Brand Endorsement Research Articles

Close Encounters of the AI Kind: Use of AI Influencers As Brand Endorsers

Brand endorsers can contribute to a brand’s success or failure (in the case of endorser transgressions). Recent advancements in technology have produced new, nonhuman alternatives to traditional celebrity endorsers. These new endorsers rely on artificial intelligence (AI) to interact with and influence consumers. Two studies demonstrate that AI influencers can produce positive brand benefits similar to those produced by human celebrity endorsers. Moreover, just like their human counterparts, AI influencers can also commit transgressions that result in degradation of the endorsed brand. Importantly, though, AI influencers differ from human celebrity endorsers in that consumers are less likely to view them as unique entities (as tested in a pilot study). Thus, consumers are more likely to perceive a transgression committed by an AI influencer as behavior applicable to all AI influencers, but they are less likely to view celebrity endorser behaviors as interchangeable. As such, after an AI influencer has committed a transgression, replacing the AI influencer with a celebrity endorser attenuates negative brand perceptions, an effect which cannot be realized if the replacement is another AI influencer.

The effects of augmented reality mobile app advertising: Viral marketing via shared social experience

Augmented reality (AR) tools can increase the effectiveness of traditional marketing approaches. This study tests the effectiveness of AR advertising in the specific context of holiday mobile app marketing. Applying the experience economy framework to the AR marketing response process, this study investigates consumer responses to AR mobile app advertising by measuring shared social experience (which is associated with user-generated viral marketing behavior) and purchase intentions. Results show that immersive new brand experiences enabled by AR positively influence consumer responses. These findings suggest that practitioners should consider combining AR marketing tools with existing marketing approaches to facilitate shared social experience (i.e., unpaid brand endorsement) and increase purchase intentions. Doing so could help marketing campaigns stand out, particularly during competitive holiday marketing periods.

YouTube Vloggers as Brand Influencers on Consumer Purchase Behaviour

Abstract Objective: The increasing influence of YouTube vloggers on consumer purchase behaviour and the specificity of the vloggers _ viewers/subscribers relationship are under-researched. Addressing this gap in knowledge, this paper explores the role of vloggers as brand influencers on consumer (their viewers) purchase behaviour. It aims to investigate the interaction between vloggers and viewers/subscribers in terms of brand awareness and consumers’ purchase behaviour. Methodology: A mixed-method approach (often connected with netnography) incorporated non-participant observation of vloggers’ activities and vloggers-viewers interactions within selected popular vlogs, supported by an online survey with both vloggers and viewers. Findings: We have observed specific brand endorsements and experiences, depending on the vloggers’ context, leading to both positive and negative feedback. This interaction and the consistently positive perception of reasons behind the vloggers’ choice of the endorsed brands underpin the credibility of the vloggers – viewers/subscribers relationship. Value added: Our results show not only the significance of vloggers as brand influencers, providing their audiences information perceived as trustworthy and convincing in terms of purchase recommendations but also explore the factors affecting this process. Recommendations: This research directed our attention into the viewer-viewer interaction on the vlogs platforms. It is a very dynamic and challenging (difficult to control) part of vlog marketing activities (including various eWOM aspects) which can be very influential in the analysed context and stays a task for the future research.

Political brand endorsers, political brand preference, and political brand equity: A mediated moderated model

ABSTRACT Though extant literature has investigated the role of brand endorsers in political marketing and communication research, few studies have investigated the causal relationships between brand endorsers, political party brand personality, and voter behaviour. The present study addresses this gap by investigating the relationship between brand endorsers, brand personality, brand preference, and brand equity in the political marketing context, by adhering to the meaning transfer model. The results reveal that political brand endorsers have a significant effect on political party brand personality. In addition, political party brand personality has a significant influence on the political brand preference and political brand equity. The brand personality of a political party has a partial mediating role on the relationship between brand endorsers, brand preference, and brand equity. The results of the study further describe the partial moderating role of political party type on the relationship between political party brand personality, political brand preference, and political brand equity. The paper has significant marketing and communication implications for political parties. The study is undeniably significant as it is centred on India, an emerging Asian economy whose political parties, leaders, and their strategies invite direct comparison with those of developed economies.

