Influence of Brand Ambassadors on Purchase Decisions among Gen Z Students in Selected Universities in Western Kenya

Objective: This research aims to see the influence of the contribution of social media, brandambassadors, service quality, consumer trust and brand image together on purchasing decisions amongPGRI West Sumatra Economics students.Design/Methods/Approach: This research uses a quantitative type of research. The population in thisstudy were all Economic Education Students Class of 2022 at PGRI University, West Sumatra. Dataanalysis techniques used in this research are Descriptive Analysis, Inductive Analysis, Multiple LinearRegression Analysis, Determination Analysis (R²), Hypothesis Testing.Findings: Based on the data analysis results, the following conclusions can be drawn: 1) Social Media hasa positive and significant effect on Purchase Decision, with a coefficient value of 0.181. 2) BrandAmbassador does not have a significant effect on Purchase Decision, with a coefficient value of 0.044. 3)Service Quality does not have a significant effect on Purchase Decision, with a coefficient value of 0.272.4) Consumer Trust has a positive and significant effect on Purchase Decision, with a coefficient value of0.222. 5) Brand Image does not have a significant effect on Purchase Decision, with a coefficient value of0.074. 6) Social Media, Brand Ambassador, Service Quality, Consumer Trust, and Brand Image togetherhave an effect on Purchase Decision, where F-count (6.090) > F-table (2.317), with a coefficient ofdetermination (R2) value of 0.255. This means that Social Media, Brand Ambassador, Service Quality,Consumer Trust, and Brand Image influence Purchase Decision by 25.50%, with the remaining 74.50%.Originality/Value: This study employs model feasibility tests, namely the Maximum Likelihood Test andthe Ramsey RESET Test. These tests aim to identify the model parameters that are most likely to generatethe observed data and to assess whether the regression model used is correctly specified or suffers fromspecification errors.Practical/Policy implication: This research is beneficial for understanding the influence of Social Media,Brand Ambassadors, Service Quality, Consumer Trust, and Brand Image on the Purchase Decision ofTelkomsel Operator Services. Additionally, it provides insights into the theory of Purchase Decision andthe factors that influence it. Key Words: social media, brand ambassador, service quality, consumer trust, image, purchasing decisions

In the digital era, social media platforms such as Instagram have become an important tool for marketing and customer engagement. This research investigates the impact of Brand Ambassador and Instagram Promotion on consumer purchase choices, especially on Skintific skin care products in Cirebon. The purpose of this study is to determine the result of Brand Ambassador and Instagram Promotion on Purchasing Decisions in Cirebon. The study's respondents were Skintific user consumers throughout Cirebon. With a sample of 111 respondents, this study used a quantitative approach by distributing online questionnaires and analyzing the data using multiple linear regression in the SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) application. The validity and reliability tests showed high internal consistency, with Cronbach’s Alpha values of 0.946 (Brand Ambassador), 0.950 (Instagram Promotion), and 0.929 (Purchase Decision). The results showed that both Brand Ambassador and Instagram Promotion significantly influenced purchasing decisions (R² = 0.919), with Instagram promotion having a stronger influence (β = 0.828) than brand ambassadors (β = 0.185). The regression model demonstrates that 91.9% of the variation in purchasing decisions can be clarified by these two variables. This study found that digital marketing strategies, especially those that leverage social media engagement, play an important role in shaping consumer behavior. Companies are advised to optimize Instagram-based promotions while maintaining more effective use of Brand Ambassadors to improve brand image and sales performance.

Purchase decisions play an important role in the success of marketing and selling a brand's products, one of which is the Jiniso fashion brand. The study aims to analyze the influence of social media marketing, brand ambassadors, and electronic word of mouth on purchasing decisions. The research method used is quantitative with the Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modeling approach. The sample of this study was one hundred and sixty respondents with a purposive sampling technique. The results of the study show that each variable has a significant influence on purchasing decisions. This study concludes that an active and consistent presence on social media platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, and e-commerce such as Shopee allows brands to build engagement with their followers. Through uploading relevant content supported by positive product reviews by consumers, seasonal promotional campaigns demonstrated by brand ambassadors are able to create a strong foundation for a brand's image and encourage purchasing decisions for Jiniso fashion products. These findings are expected to be a consideration for companies in designing more appropriate and efficient marketing strategies in the digital era in order to improve purchasing decisions and company competitiveness.

