Endorser Type Research Articles

The negative effect of virtual endorsers on brand authenticity and potential remedies

Although more and more brands are partnering with virtual endorsers for marketing, little is known about whether this approach benefits brands. Drawing on Entity-Referent Correspondence (ERC) Framework of VI Authenticity and Meaning Transfer Theory, this study explores the effect of endorser type (human vs. virtual endorser) on consumers’ perceptions of brand authenticity. Based on textual analysis and four lab experiments, our results show that consumers perceive brands that are endorsed by virtual endorsers as less authentic than those with human endorsers because they perceive virtual endorsers to be less authentic. We explore the boundary conditions of this finding by testing the moderating roles of aesthetic imperfection and multiple brand endorsements. When endorsers are designed to be aesthetically imperfect, the negative effect of virtual endorsers on brand authenticity is attenuated. When endorsers cover an excessive amount of brands, the negative effect of virtual endorsers on brand authenticity is reversed. This study contributes to the literature on virtual influencers and provides companies with practical guidelines for advertising strategies in the era of the metaverse.

Social Media Natives Perceive Mediated-Communication as Optimal Communication: The Roles of Social Media Starting Age and Its Usage

Social media (SM) use is becoming prevalent among young people. While the research community has recently taken an interest in these evolving phenomena, it is still mostly unknown how early age use of SM affected perception of others (i.e., the feeling of social presence) in SNS and behavioral intention to follow the provided information. Also, how the SM interface and endorser types of effects on early usage of SM have not been investigated. To address this research gap, this study conducted the online experiment involving 534 participants, employing a between-subject design of 2 (channel: SNS vs. web) x 2 (endorser: peer vs. medical doctor). The experiment aimed to investigate the effects of accumulated SM technology usage and the age at which individuals begin using SM while they were exposed to identical health information. The findings revealed that individuals who initiated SNS usage at an age older than 18 experienced sense of social presence (SP) as a result of SNS' channel, rich modality (i.e., video), and source (i.e., peer endorser). Perceivers with an SNS beginning age of less than 18 years old, on the other hand, did not exhibit any relationship between SNS channel, and source endorser. Irrespective of whether the participants began using SNS at a younger or older age, both groups exhibited a stronger perception of face-to-face communication with the endorser with higher media usage behavior. This enhanced SP led to more positive attitude, a stronger subjective norm, and greater perceived behavioral control, resulting in higher intention to act on the endorsed information. The discussion section addresses potential explanations for these findings are addressed.

True or performative allyship: A matter of perception in search of cause-related marketing authenticity

Cause-related marketing (CRM) has experienced remarkable growth over the past few decades, especially in the hospitality industry. However, concerns have arisen regarding performative CRM allyship, where companies engage in visible public support for a cause without costly actions. Little research has investigated how average consumers respond to such performative allyship. Additionally, while celebrity endorsement has been extensively studied in the context of product marketing, its influence on socially oriented communications remains understudied. Across two pilot studies and three scenario-based experiments, this research defines and differentiates true and performative CRM allyship. Study 1 shows that consumers fail to identify the inauthenticity embedded in performative CRM and hold similarly positive perceptions of true and performative CRM initiatives. Study 2 and Study 3 explore the impact of celebrity endorsements in CRM initiatives and the underlying mechanisms. Two boundary conditions, endorser type (traditional celebrity vs. social media influencer) and endorser-cause fit (expertise vs. experience), are examined to show when performative CRM is justifiable or unacceptable.

The dynamics of social media influencer-driven CSR advertising: The role of sponsorship disclosure and perceived similarity

ABSTRACT Drawing upon the Persuasion Knowledge Model, this study investigates the boundary conditions and psychological mechanisms aimed at enhancing the effectiveness of corporate social responsibility (CSR) advertising when conveyed by social media influencers (SMI) targeting Generation Z consumers. To this end, two experiments were conducted to examine the interaction impacts of disclosure prominence (implicit vs. explicit), endorsement type (brand vs. CSR), and perceived similarity on online behavioral intentions, mediated by perceptions of manipulativeness. The findings of Study 1 revealed that implicit disclosure played a more significant role in eliciting positive behavioral intentions to SMI-CSR advertising, while the opposite results were found for SMI-brand advertising. The results of Study 2 demonstrated that explicit disclosure was less likely to generate perceived manipulativeness toward SMI-CSR ads endorsed by SMIs with low similarity. However, the level of perceived manipulativeness was similar for SMI-CSR ads by SMIs with high similarity regardless of disclosure prominence. Notably, perceived manipulativeness emerged as a significant mediator underlying these interactions in both studies. The theoretical and practical implications are also discussed.

