Favorable Brand Attitudes Research Articles

The Effect of Celebrity Endorsement on Young Consumer Purchase Intention in Bangladesh: An Empirical Study

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of celebrity endorsement components (expertise, attractiveness, and trustworthiness) on brand attitude, brand loyalty, and purchase intention. This study looks at the elements of celebrity endorsements that influence young consumers' purchasing preferences in the Barishal region of Bangladesh. Methodology: The study model incorporates constructs from earlier literature that have been proven to have substantial relations with purchasing intention. A self-administered questionnaire has been used through an online survey to collect 205 data from young people aged 20 to 24. Additionally, SPSS has been used to analyze the data. Findings: The study demonstrates that celebrity expertise and trustworthiness significantly influence brand attitudes and brand loyalty. However, celebrity attractiveness is not much impacted by brand attitudes and brand loyalty. The study also demonstrates that brand loyalty is the most substantial influence on purchase intention. Practical Implications: The findings of this study will help producers, marketers, merchants, and advertisers figure out what traits of a celebrity contribute to a favorable brand attitude, brand loyalty, and buy intention. Originality: This paper empirically examines how different variables affect celebrity endorsement’s influence on the buying behaviour of consumers’ decisions of young customers. Research Limitations: In this study, the respondents are young, so the findings may not be applicable on a general basis.

The role of art infusion in enhancing pro-environmental luxury brand advertising

Underpinned by art infusion theory, this present research examines the effect of art infusion on brand attitudes under different brand conditions (i.e. pro-environmental luxury brands and luxury brands) in advertising. Across two experimental studies, this research offers empirical evidence to a moderated mediation model, such that when an advertisement features an artwork (vs. no-artwork), consumers will perceive lower levels of incompatibility between luxury and sustainability, leading to a more favorable brand attitude toward the pro-environmental luxury brand. However, such differences will not occur among consumers evaluating an ordinary luxury brand. The findings of this research broaden the current body of knowledge related to the art infusion effect and provide important implications for marketers in their advertising strategy. Furthermore, these findings suggest that art infusion may be the solution to the dilemma facing sustainable luxury brands since luxury and sustainability are often perceived as incongruent concepts.

Slogans With Negations’ Effect on Sustainable Luxury Brand

The integration of sustainability within luxury brands is of increasing concern to practitioners and academics alike. Thus, it is important to consider how brands can develop effective communication strategies to promote sustainable luxury brands, particularly among an increasingly skeptical consumer base. This research thus investigates the impact of advertising slogans with negations (vs. affirmations) in this regard. Three experimental studies show that advertising slogans with negations (vs. affirmations) increase brand trustworthiness (Studies 1 and 3) and favorable brand attitudes (Studies 1 and 2) among consumers with high levels of skepticism. Notably, this effect is driven by an increased cognitive flexibility (Study 3). The findings of this research can assist sustainable luxury brand managers in developing effective communication strategies to increase favorable consumer responses to sustainable luxury brands.

Cute brand logo enhances favorable brand attitude: The moderating role of hope

A brand logo has significant influences on consumer evaluations of a brand. However, little research has examined the effectiveness of brand logo design. The present research thus seeks to extend the literature in this area by examining how cuteness associated with a brand logo might produce a more favourable brand attitude. Across two experimental studies, this research provides empirical evidence that a cute (vs. non-cute) brand logo can increase positive consumer attitude toward a brand, especially among those experiencing the emotion of hope (but not happiness or a neutral emotional state). Further, this effect is driven by the perceptions among consumers feeling hopeful (but not happy) that a cute (vs. non-cute) brand logo has higher levels of growth potential. The findings of this research thus make theoretical implications on the literature on brand logo, cuteness, and emotion literature, and offer managerial implications in terms of brand logo design effectiveness.