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui pengaruh brand ambassador, brand personality dan product knowledge terhadap purchase decision dengan brand trust sebagai variabel intervening. Penelitian ini menggunakan jenis penelitian kuantitatif dengan sampel sebanyak 100 responden di kota Yogyakarta yang pernah membeli produk Nature Republic. Metode pengumpulan data menggunakan kuesioner yang dibagikan menggunakan teknik purposive sampling. Teknik analisis data menggunakan uji kualitas data, uji asumsi klasik, uji regresi berganda, dan uji hipotetis melalui program SPSS 27. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa Brand ambassador berpengaruh positif dan signifikan terhadap purchase decision pada Nature Republic, brand personality tidak berpengaruh terhadap purchase decision pada Nature Republic, product knowledge berpengaruh positif dan signifikan terhadap purchase decision pada Nature Republic, brand ambassador berpengaruh positif dan signifikan terhadap brand trust pada Nature Republic, brand personality berpengaruh positif dan signifikan terhadap brand trust pada Nature Republic, product knowledge berpengaruh positif dan signifikan terhadap brand trust pada Nature Republic, brand trust berpengaruh positif dan signifikan terhadap purchase decision pada nature republic. Brand trust tidak mampu memediasi brand ambassador terhadap purchase decision. Brand trust mampu memediasi brand personality terhadap purchase decision. Brand trust tidak mampu memediasi product knowledge terhadap purchase decision. Kata kunci: brand ambassador, brand personality, product knowledge, purchase decision, brand trust Abstract This research aims to determine the influence of brand ambassadors, brand personality, and product knowledge on purchase decisions with brand trust as an intervening variable. This research uses quantitative research with a sample of 100 respondents in the city of Yogyakarta who have purchased Nature Republic products. The data collection method uses a questionnaire distributed using a purposive sampling technique. Data analysis techniques use data quality tests, classical assumption tests, multiple regression tests, and hypothetical tests using the SPSS 27 program. The research results show that brand ambassadors have a positive and significant effect on purchase decisions at Nature Republic, brand personality has no effect on purchase decisions at Nature Republic, product knowledge has a positive and significant effect on purchase decisions at Nature Republic, brand ambassador has a positive and significant effect on brand trust at Nature Republic, brand personality has a positive and significant effect on brand trust at Nature Republic, product knowledge has a positive and significant effect on brand trust At Nature Republic, brand trust has a positive and significant effect on purchase decisions at Nature Republic. Brand trust is unable to mediate brand ambassadors in purchasing decisions. Brand trust can mediate brand personality in purchasing decisions. Brand trust is unable to mediate product knowledge on purchase decisions. Keywords: brand ambassador, brand personality, product knowledge, purchase decision, brand trust

This study aims to explain the role of brand awareness in mediating the influence of brand ambassadors and social media marketing on purchase decisions. This research was conducted in Denpasar City with a sample size taken as many as 120 respondents using a questionnaire. The sample was determined using a non-probability sampling model with purposive sampling technique. The data analysis technique used is path analysis, sobel test, and VAF test. The results showed that brand ambassadors and social media marketing have a positive and significant effect on purchase decisions, brand ambassadors and social media marketing have a positive and significant effect on brand awareness, brand awareness has a positive and significant effect on purchase decisions, and brand awareness has a partial effect in mediating the influence of brand ambassadors and social media marketing on purchase decisions. The implication of this research is that MS Glow is able to maintain and pay attention to the strategies carried out to make brand ambassadors, social media marketing and brand awareness of MS Glow products better in order to increase purchase decisions for MS Glow products. In an effort to increase customer purchase decisions, MS Glow is expected to be able to optimize brand ambassadors and social media marketing to customers. Better optimization of marketing strategies to customers needs to be considered in order to create brand awareness in customers so that the desire to make a purchase decision can occur. Keywords: Brand ambassador, Social media marketing, Brand awareness, Purchase decision

