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“Bend it like Beckham”: The Influence of Sports Celebrities on Young Adult Consumers
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how sports celebrities can be perceived as role models and influence young adult consumers' purchase and behavioural intentions. Further, it also seeks to examine whether this influence differs between males and females.
Design/methodology/approach
A self‐administered questionnaire was designed using established scales. A convenience sample was drawn from students in a large university in Western Australia.
Findings
Athlete role model endorsers have a positive influence on young adults' product switching behaviour, complaint behaviour, positive word‐of‐mouth behaviour and brand loyalty. This confirms the assumption that sports celebrities are important socialisation agents and can have significant impact on purchase intentions and behaviours.
Practical implications
This research provides useful insight into the influence of athlete endorsers on young adults and suggests athletes have a positive influence on young adults' behavioural intentions in switching products, generating word‐of‐mouth and establishing brand loyalty. More importantly, this study is a significant step towards providing useful information about how young consumers respond to the use of sports celebrities in advertising.
Originality/value
Previous studies indicate that this potential influence and impact of sports star endorsers would be at its peak amongst the youth market. This paper extends previous studies by focusing on one specific market – young adults in Australia.
... Broadly speaking, they are very successful elite sportspeople, many of whom obtain a higher income from this activity than from their sports contracts (Stone et al., 2003). Sportspeople have historically figured among the most popular celebrities in advertising (Shanklin and Miciak, 1997), the huge impact that they have had on the economy and business world being evidenced by megaathlete influencer success stories like those of Michael Jordan, Roger Federer and David Beckham (Dix et al., 2010). ...
... Notwithstanding this, recent studies, like that performed by Ahmadi and Ieamsom (2022), question the credibility of sports celebrities as compared to influencers in the specific case of Instagram. In addition to positive associations, sports celebrities can give meaning to very ordinary products (Dix et al., 2010). As a matter of fact, the sportsperson who has the status of both celebrity and hero (North et al., 2005) becomes "an authentic role model and bearer of cultural significance with a mythical character" (Rodr ıguez et al., 2022, p. 4). ...
... Although the use of sports celebrities is important in advertising aimed at sports fans (Ruihley et al., 2010;Von Felbert and Breuer, 2021), in mass advertising famous sportspeople serve as role models for the young, influencing their lifestyles and consumption patterns (Lear et al., 2009) and playing an important role in their socialisation as consumers (Dix et al., 2010). As they are expected to encourage propriety, however, not all sports celebrities feel comfortable with being role models (Leng and Phua, 2022). ...
Purpose
The aim of this paper, which analyses the use of sports celebrities in advertising discourse, is to understand the strategic use to which brands put them in their commercial and corporate communication on Instagram.
Design/methodology/approach
To this end, a content analysis was performed on the Instagram posts of the brands Santander, Movistar, Red Bull and Iberdrola during the period 2021-2022.
Findings
The results indicate that, strategically speaking, these brands use the celebrity endorsement strategy to pursue emotional objectives and to adopt a position depending on the type of user. Likewise, these findings show that they single out uniqueness as the principal celebrity characteristic, while also mainly leveraging sports values, especially competence. These values represented by sports celebrities are markedly social in nature, which implies that they enjoy a degree of public recognition that is transferred to the brand to which they lend their image.
Research limitations/implications
The conclusions connect celebrity endorsers with strategic branding issues and aspects of sports.
Originality/value
An empirical approach is followed here to study the representation of sports celebrities in the advertising of well-known brands linked to the sports world.
... Celebrity endorsement support has a positive influence on product-switching behavior, positive word-of-mouth behavior, and brand loyalty. This confirms the assumption that celebrity endorsements are important agents of socialization and can have a significant impact on buying interest and behavior (Dix, Phau, & Pougnet, 2010). ...
... Furthermore, Dix, et al., (2010) said that a number of studies found that celebrity credibility is a significant factor in explaining consumer interest in certain products. However, there is an interesting thing to note from the results of the study: consumers are more attached to celebrities and seeing that celebrities support multiple brands will have a negative impact on purchase intention (Ilicic & Webster, 2011). ...
... The findings from this study are in line with the statement of Dix, et al., (2010) that celebrity credibility is a significant factor in explaining consumer buying interest. The involvement of celebrity endorsers will emotionally influence consumers in choosing a brand or product (Keel & Nataraajan, 2012;Martey & Frempon, 2014;Jain, 2011). ...
The aim of this study was to investigate the role of celebrity endorsement and brand awareness activities on the consumer purchasing situation of halal cosmetic products, especially Wardah brand products. The sample in this study consisted of 384 respondents in Central Java, Indonesia, where the characteristics of the respondent are female or female and consist of several types of nominal data such as age, occupation, income, and education. This survey was conducted on female respondents aged 18–40 years and of course, have purchased or have never purchased Wardah whitening cream products. This study shows that there is a positive influence between celebrity endorsements and brand awareness. Another important finding in the research is that the celebrity endorsement variable has a significant and significant effect on the purchase intentions variable. This study clearly finds that the brand awareness variable has no effect on the purchase intention variable. There is no influence of brand awareness variables on purchase intentions in this research because brand awareness is in the range between feelings of uncertainty about brand recognition. In addition, in the findings of this study, it is known that the brand awareness variable has no role in mediating the relationship between celebrity endorsement variables and purchase intentions.
... Celebrity endorsers have been utilised in advertising not simply to attract attention of audiences, but also to escalate message persuasiveness, thereby enhancing advertising effectiveness (Muda et al., 2012). Therefore, inferring from the literature and the empirical evidence abovementioned, the study hypothesizes that: H1: celebrity endorsement advertising has a positive relationship with brand awareness H2: Celebrity endorsement advertising is positively related to purchase behaviour Prior research has demonstrated that consumer's evaluations in terms of attitudes towards the advert, attitude towards the brand and purchase intention are greater when a celebrity endorses a brand (Illicic &Webster, 2011).A number of researchers found that the celebrity's credibility is a much more significant factor in explaining consumers' purchase intentions than the celebrity's attractiveness (Dix, Phau & Pougnet, 2010). Sport celebrities for example have been established as viable and influential role models for young people, playing an important part in the consumer socialization process, and it is expected that they would influence young adult's buyer intentions and behaviour (Dix et al., 2010). ...
... Therefore, inferring from the literature and the empirical evidence abovementioned, the study hypothesizes that: H1: celebrity endorsement advertising has a positive relationship with brand awareness H2: Celebrity endorsement advertising is positively related to purchase behaviour Prior research has demonstrated that consumer's evaluations in terms of attitudes towards the advert, attitude towards the brand and purchase intention are greater when a celebrity endorses a brand (Illicic &Webster, 2011).A number of researchers found that the celebrity's credibility is a much more significant factor in explaining consumers' purchase intentions than the celebrity's attractiveness (Dix, Phau & Pougnet, 2010). Sport celebrities for example have been established as viable and influential role models for young people, playing an important part in the consumer socialization process, and it is expected that they would influence young adult's buyer intentions and behaviour (Dix et al., 2010). However, for sports celebrity endorsers to be persuasive in influencing purchase intention, there should be celebrity-product-match and the celebrity should be regarded as an expert in the product category (Dix et al., 2010). ...
... Sport celebrities for example have been established as viable and influential role models for young people, playing an important part in the consumer socialization process, and it is expected that they would influence young adult's buyer intentions and behaviour (Dix et al., 2010). However, for sports celebrity endorsers to be persuasive in influencing purchase intention, there should be celebrity-product-match and the celebrity should be regarded as an expert in the product category (Dix et al., 2010). Biscaia et al. (2013) suggested that attitudes towards sponsor have a positive and direct influence on purchase intention.Therefore, inferring from the literature and the empirical evidence abovementioned, the study hypothesizes that: H2: celebrity endorsement advertising has a positive relationship with purchase behaviour H3: Celebrity endorsement advertising is positively related to brand recall Brand recall, is defined as the consumer's capacity to recall and recognise the brand (Malik & Sudhakar, 2014). ...
Celebrity endorsement advertising has received much attention in recent years from marketing practitioners and academic researchers. Pepsi spent $50 million dollars on an endorsement contract with Beyoncè Knowles which accounted for a sixth of the company's total budget. This research paper aims to examine whether or not South African marketers can utilise celebrity endorsements to promote their products or brands to young consumers effectively. The other purpose of this study is also to establish whether brand recall, brand awareness, brand loyalty and purchase behaviour are positively influenced by celebrity endorsement advertising. Utilising a quantitative research approach a field study was conducted in Durban whereby research data was collected from 325 participants 18 to 24 years of age. The research survey comprised of 25 questions that were self-administered to willing participants over a one month period. Using SPSS 23 and AMOS 23 software programs, Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was performed to analyze the data set. Major findings revealedthat brand loyalty is the most significant antecedent of purchase behaviour. Furthermore the study also revealed that participants in the 18-20 year age group were more inclined towards purchasing and paying more for celebrity endorsed brands as compared to any other age group in the survey.Lastly this study provides marketing practitioners an understanding of how firms can benefit from the use as it was found that brand recall and brand loyalty positively influence purchase behaviour whilst brand awareness had no direct influence on purchase behaviour.
... Much of current literature on role model pays particular attention to role model effect on athletes, parents, or teachers (e.g. Dix et al., 2010;Funk et al., 2003;Buksa & Mitsis, 2011;Gavish et al., 2010;Köse & Demir, 2014;Martin & Bush, 2000;McIlveen & Strungnell, 1999). However, individuals accept their family, celebrities, respected people, business people, friends, teachers, and many different people from different parts of the society with different statuses as role models and are influenced by them (de Run et al., 2010). ...
... In a similar study, Gümüş (2019) states that Zs are mostly influenced by their friends in their consumption decisions. On the other hand, although there are many studies investigating the effect of role models on consumer intentions, there are no studies examining the role model effect in the context of behavioural intention in generation Z. Thus far, a number of studies have suggested that role models have a significant effect on word-of-mouth (WOM) (Dix et al., 2010;Bush et al., 2004), brand loyalty (Dix et al., 2010;Wong et al., 2015), and product switching and complaint (Bush et al., 2004). In addition, the mediating role of brand loyalty in the effect of role models on WOM has been determined (Eskiler & Altunışık, 2017;Wong et al., 2015). ...
... In a similar study, Gümüş (2019) states that Zs are mostly influenced by their friends in their consumption decisions. On the other hand, although there are many studies investigating the effect of role models on consumer intentions, there are no studies examining the role model effect in the context of behavioural intention in generation Z. Thus far, a number of studies have suggested that role models have a significant effect on word-of-mouth (WOM) (Dix et al., 2010;Bush et al., 2004), brand loyalty (Dix et al., 2010;Wong et al., 2015), and product switching and complaint (Bush et al., 2004). In addition, the mediating role of brand loyalty in the effect of role models on WOM has been determined (Eskiler & Altunışık, 2017;Wong et al., 2015). ...