Embodied Causes: Climbing, Charity, and ‘Celanthropy’

Women have played significant roles in the emergence of the charity climbing expedition. This study maps key selective historical developments in the evolution of humanitarian, philanthropic, and charitable works involving the climbing community from the 1960s to the present and the formation of the ‘climbing-charity-corporate-complex’. In this process some climbers have evolved into ‘celanthropists’, celebrity philanthropists as the sociologist Chris Rojek has employed the term. Celanthropists are individuals who have come to public prominence on behalf of charitable causes through brand endorsement and philanthropic activisms. Focusing on a range of prominent British women who have climbed Everest, including Rebecca Stephens, Annabelle Bond, and retired Olympic cyclist Victoria Pendleton, reveals the forms of emotional and embodied labour that have been essential to their ability to climb for a cause and their subsequent heroic reception as celanthropists. Their cases raise important questions concerning the gendering of ‘physical philanthropy’ and the nature of post-feminism in sport in its treatment of female individualism and the historically resilient ambivalences afforded to women’s climbing achievements.

What makes followers loyal? The role of influencer interactivity in building influencer brand equity

PurposeThis paper aims to present a mechanism that explains how followers become loyal to social media influencers. It suggests influencer interactivity as a unique feature of influencer brands and investigates how it affects influencer authenticity, emotional attachment, and thus brand loyalty.Design/methodology/approachA cross-sectional survey of 282 social media users was conducted to estimate the conceptual model. Participants were asked to respond to the survey questions based on their perceptions of a specific influencer they follow on social media. The relationships among variables were tested via structural equation modeling.FindingsThe findings show that influencer interactivity is positively related to influencer authenticity and emotional attachment. Influencer authenticity mediates the effect of interactivity on emotional attachment and directly affects brand trust. Furthermore, the results demonstrate that followers’ emotional attachment to influencer brands increases brand loyalty through brand trust.Originality/valueThis study is the first to approach influencers as a brand, rather than a brand endorser. Specifically, this study conceptualizes the influencer brand’s interactivity and finds a link between influencer interactivity and the followers’ perception of influencer authenticity. It discusses why influencer interactivity and authenticity play key roles in shaping influencer brand equity. This study contributes to both the human brands and the influencer marketing literature by proposing a model to understand how the brand equity of the influencer brand is formed.

The role of endorsers in bringing defunct brands back to life: theory and evidence

Purpose This study aims to investigate a randomized 3 (endorser type: celebrity vs CEO vs expert) × 2 (product type: hedonic vs utility) between-respondents factorial experiment to inspect the effects of the endorsers and product types on consumers’ engagement in BRM through brand-relationship variables [i.e. self-brand connection (SBC), perceived product attachment (PPA) and source credibility (SC)]. Marketing in a digital era is witnessing a rising trend of “brand resurrection as revolution” led by consumer power. The successful revitalization of various dead brands provides some new opportunities for companies to engage millennial consumers in brand resurrection movements (BRM) through the right choice of brand endorsers. The new-found love of companies for the revitalization of long-forgotten brands has attracted considerable interest among scholars and marketing practitioners. Despite the brand resurrection’s high practical relevance, little is known in marketing research about how to revive failing brands back to life. Design/methodology/approach Using source credibility theory (SCT) as a lens, this study conducted two studies (i.e. Study 1, N = 300; Study 2, N = 300) and builds on an analysis of data from Pakistani millennials. The hypotheses were inspected using both structural equation modeling and SPSS’s PROCESS macro. Findings Through two studies, the authors find that the match between endorser types and product types affects customer motivation to engage in BRM via SBC, PPA and SC (i.e. attractiveness, trustworthiness and expertise).[AQ2] The results showed that for utilitarian products, both SBC and PPA mediate the link between endorser types and BRM, but for hedonic products, PPA does not play a role. Similarly, the authors’ results indicate that for hedonic products, attractiveness, trustworthiness and expertise mediate the link between endorser types and BRM, but for utilitarian products, trustworthiness does not play a role. Practical implications The results of this research will help marketing managers devise effective brand endorsers strategies in reviving failing brands. Specifically, this endeavor highlights that understanding brand advertisements merely in terms of celebrity endorsement restricts the full potential that brand advertisements could have and also that a comprehensive understanding must include expert and chief executive officers (CEO) endorsers. Therefore, one of the central contributions of this research is the introduction of expert and CEO endorsers and the evidence that both celebrity (i.e. celebrity and CEO) and non-celebrity endorsers (i.e. experts) have an impact on consumers’ motivation to engage in BRM. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the first endeavors of its kind to empirically explore consumer attitude/motivation behind participation in reviving failing brands. The significance of this work is underscored by the fact that numerous dead brands are being brought back by companies because of consumer–brand co-creation movements.

