Brand Evangelists Research Articles

Empowered by representation: How plus‐size models create brand evangelists

AbstractTraditional beauty standards are evolving as brands embrace diversity and equity through inclusive communication strategies. This paradigm shift is evident in the transition from stereotypical slender models to the inclusion of more diverse plus‐size models in brand communication. However, an important question arises: Does the presence of a plus‐size model in an advertisement enhance consumer support for a brand? The present research encompasses six studies, including one field study and five experimental studies, that delve into the relationship between models' body size and brand evangelism. The findings demonstrate that featuring a plus‐size model in an advertisement enhances brand evangelism among consumers. Further, consumer empowerment is the underlying mechanism driving this effect. Finally, this research identifies the moderating role of empathy such that consumers with higher levels of empathy experience a heightened sense of empowerment through inclusive brand communication. By illuminating these dynamics, this research contributes to the growing literature of diversity, equity, and inclusion in brand communication.

Does firm-created social media communication develop brand evangelists? Role of perceived values and customer experience

PurposeThe social media communication of luxury service firms remains largely unexplored. This study explores the influence of firm-created social media communication (FCSMC) on predicting brand evangelism (BEM) via perceived values, including functional value (FV), emotional value (EV) and social value (SV), by embedding the direct and moderating influence of customer experience (CX) on brand evangelism in the luxury hotel sector.Design/methodology/approachThis study recruited 405 regular travelers to participate in an online survey. Following meticulous data curation, the empirical analysis was performed on 363 responses using structural equation modeling.FindingsThe findings revealed that FCSMC substantially impacted perceived values, including FV, EV and SV, as well as BEM. Likewise, perceived values, including FV and EV, were positively associated with BEM. In addition, this study revealed that CX exhibited significant predictive capability with its direct and moderating effects on BEM in the luxury hotel sector.Originality/valueThis original research advances the uses and gratifications theory and attribution theory. It provides novel theoretical insights and practical recommendations for the luxury hotel sector.

How to Create Brand Evangelists: A Conceptual Framework

This study aims to investigate the relationship between brand personality, brand symbolism, self-expressiveness, affective commitment, and brand trust on brand evangelism using data from Telkom University Bandung students. The research model used is structural equation modeling (SEM) with a partial least square (PLS) approach. The results showed that brand trust and affective commitment are the most important antecedents of brand evangelism, followed by brand personality, self-expressiveness, and brand symbolism. Brand trust acts as a mediating variable between brand personality, brand symbolism, self-expressiveness, and affective commitment with brand evangelism. This research has several implications for companies in building brand evangelism. Companies need to build a strong brand personality, use the right symbols, increase self-expressiveness, and build strong emotional relationships with consumers.

Does the micro become macro in developing economies? A study to trace sustainable circular replacements for emerging world's green development

AbstractThe emerging world cannot ignore circular bio‐economic development for long. A study of circular bioeconomy pointers at the local level is required to expedite the outgrowth of local economies. The narrative of “for the locals, by the locals, and at the local” is pursued in the study, by recognizing the research gaps concerning local economies' growth needs and their effective penetration into the advancement of circular bio‐economies, followed by the research objectives. The first question includes what role circular bio‐economic indicators play at the micro‐level in growing local economies and, second, emphasis on what role circular bio‐economic indicators play at the micro‐level to boost local economies. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with circular organizations in Afro‐Asian states, resulting in seven themes derived by collating semantic and latent codes: patriotism, psychological safety, sustainable leadership, intrusive thoughts, ancestral footprints, waste valorization, and developing green brand evangelists. The study and findings seek to contribute to micro‐level circular bioeconomy indicators. Theoretical ideas, practical applications, and limitations are acutely discussed, exfoliating the developed world's conventional waste and residual sustainable outcomes covered till now in the circular bioeconomy literature.