Background: Nowadays, in the era of globalization, most Indonesian people are already aware of the changes in globalization. In further developments, the internet began to be used in all fields, including business. With the development of technology like this, more and more e-commerce and marketing companies and the number of internet users are increasing in Indonesia. This research is important due to inconsistencies in previous findings, which present both positive and negative results, so researchers try to take advantage of this gap to conduct further researchPurpose: The aim of this research is to determine the influence of Brand Awareness, Brand Ambassador, on Purchase Decision supported by Trust as the Intervening Variable on Shopee MarketplaceDesign/methodology/approach: This research determined 335 staff as the sample and implemented probability sampling processing simple random sampling methods applying Slovin Formula. The research is implementing AMOS 24 program as data analysis, and SEM AMOS approach in testing the hypothesisFindings/Result: The findings the brand awareness had a positive impact in partial towards purchase decisions. Brand ambassadors positively influence the trust, trust has an effect towards purchase decision, and brand awareness influence indirectly towards purchase decision which is mediated by trust in the Marketplace Shopee for staff of PT. XYZ IndonesiaConclusion: This study is to determine the effect of Brand Awareness, Brand Ambassador, on Purchase Decision with the support of Trust as an Intervening Variable on the Shopee Marketplace. The conclusion of the study is that Brand Awareness, Brand Ambassador have an effect on Purchase Decision with the support of Trust as an Intervening Variable on the Shopee MarketplaceOriginality/value (State of the art): This study makes a novel contribution by the integration of brand awareness, brand ambassadors and trust within the digital marketplace. While previous research literature revealed that brand awareness and brand ambassadors have an impact in the context of virtual marketplace but no attention was found on understanding the mediating role of trust in virtual purchasing decision Keywords: brand awareness, brand ambassador, purchase decision, trust, SEM-AMOS

The local shoe industry in Indonesia is growing, one of the local shoe brands that is well known is PIERO, which has been established since 1999 Having experienced its peak in the early 2000s, many efforts are being made by Piero to maintain its existence. The development of the digital world, especially the social media sector which eventually became social commerce, made Piero think about whether they should choose brand ambassadors and calculate the budget to collaborate with the right brand ambassador. Moreover, there are two kinds of digital brand ambassadors: micro and macro influencers. This issue ultimately becomes a problem that must be answered immediately, because PIERO’s competitors have begun to move rapidly on social media with their brand ambassadors. The purpose of this research is to identify the effect between micro and macro brand ambassadors related to soft or hard language with brand trust, purchasing decision, brand image on Piero shoes. This research is using quantitative design. To conduct the study, the authors recruited 339 participants from an online social media then randomly assigned to one of four conditions: micro influencer with high selling language, micro influencer with low selling language, macro influencer with high selling language, and macro influencer with low selling language. They were then asked to view an Instagram post by the assigned influencer and fulfill the questionnaire. Based on the result of research analysis using spss through multi anova analysis, the author conclude that : Micro brand ambassador with soft selling language is more effective at brand trust and purchase decision, meanwhile Macro brand ambassador with hard selling language is more effective to represent a good brand image to the customer.

Cosmetics have become a necessity for society, especially women. The country that is currently famous for its cosmetic products is South Korea. The famous Korean cosmetic product in Indonesia is Nature Republic. In 2019, Nature republic's sales experienced a very drastic decline. Strategies that can be used to increase sales are Brand Ambassador and Brand Personality. The method used in this research is quantitative research methods. This research uses descriptive research with a quantitative approach. A sample of 270 respondents. The sampling technique used was stratifed sampling. The results showed that Brand Ambassador and Brand Personality had a strong enough correlation, namely 48.8%, partially Brand Ambassador to purchasing decisions had an effect of 7.6%, partially Brand Personality on purchasing decisions had an effect of 54.9% and simultaneously Brand Ambassador and Brand Personality for Purchase Decision by 62.5%. Meanwhile, 37.5% was influenced by other variables which were not researched. There is a Partial Influence of Brand Personality (X2) on Purchase Decisions (Y) for Korean Nature Republic Cosmetics Users in Karawang Regency of 0.549 or 54.9%. This shows that Brand Personality (X2) contributes or has a positive effect on Purchasing Decisions (Y). The simultaneous influence of Brand Ambassador (X1) and Brand Personality (X2) on Purchase Decisions (Y) of Korean Nature Republic Cosmetics Users in Karawang Regency is 0.625 or 62%, while the remaining 37.5% is influenced by variables not studied. This shows that Brand Ambassador (X1) and Brand Personality (X2) together have an influence on the Company's Purchasing Decision (Y). Korean Cosmetics User Nature Republic in Karawang Regency.