Who should the spotlight be on? The interactive effects of celebrity endorser type and destination personality

Celebrity endorsements are becoming a popular destination marketing strategy. However, most existing studies focus on the effect of real celebrity endorsers and less on virtual celebrity endorsers. Applying construal level theory, this study examined the interaction between celebrity endorser type (real celebrity vs. virtual celebrity) and destination personality (sincere vs. exciting). Results across three scenario-based experiments indicated an interaction effect between celebrity endorser type and destination personality, and tourists’ perceived fit contributes to a mediating role in this process. Specifically, when a sincere destination adopts a real celebrity endorser and an exciting destination uses a virtual celebrity endorser, tourists will generate a higher perceived fit and more favorable attitude toward the destination. This study helps expand the research perspective and theoretical framework on celebrity endorsement in tourism and provides managerial implications for selecting suitable endorsers for destinations with different personalities.

Encouraging Positive Dialog Toward COVID-19 Vaccines on Social Media Using Hope Appeals, Celebrity Types, and Emoticons

ABSTRACT This study examined the effects of hope appeals, celebrity endorser types, and valence of emoticons on COVID-19 vaccine confidence, hesitancy, and intention to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. The potential moderating effects of parasocial identification were also assessed. Experiment 1 was a 2 (hope appeals: high vs. low personal relevance) x 3 (celebrity types: politicians vs. scientists vs. athletes) between-subjects experiment with a sample of U.S. adults (N = 363). Experiment 2 was a 2 (hope appeals: high vs. low personal relevance) x 3 (valence of emoticons: positive vs. neutral vs. negative) between-subjects experiment with a sample of U.S. adults (N = 369). Findings indicated that COVID-19 vaccine messages with politician endorsement and low personal relevance significantly influenced intention to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Moreover, COVID-19 vaccine messages with neutral emoticons significantly impacted COVID-19 vaccine confidence and COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. Parasocial identification with the endorser was also found to play a role in affecting vaccine hesitancy. Implications for future research in vaccine communication are discussed.

The impact of non-stereotypical gender role endorsement in live broadcasting on consumers' purchase intention.

Non-stereotypical gender role endorsement is becoming more common in e-commerce live broadcasting. However, there is relatively little research on this topic, and the mechanism of its impact on purchase intention is not yet clear. Based on schema theory and experimental methods, this study explores the impact of non-stereotypical gender role endorsement (compared to stereotypical gender role endorsement) on purchase intention in e-commerce live broadcasting. Besides, we take traditional gender ideology as the moderating variable. We first selected experimental materials available for formal experiments through two pre-experiments. Secondly, this study conducted experiments on male/female product groups, respectively. Participants were recruited through the Credamo platform for both experiments. Experiment 1 indicates that for female product, stereotypical gender role endorsement triggers higher consumer purchase intention compared to non-stereotypical gender role endorsement. The subsequent moderating effect test results manifest that traditional gender ideology plays a moderating role in this effect. Experiment 2 shows that for male product, there is no significant difference in the impact of the two types of endorsement on consumers' purchase intention. In other words, non-stereotypical gender role endorsement does affect consumers' purchase intention, but this effect exists only in female product, and is more significant for consumers with a high level of traditional gender ideology. This study not only has certain theoretical significance for expanding the application boundaries of schema theory and congruence between celebrities and products endorsed, but also has practical significance for brand owners and streamers to effectively adopt non-stereotypical gender role endorsement to enhance purchase intention.

Do celebrities in advertisements matter? Familiar endorsers as an accelerator of gestural cues of persuasion

Regulatory focus theory has been used as a framework to elucidate the effects of advertising messages as well as those of some non-verbal advertising elements including endorsers’ gestures. However, previous advertising research has not discussed the role of celebrity endorsement based on this theory. In this research, we conducted three experiments to examine the moderating effect of the endorser type (celebrity vs. noncelebrity) on the causal relationships of the gesture style (eager vs. vigilant) and the message framing (promotional vs. preventive) via consumer motivational mindset changes. We found that, compared to unknown, noncelebrity endorsers, familiar celebrity endorsers are more likely to promote eager (vigilant) gestures to generate consumers’ promotion (prevention) focus orientation, leading to a favorable evaluation of the product of which advertising message is framed in a promotional (preventive) way. This research contributes to research on both regulatory focus and celebrity endorsement.

