This study explores the impacts of webtoons as branded entertainment on consumer responses in competitive advertising markets. A webtoon is a digital cartoon format developed in South Korea for Korean audience that do not read comic books often, but are heavy consumers of webtoons. Using general surveys on brand webtoons in Korea, factors influencing consumer attitudes and electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) intentions were investigated. The results of this study found that there are hierarchical influences on the use of brand webtoons on consumer emotion, transportation, persuasion knowledge, and advertising believability in order. The pattern of relationships was somewhat different between effects on attitudes toward brand webtoons and eWOM intentions. More specifically, pleasure and arousal influenced both attitudes and eWOM intentions. However, dominance only influenced eWOM intentions, and transportation only influenced attitudes towards branded webtoons. Persuasion knowledge negatively influenced both dependent variables. Advertising believability showed positive influences on attitudes and behavioral intentions.

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The research examines Korean political online communities" attempts to influence media content by conducting an advertising boycott against advertisers who placed advertising in the major newspapers that supported the Korean government"s trade policies on beef imported from the United States. The sample includes leading individual bloggers and online community members who participated in organizing the boycott through their online communications. This study explores online political debaters" gratifications in using online communication to facilitate their boycott activities and their perceptions of the effectiveness of the two-way, internet-based communication in influencing the newspaper advertisers, newspaper content, and the ultimate result of the boycott activities. In addition, antigovernmental bloggers and OCMs (Online Community Member) saw more possibilities of their online communication information to influence directly involved advertisers than progovernmental online groups.