This study employs an explanatory research method to investigate the influence of Flash Sale Promotions and Brand Ambassadors on purchasing decisions in the context of e-commerce, focusing on Indonesian consumers. Data collected from 100 questionnaires distributed to users of e-commerce applications reveal that effective Flash Sale Promotions positively impact purchasing decisions, indicating that the quality of such promotions is directly correlated with higher purchase decisions within e-commerce applications. Additionally, the presence of compelling Brand Ambassadors is found to enhance purchasing decisions on the Shopee e-commerce application, with improved ambassador performance leading to increased purchasing decisions. These findings underscore the significance of strategic marketing approaches, such as Flash Sale Promotions and Brand Ambassador programs, in shaping consumer behavior in the e-commerce sector.
 Highlights:
 
 Flash Sale's Impact: Examining the influence of Flash Sale Promotions on e-commerce purchasing decisions.
 Brand Ambassador Effect: Investigating the role of Brand Ambassadors in shaping consumer behavior.
 Indonesian Market: Focusing on the specific context of Indonesian consumers in the e-commerce landscape.
 
 Keywords: E-commerce, Flash Sale, Brand Ambassadors, Purchasing Decisions, Indonesian Consumers

The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of Brand Ambassador on purchasing decisions of Wardah products with brand image as an intervening variable at Indomaret Sigambal. The data processing technique uses SPSS data analysis. The population in this study are customers or buyers at Indomaret in Sigambal Labuhanbatu. The sample collection technique used is probability sampling by leading to a random sampling incident, the number of samples used is 100 people who shop at Indomaret in Sigambal Labuhanbatu. The research concludes that brand ambassadors and brand image have an independent impact on purchasing decisions in terms of the results of the t-table comparison (0. 6777) is smaller than t-count, then brand ambassador and brand image have a positive impact on purchasing decisions. From the results of model 1 and model 2, it can be seen the magnitude of the direct impact given by the brand ambassador variable to purchasing decisions, namely: 0.308 and the indirect impact of brand ambassadors through brand image on purchasing decisions is 0.88. Based on the overall test, it can be seen that the brand ambassador and brand image have a simultaneous impact on purchasing decisions in terms of Sig 0.000 < 0.05 and based on the results of the f test, the brand ambassador and brand image have a simultaneous impact on purchasing decisions in terms of the calculated f value of 14.109 > from f table 3.94.

Social Media is one of the digital marketing media that is widely used today and the presence of the brand ambassador phenomenon is one of the determinants of consumer purchasing decisions for a product advertised on social media. In today's advances in digital technology, whether consumers prefer to be a model for the product and also whether trust in consumers is also a factor in the consumer's decision to buy. The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of brand ambassador and trust variables on consumer decisions to shop online and also purchase decisions on repurchase. In this study the researchers used four variables, twelve dimensions where each dimension was represented by two indicators so that in this study there were twenty-four indicators which would later be changed in the form of questions to respondents. The population used is consumers who have shopped for fashion products using brand ambassadors. Given that the population is very large, the researchers used quota sampling to determine the number of samples. The study used 5 times the number of indicators so that there were 120 samples of respondents who were processed through Structural Equation Modeling analysis techniques with AMOS software. The results of data processing indicate that brand ambassadors and trust significantly influence consumer purchasing decisions. It was found that trust had the greatest influence on trust. Moreover, purchasing decisions have a significant effect on online consumer repurchase.

PurposeThis paper aims to focus its inquiries on the parasocial interactions (PSI) and relationships (PSR) consumers form with personae in online social media communities. The authors extend the marketing literature on parasocial interaction/relationship beyond brands by focusing on personal social media accounts (public student-athletes).Design/methodology/approachThe authors adopt a grounded theory methodology (Glaser and Strauss, 2009) triangulating observational netnographic data (Kozinets, 2010) of 49 public student-athlete accounts on Twitter (34,500 tweets) with in-depth interviews. The findings emphasize that PSI/PSR occur not only from interactions with brands but also through personal accounts on social media platforms.FindingsThe investigation reveals that through such social media platforms, PSI/PSR influence consumers cognitively, affectively and behaviorally. In terms of cognition, the data suggest that PSI/PSR can influence opinion, interests, attention allocation and construction of relations, specifically through the availability of in-depth knowledge about the social media persona. Additionally, the research findings indicate that affect-laden messages from persona can alter emotion and mood, induce empathetic reactions and trigger inspiration, especially in relation to the shared interest of the online community of the social media account. Behaviorally, the findings suggest that personas’ messages can direct and inspire both online and offline actions through endorsed behavioral parasocial interactions.Research limitations/implicationsThis research focused on one specific social media platform, Twitter. Twitter was specifically chosen, because it is a popular social media platform and allows non-reciprocal relationships. Although the authors feel that the findings would hold for other social media platforms, future research may be conducted to see if there are differences in PSI/PSR development on different types of networks. Additionally, the authors focused on a specific type of personal account, student-athletes. Future research may wish to extend beyond this population to other personal social media accounts, such as fashion bloggers, diy bloggers and others.Originality/valueThis research reveals that PSI/PSR can occur not only from interactions with brands but also through personal accounts on social media platforms. The findings give support for the value of brand spokespersons and brand ambassadors and suggest that brands should take careful consideration into who is chosen to represent the brand.