Impact of internet celebrities’ short videos on audiences’ visit intentions: Is beauty power?

Although celebrity endorsements and promotional videos dominated by destination marketing organizations (DMOs) are critical in travel decision-making and destination marketing, as a new type of endorsement, the impact of internet celebrities’ short travel videos on social platforms remains not well understood. To bridge this gap, the current study applied source credibility theory and the match-up hypothesis to construct a conceptual model for examining the impact of internet celebrity endorsements on audiences’ visit intentions. FangQi Kiki, a typical producer of short travel videos on TikTok, was used as a case study. 649 valid samples were taken from respondents who were asked to complete a questionnaire after watching a short video. The results showed that internet celebrities’ trustworthiness and expertise significantly affect audiences’ visit intentions. However, attractiveness in terms of the physical characteristics of internet celebrities and internet celebrity–destination congruence had no significant effect on audiences’ visit intentions. The implications show that “Appearance Fallacy” exists in online influencers’ marketing, and physical appearance may affect the popularity of short travel videos online, but it has no significant effect on promoting destination marketing. Unlike the celebrity effect in conventional endorsements, internet celebrities’ short videos belong to content marketing, where popular content is more important than an internet celebrity’s personality. This research adds to the body of knowledge concerned with internet celebrity endorsements in tourism, providing valuable insights for DMOs to project short video marketing.

A Systematic Content Analysis of the Moral Foundations Featured in Celebrities’, Influencers’, and Athletes’ Instagram Content

ABSTRACT Despite the attention that moral media content has received for many years, no research has systematically investigated the moral foundations featured in (visual) user-generated content. This is important because exposure to moral content may influence the relative salience of different moral foundations among consumers, with implications for their moral decision-making and reasoning. This manual content analysis investigated the prevalence and consistency of the moral foundations represented in the Instagram profiles of the 59 most followed Western celebrities, athletes, and influencers. The study coded 1,256 posts and 2,936 stories, documenting the exemplification of moral foundations and their links with gender, endorser type, platform feature (i.e. stories vs. posts), and presence of emojis. Results from multilevel analyses showed that famous individuals posted more content that upheld than violated moral foundations, with an overrepresentation of care and loyalty content. On average, morally laden content represented one-fifth of the posted content, with most personalities sharing moral content at least once. No difference was observed between posts and stories. Men and athletes featured more loyalty than women, celebrities, and influencers. The representation of moral content, especially care, predicted the use of positive emojis. The theoretical implications for the long-term processes of the MIME are discussed.

The Impact of Information Presentation on Consumer Perceptions of Cricket-Containing Chocolate Chip Cookies

As a source of protein and other nutrients for a growing population, edible insect production offers environmental and sustainability advantages over traditional meat production. Although around 2 billion people consume insects worldwide, Western consumers are still reluctant to practice entomophagy, hindered largely by neophobia and negative emotions. In addition to sensory quality and safety, an informational component may be crucial to consumers’ decision making involving insect consumption. In this study, three different information types, namely text, image, and a tangible product, were used to convey information about chocolate chip cookies (CCCs) containing cricket flour. The nature of the information was related to the ingredient usage level (5%), the type of insect (cricket), nutritional values, sustainability benefits, packaging, celebrity endorsement, and/or visual appearance of an actual product. Consumers’ willingness to consume (WTC), acceptance, and purchase intent (PI) were measured in response to each informed condition. Once informed of the insect ingredient, all scores significantly (α = 0.05) dropped. The lowest WTC (1.97 ± 1.06, Text), acceptance (3.55 ± 2.23, Image), and PI (1.85 ± 1.05, Text) scores were found after identifying cricket as the insect ingredient. Compared to other informed conditions, the presentation of a real chocolate chip cookie containing insects achieved the highest scores on all affective scores (WTC: 3.4 ± 1.04, acceptance: 6.17 ± 1.89, PI: 3.07 ± 1.09). The greatest improvement in scores was observed after information about nutrition and sustainability benefits (based on ANOVA), which was more impactful for males than females (based on a t-test). Celebrity endorsement did not have a significant effect. The presentation of the actual CCC containing cricket flour (for visual observation only) significantly increased WTC, acceptance, and PI compared to presenting text and images alone. Acceptance, WTC, and certain information cues were significant predictors of PI for CCCs containing cricket flour.