Generation Z, called digital natives, differs in many ways from other generations. Examining the effects of role models on the behavioural intentions of Generation Z helps develop correct marketing strategies. Individuals regard their family, celebrities, respected people, business people, friends, teachers and many different people from different segments of the society as role models and are affected by them. In this context, it is important to understand who Z generation takes role models and how they are affected by role models in the digitalized world. The aim of this study is to determine the examine of role model structure on behavioral intention on generation Z. The data were collected from 415 participants via questionnaire forms, using the convenience sampling method. The data were analysed by using SPSS 26 package program and SPSS Process macro. Results show that brand loyalty, WOM, product switching and complaint behaviour have a positive effect on role model.
... The use of such celebrities is important when a consumer is selecting a brand of product that the consumer wishes to buy and when a consumer talks about it with other people. The same research was repeated by Dix, Phau, Pougnet (2010), and they arrived at the same conclusions and even discovered an influence on alternating of brands and products depending on the used sports celebrity, which was not confirmed in previous research. Shuart (2007) also pointed out the positive influence of using sports celebrities, particularly in this case a sports hero, on the purchasing aims of consumers. ...
... However, the effect on product or brand switching and complaint behavior has not been proved. These authors' study was later repeated by Dix, Phau, Pougnet (2010) who confirmed the positive effects on the word-of-mouth communication and brand loyalty. In the Australian young generation, sports celebrities have a significant effect also on brand switching and complaint behavior. ...
... When determining the size of the sample for the questionnaire-based survey, the authors looked at a combination of multiple approaches (Kozel, Mynářová, Svobodová, 2011;Andrew, Pedersen, McEvoy, 2011) and studies conducted with the use of the questionnaire (Bush, Martin, Bush, 2004;Dix, Phau, Pougnet, 2010). The resulting size of the sample for the conducted questionnaire-based survey was 416 respondents. ...
This research determines what effect if any the use of sports celebrities in companies’ marketing communications has on the purchasing preferences of Generation Y. The survey is based on the original American version from authors Bush, Martin, Bush (2004). The questionnaire-based survey involves 416 respondents who study at Prague secondary schools and universities. Group discussions with four groups comprising a total of 41 respondents are also used. The results of the research show that the use of sports celebrities in marketing communication for generation Y does not have a proven effect on positive word of mouth or on switching and complaint behavior. This communication tool may have an indirect positive effect in the form of an increase in the brand/product awareness, attractiveness of a communication message and thereby increased options and tendency to try a product and a first purchase, even despite higher prices than the competition.
... Such practices are also common in Indonesia. Celebrities Moreover, it is suggested that young people are inclined to be susceptible to endorsements from celebrities (Chan et al. 2013;Jain et al. 2011;Dix et al. 2010;Chan and Prendergast 2008;Bush et al. 2004;Dhurup and Mafini 2015). The celebrity supporters with unverified accounts were excluded because there was no guarantee the social media accounts seemingly linking to the celebrities were genuinely related to them. ...
... Existing literatures on influences of celebrities in some countries in North America, Africa, Asia, Australia, and Europe suggest celebrities are mainly influential toward young cohorts. For example, studies on influences of celebrities' endorsements in Australia, China, India, South Africa, and the US suggest that they are influential toward purchasing behaviors among youths(Chan et al. 2013;Jain et al. 2011;Dix et al. 2010;Chan and Prendergast 2008;Bush et al. 2004;Dhurup & Mafini 2015).Other studies on the influences of celebrities in the US and Canada suggest they have impacts on voting behaviors of young demographic groups(Austin et al. 2008;Payne et al. 2007;Jackson 2007) while studies concerning influences of celebrities toward young people in the UK and Canada suggest they have impacts on young people's identity development(Boon & Lomore 2001;Cocker et al. 2015;Allen & Mendick 2013). Such accounts suggest celebrities constitute effective endorsers, be it in fields of economy, politics, and psychology. ...
This research scrutinized the use of social media in the 2014 presidential election in Indonesia. In particular it analyzed their role to empower democracy due to their capacity to encourage the constituents to engage in public debates on political issues and to make informed voting decisions. Incorporating theories on mediapolis, celebrity, and intermedia agenda setting as well as employing content analysis as analytical tools, it explored the coexistence and interactions of social media, celebrity, and traditional media power in the election and how such accounts had implications on the capacity of social media to empower democracy in the country.
... Now many advertisers are using comedian to introduce humor in ads as leading Brand Dominos Pizza has recently taken the services of Paresh Rawal to be successful. 14 investigated in their paper how sports celebrities can be perceived as role models and influence young adult consumers" purchase and behaviour and intention and also to examine whether this influence differs between males and females. A convenience sample was drawn from students in university in Western Australia. ...
... where male subject reported higher mean score. (3.91) and closing at product performance (3.64), lastly, age group (12)(13)(14) found music for mood creation (4.06) important after fun & happiness (4.19), after which economy & savings (4.02), humor (3.90), scenic beauty (3.80) were considered important but at lower ranks, overall ending at product performance (3.36) being less appealing to children in this group. Moving to statistic, gap was found significant in humor (f = 4.70), scenic beauty (f = 4.41) when tested at 99 percent of significance level and contest/ premium (f = 3.30) and economy/ savings (f = 3.25) at 95 percent significance level. ...
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A content analysis of 200 television commercials was conducted in order to identify the frequency of emotional and rational appeals under important product categories. The study also investigated the most preferred appeals by rural and urban children of Punjab.480 respondents in the age group 8-14 years were selected for the study. Age and gender differences with respect to preferences in regard to appeals were also analyzed. The study indicated that all number of appeals present in food and beverages were large and the least were present in the case of toys and games. Emotional appeals like fun and happiness, jingles and slogans, humor was present in every commercial forming the base of appeals in commercials. The most typical appeals in commercials aimed at male children were action-adventure, sports, and play, whereas commercials aimed at female children emphasized nurturing, physical attractiveness, friendship, and romance. Having the best, competition, and achievement were the dominant appeals in commercials aimed at male teenagers, whereas romance, sexuality, and belonging to a group were emphasized in commercials aimed at female teenager.
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... Haley (1996) found that communicators' general attributes are antecedents of evaluations of their advocacy messages. Moreover, several studies (e.g., Bandura 2001;Bush et al. 2004;Dix et al. 2010) have argued that endorsements by role model athletes can encourage supportive behavior and attitudes toward endorsement objects. These arguments suggest that evaluations of advocate athletes are influenced by how favorable the athletes are viewed as role models. ...
... These results provide empirical support for role models' influence in observational learning (Bandura 2001). The finding that whether athletes are perceived as positive role models indirectly determines the effectiveness of issue advocacy extends our understanding of athletes' social influences (Bush et al. 2004;Dix et al. 2010). As celebrities in Japan have not often engaged in advocacy and activism, some participants might have recognized Osaka as a notable advocate due to her role model attributes, such as the uniqueness of her resistance to racism besides on-the-field successes (Deflem 2022b). ...
Athlete advocacy is recognized as an important method of persuading the public on social issues, and it demonstrates the role of athletes in achieving racial justice. However, how athlete advocacy can gain the persuasiveness to encourage public involvement remains unclear. This study investigates how the evaluation of an advocate athlete functions to encourage public issue involvement, focusing on Naomi Osaka’s racial advocacy. In particular, driven by balance theory and attribution theory, this study examines the effects of five sociopsychological factors on public involvement in racial issues: perceived credibility, hypocrisy, cause fit, effort expended, and role model status of advocate athletes. Data were collected from a cross-sectional online survey of 855 Japanese adults who were aware of Osaka’s advocacy. The findings highlight that public involvement in racial issues is significantly associated with the evaluations of the athlete’s credibility and hypocrisy. These evaluations are further influenced by perceptions of the athlete’s cause fit and role model status. This study enriches the literature on the management of sports for social change by demonstrating the importance of source evaluation in athlete advocacy in achieving advocacy outcomes. Our evidence implies that athletes looking to promote racial justice issues should effectively be seen as credible, knowledgeable, and non-hypocritical in their issue advocacy.
... Numerous studies have been carried out on the influence sports celebrities exert over the shopping preferences of various age groups in the last years -especially the young, promising generation (Sassenberg, 2015;Sassenberg et al., 2018;Düsenberg, de Almeida, de Amorim, 2016;Hameed, Madhavan, 2017;Liu et al., 2016;Dugalić, Lazarević, 2017). Some studies carried out by international authors are also worth mentioning: Bush, Martin, Bush (2004), Dix, Phau, Pougnet (2010), Shuart (2007), Koernig, Boyd (2009), Simmers, Damron-Martinez, Haytko (2009, Baig, Siddiqui (2012). ...
... However, the respondents definitely see the effectiveness of using famous faces in advertising campaigns and think that they influence the consumer. In this regard, the respondents themselves admit to being influenced, as presented in various studies on the previous Generation Y (Bush, Martin, Bush, 2004;Dix, Phau, Pougnet, 2010;Shuart, 2007;Koernig, Boyd, 2009;Simmers, Damron-Martinez, Haytko, 2009;Baig, Siddiqui, 2012;. These contradictory statements may imply that the respondents do not want to be in the role in which they can be influenced or controlled by others. ...
The paper deals with the comparison of the impact of the use of athletes and bloggers in marketing communication on purchasing preferences of individuals which belong to the so-called Generation Z. There are two interdependent methods used for the research. The first of these methods is a questionnaire survey, which includes 508 respondents. 32 respondents separated in two groups attended the second method, which is a focus group. The research results show that athletes influence the behavioral intentions of members of the Generation Z more than bloggers in every researched sphere. The main difference in effectivity is clear from the comparison between both groups by respondents.
... Since Indian youths are in the first phase of their lives, making decisions about brands, marketers must know about their attitude and behaviour. Film celebrities, sports icons and fictional celebrities influence the youths through their status and achievements (Dix et al. 2010;Trivedi, 2018). According to Barton et al. (2014), celebrity influence on youth is four times more than it is on the baby boomer generation. ...
... Since the late nineteenth century, advertisers have used celebrity endorsement as a popular marketing strategy (Erdogan, 1999). Advertisements with celebrity endorsements are more effective than those with non-celebrity endorsements (Dix et al., 2010). A celebrity endorser is a person known in the general population for his/her outstanding achievements in their respective areas. ...
As Indian youths have more choices than ever before and purchase products that define them, it becomes necessary for marketers and companies to explore youth behavioural responses. Film celebrities, sports icons, and fictional celebrities influence youths through their status and achievements. Celebrity influence on youth is four times more than their influence on the baby boomer generation, and youthful shoppers evaluate ads more than grown-ups do. Given the battle between celebrity and Mascot for brand endorsement, marketers have an increased interest in examining the differential effect of endorsers and product involvement’s potent effects on youth attitude and purchase intentions.