Social media, an essential part of social connection, is becoming an inevitable global communication tool. The popularity and availability of mobile phones have further fueled the importance of social media. Social media marketing activities carried out by enterprises helps to attract more comprehensive customers and influence customers' purchase behavior. However, with the increasing investment of significant brands in marketing activities on social media platforms, marketing on social media is becoming increasingly competitive in building consumers' awareness about a particular product, customers' purchase behavior, and purchase decisions. Marketing research has focused on using social media to motivate consumers' purchase intentions and maintain consumer loyalty. The previous studies have shed some light on the significant impacts of social media on consumers' behaviors. However, few focus on consumers' purchase intentions and decisions. Through a literature review, this paper studies how consumer behavior changes due to social media. This paper explores how social media can ultimately market consumer behavior by influencing consumer psychology, attitude, and internal motivation for consumption through a literature review. Hopefully, this paper also can provide some ideas for enterprises to better their strategy formulation, optimize marketing plans, and improve brand benefits and corporate earnings in the increasingly fierce social media marketing competition.

Technological developments lead to increasingly fierce competition in e-commerce. Tokopedia's marketing strategy in surviving in a competitive climate is promotion and brand ambassadors. This study aims to analyze the influence of promotions and brand ambassadors on purchasing decisions at Tokopedia by students of the Asia Institute of Malang. This study uses a quantitative method with a survey approach as a research design. The population of this study were 143 management students at the Asia Institute of Malang. The sample was determined using a purposive sampling technique with the criteria of an active Tokopedia user so that the total sample is 104 people. Research data was collected through a questionnaire. Data analysis was performed using multiple linear regression techniques, t test and F test to test the significance of the influence of promotions and brand ambassadors on purchasing decisions. The results of the study show that promotion has a positive and significant influence on purchasing decisions at Tokopedia. Likewise, brand ambassadors also have a positive and significant influence on purchasing decisions. In addition, the results of the F test show that there is a significant simultaneous influence between promotions and brand ambassadors on product purchasing decisions at Tokopedia.
 Keywords: Brand Ambassador, Promotion, Purchase decision

This study aims to determine the effect of integrated marketing communication and brand ambassador on purchase decisions through brand awareness and image as intervening variables at Tokopedia in Medan City. This research is associative research. The sample in this study is 145 consumers who have shopped at Tokopedia. The data analysis techniques used to test the hypothesis are descriptive analysis and SEM-lisrel analysis. The results showed that the Integrated Marketing Communication variable had a positive and insignificant effect on Brand Awareness at Tokopedia. Integrated Marketing Communication has a positive and significant effect on the Brand Image of Tokopedia. Integrated Marketing Communication has a positive and significant effect on the Purchase Decision variable at Tokopedia. Brand Ambassador has a positive and significant effect on the Brand Awareness variable at Tokopedia. Brand Ambassador shows a positive and insignificant effect on Brand Image on Tokopedia. Brand Ambassador shows a positive and insignificant effect on purchase decisions at Tokopedia. Brand Awareness shows a positive and significant influence on the Brand Image of Tokopedia. Brand Awareness shows a positive and significant influence on Purchase Decisions at Tokopedia. Brand Image shows a positive and significant influence on Purchase Decisions at Tokopedia. Integrated Marketing Communication shows a positive and insignificant effect on Purchase Decisions through Brand Awareness and Brand Image on Tokopedia. Brand Ambassador shows a positive and insignificant effect on Purchase Decisions through Brand Awareness and Brand Image on Tokopedia. Keywords: Integrated Marketing Communication, Brand Ambassador, Brand Awareness, Brand Image, Purchase Decision.