
The Canva Aesthetic
Similar to defining the snapshot aesthetic to participants, the researcher provided corresponding visuals for the Canva aesthetic as well that showed an example of how brands could use the aesthetic. The researcher used the same hypothetical Italian fashion brand with the same photography and added text and graphics to demonstrate the Canva aesthetic. Images 3 and 4 showcase the Canva aesthetic and were shown to participants.
Image 3: Defining the Canva aesthetic (Feed)
Image 4: Defining the Canva aesthetic (Sponsored Posts)
In contrast to the general appreciation for the snapshot aesthetic, the Canva aesthetic inspired outright aversion due to its unoriginality, dullness, and distracting character. “I lowkey, hate it,” said participant AnnMarie. “They take up the whole post; they're not very clean.” After asking her what advertisements she usually gets in her feed, she stated, “It’s not really price-sensitive ads that I get. It's not like we're having this sale. It's more product. They're more heavily visual as opposed to ‘sale’ and like thick letters.” AnnMarie’s product-centric preference could contribute to her opposition to Canva advertisements as her priorities when shopping align with imagery rather than price. AnnMarie was not the only participant who disliked the Canva aesthetic; Cathy also articulated her displeasure:
"I feel like this is less attractive because it looks like an ad…I feel like the quality of the picture just went down about 50 percent when you added the Canva design…they're not as with it and I also think that this seems like they don't have their own creative mind."
Cathy noted the Canva aesthetics’ lack of creativity which is another common thread amongst participants. This theme of unoriginality in participants’ responses can be seen in Figure 9.
Figure 9: Participants’ responses regarding the unoriginality of the Canva aesthetic
Both Ashley and Nick remarked that ads using the Canva aesthetic look like “any other business” or “any other product,” indicating that this aesthetic is not contributing anything new to the advertising world. Maddie also noted the lack of creativity with the aesthetic when she stated that many brands use the same templates on Canva, resulting in a “cookie-cutter” appearance. Although Maddie did not love the advertisement style, she explained that it does not affect her likelihood to purchase from a brand that uses the Canva aesthetic. She also noted that she may have a more critical eye on the aesthetic as she is an experienced Canva user, and the commonalities amongst brands that use Canva to design their ads may go unseen to the average Instagram user.
While Maddie’s likelihood of purchasing did not decrease with this aesthetic, Betty stated that she would be less likely to purchase a product from a brand that uses the Canva aesthetic:
"I mean, you can tell right away that it's a company. Which – I don't know if that's better or worse. But I definitely know right away that, if they're trying to sell me something, it probably would make me less likely to click it because I don't want to be sold something. Versus if I was shopping for something then I would probably be more likely to click it, but I’m not usually on Instagram to shop."
Although Betty indicated that she would not purchase from a brand that uses the Canva aesthetic, she admits that she does not use Instagram to shop at all, so an advertisement that is price or product-centric would disrupt her goal of socializing when utilizing the app. This attitude is consistent with Chi’s (2011) research in which he noted that social media users crave connection with friends, but when faced with SNS ads, their intentions are disrupted, resulting in a negative attitude toward ads. Colliander and Marder’s 2018 research suggested that disruption could also be attributed to the use of standout imagery: brands will post professional studio photographs on social media, which is often a sharp contrast to the very casual photo uploads from the average user. As a result, potential consumers can develop a negative brand affinity due to the ad’s disruptive nature.
Some participants found themselves in neutral territory, while others expressed their appreciation for the Canva aesthetic, noting the extra text as informative for learning about the brand. Nick explained that the Canva aesthetic reminded him of more traditional advertising, “There's nothing inherently wrong with it. It's appealing. It doesn't look poorly made or anything, but it reminds me of a commercial almost, where it's just an advertisement – like buy our product.” Rory also expressed that the Canva aesthetic was recognizable,
"Yeah, I definitely recognize that style of advertisement. It's just not as blended and pleasing. I like how matching it is…And I like that it sort of makes it more known that it's a company and not just an Instagram post…I would buy from them. Probably just wouldn't follow the account because it would all just be sales and stuff like that. Because those aren't what I want to look at on my feed, but it gets the message across."