The Effectiveness of Mega Influencers, Macro Influencers, and Micro Influencers in Forming Brand Evangelists

Purpose – The aim of this research is to determine the order of effectiveness of each type of influencer, namely mega, macro and micro influencers, in the formation of people who will become brand evangelists for culinary MSMEs in the city of Batam. Design/methodology/approach – The research method used in this research is a descriptive qualitative research method, using interview techniques and literature study. Findings – The number of followers affects the level of trust and the content influences the level of interaction. Research limitations/implications – This research did not take interview data from informants who are influencers, but only interview data from social media users and culinary MSMEs. Practical implications – Content becomes the 'bridge' between influencers and their followers. Collaboration and promotion of a brand is displayed through content and researchers found that each type of influencer has different levels of effectiveness, but not only based on the number of followers. Originality/value – Researchers found 1 unique finding, namely the behavior of followers who recommend products promoted by an influencer without ever buying, trying or experiencing the product first. This behavior is included in the brand evangelism section.

Innovative Strategies to Maximize Customer Loyalty in the Banking System: A Systematic Review

Customer loyalty in financial organizations can be assessed by observing virtual interaction, physical interaction, and service interaction. Loyalty in the banking sector is a consequence of customer convenience, good service received and good image of social responsibility to the environment. For this reason, the aim of the research is to analyze the studies that have been conducted in the scientific literature regarding innovative approaches and strategies of loyalty in the banking system between the years 2018 and 2023. To achieve the collection of information, 4 reliable databases were used: Scopus, Redalyc, Science Directc and Scielo, from which 22 scientific articles with relevant information on the topic were extracted, information systematized by journal, author, databases, year and country is presented. The most used database was Scopus followed by Science Directc and the year where the most was published was 2022, highlighting several publications in the journals Sustainability and Management and Accounting Review. The results show how financial organizations can develop their approaches and strategies to maximize the loyalty of their active customers, which translates into increased market share. It is highlighted that trust and commitment tend to have a positive and significant effect on bank customer loyalty. In conclusion, loyalty in the financial system plays a very important role as it allows them to be active in a competitive market, in addition to creating brand evangelist customers who will recommend the services to others.

Proselytizing your employees into university brand evangelists: an empirical test from the higher education sector in Tanzania

ABSTRACT Although the majority of firms nowadays formulate their strategies based on corporate social responsibility, the current literature in higher learning institutions (HLIs) raises questions about the role of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). HLIs are now expected to shift their focus away from philanthropic endeavors and instead transform their strategies by adopting responsible approaches in management practices and service delivery. This study aims to develop and test a conceptual model to investigate whether HLIs adopt and implement a long-term perspective that involves internal stakeholders, specifically employees, in their branding strategies, with the goal of enhancing their positive impact on society. Drawing on existing literature, the study selects indicators of internal CSR and develops a structural model that predicts the causal relationship between internal CSR and university brand evangelism among employees. The statistical analysis technique employed is structural equation modeling, applied to a sample of 477 employees from public universities. The analysis confirms the proposed hypotheses in the conceptual model. Consequently, the results lead to the conclusion that internal CSR acts as a driver of university brand evangelism through the psychological contract fulfillment among employees in HLIs. Based on these findings, the study provides important recommendations and suggests future research areas in the field.

Transforming customers into evangelists: influence of online brand experience on relationship quality and brand evangelism in the banking industry

PurposeCustomer relationships and transforming customers into evangelists are imperative in today's world. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the influence of online brand experience (OBE) on brand evangelism (BEM) via relationship quality (trust-TRT, satisfaction-SAT, and commitment-CMT) by integrating the moderating effects of brand reputation (BR), particularly in the Vietnamese banking sector.Design/methodology/approachThis research obtained data from 486 Vietnamese customers who routinely used online banking services. The analysis was performed using structural equation modeling.FindingsThe findings demonstrate that OBE directly/indirectly positively affects BEM via relationship quality (TRT, SAT, CMT). Likewise, this study identified relationship quality (TRT, SAT, CMT) as an important mediator. Finally, the findings demonstrate that the moderation effects of BR significantly improved relationship quality (TRT, SAT, CMT) in the banking industry.Practical implicationsThis study showcases the significance of OBE in increasing brand evangelists in the financial sector. Thus, this study assists Vietnamese bank managers in creating new branding strategies to foster long-lasting customer relationships.Originality/valueThis original study contributes to the commitment-trust theory and signaling theory by examining the impact of the OBE on brand evangelism via relationship quality by considering the moderating effect of brand reputation in the Vietnamese banking sector.

