Document Type
Article
Publication Date
7-17-2024
Abstract
The use of influencer marketing campaigns has increased exponentially in recent years as brands have embraced such campaigns in order to capitalize on the relationships that social media influencers (SMIs) have built with their followers as a means of increasing brand awareness and sales. Although influencer marketing is extensively utilized in practice, much is still unknown about the effects of these campaigns, including potential downsides and audience-level variables that could moderate their success. In the current research, we find that partnering with SMIs is perceived as a norm violation for consumers with a high brand attachment, negatively impacting consumption intentions. Across five studies, we show that social media posts originating from an SMI, as opposed to the brand, lead to lower purchase intentions and willingness to pay for consumers with a high brand attachment. Additionally, we consider several moderators to this effect, including the salience of the sponsorship and consumers' attachment to the SMI. We also provide process evidence by documenting that perceptions of a norm violation mediate these effects.
Recommended Citation
Bentley, K., Rajagopal, P., & Kulow, K. (2024). Unfaithful brands: How brand attachment can lead to negative responses to influencer marketing campaigns. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 00, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcpy.1432
Supporting Information
Peer Reviewed
1
Copyright
The authors
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Comments
This article was originally published in Journal of Consumer Psychology in 2024. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcpy.1432