Abstract
Celebrity endorsement has been regarded as an effective strategy for enterprises to implement sustainable marketing strategies. However, frequent use of celebrity ads renders consumers skeptical of the ads’ and celebrity’s profit-making intent, which may adversely affect the sustainable marketing of the brand. This has given rise to “natural celebrity-brand association” that features celebrities using the brand in real-life settings, which is usually presented on social media rather than mass media. Using a boot-strapping approach, the study contrasts the effects of natural and commercial endorsements (i.e., natural vs. advertising, natural vs. product placement) on consumer brand responses. Results showed that natural celebrity–brand association exerts superior effects. Further, the mediating variables, para-social interaction (PSI) and its drivers (celebrity attractiveness, consumers’ perceived homophily with the celebrity), which reflect consumer’s emotional connection with a celebrity, also exert significantly stronger effects in the natural (vs. commercial) endorsement context. This research provides insights for advertisers and marketers in exploring new patterns of brand presentation forms in advertisements and gaining competitive advantage in sustainable marketing.
Highlights
Celebrity endorsement is a popular sustainable marketing strategy that can increase brand awareness, brand image, consumer attitude, and purchase intention
This paper examines the following issues: (1) Compare the levels of consumer–celebrity para-social interaction (PSI) and the degrees of its drivers, when consumers are exposed to different endorsement contexts; (2) compare the level of positive brand responses when consumers are exposed to different endorsement contexts; and (3) test the role of PSI and its drivers in mediating the effects of endorsement contexts on brand responses
Consumers who were exposed to the celebrity–brand association in real life context had the highest level of brand-related responses, namely self–brand connection, perceived brand quality, brand attitude, as well as purchase intention
Summary
Celebrity endorsement is a popular sustainable marketing strategy that can increase brand awareness, brand image, consumer attitude, and purchase intention. To counter the potential negative effects of celebrity ads, marketers have devised alternative strategies such as product placement to provide a more neutral context to disguise the underlying commercial purposes of celebrity endorsement. Rather than featuring the celebrities in studio poses that feature the celebrity and advertised product in their best light, natural celebrity endorsement features celebrities in real-life settings as they hold, use, or otherwise engage with the advertised brand. While some of these settings may be planned, many others are consumers’ real encounters with the celebrity eating/wearing/using the brand.
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