RELATIONSHIP AND BENEFITS BETWEEN MARKETING STRATEGIES AND CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

RELATIONSHIP AND BENEFITS BETWEEN MARKETING STRATEGIES AND CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

Understanding Different Types of Followers' Engagement and the Transformation of Millennial Followers into Cosmetic Brand Evangelists.

Facebook pages of cosmetic products have substantially grown among millennial consumers. This study aims to explore the motivational factors that affect different types of millennial followers' engagement, including followers on Facebook pages of cosmetic products, and examine different types of millennial followers' engagement that influence brand evangelism. A quantitative method involving the technique of partial least square structural equation modeling was applied. An online questionnaire was designed to collect data from millennial followers. The results revealed that informational content stimulates active lurkers and passive participants, while entertaining content positively influences only active participants. Social interaction value is influential to active and passive participants. It was found that identification is the motivation factor that drives both active participants and lurkers. Confidence benefits and special treatment benefits were found to be the motivation factor that stimulates all participants. Social benefits substantially influence active participants and lurkers. Interestingly, the followers' passive participation has a great influence on brand evangelism. This study opposes the notion that active lurkers and passive participants are less important than active participants and supports the literature by revealing the importance of distinguishing between active participants, active lurkers, and passive participants in causing different impacts on brand evangelism.

Alcohol corporations and the metaverse: Threats to public health?

Alcohol corporations and the metaverse: Threats to public health?

F-commerce and Impulsive Buying: A Mediated-Moderated Study from a Social Commerce Perspective

Purpose: Utilizing Social Impact Theory, this study explores browsing via F-commerce as a source of social interactions and enjoyment while stimulating consumer impulse buying behavior. Moreover, a mediating role of perceived trust and perceived usefulness to enrich the relationship between browsing and impulse buying is studied in two cross national cultures. Finally, a moderating role of serendipitous information and deal proneness is aimed to study the relationships. Method: Using a cross-lagged temporal approach, survey based data is collected from F-commerce users in developing context i.e. Pakistan (N=684). The data is analyzed by means of Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). Findings: The results demonstrate that browsing has positive impact on F-impulse buying as well as on perceived trust and perceived usefulness which in turn influences F-impulse purchase. Moreover, findings confirm the moderating role of deal proneness and serendipitous information in the hypothesized relationships. Implications: Managers in such markets should focus on e-tracking where consumers share and gather information related to their products and services. Placing serendipitous information on Facebook brand pages via brand evangelist might offer additional advantages to F-commerce marketers. By providing different online deals and discounts on products managers may motivate consumers to buy impulsively. Originality: Present study is of equal importance to academia and practitioners within emerging context as this study enriches the F-commerce literature by uncovering new areas, scrutinizes factors that influence F-impulsive purchase and the variations in the impact of these processes across serendipity and deal proneness.

How To Convert Millennial Consumers To Brand Evangelists Through Social Media Micro-Influencers

Undoubtedly, in the modern age of digitalization, Millennials, who are considered digital natives, have become a massive target market for salespersons. Changes in the way Millennials think accompanied by an explosion of social media have led to an increased focus on social media influencer marketing in the company sector. To help establish a new marketing paradigm that accounts for these changes, this research aims to conceptualize and investigate the process of building consumer-brand relationships with Millennial consumers through social media micro-influencers. Findings based on structural equation modeling revealed that four core characteristics of social media micro-influencers (i.e., authenticity, the meaning of the influencer, specific content, and secret sharing) were a significant antecedent of brand engagement and brand love, which, in turn, mediated the pathway from social media micro-influencer characteristics to brand evangelism. Understanding what social media micro-influencers mean to Millennials offers the promise of improving brand evangelism through more precise market analysis and market strategy. In the discussion, the paper introduces a three-stage building method towards brand evangelism through social media micro- influencer, including: (1) the stage of selecting influencers; (2) the stage of constructing intense emotional responses to the brand (brand engagement and brand love); and ultimately (3) the stage of becoming a brand evangelist. Lastly, limitations and future directions were discussed.