Understanding the impact of influencers’ responses to negative follower comments on the persuasiveness of sponsored Instagram posts

While social media influencers have been enjoying increasing accolades from followers and brands, they also suffer from criticisms or harassments from some followers. Extant research has not yet examined the efficacy of response strategies adopted by influencers when addressing negative comments. This study is to fill the research gap. An online experiment has been conducted among followers of an actual influencer to examine how influencers’ response strategies (i.e. defensive vs. accommodative) to followers’ negative comments (i.e. an objective complaint of product failure vs. a subjective dislike) affect the persuasiveness of influencer-sponsored content. The results of this study reveal that a defensive response harms influencer trustworthiness more than an accommodative response when it concerns a subjective disliking of the endorsed product. This lowered trustworthiness further leads to followers’ decreased perceived product quality and less favourable brand attitudes. When it concerns an objective comment on product failure, an influencer’s defensive response does not differ from accommodative response in affecting influencer trustworthiness. These findings indicate that an accommodative strategy may be an efficient way to cope with a negative follower comment, especially in case of a subjective product disliking.

The effect of novelty in in-game advertising: examining the moderating role of interactivity and congruency

PurposeThe motivation behind the study is to look at the impact of novelty in games on brand recall and attitude, and to dissect the directing job of game interactivity from the points of view of “contrast effect,” “engagement theory” and “transportation theory”.Design/methodology/approachA 2 (novelty: congruent or incongruent) × 2 (game interactivity: high or low) between-subject measures design was used. In total, 172 management students participated in the study. A 2 × 2 between-subjects measure multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was utilized to test the hypotheses.FindingsIncongruent novelty results in higher brand recall but less favorable brand attitude than congruent novelty. Interactivity moderates the relationship between novelty congruence and brand recall such that in a high-interactivity condition, incongruent novelty results in higher brand recall than that in the low-interactivity condition. But, in case of the high-interactivity condition, congruent novelty results in more favorable brand attitude than that in the low-interactivity condition.Practical implicationsDeveloping high brand recall rates and attitudes are the prime objectives of the marketers for choosing a medium to advertise their brands. This investigation adds knowledge to the area of interactive marketing, particularly in-game advertising as a media technique to promote brands taking novelty and game interactivity factors into thought.Originality/valueFrom the perspectives of interactive marketing, psychological elaboration, mind-engagement and transportation of experience, this investigation adds to the literature of advanced media advertising, explicitly to in-game advertising by looking at the effect of novelty and game interactivity.

Sharing consumers’ brand storytelling: influence of consumers’ storytelling on brand attitude via emotions and cognitions

PurposeBrand storytelling has been found to be an effective marketing tool. Unlike a brand story that originates from a firm, consumers’ brand storytelling is created, developed and shared by consumers. This research aims to examine whether consumers’ brand storytelling leads to increased favorable brand evaluations and compares its effects on consumer cognition and emotions, to a brand story generated by a firm.Design/methodology/approachThree experiments were conducted to test the hypotheses. In Study 1, a 2 (story: consumers’ brand storytelling vs brand story by a firm) × 2 (product: coffee shop vs airline mileage programs) between-subjects design was used. Studies 2 and 3 replicated Study 1 and investigated different measurements of the constructs using different brands. Additionally, a mediation analysis was conducted.FindingsThe results show that consumers’ brand storytelling increases favorable brand attitudes. Consumers present deeper cognitive processing and higher experienced positive emotions when they read consumer brand storytelling as compared to a firm-created brand story, leading to a more favorable brand attitude.Originality/valueThere is a lack of empirical research investigating how consumers’ brand storytelling is different from brand stories created by firms, and how consumers’ brand storytelling influences brand attitudes. This study extends the literature by clarifying how consumers respond to consumers’ brand storytelling and evaluates brands by exploring the underlying mechanism for the effect of brand storytelling via consumers’ cognitions and emotions.

Can social media influencer (SMI) power influence consumer brand attitudes? The mediating role of perceived SMI credibility

Social media usage is pervasive, and brands must manage this channel carefully in order to meet their strategic goals. The role of social media influencers (SMI) is progressively becoming crucial for shaping consumer brand attitudes toward the firms’ offerings. The purpose of this study is to empirically examine how SMIs can help brands build favorable brand attitudes and thus improve product acceptance and downstream business performance. Building upon naïve theory, consumer socialization theory and market signaling theory, we suggest that SMI power and SMI perceived source credibility are crucial in influencing consumer attitudes toward the brand. Using rich survey data from 231 U.S. social media users on Instagram the research employs confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to access the psychometric properties of the measures and path analysis to test the proposed hypotheses. Results indicate that while SMI power is positively related to consumer attitudes toward the brand and perceived SMI expertise and trustworthiness partially mediate that relationship. This study contributes to extant literature by demonstrating that SMIs’ role in shaping consumer attitudes toward the brand is a multilevel function of SMI power, partially mediated through SMI expertise and trustworthiness. Therefore, it is incumbent on brands to pay close attention to their SMI promotional channel.