Eco-Fashion Adoption in the UAE: Understanding Consumer Barriers and Motivational Factors

This paper explores the scope of eco-fashion and identifies the barriers and motivational factors to eco-fashion adoption in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The key objective is to identify strategies that will influence consumers to perceive eco-fashion more favorably. A total of 20 participants were selected for the in-depth interviews. The two main barriers that surfaced from the interview data were lack of awareness and availability of eco-fashion clothing. Other noteworthy barriers that were identified were lack of brand association, higher cost of eco-fashion clothing, cheap and readily available fast fashion, an overload of information, boring and unattractive styles, no incentive to purchase eco-fashion and perceptions of poor quality. The main motivators were availability, awareness, celebrity and brand endorsements. In addition, brand, style, comfort, affordability, engaging marketing communications were other important motivators. This study for the first time examines the barriers and motivational factors of eco-fashion adoption in the UAE, as no study has been conducted even on related topics in the Middle East. Awareness was identified as one of the main barriers to eco-fashion adoption, which is a new finding owing to the geographical difference between the previous and the current studies.

Classification of instagram fake users using supervised machine learning algorithms

On Instagram, the number of followers is a common success indicator. Hence, followers selling services become a huge part of the market. Influencers become bombarded with fake followers and this causes a business owner to pay more than they should for a brand endorsement. Identifying fake followers becomes important to determine the authenticity of an influencer. This research aims to identify fake users' behavior, and proposes supervised machine learning models to classify authentic and fake users. The dataset contains fake users bought from various sources, and authentic users. There are 17 features used, based on these sources: 6 metadata, 3 media info, 2 engagement, 2 media tags, 4 media similarity. Five machine learning algorithms will be tested. Three different approaches of classification are proposed, i.e. classification to 2-classes and 4-classes, and classification with metadata. Random forest algorithm produces the highest accuracy for the 2-classes (authentic, fake) and 4-classes (authentic, active fake user, inactive fake user, spammer) classification, with accuracy up to 91.76%. The result also shows that the five metadata variables, i.e. number of posts, followers, biography length, following, and link availability are the biggest predictors for the users class. Additionally, descriptive statistics results reveal noticeable differences between fake and authentic users.

Warmth effect in advertising: the effect of male endorsers’ warmth on brand attitude

Prior literature in advertising tends to view warmth as an emotion arises from relationships between two or more characters in a commercial (e.g. lovers or family members), while little attention has been paid to endorsers as a potential source of warmth. In this article, we propose that the warmth of endorsers can serve as a way to elicit feelings of warmth in consumers and affect the effectiveness of the advertisement. Across three studies, we reveal a warmth effect in brand endorsement such that consumers perceive a greater psychological connection between the brand and the self when the brand is endorsed by a male endorser with high warmth, which, in turn, leads to a more favourable brand attitude. This warmth effect occurs only for male endorsers, but not for female endorsers. We further identify two boundary conditions and show that the effect is more prominent when consumers are of interdependent self-construal (vs. independent self-construal) and when the endorsed brand is a functional brand (vs. a prestigious brand). The findings contribute to the literature of brand endorsement, warmth and gender stereotype in advertising, and provide managerial insights for selecting brand endorsers.