This study has used an experimental design to assess the advertisement effectiveness. The endorser has three levels (i.e. Bollywood celebrity, sports celebrity and mascot) and product involvement had two levels (low vs high involvement, non-food products). Product involvement was used as a moderating variable and was found to enhance the impact of endorsements. The current research also assessed the interaction effect of endorsement and product involvement. This study was conducted on undergraduate and postgraduate students and has used six print ads. The study’s findings revealed that all the paths from endorsement type and product involvement to AaD, AB and PI are found significant. The interaction effects of endorsement type and product involvement significantly predict attitude towards the brand and purchase intentions. The outcomes of this study add value to the body of knowledge and discuss managerial implications.
... Also, role models are people who have a profound and significant impact on a person's life (Pell et al., 2022). Selected role models can be effective in the formation of the individual's cognitive, affective, or psychomotor skills (Dix et al., 2010). Learning from role models may not always occur consciously. ...
Role models are key to the development of self-regulation skills. The study aimed to develop a model that shows the relationship between high school students' role-modeling perceptions and self-regulation skills. In the study, the predictive correlation design of the quantitative research method was used. The sample of the study consisted of 362 high school students studying at a public high school and agreeing to participate in the research. The research data were collected with the "Perceived Role Models Scale" and the "Self-regulation Scale for Science". As a result, a model was developed showing that the reproduction, retention, and motivation dimensions of high school students' role modeling perceptions were statistically significant predictors of science self-regulation. This result proved that role models were important in developing high school students' self-regulation skills. Therefore, it could be argued that the development of self-regulation that begins at an early age is a lifelong process. The results of the study can be a reference point for research that will examine the relationship between the sub-dimensions of self-regulation and role modeling perception in depth.
... One time gold medallist' (FS7). They felt this also enabled them to act as role models with a potential influence on community members' behaviours (Dix et al., 2010;Storm and Eske, 2021). ...
Low levels of youth sport and physical activity is a concern across the world with many strategies implemented to promote its positive benefits and correlation to young people's health and wellbeing. Little data exist on the specific context of establishing and developing sport and physical activity in rural areas, nor on the role undertaken by social actors working to facilitate this within their local communities; the 'fire souls'. The study's purpose therefore was to learn more about FS' work in rural areas, especially relating to activities targeting children and young people, and provide practical insight to guide similar projects in other rural European settings. A qualitative narrative study was conducted that interviewed 42 Fire Souls in 7 European countries using the 'Freytag Pyramid' structure. Following Framework Thematic Analysis the higher order themes; Motivation to make a difference, Challenges to start and maintain, and Overcoming Issues and Maximising Resources were identified. Findings support previous research exploring worker motivation and emphasise the positive role of sport and physical activity in supporting local communities' health, well-being, and cohesion. The study provides original multi-country, multi-site and multi-activity insights, as well as practical learnings to guide future Sport for Development work in rural settings.
... The Twitter platform-known today as X-has enabled many well-known influencers to reach millions of followers, offering a potent platform not only for product sponsorships but also for the promotion of causes related to their humanitarian work. For example, leading sports figures have been studied for their influence on the golf ball market and football-related sales to young adult consumers (Chung et al., 2013;Dix et al., 2010). ...
The UN High Commissioner on Refugees (UNHCR) is pursuing a social media strategy to inform people about displaced populations and refugee emergencies. It is actively engaging public figures to increase awareness through its prosocial communications and improve social informedness and support for policy changes in its services. We studied the Twitter communications of UNHCR social media champions and investigated their role as high-profile influencers. In this study, we offer a design science research and data analytics framework and propositions based on the social informedness theory we propose in this paper to assess communication about UNHCR’s mission. Two variables—refugee-emergency and champion type—relate to the informedness of UNHCR champions’ followers. Based on a Twitter sentiment and attitude corpus, we applied a five-step design science analytics framework involving machine learning and natural language processing to test how the emergency type and champion type impact social communication patterns. Positive and neutral sentiment dominated the tweets of the champions and their followers for most refugee-emergency types. High participation-intensity champions emphasized high-intensity emergencies with tweet patterns reflecting dominant positive or neutral sentiment and sharing/liking attitudes. However, we found that sports figures effects were limited in spreading UNHCR’s message, despite their millions of followers. We demonstrate the power of data science for prosocial policy based on refugee crisis awareness and instantiate our methods and knowledge contributions in a research framework that derives knowledge, decisions, and actions from behavioral, design, and economics of information systems perspectives.
... Sports celebrities also have a positive effect on consumers'purchase intentions (von Felbert & Breuer, 2020). According to Dix et al. (2010), sports celebrity-endorsed products have a 36% influence on the total weekly expenditure of Australian young adults. The younger audience is more affected by sports celebrities, but at the same time more resistant to marketing strategies (Wong et al., 2015). ...
This research aims to study celebrity endorsement in the context of social media when done by sports celebrities and its influence on purchase intention. Four dimensions have been studied: word of mouth, brand image, brand trust, and brand attitude. By relating these variables, we seek to answer the following questions: Will consumers be influenced by a sports celebrity that they admire to buy a product/service from a brand that they support? Will the brand’s components be valued as a result of celebrity endorsement? Using a questionnaire shared on social networks, 303 valid answers have been obtained. Our statistical analysis has used a structural equation model and the results have been analyzed using SmartPLS software, which has confirmed all the model assumptions. Therefore, celebrity endorsement has an impact on brand image, word of mouth, brand attitude, and brand trust. Furthermore, it directly affects purchase intention. The effectiveness of celebrity endorsement has been verified in the context of social media and this research can thus help marketeers understand the importance of using sports celebrities to endorse brands. Implications for brands have been identified, based on the research results.
... The last is trust, namely, the brand will act in customers' best interest and fulfil the promises made (Kennedy et al., 2001;Roberts et al., 2003). Guèvremont (2021) suggests that, besides the emotional attachment human brands can generate, they may influence individual habits, such as increasing interest in reading (Hall, 2003), playing sports (Dix et al., 2010) or eating more healthily (Guèvremont, 2019). Each chef's image is aligned with his or her restaurants where luxury experiences occur, which influences consumers' perception of these hedonic and novelty events. ...
Purpose
This study aims, first, to understand consumers’ perception of chefs as human brands (i.e. study one). Second, tests were run to assess the validity of a new conceptual model of the relationships between the factors of chef image, luxury restaurant image, both images’ congruity and consumers’ hedonic and novelty experiences and happiness and well-being (i.e. study two).
Design/methodology/approach
The first qualitative study involved using Leximancer software to analyse the data drawn from 43 interviews with luxury restaurant clients. In the second quantitative study, 993 valid survey questionnaires were collected, and the proposed model was tested using structural equation modelling.
Findings
The results reveal that consumers perceive chefs as human brands and the associated narratives include both performance- and popularity-based characteristics. The findings support the conclusion that individuals give great importance to chefs’ image and the congruence between chefs and their restaurant’s image. In addition, luxury restaurant image only affects novelty experiences, and both hedonic and novelty experiences have a positive effect on customers’ happiness and well-being.
Research limitations/implications
This research focused on Portuguese luxury restaurants. The consumers’ happiness and well-being needs to be replaced by other outcomes to confirm if the model produces consistent results.
Practical implications
The results should help luxury restaurant managers understand more fully which pull factors are valued by their clients and which aspects contribute the most to their pleasure and welfare.
Originality/value
This study adds to the extant literature by exploring consumers’ perceptions of chefs as human brands and the role these chefs’ image play in customers’ luxury restaurant experiences and perceived happiness and well-being.
... In addition to the above, it is evident that the mechanisms that lead to the creation of brand loyalty towards football clubs are unknown, given that studies have focused on other actors than the clubs. An example of this is the research by Dix et al. [30], which sought to understand how athletes are perceived as role models and influence consumers' purchase intentions and behaviour; or the study by Moyo et al. [31], who established the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and the possibility of building brand loyalty, finding that CSR positively influences this type of loyalty in the sports industry. ...
Brand loyalty is one of the main objectives of marketing, due to its impact on the sustainability of organisations; however, the explanation of how this type of loyalty is built in the sports industry is complex, due to the way it is organised. Traditionally, brand loyalty in this industry has been explained by satisfaction, service quality, commitment and trust, thus other variables that have been analysed from the marketing field have not been included in the models developed for the sports industry. The aim of this article was to explore the relationship between symbolic consumption as a non-traditional predictor of brand loyalty in the sports industry, more specifically in the football club segment. For this purpose, a quantitative cross-sectional study was defined, with a non-probabilistic sampling. To test the proposed relationship, modelling by means of partial least squares structural equations was chosen. The results showed that symbolic consumption is positively related to brand loyalty in the sports industry in the football club segment, with a large effect size. This study becomes a starting point for scholars who wish to further explore the relationship between symbolic consumption and brand loyalty in the context of sport. Likewise, for marketing professionals in the sports industry, it suggests the importance of symbolic consumption for the design of strategies that enable the creation of brand loyalty in consumers in the case of football clubs. In this sense, marketing professionals should seek to create advertising and promotional campaigns that appeal to strengthen the relationship of the sports consumer with their social groups based on the actual and ideal self-concept, as lifestyle
... They choose one or more people who meet these criteria as an example or someone to look up to. The chosen role models affect children's character, career choices, academic goals, and identity formation (Dix et al., 2010). Therefore, it is necessary to determine how s/he perceives the role model to understand how the individual chooses a role model. ...
A deep understanding of the relationship between self-regulation and role models can enrich the theoretical models that affect the acquisition of self-regulation skills. This study aims to determine the moderating role demographic variables (i.e., gender, grade, and parent’s education levels) have on the relationship between middle school students’ perceptions of role modeling and their self-regulation. The study uses the explanatory correlation model, a correlational quantitative research design. The sample consists of 1,100 students studying in the 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grades of secondary schools during the 2018–2019 academic year. The data have been analyzed using regression analysis in the package program SPSS 25 with the Process Macro plugin. The study has concluded the variables of gender and parents’ education levels have a moderating effect on the relationship between secondary school students’ perceptions toward role modeling and their self-regulation levels; grade level had no moderating effect. This study indicated that the father’s education level had a more moderator effect on this relationship. These results are valuable in terms of revealing that the education level of the mother and father, which is considered the only variable in the studies, should be examined as two separate variables. The relationship between role modeling perceptions and self-regulation can be examined from a broader perspective by considering sociocultural, sociodemographic, and socioeconomic variables.
... Furthermore, selecting the right brand ambassador could bridge between the companies and their young customers. Because brand ambassador influence the switching behavior, positive word of mouth and loyalty of the young customers (Dix et al., 2010). Therefore, considering the driving factors are important for halal cosmetics firms to get the new halal cosmetics customers and also to maintain customer loyalty among the competitive halal cosmetics brands. ...