Exploring consumers’ attitude formation toward their own brands when in crisis: cross-national comparisons between USA and China

PurposeThis study aims to examine how culture influences consumer attitudes toward the brands of products they own during a product-harm crisis. To this end, average consumers from two countries - the USA, representing a highly individualistic society and China, a less individualistic (i.e. collectivist) society – are compared.Design/methodology/approachThe study conducts an invariance test of the measurement model for a more rigorous comparison of the two countries. Structural equation modeling is performed to identify how average consumers respond to a product-harm crisis (e.g. iPhone explosion) based on survey results of 188 American and 197 Chinese consumers.FindingsThese results reveal that in both countries, an individual’s susceptibility to a normative interpersonal influence determines their brand consciousness, which, in turn, enhances consumer attachment to well-known brands, resulting in favorable brand attitudes. During a brand crisis, an owned brand’s buffering effect is observed among consumers high in brand consciousness in collectivistic but not in individualistic societies. The moderating role of feelings of betrayal on the brand attachment-consumer attitude relationship is also reported.Originality/valueCulture shapes consumer behavioral patterns. In today’s global market, a company’s decisions are no longer limited by borders and many companies experience product failures. Thus, findings that show consumers’ distinguishable psychological experiences between different cultures contribute to crisis management literature.

Consumer Adoption of Consumer-Created vs. Expert-Created Information: Moderating Role of Prior Product Attitude

Today, consumer-created information such as online consumer reviews have become important and popular, playing a key role in consumer decision making. Compared with expert-created information, each piece of information is less powerful or persuasive, but their aggregation can be more credible and acceptable. This concept is called collective intelligence knowledge. This study focuses on the persuasive effect on consumer product attitudes of consumer-created information compared to expert-created information. Using source credibility and familiarity theory, the study reveals how prior brand attitudes can play a moderating role in the persuasive effect of consumer-created information and expert-created information. Specifically, this study shows how consumer-created information is more persuasive when consumers have more favorable prior brand attitudes, while expert-created information is more persuasive when consumers have less favorable prior brand attitudes. Based on the results, this study proposes practical strategies for information structure, curation, and presentation. If a company has a good-quality brand evaluation of its products, it should increase the weight of consumer-created information such as online consumer reviews. Otherwise, the company needs to first improve brand evaluation through expert-created information such as third-parties or power-blogger reviews.

Emoticons are not for everyone: The role of congruence between hotel brand positioning strategies and communication style in enhancing customers’ brand attitude and booking intention

Social media has become an influential communication channel, and brands are increasingly using an informal style in their social media communication. Nonetheless, despite this development, little research has addressed the influence of social media communication style on brand perceptions. Hence, this study addresses the question on how the interaction of employing different communication styles and different hotel positioning strategies affects consumers’ perceptions and booking intentions in the hotel industry. Additionally, this study explores whether the fit between communication style and hotel positioning mediates the relationship on brand attitude and booking intention. A 2x2 between-subjects full-factorial design with 336 participants was conducted. Results of the experiment show that an informal communication style can be harmful for a utilitarian positioned hotel. A perception of fit between brand positioning and communication style leads to a more favorable brand attitude and higher booking intention. Despite the tendency for brands to increasingly use an informal style in their social media communication, only little research has analyzed the impact of communication style on consumer perceptions. Furthermore, considering a hotel’s positioning represents an important moderator in this relationship.

THE EFFECTS OF INFLUENCERS ON AD EFFECTIVENESS: MODERATING ROLE OF MESSAGE APPEAL AND BRAND AWARENESS

The study investigates the effects of influencer on advertising effectiveness compared to traditional celebrity endorser. Results of an experiment shows that the use of influencer have a better fit with hard-sell appeal and well-known brand to have more favorable brand attitude and higher intention to purchase. The findings provide ample contribution to theory and practice.