A New Scale to Capture the Multidimensionality of Celebrity Image

The present study aims to develop a reliable and valid scale that measures the multidimensionality of celebrity images and is generalizable across diverse celebrity professions. A survey has been conducted using a sample of 484 respondents to gather data relating to the dimensions of celebrity images of four selected celebrities from two celebrity profession categories, namely, movie stars and sport stars. EFA, CFA and SEM have been used for developing a reliable and valid scale of celebrity images. The scale encompasses seven dimensions of celebrity image: social and ethical responsibility, life and style, professional capabilities, perspective towards celebrity’s profession, orientation towards fans, attractive physique and public image. Marketers can use the scale to identify the dimensions of celebrity images to select appropriate celebrities for their product endorsement. They can also use the identified dimensions of celebrity images to better differentiate, position and extend their brands while designing their marketing strategies related to product positioning, celebrity endorsements and celebrity brand extensions. It would enable researchers and practitioners to bring standardization to celebrity image research in the field of brand endorsements.

“I'll buy what she's #wearing”: The roles of envy toward and parasocial interaction with influencers in Instagram celebrity-based brand endorsement and social commerce

Companies increasingly leverage Instagram as a channel for brand management, consumer services, and social commerce. This study addresses the dynamics of interaction among brand-related user-generated contents (UGC) posted on Instagram, social media-based brand communication with Instagram celebrities (parasocial interaction [PSI] and envy), and consumers' characteristics (social comparison tendency, compulsive buying tendency, and materialistic envy). Three between-subjects experiments (Experiment 1: N = 121; Experiment 2: N = 106; Experiment 3: N = 377) were conducted to test the effects of Instagram influencers and their branded-UGC on consumer behavior outcomes. Experiment 1 employed a 3 (branded content type [Instagram influencer's photo type]: selfies vs. photos taken by others vs. group photos) x 2 (gender: female vs. male) factorial design. Experiment 2 employed a 2 (content generator type: Instagram celebrity vs. mainstream celebrity) x 2 (gender: female vs. male) factorial design. Experiment 3 deployed a 2 (branded content type: photos listing products vs. photos showing models) x 2 (content generator type: commercial brand [corporate] vs. Instagram celebrity [human]) factorial design. Experiment 1 indicates Instagram influencers' photo types and gender moderate the effects of envy toward and PSI with them on consumers' intention to buy the products Instagram influencers are wearing. Experiment 2 shows content generator types and gender moderate the effects of envy and PSI on source trustworthiness perception. Experiment 3 demonstrates branded content types and content generator types moderate the effects of consumers' physical appearance social comparison tendency, compulsive buying tendency, and materialistic envy on brand trust. This study makes theoretical contributions to the literature on retailing and consumer services as well as provides managerial implications for Instafamous-based influencer marketing and social commerce in Web 2.0 environments.

Blending the Gender Lines: Effectiveness of Beauty Boys as Brand Endorsers

Blending the Gender Lines: Effectiveness of Beauty Boys as Brand Endorsers

Blending the Gender Lines: Effectiveness of Beauty Boys as Brand Endorsers

Blending the Gender Lines: Effectiveness of Beauty Boys as Brand Endorsers

I Like What She’s #Endorsing: The Impact of Female Social Media Influencers’ Perceived Sincerity, Consumer Envy, and Product Type

In an examination of influencer success, the current research draws from brand personality literature and identifies social media influencers (SMIs) as human brands. Specifically, this research examines how an influencer’s perceived sincerity trait and consumer envy influence consumers’ evaluations toward the influencer as well as brand endorsements across different product types. Data indicate that participants report a more favorable attitude toward a high-sincerity SMI, and envy was a significant moderator that enhanced participants’ attitude toward a low-sincerity influencer. In addition, whereas brand attitude did not differ by influencers’ sincerity levels for a symbolic product, the high-sincerity influencer was more effective in eliciting favorable brand attitude from participants when endorsing a utilitarian product. Implications of the findings are discussed with suggestions for future research.