Real versus virtual celebrity endorsement: presentation of online product information and consumer attitudes toward digital products

PurposeThis paper aims to reveal the influence of the presentation of online product information (POPI) on consumer attitudes in the context of online buying digital products.Design/methodology/approachTwo main experimental designs are used to collect data. The ANOVA, t-test and Bootstrap methods are applied to check hypotheses.FindingsFindings of Study 1 indicate that if the POPI is combined with different types of celebrity endorsement (CE) (real vs virtual), the self-brand connection will be changed and further influence consumer attitudes toward digital products. Study 2 verifies the diverse moderating effects of the type of virtual CE. The CRP (central-route presentation) online product information with SVCE (super-realistic-digital virtual CE) can decrease consumer attitudes, while the PRP (peripheral-route presentation) online product information with AVCE (anthropomorphic virtual CE) can enhance consumer attitudes.Practical implicationsE-commerce enterprises should optimize the current layout of POPI by considering diverse matchings between POPI and CE to increase consumer attitudes. Moreover, marketers could make various schemes of POPI considering (virtual) CE and self-brand connection.Originality/valueFindings contribute to understanding the relationship between POPI and consumer attitudes considering the mediation of self-brand connection and the mediations of virtual/real CE. Additionally, this study bridges the gap between research on virtual CE and business practices.

Increasing Trust in Influencer Marketing: The Effects of Sponsorship Disclosure and Endorser Type

Inconsistent results regarding consumers’ reactions to sponsorship disclosure call for more research into the mechanisms underlying the effects of sponsorship disclosure. Considering the critical role of trust in advertising and marketing, we examined how sponsorship disclosure influenced trust toward the endorser of a product and subsequently affected attitudes toward the endorsed product and intentions to purchase the product. These effects were examined for both influencers and celebrities. The results of an online experiment revealed that sponsorship disclosure increased trust toward the endorser, which in turn led to more positive attitudes toward the endorsed product and increased purchase intentions. However, these effects were significant only for influencers, but not for celebrities. These findings advance our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the effects of sponsorship disclosure and have implications for advertising regulation and social media marketing.

Virtual idols vs online influencers vs traditional celebrities: how young consumers respond to their endorsement advertising

PurposeThis study aims to examine how young consumers perceive the advertising effectiveness of endorsements by virtual idols and how endorsements by virtual idols differ from endorsements by real human celebrities such as traditional celebrities and online influencers.Design/methodology/approachAn experimental study was conducted with 400 randomly selected young respondents in China in December 2022. A 3 × 2 factorial design was used to test how the type of celebrity endorser and level of product involvement influence the persuasiveness of advertising aimed at young adults. Among 400 respondents, the average age was 21.5 years. A total of 193 male and 207 female respondents participated in the experiment.FindingsYoung consumers find virtual idols, online influencers and traditional celebrities attractive. Although virtual idols are the least credible among the three types of celebrity endorsers, young consumers tend to be more convinced by their endorsements of products with low levels of consumer involvement than those with high levels of involvement. Among the three types of celebrity endorsements, young consumers find traditional celebrities the most effective. In addition, young consumers’ attitudes toward celebrity endorsers mediate the impact of celebrity endorsers’ attractiveness and credibility on their attitudes toward the advertisements. The perceived level of product involvement moderates the transfer of meaning from the attitude toward the celebrity endorsers to the attitude toward the advertisement.Practical implicationsFirst, when choosing celebrity endorsers to advertise products targeting young consumers, marketing communication practitioners should give priority to the endorsers’ perceived credibility, as young consumers have a variety of views about them that can significantly affect their attitudes toward the advertisement. Second, real human celebrity endorsers are more effective than virtual idols in celebrity endorsements. However, virtual idols may be suited for use in advertisements to promote products with low involvement levels, such as soft drinks.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first experimental study to attempt to analyze the effectiveness of virtual idols in advertising aimed at young consumers. This is also the first comparative study to introduce virtual idols as celebrity endorsers in product advertising and to compare their effectiveness with that of the two other types of commonly discussed celebrity endorsers, traditional celebrities and online influencers.

The interaction effect of endorser type and destination stereotype on destination evaluation

ABSTRACT This research examined the interaction effect of endorser type and destination stereotype on destination evaluation. The findings indicated that adopting an avatar as a destination endorser is more likely to gain a better destination evaluation for a destination with a predominate competence stereotype, while adopting a human as the endorser is more likely to gain a better destination evaluation for a destination with a predominate warm stereotype. Schema congruity was identified as a mediator in the interaction effect from the perspective of schema congruity theory. Consumer mindset (fixed vs. growth) was identified as a moderator of the above effects.