The Impact of Game-Specific Factors on Brand Recall and Brand Attitude

Purpose: This experimental study provides empirical evidence of the effect of brand prominence in advergames on gamers’ brand recall and brand attitude under varied game-involvement conditions from attention and elaboration perspectives. Design/methodology/approach: A 2 (brand prominence: prominent or subtle) x 2 (gameinvolvement: high or low) between-subject measures design is used. 229 student gamers participated in the study. A between-subject measures MANOVA is used to test the hypotheses. Findings: The results reveal that for an advergame with prominent brand placement, low gameinvolvement results in greater brand recall than high game-involvement. However, for an advergame with prominent brand placement, high game-involvement results in more favorable brand attitude than low game-involvement. Discussion: These experimental findings suggest to marketers and game designers to cogitate for a right mix of game-specific factors while creating effective advergames to have stoutest positive advergaming effect on players’ brand recall and brand attitude.

The red packet interaction and brand attitude in the brand communities on WeChat

PurposeMonetary incentives have been widely adopted by brands to promote consumer engagement in their brand communities on social networking sites. This paper aims to explore how the interactions triggered by an emerging monetary incentive, red packets, affect consumers’ brand attitude in the context of WeChat brand groups (WCBGs).Design/methodology/approachAccording to whether brands ask for commercial returns from consumers, two types of interactions were identified, namely, exchange red packet interaction (ERPI) and communal red packet interaction (CRPI). The corresponding influences on brand attitude were examined in three experiments.FindingsCompared to CRPIs, ERPIs elicit greater normative community pressure, inducing a less favorable brand attitude. Moreover, this impact is moderated by the time frame of brand communities. In the long-term WCBGs, a significant difference exists between ERPIs and CRPIs, while such difference attenuates or even disappears in short-term WCBGs.Practical implicationsWhen using red packets as an engagement strategy, brand managers should be alert to their potential negative influence. Specifically, in short-term brand communities, ERPIs enable managers to acquire commercial returns without hurting brand attitude. In long-term brand communities, managers are advised to implement CRPIs to foster a positive brand attitude.Originality/valueThis study investigates red packet interactions in brand communities, which have been widespread but unexplored. The results expand the literature by addressing the undermining effect of ERPI and the moderating effect of the time frame.

In-game advertising: the role of newness congruence and interactivity

PurposeThis study aims to examine the effect of game newness and game interactivity on players’ brand recall and brand attitude using contrast effect, mind-engagement and transfer effect theories.Design/methodology/approachA 2 (newness: congruent or incongruent) × 2 (game interactivity: high or low) between-subjects measures design was conducted. A total of 224 undergraduate management students participated in the study. A 2 × 2 between-subjects measures multivariate analysis of variance was used to test the hypotheses.FindingsFindings show that incongruent-newness results in higher brand recall but less favorable brand attitude. Under incongruent-newness condition, high interactivity results in higher brand recall. However, under congruent-newness condition, both high- and low-interactivity conditions result in similar brand recall. Under congruent-newness condition, high interactivity results in more favorable brand attitude, whereas under incongruent-newness condition, both high- and low-interactivity conditions result in similar brand attitude.Practical implicationsDeveloping high brand recall rates and attitudes are the prime goals of advertisers for selecting a medium to promote their brands. This experimental study adds to the knowledge of online media advertising, especially in-game advertising (IGA) as a media-strategy to advertise brands taking newness and game-interactivity factors into consideration.Originality/valueFrom the perspectives of attention, cognitive elaboration, engagement and transportation of experience, this study adds to the literature of IGA by examining the impact of newness and game interactivity.

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.

Variation matters

Purpose In-feed native ads have become a major social media advertising format. The purpose of this paper is to investigate strategies for leveraging native advertising in terms of content creation and platform selection on social media, proposing that variations in content and platform reduce the intrusiveness of native ads, thereby resulting in enhanced brand attitude and purchase intent. Design/methodology/approach Two experiments were conducted with online samples, employing a 2 (content strategy: repeated ads vs varied ads) × 2 (platform strategy: single platform vs multiple platforms) between-subject factorial design. ANCOVA and structural equation modeling were used to test the hypotheses. Findings When repeated ads were used, the use of multiple platforms reduced ad intrusiveness, resulting in more favorable brand attitude and greater purchase intent as opposed to the use of a single platform. In contrast, when varied ads were used, there were no significant differences in the outcome variables between a single platform and multiple platforms. The results were largely consistent across the two experiments. Originality/value This study contributes to theory advancement by unpacking the underlying mechanisms of processing native advertising and shedding light on which content and platform strategies are the most effective on social media.