From ‘Angry Young Man’ to ‘Benevolent Patriarch’: Amitabh Bachchan, Bollywood stardom and the remaking of post-liberalization India

ABSTRACTFor popular Hindi cinema’s aficionados, the cinematic idiom’s male protagonist, the Hindi film hero, is perceived as emblematic of the nation’s travails and aspirations. Subsequently, this magnifies the role of the Bollywood male star who with his hyper-virile masculinity, is often employed to the task of articulating questions of national and cultural identity. As the seventies’ iconic ‘Angry Young Man,’ Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan echoed the frustration of a nation battling political ineptitude, corruption and the demise of Nehruvian socialism. However, with the recent reinvention of his star persona, from the erstwhile ‘Angry Young Man’ to what I term as the ‘Benevolent Patriarch,’ Bachchan signifies millennial India’s avowed espousal of neo-liberalism. Employing a detailed analysis of Amitabh Bachchan’s star text, not only as a cinematic icon, but also, his recent avatar as a television host, consummate brand endorser and social media personality, I examine how the shift in his star discourse underlines issues of gender, class and national identity, particularly in the context of the shift from socialist ideals to consumerist aspirations. In doing so, I also contextualize the changing dynamics of contemporary Indian mediascape, with increasing synergy between film, television and digital media, thus engendering in the process, the transformation of the Bollywood star from a movie idol to a transmedia celebrity.

An exploration of celebrity business ventures and their appeal to fans and non-fans

Recently, an increasing number of celebrities have launched their own businesses. Although celebrity entrepreneurs may expect their credibility to enhance customers’ purchase intentions, this study does not find this effect. Instead, it finds that customers’ purchase intentions rely mainly on customers’ attitudes toward the celebrity's venture brand. Customers’ perceived congruence between a celebrity and the celebrity's business significantly affects their brand attitudes. Additionally, this study finds that a celebrity's credibility can only increase fans’ positive attitudes toward the celebrity's venture brand; therefore, being a celebrity entrepreneur is riskier than being a brand endorser in terms of consumer attitude.

The Return of the Celebrity Fashion Muse: Brand Endorsement, Creative Inspiration and Celebrity-Influenced Design Communication

This article examines the current prevalence of fashion designers working in association with celebrity “muses,” famous figures drawn from acting and popular music, who serve to front brand campaigns but also embody the identity of fashion houses and inspire designers. The article discusses the ancient origin of the Muse figure and explores the ways in which the muse principle was incorporated into fashion via the model, but subsequently included celebrities. In this regard, the article discusses the iconic celebrity muse precedents represented by the creative relationships between Audrey Hepburn and Hubert de Givenchy, and Jackie Kennedy and Oleg Cassini, arguing that while this dynamic has seen a significant revival in the twenty-first century, it is of a differing kind in that the muse dimension has (drawing upon the concepts of media spectacle and implosion) fused with the contemporary endorser/brand ambassador role. The article considers the key principles of celebrity brand endorsement and explores how the position of brand ambassador has evolved into that of the fashion muse, a term used by designers such as Karl Lagerfeld, Nicolas Ghesquière, and Olivier Rousteing in their work with celebrities such as Kristen Stewart, Alicia Vikander, Léa Seydoux, and Kim Kardashian. Therefore, the article argues that the contemporary fashion muse represents the further embeddedness of celebrity within fashion brand communication.

멀티 브랜드 및 멀티 광고모델 스포츠 스폰서십 효과

멀티 브랜드 및 멀티 광고모델 스포츠 스폰서십 효과

Impact of Celebrity Brand Endorsement on Consumer Buying Behaviour on Modern Trade in Sri Lanka

This paper has been developed as a conceptual paper by rationalizing the existing literature sources to build arguments on two main concepts namely Celebrity Endorsement and consumer brand behaviour on Sri Lankan modern trade industry. This study is specially focused on Sri Lankan modern trade sector which has remarked a significant position in the local economy. It shows a higher degree of contribution in the practical scenario of celebrity endorsements in the Sri Lankan modern trade industry, but empirical knowledge is lack to investigate how celebrity endorsements works in modern trade industry branding perspectives. The study based on empirical studies basing the Tears model by Shimp (2003) indicated that trustworthiness, expertise, attractiveness, respect of the celebrity are key factors that impact on celebrity endorsement. Finally, it concludes the paper with some research directions and priorities for the future studies.