Rory explained that this style is recognizable, yet rather than stating it is overdone or unoriginal, she expressed her appreciation for the graphics-based style of ad design, even going as far as to say that she would buy from them. She compared the Canva aesthetic to the snapshot aesthetic by stating that the Canva ads were less aesthetically pleasing; therefore, she would not follow the brand, but as a sponsored ad in her feed, it gets the message across, relating to the informative theme that continued in other participants’ responses.
Don felt more neutrally about the aesthetic, but provided a great analysis of the style of Canva advertisements:
"They almost kind of do feel a little cookie cutter…it's still not in your face. It almost gives…It still doesn't feel too invasive in my feed, especially if I'm following them already. Whereas, if I were following them, this would be a much better experience in figuring out what was going on with the company, what they were offering…I think this would be less thoughtful, but more like we're trying to retain their customers type of company. It's more of an informative experience rather than the other one [the snapshot aesthetic] which was more about enjoying the content and realizing a product."
Although noting that the Canva aesthetic does feel “cookie cutter” and less thoughtfully done, Don explained that the ads were not invasive to his feed or designed to be “in your face.”
Other participants expressed positive impressions of brands that use the Canva aesthetic because of its textual information and professionalism. David stated, “I like knowing about sales and free shipping and because they say that, I'm more intrigued to go look…I’m a sucker for some lettering.” David, who previously expressed his dislike for the snapshot aesthetic due to its ability to blend into the feed, explained his appreciation for the Canva aesthetic as it is more intriguing, informative, and text-based. John was fond of both aesthetics and stated that the Canva aesthetic looked “really professional.” In addition to identifying affinity for brands that use the Canva aesthetic, there were some additional key findings relevant to this design style.
Polarized thinkers expressed their affinity for brands that use the Canva aesthetic, depending on their familiarity with the brand. While debating his opinion of the Canva aesthetic, Don said, “If I were following them, this would be a much better experience in figuring out what was going on with the company, what they were offering.” Although stating the Canva aesthetic to be more informative, he reflected back to the snapshot aesthetic and described its function to be, “more about enjoying the content and realizing a product.” While not being able to state a clear preference between the two aesthetics, Don explained would prefer the Canva aesthetic as a remarketing tool, meaning he had already heard of, bought from, or followed the brand. Conversely, he would choose the snapshot aesthetic as a tool for discovering a brand for the first time as the aesthetic is more ‘enjoyable.’
Other participants also indicated their willingness to follow a brand depending on its design style. When presented with the Canva aesthetic, Rory stated that she “wouldn't follow the account because it would all just be sales…those aren't what I want to look at on my feed.” Don’s preference to follow brands that use the Canva aesthetic contrasts Rory’s preference to not follow brands that use this design style.
Participants noted that brands are beginning to lose their unique identities and adopt a more neutral expression of identity. In their 2018 study, Colliander and Marder referred to the snapshot aesthetic when describing brands’ approach to imagery. They explain that to fit in, many brands have begun posting more of a user-generated aesthetic, typically taken on a phone, to relate to their audience. As a result, however, brands may lose their previous, established identity. When asking her initial thoughts regarding the snapshot aesthetic, AnnMarie makes a noteworthy observation of brand identity in general:
"There's this whole other big theory right now going on about how brands are getting rid of all their logos. Like if you just look up every brand, they're all kind of turning; they're taking all of the spunk and identity out of their logos and just…rounding out all of their names. And a lot of color schemes are going to neutral and there's just not a lot of color right now in terms of marketing and branding and campaigns."
AnnMarie calls attention to a general shift in the brand identity that is occurring across campaigns for many different brands. Not only are brands adapting to a more informal presentation of their identity, but they are also becoming more neutral, ultimately removing their original branding that may have initially strengthened affinity. Future research could investigate this shift in branding and its outcome on consumer affinity as in AnnMarie’s case, she loses affinity when brands “round out.” AnnMarie’s discussion around the neutral approach to branding once again reinforces Colliander and Marder’s (2018) study in which the researchers indicated that brands have reverted to casual imagery (the snapshot aesthetic) and are therefore losing their previous, established identity.