Leveraging online selling through social media influencers

While prior research suggests that facial expression influences consumer behavior, it remains unclear under which conditions specific emotional expressions on social media drive sales performance and customer engagement. Drawing on the facial feedback hypothesis and the emotional congruence framework, two pre-registered experimental studies (N = 995) demonstrate that the fit between facial expressions (broad vs. slight smile) and endorsement type (hedonic vs. utilitarian) influence engagement and consumers’ purchase intents. Findings indicate that broad (vs. slight) smiles are more likely to enhance consumer responses when paired with hedonic endorsements driven by emotional contagion. Conversely, slight smiles are equally suited for both types of endorsements and do not foster emotional contagion. The findings offer actionable insights for maximizing consumer engagement and purchase intents within social media marketing efforts.

Social media marketing content strategy: A comprehensive framework and empirically supported guidelines for brand posts on Facebook pages

AbstractDespite all the marketing power social media marketing has, a major challenge it faces is how to create meaningful content that ignites a spark with audiences. The purpose of this research is to examine in what way brands can produce compelling social media content to engage and connect with target audiences. Eighteen brand Facebook Pages from nine major industries were reviewed to identify characteristics of content associated with higher levels of user engagement. Results show that multimedia content, transformational appeal, low levels of interactivity, and endorser type influence user engagement with brand posts on Facebook. Posts made on weekdays demonstrate higher levels of positive reactions than posts made during the weekends. In addition, consumer engagement is higher for service‐ (vs. product‐based) Facebook brand posts. Furthermore, the length of the message proved to play a key role in prompting users to share a social media post, in that longer posts were more likely to be shared than shorter ones.

An empirical investigation into social and platform endorsement of user-generated content in the online Q&A community

Online communities employ recognition mechanisms to signal their acknowledgment of and support for the contributions of their members. These endorsements usually take the form of platform conferment, such as badges, or user interactions via social media, such as Facebook’s “Like” button. Although previous research has shown that both types of endorsements can significantly impact users’ online contributions, little attention has been paid to the relative effectiveness of and interaction between these two common endorsement formats. By analyzing a sample collected from China’s largest online social Q&A platform and conducting multiple robustness checks, we demonstrate that while both social and platform endorsements positively impact users’ online contributions, the formers are largely more effective than the latter in driving user contributions. Moreover, we find a complementary relationship between social and platform endorsements, suggesting that the combination of the two can further stimulate content generation. Our findings offer practical insights for content providers seeking to encourage content generation in online communities.

The Role of Honour in Tolerance to Intimate Partner Violence against Women in Sri Lanka

The current study aimed to examine the role of the type of honour endorsement (masculine, feminine, family, moral integrity) in the tolerance to intimate partner violence against women (IPVAW) in Sri Lanka. Three hundred and sixty-two Sri Lankan participants completed an online questionnaire. Results revealed that feminine honour and masculine honour were positively associated with, and moral integrity was negatively associated with, tolerance to IPVAW. Results also showed that men were more likely to tolerate IPVAW than women, and women were more likely to endorse feminine honour and family honour than men. The results suggest that specific typefacesnour play a predictive role in tolerance to IPVAW along with gender differences that are in line with cultural and gendered norms.

Influencer transgressions: The impacts on endorser and brand

ABSTRACT Social influencer marketing has developed into a powerful form of marketing communication. Influencers, akin to any type of endorser, may commit transgressions. As influencers’ main field of activity is the internet, a transgression can propagate swiftly and cause damage to both an influencer and an endorsed brand. Against this backdrop, we contribute a framework that includes eleven transgressions typically caused by influencers and map the size of the detrimental impacts on the influencer and brand. We verify our assumptions with two empirical investigations including 237 and 616 data sets. In this way, we fill a gap in scandal frameworks and align our work with research on other types of celebrities. The results provide an overview of the impacts of transgressions. Likewise, we examine the specific characteristics of influencers that may appease the transgression. The results show that even supposedly minor transgressions, such as the use of swearwords or commercial sharenting, have negative impacts on an influencer and the endorsed brand. Overall, the effects for the brand may be mitigated to some extent if the influencer has a “bad girl” personality.