How to convert Millennial consumers to brand evangelists through social media micro-influencers

Undoubtedly, in the modern age of digitalization, Millennials, who are considered digital natives, have become a massive target market for salespersons. Changes in the way Millennials think accompanied by an explosion of social media have led to an increased focus on social media influencer marketing in the company sector. To help establish a new marketing paradigm that accounts for these changes, this research aims to conceptualize and investigate the process of building consumer-brand relationships with Millennial consumers through social media micro-influencers. Findings based on structural equation modeling revealed that four core characteristics of social media micro-influencers (i.e., authenticity, the meaning of the influencer, specific content, and secret sharing) were a significant antecedent of brand engagement and brand love, which, in turn, mediated the pathway from social media micro-influencer characteristics to brand evangelism. Understanding what social media micro-influencers mean to Millennials offers the promise of improving brand evangelism through more precise market analysis and market strategy. In the discussion, the paper introduces a three-stage building method towards brand evangelism through social media micro-influencer, including: (1) the stage of selecting influencers; (2) the stage of constructing intense emotional responses to the brand (brand engagement and brand love); and ultimately (3) the stage of becoming a brand evangelist. Lastly, limitations and future directions were discussed.

Effects of Brand Trust, Brand Identification and Quality of Service on Brand Evangelism: A Study of Restaurants in Multan

The purpose of this study is to investigate how customer-band relationships and quality of service influences brand evangelism. And more importantly, this study examines the moderating effect of the brand love on brand trust, quality of service, brand identification and brand evangelism relations. Brand evangelism mends to customers’ advocacy behaviour and positive or negative word-of-mouth (for a particular brand) that influence the purchase decision. Based on the prior studies conducted on the brand relationships, an integrated conceptual framework on consumer-brand relationships, quality of service and brand evangelism is developed. The snowball sampling technique was employed in this study, and the sample drawn was consisted of 400 brand conscious customers of the different restaurants serving in Multan. The sample was focused on the salaried class, working at different organizations in Multan only. For more robust testing of the theory, brand love was included as a moderating variable. For testing of the moderation effect Process by Andrew F. Hayes was used with the assistance of SPSS version 23. Research findings revealed that the impacts of the brand trust, quality of service and brand identification on brand evangelism are significant. And brand love as a moderating variable moderate the relationships between brand trust, quality of service, brand identification and brand evangelism. The mindsets of the today customers are changing, and they are getting more brand conscious, they love to share their good and bad experience about the different brands that exist in the market. Today, it is very important for brand managers to know the feelings of the customers about their brands. This study suggests the brands to cultivate brand trust, quality in their services, brand identification and brand love in their service for longer standing in diversifying the market. Brand evangelism is not an old construct, especially, it is new for the graphical location where we are conducting this study, because there is no similar study available here. This study is only focused on the restaurants in Multan, other geographical locations or industries (e.g. beverage industry, cellular operators, electronics etc.) may be used to more clearly understand the brand evangelism construct. Also, comparative studies can be performed to compare the brand evangelism level in customers of a specific at different graphical location markets. This study takes brand customers as brand evangelists but persons from sales department workforce may also be considered as a brand evangelist, because evangelism may also reside there.