Those who viewed the Canva aesthetic in a positive light noted that the ads were informative, professional, and direct while those who disliked the aesthetic explained it to be unoriginal, boring, and distracting. Participants’ brand affinity for the Canva aesthetic was more difficult to measure as several respondents felt paradoxical impressions toward the aesthetic; however, the majority of participants expressed neutral or negative sentiments toward the Canva aesthetic.
Preference Between the Aesthetics
The results of the study indicated an overall preference for the snapshot aesthetic. During the final stage of the interview, Image 5 was shown to participants to demonstrate the two aesthetics side-by-side.
Image 5: Side-by-side comparison of thesnapshot (left) and Canva (right) aesthetics
Participants were asked to identify the aesthetics and explain the differences between the two. Figure 10 shows participants’ explanations of their preferences between the two aesthetics when shown Image 5.
Figure 10: Responses to “Which post do you prefer?”
Although the sample size for this research was too small to apply findings to the general population, interestingly, every female participant preferred the snapshot aesthetic while male participants had more varied answers. Participants described the snapshot aesthetic as visually appealing, organic, intriguing, sneaky, and able to blend into their feed. Conversely, participants characterized the Canva aesthetic as “in your face,” informative, direct, and unoriginal. It is important to note that preferences may be informed by pre-existing opinions on what makes an advertisement effective.
Preference for an aesthetic may be influenced by what respondents prioritize when describing an effective advertisement. The researcher categorized respondents into one of the following categories: Image-Centric, Price-Centric, Information-Centric, Product-Centric, or Polarized. Categorization was based on what participants preferred to see when faced with a sponsored advertisement. Figure 11 defines these categories along with examples to provide further clarification.
Figure 11: Explanation of categorized preferences when consuming Instagram advertisements
The researcher categorized most participants as image-centric with price and information-centric comprising the minorities. Those who expressed preferences for strong imagery, those categorized as image-centric, upheld Thelander and Cassinger’s (2017) research. The previous study selected and interviewed fifteen photographers ranging in experience to rebrand a city utilizing their professional or smartphone photography, and found that photography on Instagram is a key tool for branding campaigns. As most participants in this study are image-centric and seek strong imagery to consider an ad effective, the current study reinforces Thelander and Cassinger’s (2017) findings that photographs are a vital element of ads. Both image and product-centric participants also encouraged Dávila-Ruiz and Vazquez’s (2021) research which illustrated that branded social media relies on visual perception: the product or service being advertised cannot be perceived using other senses, such as touch or smell. The photograph of the product has the responsibility of influencing the consumer’s decision to purchase, and the majority of participants in the current study indicated that the product presentation or type of imagery played a role in their evaluation of the effectiveness of an ad. It is crucial for brands who operate social platforms to understand this insight to structure their ads efficiently.
Overview of Findings
This study sought to identify participants’ affinity for brands that used Canva and snapshot aesthetics. For the purposes of this study, brand affinity is defined as the emotional connection for a brand that consumers develop when faced with sponsored advertisements on Instagram. With the addition of new features on Instagram, more freedom to manipulate the user experience, and cultural shifts in using Instagram as a social media platform in the past few years, brand affinity on Instagram has become a complex subject to measure.
By analyzing consumer attitudes toward sponsored advertisements on Instagram through an all-encompassing lens, the study suggested that most participants remained neutral and unbothered yet not overtly expressing likeness toward the advertisements. Relevancy played a key role in consumer impression of ads; products that are irrelevant to consumers had the potential to spark frustration or less interaction with the ads.
To evaluate the research questions of the study which looked at brand affinity for the Canva and snapshot aesthetics, the responses to this study indicated that overall, the snapshot aesthetic created a higher brand affinity than the Canva aesthetic; however, there were several complexities in this research that can not be summarized by a single statement. Those who preferred the snapshot aesthetic stated that it was relatable and casual, and many participants noted that its “real-life” application of products caught their attention. Conversely, respondents who preferred the Canva aesthetic appreciated its informative nature, professionalism, and directness.
Examples of the Canva aesthetic
Examples of the Snapshot aesthetic
To read the limitations and conclusion for the study, visit the Limitations & Conclusion tab
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