Fostering beneficial consumer responses to in-feed sponsored articles

PurposeThis paper aims to explore content-related factors that can foster beneficial consumer responses to one kind of native advertising: in-feed sponsored articles. Specifically, studies examine how informational versus entertaining content interact with the content’s brand image congruity to affect brand attitudes through brand trustworthiness and identify the roles played by advertising value and perceived deceptiveness.Design/methodology/approachExperimental survey-based research with a between-subjects design was conducted, manipulating the content type (entertaining/informational) and brand image congruity (low/high) and measuring brand attitude, brand trustworthiness, advertising value and perceived deceptiveness. Participants were recruited via Amazon’s MTurk, and data were collected via online surveys in Qualtrics.FindingsResults reveal that high brand image congruity generates more favorable brand attitudes for informational in-feed sponsored articles, and low brand image congruity generates more favorable brand attitudes for entertaining in-feed sponsored articles, through perceptions of brand trustworthiness. Enhanced brand trustworthiness results from increased advertising value for informational in-feed sponsored articles that are high in brand image congruity. Reduced brand trustworthiness results from increased perceptions of deceptiveness for entertaining in-feed sponsored articles that are high in brand image congruity.Originality/valueWhile much academic research on native advertising focuses on its negative aspects, the present research identifies content-related factors that foster beneficial consumer responses to in-feed sponsored articles, including enhanced perceptions of brand trustworthiness and more favorable brand attitudes, due to differences in consumers’ perceptions of advertising value and deceptiveness. Managerially, this work can help branded content creators design effective in-feed sponsored articles.

Celebrity endorsement in the world of luxury fashion – when controversy can be beneficial

ABSTRACTCan a negatively publicised celebrity endorser ever lead to favourable brand attitudes toward a luxury fashion product (i.e. a perfume)? An online experiment was conducted with a sample of 260 target-relevant female consumers where two factors were manipulated: the brand’s positioning objective (image reinforcement versus revitalisation) and the type of celebrity endorser (naturally versus incidentally controversial). Consumer attitudes towards the luxury fashion brand were generally more positive when the type of celebrity endorser was consistent with the brand’s positioning strategy, that is, when a naturally controversial celebrity endorses a brand with a reinforcement strategy and when an incidentally controversial celebrity endorses a brand with a revitalisation strategy. Furthermore, this effect was mediated by consumers’ appreciation of the celebrity-positioning match-up (i.e. the consistency between the celebrity’s persona and the brand’s strategy) but not by their perceptions of appropriateness (i.e. the traditional match-up hypothesis). Several implications suggested by these findings are developed.

Does non-hard-sell content really work? Leveraging the value of branded content marketing in brand building

Purpose This study aims to test the role of branded content marketing on YouTube in brand building and explicates the mechanism through which brand content influences brand loyalty and purchase intentions. Design/methodology/approach This study uses a quantitative, Web-based, three-step randomized intervention design and recruits YouTube users through the Amazon Mechanical Turk (n = 925). Findings Post-intervention results (n = 596) show that consumers’ repeated exposure to branded content facilitates their social learning processes. Consumers derive value from the relevant content and subsequently form more favorable brand attitudes, greater brand loyalty and heightened purchase intentions. Brand loyalty mediates the effect of perceived brand content value on purchase intentions. Practical implications This study’s findings support the advantages of investing in the creation and dissemination of valuable brand content through a brand’s own social media channel(s). While informative content and entertaining content can both drive brand loyalty, high product-involvement brands are advised to emphasize on informative content to precipitate brand–consumer attachment. Low product-involvement brands, on the other hand, are advised to feature more enticing and captivating content to stimulate consumer devotion. Originality/value This study reveals the positive impact of branded content marketing within social media on consumers’ brand attitudes, brand loyalty and purchase intentions. It also explicates the mechanism through which content marketing influences brand evaluation and purchase intentions by coordinating consumer learning and value derivation.