Abstract
Within the context of Instagram celebrity-based brand endorsement, this study investigates the effects of parasocial interaction, perceived ad message authenticity, and the match-up between brand and celebrity. An online survey was administered to 253 college students taking introductory advertising or PR courses. Respondents, in return, received course credits. As hypothesized, study results reveal that parasocial interaction positively influences perceived ad message authenticity, the match-up between brand and celebrity, and attitude toward ads. In addition, perceived ad message authenticity and the match-up between brand and celebrity have a positive impact on consumers’ attitudes toward ads. The current study provides advertising practitioners with implications when it comes to creating advertising campaign messages and selecting celebrity endorsers.
Highlights
IntroductionAdvertisers around the world employ celebrity endorsement for a number of reasons, including its positive impacts on increased attention to ads, attitude toward the brand, and purchase intention, not to mention the increased sales
Output from the analysis revealed the composite reliability (CR), the average variance extracted (AVE), and the correlation coefficients between the constructs, which are sumTable 1
Prior literature shows that parasocial interaction or relationship with a celebrity has a positive impact on attitude toward ads, endorsed brands, purchase intention, political candidates, and even social causes [10–12,32–34]
Summary
Advertisers around the world employ celebrity endorsement for a number of reasons, including its positive impacts on increased attention to ads, attitude toward the brand, and purchase intention, not to mention the increased sales. Social media (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram) is the tool that most celebrities use to connect with their fans. This study may provide unique contributions as it shows how Instagram celebrity-based brand endorsement works focusing on three factors: parasocial interaction, perceived ad message authenticity, and match-up between brand and celebrity. The current study delves into the effects of parasocial interaction, perceived ad message authenticity, and the match-up between brand and celebrity as it evaluates Instagram celebrity-based brand endorsements. These three factors were selected for the current study because of their importance in the celebrity endorsement literature. Given the importance of celebrity-based brand endorsement in social media, the results of this research should be of interest to scholars and to marketing practitioners
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