Purpose
The paper aims to investigate the push, pull and mooring effects towardswitching intention to halal cosmetic products.
Design/methodology/approach
The rapid growth of the halal industry in Muslim and non-Muslim countries opens a new market for cosmetic companies. For Muslims, using halal cosmetics is one of the religious orders, which their behavior relies on religious values. However, consuming nonhalal cosmetic products is still popular among Muslim consumers. The data are gathered through an online self-administered questionnaire. The total sample is 220 Indonesian females with an 88% response rate. Then, partial least squares structural equation modeling is used to analyze the data.
Findings
The result showed that regret, perceived value and religious beliefs influence the switching intention behavior to use halal cosmetics products. While dissatisfaction influences regret, and the brand also influences perceived value.
Originality/value
The paper provides several factors that are still rarely investigated previously in the context of halal cosmetics literature, such as perceived value and brand image (Handriana et al. , 2020). Hence, these factors contribute significantly to the intention of Muslim consumers to switch to halal cosmetics.
... The champions of major sporting events, as role models, have a demonstration effect on the public, which increases the number of regular physical activity participants, strengthens immune alertness and improves immune competence, and then in turn exerts a suppressive effect on the outbreak of COVID-19 infection. It has been well documented that physical activity reduces the possibility of COCID-19 infection [10,[12][13][14]16,17], and there is already some literature on the demonstration effects of sport [26][27][28]75], especially the influence of sports stars on young people [61,62,[76][77][78]. However, in the existing literature discussing the impact of physical activity on COVID-19 epidemics, there is no focus on the demonstration effect of sporting event champions [25][26][27][28]75] on the epidemic. ...
What kind of role do sports champions play in the COVID-19 epidemic? Do they contribute to the mitigation of the epidemic by some pathway? In this paper, we empirically explore the influence and mechanism of the demonstration effect of sports champions upon the COVID-19 epidemic using COVID-19-related dataset of prefecture-level cities in China from 1 January 2020 to 17 March 2020. The two-way fixed effect model of econometrics is applied to estimate the result, the instrumental variable approach is adopted to address potential endogeneity issues, and socio-economic factors including public health measures, residents’ self-protection awareness, effective distance from Wuhan are also taken into consideration. The results show that the demonstration effect of champions in major sporting events increases the participation in physical exercise, which in turn reduces the possibility of being infected with the epidemic. An increase of one gold medal results in a 0.93% increase in the sports population, then leads to a 3.58% decrease in the cumulative case growth rate (p < 0.01). Further, we find that the effect is greater in regions with developed economies and abundant sports resources. Interestingly, it is greater in regions with less attention to sports, which again confirms the role of the demonstration effect.
... Applying marketing communication to social learning theory, people have been shown to develop consumer skills based on their interaction with socialization agents (Branigan and Mitsis 2014;Dix, Phau, and Pougnet 2010). According to Lueg et al. (2006), norms, attitudes, motivations, and behaviors can be transferred to people via socialization agents. ...
Using a mixed-methods approach, this study explored how automobile companies in Saudi Arabia used Twitter to market to women after the Saudi Arabian government lifted its ban on women driving. All tweets from auto companies posted between September 26, 2017, and June 30, 2018, were examined. While a total of 11,028 tweets were targeted toward Saudi citizens during this historic period, only 184 tweets (less than 2 percent of the total sample) were found to be targeted toward women. The study further examined these 184 tweets and the 92 advertisements embedded in them using both quantitative and qualitative methodology. Using the lens of social learning theory, results suggest that auto companies were supportive of women and presented them as more independent and authoritative than has historically been considered typical for Saudi Arabia. This study offers some practical implications for professionals in the advertising industry.
... Prior research by Illicic & Webster (2011) demonstrates that a consumer's evaluation in terms of attitudes towards celebrity advertisement and buying behaviour is greater when a celebrity endorses a product. Dix et al. (2010) asserted that the celebrity's credibility is a much more significant factor in explaining consumers' buying behaviour. Biscaia et al. (2013) opined that attitudes towards sponsor have a positive and direct influence on buying behaviour. ...
The study examines the effect of celebrity endorsement on consumers' buying behaviour of electrical appliances in Accra, Ghana. Data were collected using questionnaire administered through personal interviews to 240 customers of Hisense Ghana Limited in Accra, Ghana, and data analyses carried out using SPSS version 22. The findings of the study revealed television ranked first, radio ranked second, newspaper ranked third and billboard ranked fourth as the various media used by Hisense Ghana Limited for celebrity endorsements to influence consumers' buying behaviour in Accra. Also, the study showed credibility ranked first, physical attractiveness ranked second, trustworthiness ranked third and expertise ranked fourth as celebrity's attributes influencing consumers' buying behaviour of products of Hisense Ghana limited in Accra, Ghana. Since reactions to television advertisements seem to be stronger than the reaction to print advertisement, the study recommends Hisense Ghana limited to continue to emphasize the use of television as a medium for celebrity endorsement to influence consumers' buying behaviour. The firm should also continue the use of celebrity endorsement on radio. However, celebrity endorsement in newspapers and billboards can be minimized. Also, it is recommended that celebrities with credibility and physical attractiveness must be utmost priority for Hisense during endorsements and celebrities with additional attributes such as trustworthiness and expertise must be preferred albeit not so significant.
... The influential role of celebrities on mass media consumers' attitudes and behavior has generated considerable research in the past decades (Fraser and Brown, 2002;Dix et al., 2010;Nisbett and DeWalt, 2016). A growing body of research has focused on the psychological characteristics of fans with an excessive admiration toward a celebrity (i.e., "celebrity worshippers") Brooks, 2018). ...
The association of celebrity worship with mental health concerns has been extensively studied in the past two decades. However, there is a lack of research on basic demographic characteristics that can potentially alter the link between celebrity admiration and different aspects of mental health. The present study investigates the possible moderating role of gender, age, and opposite/same-gender celebrity selection on the association of celebrity worship with general well-being, self-esteem and perceived daytime sleepiness. A total of 1763 Hungarian adults (66.42% men, Mage = 37.2 years, SD = 11.4) completed an online survey focusing on attitudes and behaviors relating to celebrities and mental well-being. The moderation analysis showed that (i) the negative association between celebrity worship and self-esteem was slightly stronger for women than for men, and (ii) the association between celebrity worship and perceived daytime sleepiness was slightly stronger for younger individuals than for older ones. Although both gender and age were particularly weak moderators, these results draw the attention to some potential individual differences when interpreting links between celebrity worship and different aspects of mental health.
... Professional athletes are some of the most idolized celebrities in the world (Hyman & Sierra, 2010); they have a substantial influence on the career choices of young individuals hoping to achieve their level of status and skill (Dix et al., 2010). Although a career in professional sports may seem glamorous, it does not come without risk; occurrence of serious sports injuries is significantly on the rise (Adirim & Cheng, 2003;Flanders & Bhat, 1995) influenced by increasing size of sports teams, pressures of performing (Curry, 1993), and consequences from overtraining. ...
After facing a career-ending injury, athletes are often unprepared to find new occupations. With their identities and goals so deeply rooted in athletics from a young age, many athletes have not shown interest in or been educated in other fields of work. Additionally, physical and psychological trauma caused by injury and career-loss can impede the abilities to realistically perceive skills and limitations when considering new career paths. The current article identifies and discusses major issues faced by career-transitioning athletes post-injury and applies two theories, Social Cognitive Career Theory and Cochran’s Narrative Theory, to career counselling methods for this population.
... We also entertain the possibility that the non-trivial amounts of physical exercise in top-ranked players' training regimes might have positive effects on the physical activity behaviors of amateurs and new players who see them as idols or role models (e.g. Dix, Phau & Pougnet, 2010). ...
This chapter is an extended revision of the authors' earlier study (2016) on the training routines of professional and high-level esport players, with added focus on their physical exercise. The study is methodologically mixed with a quantitative survey sample (n=115) and a qualitative interview sample (n=7). Based on this data, high-level esport players train approximately 5.28 hours every day around the year, and professional esport players at least the same amount. Approximately 1.08 hours of that training is physical exercise. More than half (55.6%) of the professional and high-level esport players believe that integrating physical exercise into their training programs has a positive effect on esport performance; however, no less than 47.0% do the physical exercise chiefly to maintain their overall state of health. Accordingly, the study indicates that professional and high-level esport players are physically active as well: those of age 18 and older exercising more than three times the daily 21-minute physical activity recommendation given by the World Health Organization.
... We also entertain the possibility that the non-trivial amounts of physical exercise in top-ranked e-athletes' training regimes might have positive effects on the physical activity behaviors of amateurs and new players who see them as idols or role models (e.g. Dix, Phau & Pougnet, 2010). ...
This article offers possibly the first peer-reviewed study on the training routines of elite e-athletes with special focus on the subjects' physical exercise routines. The study is based on a sample of 115 elite e-athletes. According to the responses, e-athletes train approximately 5.28 hours every day around the year on the elite level. Approximately 1.08 hours of that training is physical exercise. More than half (55.6%) of the elite e-athletes believe that integrating physical exercise in their training programs has a positive effect on esport performance; however, no less than 47.0% of the elite e-athletes do their physical exercise chiefly to maintain overall health. Accordingly, the study indicates that elite e-athletes are active athletes as well, those of age 18 and older exercising physically more than three times the daily 21-minute activity recommendation given by World Health Organization.
... According to Jackson et al. (2011), the study of gender differences is important because many research show there is different between male and female in their buying behaviour. The different include the different attitude form by male and females in online shopping (Dai et al. 2019), visual attention on promotion tools (Hwang & Lee, 2018), and even on the perception they formed on celebrities (Dix et al., 2010). ...
... According to the theory of meaning transfer (McCracken, 1989), the image of the star is transferred to the product and from the product to the consumer. Star athletes can influence the decisions of young people in Australia to change brands (Dix et al., 2010). The attractiveness of the star is the most important characteristic that can affect young Egyptians' intentions to buy, especially the females (AbouAish, 2011). ...
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine how sports marketing can attract audiences towards less popular sports.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 22 interviews were conducted first to explore the opinions of sports professionals about how audiences can be attracted towards less popular sports. Then 479 responses to an online questionnaire were collected. The online questionnaire includes a pretest-posttest experiment in which each respondent has watched a video. Confirmatory factor analysis, reliability test and hierarchical regression analysis have been performed.
Findings
The elements of sports marketing that can help to attract audiences towards less popular sports are sports media, sports advertising, star athlete and sports sponsorship. The performance of national teams moderates the relationship between sports advertising and attraction towards less popular sports.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, a definition of sustainable sports marketing is introduced for the first time. Sustainable sports marketing can be defined as the continuous implementation of marketing activities in the sports context to ensure the continuous existence of the sports themselves (all types of sports) and the prosperity of future generations. Elements that can attract audiences towards less popular sports have been examined for the first time.
