The impact of IMC consistency and interactivity on city reputation and consumer brand engagement: the moderating effects of gender

Abstract

ABSTRACT The impact of Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) has not received sufficient attention in the tourism marketing literature. The objective of this paper is to propose and empirically test a model that captures relationships between two dimensions of IMC, i.e. consistency and interactivity, and two critical variables in destination branding literature, i.e. city reputation and consumer brand engagement (CBE). CBE has been considered a multi-dimensional construct composed of cognitive, affective, and behavioural dimensions. The findings reveal that both IMC consistency and IMC interactivity are highly influential on city reputation. However, IMC interactivity is found to exert a more significant role in the development of CBE than IMC consistency does. In addition, CBE is found to be affected by city reputation. The model has further been examined from a gender perspective through a multi-group analysis. Female tourists are found to be more sensitive to city reputation, while males are more influenced by IMC interactivity.