International Journal of Advertising · 2021 · 59 citations · 72 references
Social SciencesCommunicationMarketingAdvertisingPersuasionSocial InfluenceAdvertising AudiencesAdvertising PersuasionAdvertising PsychologyInfluencer CommunicationInfluencer MarketingSource CredibilityAwarenessCelebrity Endorsement CredibilityCelebrity InfluencersManipulative IntentManipulative PersuasionPerceptual EffectivenessSocial Media EndorsementsSocial Media Influencer Endorsement
The study examines how macro‑influencers compare to regular celebrities in endorsement effectiveness and identifies conditions under which each endorser type better influences consumer responses. Three studies employing multidimensional scaling assessed perceptual differences between celebrities and influencers beyond attractiveness, credibility, expertise, and familiarity, and explored how these differences affect endorsement effectiveness. Influencer endorsements are more effective when subtle, while intrusive social‑media ads perform better with celebrities; no significant differences appear in regular ad formats, and the results guide marketers in choosing between celebrity and influencer collaborations.
A series of three studies explore the endorsement effectiveness of ‘macro’ influencers compared with ‘regular’ celebrities. Using multidimensional scaling, we provide evidence of perceptual differences between celebrities and influencers beyond endorser attractiveness, credibility, expertise, and familiarity. We further study conditions in which endorser type is more or less effective in evoking favorable ad-related responses via consumers’ inferences of an ad’s manipulative intent. The results show that influencer endorsements in social media need to be subtle to achieve greater effectiveness than celebrity endorsements. In contrast, intrusive advertising in social media is more efficient when done in collaboration with celebrities. No significant differences emerge for endorsements in regular ad formats, though endorsements may benefit from higher awareness levels of celebrities. The findings help marketers make better informed choices between celebrity and influencer advertising collaborations.
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