... Recently, the Beer Institute's Advertising and Marketing Code changed the guidelines to exempt athletes, entertainers, and celebrities from model's age restriction in alcohol advertisements (Gribbins 2015). This is worrisome as research shows that athlete endorsers positively influence young consumers' purchase behavior, engagement with WOM, and brand loyalty (Dix, Phau, and Pougnet 2010). Of the three self-regulatory guidelines, the Distilled Spirits Council's (2011, 5) Code of Responsible Practices is the only one specifying ' [t]o help ensure that individuals in beverage alcohol advertising are and appear to be above the legal purchase age, models, and actors employed should be a minimum of 25 years old, substantiated by proper identification, and shoulw reasonably appear to be 21 years of age and older'. ...
Despite U.S. alcohol industry self-regulatory guidelines prohibiting the use of models under the age 25 in alcohol advertising, brands include younger-looking models in their ads. Using social cognitive theory and the limited capacity model of mediated motivated message processing (LC4MP), we investigated the effects of alcohol ads featuring younger- and older-looking models on underage youths’ affective and cognitive processing and behavioral outcomes. Study 1 participants viewed YouTube ads where models looked either younger or older than 25. In addition to measuring advertising effectiveness self-report measure (e.g. attitudes, and behavioral intentions), participants’ psychophysiological responses were recorded. Study 2 used Instagram ads and measured outcomes with a nationally representative participant sample. Both studies show that younger-looking models in alcohol ads increase drinking intentions. Findings are discussed in relation to alcohol regulatory and policy recommendations as well as advertising’s role in hindering consumer well being.
... Scholarship in the area of endorsers and social influencers has demonstrated the power of celebrities such as professional athletes to influence fan and consumer behavior as well as to sell products (Lear, Runyan, & Whitaker, 2009;Shuart, 2007). Therefore, sport celebrities may act as important socialization agents who have the potential to attract awareness and influence the decisions, actions, and loyalty of a broad range of audiences (Dix, Phau, & Pougnet, 2010). Much of the work on athlete endorsers and influencers has explored the link between athlete brand and image and an associated product or company (Boyd & Shank, 2004;Fink, Cunningham, & Kensicki, 2004;Lee & Koo, 2015). ...
Professional athletes are increasingly engaged in social impact efforts via charitable endeavors. Despite seemingly good intentions in these efforts, the media’s representation of athlete philanthropy varies widely. This study examines how discourses of athlete charity are represented in U.S. media coverage. Over 100 newspaper articles were obtained for the period of 2005–2017. The authors conducted a qualitative analysis which consisted of attribute coding for basic article characteristics, identification of both framing and reasoning devices, and deductive coding to identify generic media frames. The authors present an adapted frame matrix highlighting the salient frames in media coverage of athlete philanthropy. Our results show that athlete charitable efforts are related to a personal or emotional connection or linked to an economic perspective around philanthropy. A third frame reflected a moral underpinning to athletes’ charitable work. The authors discuss managerial implications for teams and leagues that provide support for athletes’ charitable work, as well as for the athletes themselves.
... One trend in celebrity endorsement studies, especially in consumer and health behavior research, is that celebrities tend to have stronger influence on youth than on older persons (Austin et al., 2008;Buksa & Mitsis, 2011;Dix et al., 2010;Inthorn & Street, 2011;Jackson & Darrow, 2005;LaFerle & Chan, 2008;Stevens et al., 2003). These studies find that younger people are more interested in and attentive to celebrity culture, and that the youth audience is a larger target both for entertainment media and brands seeking celebrity endorsements. ...
Celebrities saturate American culture and often become relevant in politics, yet political science has largely left unstudied how celebrities affect mass political behavior. We focus on the 2015 story of Caitlyn Jenner revealing her transgender identity. Using an original nationally representative survey from that summer, we examine whether following the Jenner story and evaluations of its social significance affected attitudes toward transgender rights policies. Specifically, we examine how age and transphobia interacted with engagement with the Jenner story to shape attitudes toward transgender rights. We find, counterintuitively, that older respondents who were more transphobic were less likely to see her story as representing negative social trends if they followed it in the media. Furthermore, more transphobic older respondents were more likely to support pro-transgender policies if they viewed Jenner’s story less negatively. We then discuss the implications of our findings for research on celebrity effects on politics and transgender rights.
... Next, those who (b) reported being fan of at least one elite athlete were additionally asked to (c) fill in the role model influence scale developed by Dix, Phau, and Pougnet (2010) and Rich (1997). This scale consists of the following five items addressing the ways in which the athlete is perceived as a role model (ROLEM; 1 = 'strongly disagree' and 7 = 'strongly agree'): 'My favourite athlete… provides a good model for me to follow; leads by example; sets a positive example for others to follow; exhibits the kind of work ethic and behaviour that I try to imitate; and acts as a role model for me' . ...
Since the turn of the century, public investments in high performance sport are booming which requires policy makers to justify the expenses. Thus, governments predominantly argue that elite sport will trigger a range of benefits for the population. The latter is contested among academics as there is lack of robust evidence that supports the governmental claims. Moreover, evidence highlighting the ‘dark sides’ of sport is mostly ignored. Surprisingly, valuable insights in how the tax-payer observes the societal impact of elite sport is scarce. Therefore, the research aim is to examine what negative and positive societal impact of elite sport is perceived by the population of Belgium (n = 1102). The results indicate that the Belgian population generally perceives less negative than positive societal impact of elite sport. The most negatively perceived impact relates to excessive costs, disturbed local living conditions and athletes’ harmful physical and mental integrity issues.
... Research in the field of media studies indicates that celebrities have a powerful influence on mass audiences (Fraser & Brown, 2002). Indeed, there is growing evidence that famous media figures can shape the attitudes and behaviors of those individuals who perceive them as role models and identify closely with their characteristics (Dix, Phau, & Pougnet, 2010;Fraser & Brown, 2002;McCormick, 2016). Findings also suggest that there are considerable individual differences in the level of engagement with a celebrity: while some people get inspired by the work of their favorite celebrity or benefit from the social connections established upon a shared interest, others (termed "celebrity worshippers") may develop an excessive admiration towards a celebrity (McCutcheon, Lange, & Houran, 2002). ...
Social media has opened an avenue for reciprocal interactions between celebrities and their fans, encouraging individuals with a tendency to become obsessed with celebrities to extend their online social network with celebrity friends. Celebrity worship has been associated with weak social skills and addictive behaviors (e.g., problematic Internet use, compulsive buying) in previous studies. This study investigated how interpersonal skills and addictive tendencies may affect the social media use of individuals fascinated by celebrities. A total of 368 Hungarian adolescents and adults (78.0% male; Mage = 24.6 years, SD = 7.5) completed an online questionnaire focusing on attitudes toward celebrities. A hierarchical linear regression analysis was performed, indicating that problematic but not heavy or extensive use is predictive of celebrity worship. Furthermore, friending on social media was not associated with celebrity worship. These findings extend previous research on the association between celebrity worship and addictive behaviors and provide further empirical evidence that problematic use is qualitatively different from overuse. Results also highlight the importance of identifying risky behaviors (e.g., social media use to alleviate negative feelings) to prevent highly engaged individuals from developing an excessive admiration toward their favorite media figure.
... The use of celebrity endorsers in advertisements has been considered as an effective marketing tool by advertisers and their agencies since many decades ago. Dix, Phau, and Pougnet (2010) further elaborated that the influence of a celebrity is so powerful that businesses are willing to set aside millions of dollars just on endorsement deals. This is mainly because of the celebrity's ability to capture the attention of consumers in an advertisement among the cluttered streams of messages (Kamins, 1989). ...
Celebrity endorsement is a marketing communication strategy for building and promoting brand image. Thus, the study examined celebrity endorsement and its influence on consumer purchase demeanor in Benin City, Edo state. Geographically, the study was delimited to the University of Benin, Edo state, with focus on customers of GLO network and the consumers of Pepsi-Cola within the Ugbowo and Ekehuan campuses of the institution. From the study’s population, a sample size of 400 was drawn using the judgmental sampling technique. From the four hundred copies questionnaires administered, three hundred and seventy-one (371) were found usable. The study recommended that subsequent studies on celebrity endorsement should consider more industries (other than the telecommunication and beverage industries) to see if the response of celebrity endorsement with regards to consumer buying behaviour is same across industries.
... Lanka Celebrity Index Report, 2015). Moreover, proposition of further examining the impact of celebrity endorsement on perceived brand evaluation in different product scopes and consumer contexts is validated by recent studies mentioning celebrity endorsement as a facet of marketing mix investment that reinforces perceived brand evaluation (Crutchfield, 2010;Dix, Phau & Pougnet 2010;Hail, 2010). In brief, propositions of brand evaluation and brand-related behaviors have been clearly claimed in the empirical reviews on services sector including Sri Lanka as a noted context (Kahandawaarachchi, et.al.2016;Malik, ...
... Research in the field of media studies indicates that celebrities have a powerful influence on mass audiences (Fraser & Brown, 2002). Indeed, there is growing evidence that famous media figures can shape the attitudes and behaviors of those individuals who perceive them as role models and identify closely with their characteristics (Dix, Phau, & Pougnet, 2010;Fraser & Brown, 2002;McCormick, 2016). Findings also suggest that there are considerable individual differences in the level of engagement with a celebrity: while some people get inspired by the work of their favorite celebrity or benefit from the social connections established upon a shared interest, others (termed "celebrity worshippers") may develop an excessive admiration towards a celebrity (McCutcheon, Lange, & Houran, 2002). ...
Celebrity worship, defined as an excessive preoccupation with a famous media figure, has been of considerable research interest in the past two decades. There is growing evidence for the association between psychiatric symptoms (e.g., depression, anxiety, dissociative experiences) and celebrity worship. However, research on possible mediators that can provide an explanation for this association is scarce. This study aims to explore the complexity of the association between psychiatric symptoms and celebrity worship in the context of desire for fame, maladaptive daydreaming, and need to belong. An online questionnaire was administered to a sample of Hungarian adolescents and adults (N = 437; 78.3% male; Mage = 24.7 years, SD = 7.4). Applying a path analytic approach, it was found that desire for fame and maladaptive daydreaming mediated the relationship between psychiatric symptoms and celebrity worship. These findings can possibly contribute to a better understanding of the association between these two constructs.