Marka Evangelizminin Satın Alma Bağımlılığı, Satın Alma Niyeti ve Tavsiyede Bulunma Üzerindeki Etkisi: Taraftar Ürünleri Örneği (The Effect of Brand Evangelism on Purchasing Addiction, Intention to Purchase and Recommendation: The Case of Fan Products)

Purpose – Brand evangelism is a more advanced form of Word of mouth marketing. If word of mouth marketing is a framework for marketing communication, brand evangelism is a spirit. In brand evangelism; the consumer is acting as the defender, ambassador and lawyer of the brand and he/she is a great fan or a great lover of the brand. Studies conducted on the brand evangelism in Turkey is quite limited and is therefore still open to development. Design/methodology/approach – With this study, it is aimed to contribute to the literature on brand evangelism. For this purpose, eFANgelism scale was used in the study and thus the effect of brand evangelism on purchasing addiction, intention to purchase and brand recommendation was tried to be determined. In this respect, a questionnaire was conducted with 614 participants using convenience sampling method and tested in SPSS 25. Findings – The findings show that; brand evangelism has an impact on on purchasing addiction, intention to purchase and recommendation. Therefore, what marketing experts need to do is to create a community of evangelist consumers. Discussion – Marketing managers should see Evangelism Marketing as part of their marketing strategy. Evangelist consumers can play a critical role in the business's acquisition of new customers and increase the sales of the brand. Because brand evangelists run the embassy of the brand without any interest, which can be effective in convincing potential customers.

Turning Your Customers into Brand Evangelists: Evidence from Cruise Travelers

ABSTRACT This study suggests that building long-term relationships between a cruise brand and its passengers through brand experience is more important than the standard offerings. This study applies the framework of consumer–brand relationship on brand evangelism and incorporates a relatively new approach on consumer referral behavior: (1) the effect of brand experience on the creation of brand attachment and brand distinctiveness and (2) the influence of attachment and distinctiveness on cruise travelers’ positive and oppositional referral intentions. The findings provide a foundation for effective marketing strategies and help brand marketers better predict company benefits through the creation of enthusiastic consumer groups.

Antecedents to an evangelising consumer

Understanding consumers is most crucial in the current scenario, and this study is an effort to investigate how to get consumers to evangelise a brand. While tapping into the understanding of brand evangelism, the goal of this paper is to highlight the various antecedents to an evangelising consumer in India which can help marketers identify them and target marketing spends accordingly. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data (n = 1,000) using systematic sampling from users of brands above 18 years of age from India. Multivariate data analysis techniques like exploratory factor analysis and structural equation modelling were used to analyse data. Analysis showed that salience, resonance and brand trust are imperative determinants of brand evangelism. Results of this study propose that marketers may want to focus on escalating brand trust and top of the mind recall which will resonate with the consumer to build brand evangelist in the marketplace.

Creating Brand Evangelists Through Service Recovery: Evidence from the Restaurant Industry

The present study examines the relationship between service recovery and brand evangelism. Service recovery is represented by three dimensions namely distributive justice, procedural justice, and interactional justice. These three dimensions of service recovery were derived from the integration of justice theory, social exchange theory, and equity theory. Purposive sampling technique was employed for data collection with a total of 338 questionnaires were usable for data analysis using Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS) software. The results demonstrate that distributive justice and interactional justice were positively related to brand evangelism. However, the relationship between procedural justice and brand evangelism was not significant. Further discussion on the findings and suggestions for future studies are also offered in this paper.

Brand evangelism and big five personality traits

Brand evangelism is a strong type of word-of-mouth marketing with which consumers advise about goods or services to another. So a brand evangelist is a powerful marketing asset. There are many factors that effect brand evangelism or brand evangelists’ behaviour. Personality tratis are one of these factors that have strong effect on brand evangelism. Personality traits reflect consumer’s characteristic patterns of thoughts and behaviors. Personality traits are called as Big Five Model including extraversion, conscientiousness, neuroticism, agreeableness and openness. The main aim of this study is to determine the effect of Big Five Personality traits on brand evangelism. The other aim is to determine difference between men and women in terms of brand evangelism and personality traits. According to the results, extraversion and openness traits are more effective on brand evangelisim. So, openess and extraverted consumers may act as a brand evangelist than other consumers. Also, women have agreeableness, neuroticism, and conscientiousness traits more than men, and men have openness trait than women. In addition, there is no significant difference between them in terms of extraversion trait. Keywords: Extraversion, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, Agreeableness; Openness, Brand Evangelism