Public health organizations have embarked on various campaigns to increase the level of physical activity in the population. The aim of this study is to examine whether printed advertisements promoting physical activity can be made more effective by manipulating the model used in advertisements. Two experiments were conducted. The aim of the first experiment was to examine whether the gender of the model affects the effectiveness of the advertisement. Seventy-five respondents were randomly split into a control group featuring no model, experimental group 1 featuring a female model, and experimental group 2 featuring a male model. The study found that while respondents spend more time looking at advertisements with models, male respondents in the male model group reported an intent to participate in higher levels of physical activity compared with the other 2 groups. The aim of the second experiment was to examine whether the celebrity status of the model affects the effectiveness of the advertisement. Fifty-nine respondents were randomly split either into a group featuring a sports celebrity or an unknown athlete. The results show that while the sports celebrity was more attractive, it was respondents in the noncelebrity group that reported an intent to participate in higher levels of physical activity. The findings from this study suggest that noncelebrity male models in printed advertisements promoting physical activity are more effective.
Athlete advocacy refers to the efforts of elite athletes to raise public awareness of social and political issues. While previous research has examined the public’s mixed reaction to athlete advocacy from various perspectives, little has been studied about the factors that determine this reaction. This study aims to investigate the determinants of public reaction to athlete advocacy, focusing on two key factors : perceived effort and perceived fit. Additionally, the moderating effect of athlete attachment is also examined. Specifically, this study explores public reaction to the racial advocacy of Naomi Osaka. Data was collected from 855 Japanese adults through an online survey. Results from Latent Moderated Structural Equation Modeling (LMS) analysis indicate that perceived effort and perceived fit significantly associate with the public’s positive or negative reaction to athlete advocacy. However, the moderating effects of athlete attachment on the relationship between advocacy attributes and public reaction are mixed. This study contributes to the literature by examining the determinants of public reaction to athlete advocacy from the attribution theory perspective. Furthermore, as athletes’ engagement in social issues can affect their brand image, the findings of this study are useful for athletes developing strategies for disseminating their advocacy efforts.
Binge drinking is a major public health concern on college campuses and shares a deep connection to sporting culture. As such, student-athletes are potential referent points for addressing this destructive behavior among the student body. This study utilizes the theoretical frameworks of the elaboration likelihood model (ELM) and parasocial relationships (PSRs) to investigate the effects that student-athletes’ health advocacy has on college students’ attitudinal and behavioral intentions to binge drink. Analysis of data collected from 161 college students, who met the clinical definition of binge drinkers, indicated that issue involvement was associated with more favorable attitudes and the intention to continue drinking, and a disregard for student-athlete health advocacy. Greater degrees of source involvement (i.e., PSR), with depicted student-athletes, however, was found to positively affect elaboration and indirectly foster behavioral intentions to cease binge drinking. Results enhance our understanding of the ELM by suggesting source involvement – as opposed to issue involvement – can be an effective means of encouraging elaboration and decreasing college students’ behavioral intentions to binge drink.
This paper explores the motivations and priorities of Chinese Millennials' use of social media with regard to the sharing of content. A commercially important demographic, this group are highly active on social media. The amount of content that is shared online is immense. Some shared content “goes viral” and can be seen by vast numbers of users. The findings of this study are based on the results of over 650 online surveys and include both theoretical and practical contributions to the body of knowledge regarding the nature of viral propagation of content in Chinese social media. This contribution to the understanding and insight social media activities of this significant and commercially consumer demographic may be of value to online promoters and marketers as well those interested in the use of social media for commercial purposes in the design and management of their online and social media presence, marketing, and advertising strategies.
In sports advertising, selecting a sports star and a typical person as an endorser is an important issue. Based on construal level theory, this study intended to determine the appropriate combination of endorser type, ad colors, and copy style to increase audiences’ positive attitudes toward sports ads. Several experiments were performed to examine these research arguments. Experiment 1 demonstrated that people perceive distant and proximate social distances to sports stars and typical persons, respectively. Experiment 2 found that the participants perceived a positive attitude toward the ad through high process fluency when a sports star (a typical person) as the endorser used black-and-white imagery (color imagery) and an outcome simulation copy (a process simulation copy). Experiment 3 showed that using process simulation copies increased the effect of a typical person endorser who was perceived as similar to the participants on sports ads. Finally, the contributions and implications of the research findings are discussed.
The emergence of metrosexual trend in the recent decades, growing awareness and concerns of self-image or external appearance in male populations nowadays have not only created impetus for researchers to explore more in this new research segment, but attentions have also garnered over those companies which engaging themselves in the production of personal grooming, cosmetics and skin care products toward this blooming niche market. Hence, the primary purpose of this study is to implement a conceptual review in assessing the factors that predict Malaysian male consumption behaviour in purchasing skin care products. There are limited studies found in Malaysia context which focused in men's consumption behaviour towards skin care products thus far, therefore the findings able to deliver new knowledge and insights for fellow researchers and marketing practitioners as well. Besides, the prominent findings could also provide brand new views or angles for related companies to formulate their marketing strategies effectively and strategically to well serve this lucrative niche market.
This research aims to find out and analyze the impact of team's identification congruence between football celebrity and fans on fans' attitudes towards credibility of the celebrity, advertising, and brand in a sample of four major fans groups via social media. A quantitative approach was applied through a questionnaire of 377 football fans in an Egyptian league that was distributed, collected and statistically analyzed. The findings revealed that the fans' attitudes towards credibility of the spokesperson, advertising, and brand are statistically and significantly affected by team's identification congruence between football celebrity and fans. The most vital recommendation of this research is that: team's identification congruence between football celebrity and fans should be taken into consideration before designing the advertising.
This research studies the positive role of culinary human brands in helping consumers improve their eating habits (i.e., eat healthier, adopt a varied diet, and cook more) through the influence of emotional brand attachment—induced by actual and ideal self‐congruence—and while considering the moderating role of perceived brand authenticity. An online questionnaire was administered to 501 adults from a panel. Participants had to meet specific criteria—having a strong interest in food and cooking and being highly attached to a culinary human brand. Results were analyzed through structural equation modeling. Results reveal the influence of attachment in helping consumers improve their eating habits. The role of connection with consumer identity in inducing attachment is supported and characterized by a greater impact of the actual self. The moderating influence of brand authenticity is confirmed. This research suggests that culinary human brands can positively influence consumer food‐related decisions by serving as relevant identity resources. Results indicate that focusing on authenticity is a promising strategy to pursue human brands. Overall, this research calls for brands to think about how they can positively impact consumer lives, more specifically by helping them make better food decisions, ultimately contributing to their well‐being.
Celebrity endorsement in advertising is one of the most important promotion strategies for businesses. In
order for this strategy to be successful, the celebrity and product used must be compatible and this
compliance must be understood correctly by the target group. It is especially important for the Y generation
consumers to have the commodities and assets used or owned by people admired by society. This situation
may also cause materialist behaviors of generation Y consumers. The aim of this study is to reveal the effect
of celebrity endorsement in advertising on materialist tendencies of Y generation consumers. The sample of
the study consists of 337 consumers who study in Tarsus University and are reached by the convenience
sampling method. The data were collected by face to face surveys and analyzed with the structural equation
model. According to the results of the research; Generation Y consumers shows, respectively, seeking
happiness, focus on gain and tendency to define success because of materialist behavior while the celebrity
in advertising, being honest, expert and attractive to be found to be important. In addition, it has been found
that the celebrity being an expert and attractive affects all materialistic tendencies and being honest only
affects the tendency to define success.
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to understand the importance of value orientation on conspicuous consumption in the youth market segment in Southeast Asia. In particular, the focus is to understand three different types of value orientation (specifically cultural values, material values and religious values) and its effects on conspicuous consumption behaviour.
Design/methodology/approach
An integrative theoretical model is proposed based on Hofstede's cultural dimension, the materialism value scale and religious commitments to predict the relationship for the value orientations of Generation Y's (Gen Y's) conspicuous consumption behaviour. The data was collected from undergraduate students enrolled in general education courses in three universities in Malaysia. Using cross-sectional data, 262 sets of valid questionnaires were used to perform the statistical analysis for the measurement and structural model using partial least squares equation modelling (PLS-SEM) path modelling.
Findings
We position our study by raising the pertinent question of “Seriously, Conspicuous Consumption?” to establish a clear understanding of whether Malaysian Gen Y individuals are conspicuous consumers and, if they are, which of the three values matter the most. In order to answer the question of whether Malaysian Gen Y engages in conspicuous consumption, we arrive at an understanding that, given multi-value orientations, conspicuous behaviour can be motivated and impacted by one value orientation and constrained by others. Hence, value orientation offers an insightful explanation of one specific type of consumer behaviour in the context of Asia as an emerging global market. Thus, our study provides two key theoretically significant findings. In general, our findings provide insights into how the multi-value orientations (i.e. cultural, material and religious orientations) contribute to several bodies of literature—namely, conspicuous consumption, international marketing and transcultural marketing. The results revealed that collectivism and materialism were positively and significantly related to conspicuous consumption. Uncertainty avoidance, although significant, had a negative relationship with conspicuous consumption. The other values (masculinity, power distance and religious values) were not significantly related to conspicuous consumption.
Research limitations/implications
Purchasing luxury goods is becoming an emergent phenomenon in Asia, particularly among young consumers. This paper provides marketing managers, particularly brand owners, with practical and realisable examples of how to plan and execute their marketing plans. A more profound understanding of this relationship may also serve to aid marketing managers in devising more focused marketing strategies and thus allocate marketing resources more efficiently. Hence, marketers could develop an effective communication strategy so that the target consumers will be aware of their goods because the purchase of luxury goods is likely to be motivated by social, cultural and personal factors.
Originality/value
This article examines the impact of value orientations on conspicuous consumption behaviour in Malaysian Gen Y consumers. The model proposed in this study is useful in predicting conspicuous consumption among Gen Y. By identifying the factors influencing this emergent type of consumer behaviour, global retailers will be informed about this particular market segmentation in terms of its preferences and desires. The article discusses the research findings and concludes with managerial implications and limitations.
Theory and practice supports the use of celebrity marketing, as celebrity endorsements can generate significant publicity and attention. In this way, communication and marketing goals are met for a variety of businesses. In fact, studies investigating celebrity marketing find that in the USA and Great Britain, 20–25% of TV commercials use celebrities. However, there is a dearth of research stemming for some other countries such as Slovakia on this topic. Therefore, this study specifically investigated what the younger range of Generation Y (i.e. Millenniums) could recall about celebrity endorsements, and specifically if they could connect the celebrity endorser to the product line. We found a rather high level of spontaneous recall for celebrity endorsers by the respondents. The dominant representation was found in four categories: Sports (29%), Television Personalities (25%), Actors (19%), and Musicians (18%). Combining the level of recall of celebrity endorsers with the professional background of the celebrity, and the product we were able to quantify the recalled celebrity endorsers on a continuum. We found that generally international celebrities scored higher on recall levels than Slovakian.
Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menjelaskan peran brand image memediasi pengaruh kredibilitas celebrity endorser terhadap brand loyalty. Penelitian ini diharapkan dapat memberikan kontribusi empiris tentang pengaruh antara variable kredibilitas celebrity endorser, brand image dan brand loyalty bagi perkembangan ilmu pengetahuan dan menjadi bahan pertimbangan bagi manajemen perusahaan. Penelitian ini dilakukan di Kota Denpasar dengan melibatkan 100 responden yang menggunakan smartphone merek OPPO melalui metode purposive sampling. Pengumpulan data menggunakan penyebaran kuesioner. Teknik analisis data yang digunakan ialah analisis jalur dan uji sobel dimana sebelumnya telah di uji dahulu menggunakan uji asumsi klasik. Hasil penelitian menemukan bahwa kredibilitas celebrity endorser berpengaruh positif dan signifikan terhadap brand image dan brand loyalty. Brand image berpengaruh positif dan signifikan terhadap brand loyalty dan mampu memediasi secara signifikan pengaruh kredibilitas celebrity endorser terhadap brand loyalty. Penggunaan seorang celebrity endorser yang memilki kredibilitas baik akan meningkatkan brand image sehingga dapat menjaga brand loyalty. Kata kunci: kredibilitas celebrity endorser, brand image, brand loyalty
If service quality relates to retention of customers at the aggregate level, as other research has indicated, then evidence of its impact on customers’ behavioral responses should be detectable. The authors offer a conceptual model of the impact of service quality on particular behaviors that signal whether customers remain with or defect from a company. Results from a multicompany empirical study examining relationships from the model concerning customers’ behavioral intentions show strong evidence of their being influenced by service quality. The findings also reveal differences in the nature of the quality-intentions link across different dimensions of behavioral intentions. The authors’ discussion centers on ways the results and research approach of their study can be helpful to researchers and managers.
The purpose of this study was to examine the dimensions of athletic star power associated with Generation Y sports consumption. Multivariate analyses revealed that athletic star power factors (Professional Trustworthiness, Likeable Personality, Athletic Expertise, Social Attractiveness and Characteristic Style) were positively (p < .05) predictive of the sport consumption factors (Event Consumption and Merchandise Consumption).
If service quality relates to retention of customers at the aggregate level, as other research has indicated, then evidence of its impact on customers' behavioral responses should be detectable. The authors offer a conceptual model of the impact of service quality on particular behaviors that signal whether customers remain with or defect from a company. Results from a multicompany empirical study examining relationships from the model concerning customers' behavioral intentions show strong evidence of their being influenced by service quality. The findings also reveal differences in the nature of the quality-intentions link across different dimensions of behavioral intentions. The authors' discussion centers on ways the results and research approach of their study can be helpful to researchers and managers.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore Chinese adolescents' engagement in social comparison of material possessions using qualitative inquiries.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 64 Chinese adolescents aged 13‐17 were face‐to‐face interviewed. They were asked whether they engaged in social comparison of possessions with direct and vicarious role models such as media celebrities. Characteristics of role models and products involved in social comparison were inquired.
Findings
The research found that adolescents in Hong Kong frequently engaged in upward social comparison with friends and classmates. The products involved in social comparison were branded public goods that can be used to communicate ideal social self‐image. There was a strong link between social comparison and peer communication about consumption. Adolescents less often engaged in social comparison with media celebrities. This can be attributed to lack of resources, understanding of product sponsorship, and difficulties in identifying with the media celebrities. Role models of the same sex and similar age were often used for social comparison. Social comparison is used mainly for self‐enhancement, rather than self‐evaluation.
Research limitations/implications
The study was from a convenient sample of adolescents in Hong Kong, a Chinese city with high advancement in terms of economic and advertising development when compared with most other Chinese cities.
Originality/value
This is the first qualitative study on Chinese adolescents' engagement in social comparison of material possessions.
"They add a whole heap of value to the communication … the bigger the personality the better." (New Zealand advertising practitioner) The established practice of using celebrities and professional athletes as endorsers shows no sign of abating. While a substantial body of literature exists researching effective celebrity and athlete endorser characteristics, little research has been conducted from the advertising practitioner perspective. This research investigating New Zealand advertising agencies found they use celebrities/athletes primarily to achieve 'cut through' and believe their use is generally effective provided there is a tight fit between celebrity/athlete, brand and message. This study confirmed previous practitioner research concerning selection factors but found that priority given to each factor varies with brand, target audience and campaign objectives. Interestingly , for New Zealand practitioners, the risk of negative publicity and hiring costs were the most important factors considered.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of marketing communication factors (specifically advertising viewing and responses to marketing promotions) as well as social influence factors (specifically influences from peers and media celebrities) on adolescents' endorsement of materialistic values in Singapore. As the Asian culture is said to be collective when compared with the Western culture, it is expected that social relations, both personal and celebrity‐mediated, play an important role in the establishment of consumption values.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey of 190 high school students’ aged 13 to 18 was conducted using a structured questionnaire. Constructs were measured using established scales.
Findings
The paper finds imitation of media celebrities and perceived peer influence were positive predictors of materialistic consumption values while marketing communication factors were not significant predictors.
Research limitations/implications
The data in the paper came from a convenience sample of one high school and may not be representative of adolescents in Singapore.
Practical implications
The paper found that in fact advertising regulation may not impact adolescent levels of materialism to the degree previously assumed. Visual literacy courses may be a better strategy of reducing the level of materialism through discouraging the desire to imitate media celebrities. In turn, this training and heightened awareness could potentially help to diminish some of the negative peer influences in relation to materialism. Media educators should help young consumers to reflect on how their purchase decisions can be influenced by their social relations, including both personal interaction and celebrity‐media communications, while simultaneously providing them with the tools to critically assess the images they view.
Originality/value
The paper offers insights about the complex patterns of how consumption values develop in an Asian society. It is also a pioneer work on the study of the influence of media celebrities on materialistic value orientations.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of peers and media celebrities on young people's endorsement of materialistic values in China. As the Chinese culture is said to be collective, it is expected that social relations, both personal and celebrity‐mediated, play an important role in the establishment of consumption values.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey of 299 university students in Beijing aged 18 to 24 was conducted using a structured questionnaire. Constructs were measured using established scales.
Findings
The paper finds that peer communication and susceptibility to peer influence were positively related to social comparison. Motivation for viewing advertisements was positively related to imitation of celebrity models. In turn, both social comparison and imitation of celebrity models were positive predictors of materialism.
Research limitations/implications
The city selected for this study is highly advanced in terms of economical and advertising development when compared with most other Chinese cities.
Practical implications
As the paper argues that materialism is a negative value orientation, the current study sheds light on de‐marketing to young consumers. Media educators should help young consumers to reflect on how their purchase decisions are influenced by the social relations, including both personal interaction and celebrity‐media communications. Discouraging upward social comparison and imitation of idols is expected to discourage the endorsement of materialistic values.
Originality/value
The paper offers insights about the complex patterns of youth attitudes in a former socialist society migrating to a capitalist society. It is a pioneer work on the study of influence of celebrities on materialistic value orientations.
The authors propose that superstars are most likely to affect self-views when they are considered relevant. Relevant superstars provoke self-enhancement and inspiration when their success seems attainable but self-deflation when it seems unattainable. Participants' self-views were affected only when the star's domain of excellence was self-relevant. Relevant stars provoked self-enhancement and inspiration when their success seemed attainable in that participants either still had enough time to achieve comparable success or believed their own abilities could improve over time. Open-ended responses provided rich evidence of inspiration in these circumstances. Relevant stars provoked, if anything, self-deflation when their success seemed unattainable in that participants either had already missed the chance to achieve comparable success or viewed their abilities as fixed and so unlikely to improve. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
In this paper symbolic inclusion/exclusion processes in sport with respect to gender and ethnicity among adolescents (n = 1025) are analyzed from a social-critical perspective. It was found that sport participation preferences of young people are still influenced by dominant normative gendered and racial/ethnic images. Sport can serve not only as an agent of integration among youth, but is also used to differentiate and discriminate. On one hand sport participation is less predictable with respect to gender, due for example to interactions with ethnicity. Although ethnic minority girls participate the least in sport, ‘black,’ traditional ‘masculine‘ sports such as soccer and fighting/self-defense are valued relative highly. On the other hand, the data show that especially the male adolescents symbolically exclude girls from ‘masculine’ sports such as soccer; in addition for both ethnic minority and majority boys the fear of being labelled as a ‘sissy’ works as a strong mechanism of self-exclusion from participation in traditional ‘feminine’ sports. However, stereotypical normative images are not only confirmed through sport (participation), but also continually challenged.
This article offers a new approach to celebrity endorsement. Previous explanations, especially the source credibility and source attractiveness models are criticized, and an alternative meaning transfer model is proposed. According to this model, celebrities' effectiveness as endorsers stems from the cultural meanings with which they are endowed. The model shows how meanings pass from celebrity to product and from product to consumer. The implications of this model for our understanding of the consumer society are considered. Research avenues suggested by the model are also discussed. Copyright 1989 by the University of Chicago.
Teenagers currently spend an estimated $153 billion a year on everything from computers to cars to clothes (Brand, 2000). Trend conscious teens are very active in utilizing the media and advertising in seeking out the latest products, services, and fashions (Zollo, 1995). A greater understanding of teens role model influences can help organizations and their advertising agencies more effectively target and communicate to this growing market. In this study, we examine the effect of athlete role models on teenagers purchase intentions and behaviors. Results from a survey of 218 adolescents are discussed with implications and future research directions for advertising and sports marketing researchers.
The results of a large-scale study of adolescent consumer socialization are presented. A general conceptual framework of socialization is outlined to serve as a blueprint for discussing variables and hypotheses in the specific context of consumer socialization. The authors then examine the development of several consumption-related skills as a function of variables derived from sociological and developmental theories of socialization.
A critical element in the evolution of a fundamental body of knowledge in marketing, as well as for improved marketing practice, is the development of better measures of the variables with which marketers work. In this article an approach is outlined by which this goal can be achieved and portions of the approach are illustrated in terms of a job satisfaction measure.
‘My consumers are they not my producers?’ James Joyce, Finnegans Wake James Joyce's writing is famously, notoriously difficult, especially his two epic works, Ulysses, sometimes described as the book everyone claims to have read but no one actually has, and Finnegans Wake, whose difficulties have led to innumerable reading groups formed for the sometimes lifelong task of reading and puzzling over the book, a page or two at a time. A famous photograph of Marilyn Monroe exhibits the paradox of Joyce's fame as a writer, coupled with the complexities of his writing: Monroe, wearing a swimsuit, sits in a park absorbed in Ulysses. The contradictory conjunction of movie star with great book in the picture is worth, as they say, at least a thousand words - how could the icon of mass celebrity culture, and a supposed 'dumb blonde' to boot, undertake the reading of the twentieth century's supreme work of high literature? It turns out that Marilyn Monroe did succeed in reading at least parts of the book, and the fact that she wanted to make the effort says as much for the celebrity of Joyce and his novel as it does for the intellectual aspirations of the star. In fact, the paradox of the photograph lies not its seeming encounter between opposite poles of modern culture, but in its proof that James Joyce's rarefied literary works are also themselves artifacts of mass culture. Any reader or student approaching them for the first time has Marilyn Monroe as an inspiration, and as quirky evidence that Joyce's writing, like Joyce the author, is as much a part of mass culture or consumer culture as we all are. © Cambridge University Press, 1990, 2004 and Cambridge University Press, 2006.
In an attempt to maximize organizational profits, sport scholars focus
on why people consume sport services. The study of consumption
patterns, behaviors, and characteristics of sport consumers has clarified target markets. However, sport marketers must recognize the complex dynamics operating across a large and varied population of consumers and understand that the cultural uniqueness of a market segment might be important to a successful marketing strategy. Most athletic departments realize that American college students are a specific target market. However, it is not evident that international students are being accessed as a target market, and if they are, whether they should be segmented from the general student population. The purpose of this study was to determine whether international students should be a segmented target market by analyzing the differences between American and international students' attendance of intercollegiate sports events, levels of identification, and motives for sport spectating.
The goal of the present research was to analyze the consumer socialization process of adolescents, utilizing social learning theory as a conceptual guide to understand how role models influence adolescents’ materialism and marketplace knowledge. A convenience sample of 175 teenagers between the ages of 15 and 18 were surveyed in a major metropolitan area. Direct role models included in this study were mothers, fathers and teachers. Vicarious role models included athletes and entertainers. Results at the .05 level of significance show that materialism and marketplace knowledge are associated with members of both direct and vicarious role model groups. Specifically for materialism, athletes and fathers were found to have the greatest impact. Teachers and athlete role models were found to have the greatest impact on adolescents’ marketplace knowledge. Implications from the empirical analysis of these proposed relationships are provided for marketing managers and practitioners.
Generation Y is regarded as the elusive new youth market, whose members are as resistant to advertising efforts as were members of Generation X before them. To investigate various factors that influence the use of advertising among the college segment of Generation Y, a survey was administered to a random sample of 368 college students. Questions probed self-identity, relevance of depictions in the media, and the informational value of advertising across eight media. Results show that gender and a variety of personality traits such as introversion/extroversion affect both the perceived value of advertising as an information source and the relevance of depictions in the media. Depictions in movies and television were rated significantly better than depictions in advertising. Implications are drawn for both media planners and marketing strategists trying to communicate with this elusive group.
The results of a large-scale study of adolescent consumer socialization are presented. A general conceptual framework of socialization is outlined to serve as a blueprint for discussing variables and hypotheses in the specific context of consumer socialization. The authors then examine the development of several consumption-related skills as a function of variables derived from sociological and developmental theories of socialization.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationships between attractiveness of athlete endorsers, match‐up, and consumers' purchase intention embedded in the China context.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors used a 3×2×2 between‐subject experimental design. Specifically, in this 12‐scenario study depicting a purchase experience they manipulated endorser attractiveness levels (high/middle/low), endorser‐product match‐up (high/low), and product type (to prevent single product bias).
Findings
The results showed that no matter whether the attractiveness is high, middle, or low, the high endorser‐product match‐up could produce higher purchase intention than the low endorser‐product match‐up could. Moreover, the purchase intention generated by the high‐attractive endorser with low match‐up would be higher than that generated by low‐attractive endorser with high match‐up.
Originality/value
This research demonstrates that endorsers' attractiveness, even compared to match‐up factor, and could affect consumers' purchase intention more significantly in China sport market. Practically speaking, the result suggests the companies which are related to sports should try their best to choose a highly attractive athlete endorser with outstanding performance and good morality in order to increase consumers' purchase intention.
Purpose
– To examine the perceptions of Scottish consumers regarding the current “milk moustache” marketing campaign in order to discover aspects of milk perception, the campaign's effectiveness in portraying milk as an enjoyable, healthy, modern product and its use as a vehicle for raising consumption of milk.
Design/methodology/approach
– A face‐to‐face survey was conducted in Edinburgh and South Lanarkshire with a sample (n = 100) of Scottish consumers.
Findings
– The results showed that there was a high recognition of and a positive attitude portrayed towards the campaign, and the celebrities used to endorse it. Milk appeared to be viewed as a commodity and although health benefits were recognised they did not appear to be instrumental in raising consumption levels. There were few differences in perception according to gender, age, socio‐economic grouping and on comparison with a small group who had not seen the adverts, except in perception of some non‐nutritional views.
Originality/value
– The paper provides information on advertising effects on perception of milk.
This case study examines the use of celebrity endorsement in the formation of the retail image of leading European grocery distribution group J. Sainsbury, in particular, the process of transference of celebrity images to the product’s image. The incorporation of Jamie Oliver (well known as television celebrity The Naked Chef) into the promotions of one of Britain’s leading grocery chains involves a high profile campaign that has been adopted in order to imbue the company’s products with an image of quality. The success of the campaign has been replicated in New Zealand by another grocery retail “giant”, Foodstuffs, who have also adopted The Naked Chef to endorse their products. The case draws on field research with consumers and key informant interviews with advertising agency personnel who identified the criterion for the choice of Jamie Oliver. The extent to which the market place recognises and consumers associate themselves with the image Jamie projects as a celebrity endorser for J. Sainsbury is explored.
Purpose
This study aims to investigate young consumers' compulsive buying tendency from the perspective of psychological motivation. Specifically, this research aims to study the influence of public self‐consciousness and materialism on young consumers' compulsive buying.
Design/methodology/approach
A self‐administered survey was distributed to a class at a Mid‐Western university. LISREL 8.7 was employed to assess the validity and reliability of the constructs by using confirmatory factor analyses and to test the hypotheses by using structural equation modeling.
Findings
Materialism was found to have a strong, significant and direct influence on young consumers' compulsive buying tendency. Public self‐consciousness was strongly related to young consumers' compulsive buying tendency. However the influence of public self‐consciousness on compulsive buying tendency was mediated by materialism.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the literature on young consumers' compulsive buying. Not only is the influence of materialism confirmed, but this study also provides an insight into the motivation behind compulsive buying by investigating the relationship between public self‐consciousness and compulsive buying.
A critical element in the evolution of a fundamental body of knowledge in marketing, as well as for improved marketing practice, is the development of better measures of the variables with which marketers work. In this article an approach is outlined by which this goal can be achieved and portions of the approach are illustrated in terms of a job satisfaction measure.
Purpose
To investigate the influence of word‐of‐mouth (WOM) behavior among the growing teenage female market segment in the flourishing sports market.
Design/methodology/approach
A sample of 118 teenaged girls, aged 13‐18, participated in the study. The theory of consumer socialization and interpersonal influence was used as the conceptual foundation to generate hypotheses concerning female teens' susceptibility to interpersonal influence, self‐esteem, and WOM behavior. Female teens' ethnicity and media habits were also investigated.
Findings
All hypotheses were either supported or partially supported, suggesting that female teens' susceptibility to interpersonal influence and self‐esteem are related to athlete WOM behavior. Additionally, African‐American teenaged girls had significantly higher media habits than Caucasian teenaged girls.
Research limitations/implications
The research is based on a small sample of teenaged girls from one region of the USA. However, the sample is from a diverse socioeconomic group of teenagers, and represents a relatively unexplored, yet extremely important, consumer market segment.
Practical implications
The study provides insights for managers who want to learn more about the WOM behavior of one of the largest and most powerful market segments in the USA. Implications and applications are given to consumer marketers to help better serve this segment.
Originality/value
This paper fills a gap in the literature on female teens and what influences their WOM behavior in the enormous and growing sports market. Additionally, the paper looks at ethnicity and media habits and how these variables may impact on WOM behavior.
This paper makes a beginning in the comparison of real ads on source credibility in the context of the marketing of “fitness” related goods and services. While the results establish the greater credibility of celebrity endorsed ads vis à vis non-celebrity endorsed ads in the context of the test product, the authors nevertheless empirically substantiate that certain ad characteristics may have potential for use as screening items to aid in effecting choice between a celebrity and a non-celebrity endorser in other product/service contexts. Additional exploratory analyses and results are reported.
Examined the use of celebrity spokespeople in advertising, focusing on 3 dimensions of source credibility: attractiveness, trustworthiness, and expertise. Two pilot studies were conducted with 78 college students to compile a list of 4 celebrities and products that would be appropriate for them to endorse. From this information, 4 questionnaires were developed. 542 respondents (aged 18–73 yrs) completed 1 questionnaire. In each case, Ss evaluated celebrities to be significantly different from each other with respect to the 3 dimensions studied. Ss' gender and age had no significant effect on their intention to purchase or on how they evaluated celebrities' credibility. Only the perceived expertise of celebrities significantly explained Ss' intentions to purchase, regardless of whether the product was for personal use or for gift-giving. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Considered attitude as a relevant dependent measure in a study that explored the effectiveness of celebrity advertising on 77 executives (aged 28–53 yrs) enrolled in an MBA program. Ss were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 experimental conditions differing in terms of the sidedness of the advertising appeal used and the type of spokesperson. Findings support the enhancement of brand attitude through the use of celebrity appeal. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Examined the impact of celebrity endorsers on alcohol advertising and young audiences. Results obtained with 196 Ss, aged 13–77 yrs, show that the use of famous persons to endorse alcohol products was highly effective with teenagers, while the impact on older Ss was limited. For all age groups, the celebrity figure was perceived as more competent and trustworthy. The image of the product tends to be more favorable when a famous endorser is shown; readers are especially likely to rate the alcohol brand as enjoyable and pleasant. (9 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
This study develops a conceptual framework that relates role-modeling behavior of sales managers to a set of key outcome variables
and assesses the validity of the framework using a cross-sectional sample of salespeople and sales managers drawn from a variety
of business-to-business sales organizations. Findings indicate that salespeople’s perceptions of their managers’ role-modeling
behavior relate positively to trust in the sales manager and relate indirectly, through trust, to both job satisfaction and
overall performance of salespeople. The study provides empirical validity for practitioner suggestions that sales managers
should lead by example, and thus should provide a model of the behavior managers desire their salespeople to enact.
This paper traces the development of interest in consumer socialization. Major policy and conceptual issues are posed, and research in several areas of study is reviewed. Directions for research are specified in three key areas: consumer socialization processes, content of learning, and permanence of early learning.
Girl power: examining the female preteen and teen as a distinct segment of the sport marketplace
- C Bradish
- A Lathrop
- W Sedgwick
Talent, looks or brains?
- J Charbonneau
- R Garland
Why business is like … sporting talent”, Management Today
- J Harris
The strategic use of celebrity athlete endorsers in Sports Illustrated: an historic perspective
- M J Jones
- D W Schumann
The effective use of endorsements in advertising: the relationship between ‘match-up’ and involvement
- A Schaefer
- B Keillor
With no ring, James is still no Jordan
- R. Thomaselli