The influencer trend, where people are often paid by brands to use, talk about and otherwise promote their products on social media has become increasingly popular. This study examines the potential ...interplay of perceived homophily with, perceived authenticity of an influencer and the reasons people may follow an influencer on subsequent purchase intentions of items the influencer has showcased on their Instagram account. Key findings suggest that the type of perceived homophily one shares with their favorite influencer is linked to the reasons they follow that influencer, and that following an influencer because they are trendy when a person also indicated perceived status homophily (e.g., similarities in size) did lead to increased purchase intent. However, influencers that are followed because they are unique and share morals and values with a follower (i.e., 'value homophily') do not encourage purchase intent. We find that an influencer who is perceived as more 'authentic' will mediate the relationship between perceptions of homophily and subsequent purchase intent.
One of the greatest challenges in health communication is to persuade people to enact behavior whose consequences lie in the distant future. Could the persuasiveness of a health message be increased ...by highlighting future regret that one may experience? Using a 2 (framing: gain vs. loss) x 3 (temporal thinking: future-thinking vs. past-thinking vs. no-thinking) factorial design, this study tested the relative effectiveness of message framing and temporal thinking before exposure to a message promoting HPV vaccination. Results showed that having an opportunity to think about one's future and reading loss-framed message were both effective in producing stronger anticipated regret of not taking HPV vaccination. Anticipated regret, in turn, led to more favorable attitudes and greater intentions to take HPV vaccination. Interaction effects were observed such that gain-framed message combined with future-thinking produced the most favorable attitudes toward HPV vaccination. Potential explanations for these findings are offered, and their implications are discussed.
Virtual influencers are gaining prominence as a way of attracting people's attention on social media, but limited research has been conducted on this subject. In this research, we explore the effects ...of human-like virtual influencers (HVIs) vs. anime-like virtual influencers (AVIs) and sponsorship disclosure on message credibility perception and message attitudes. Conducted with a 2 (virtual influencer type: HVI vs. AVI) x 2 (sponsorship disclosure: absent vs. present) between-subjects experiment, our findings suggest that HVI endorsements produce greater perception of message credibility and message attitudes than AVI endorsements, but the superior effect of HVIs (vs. AVIs) vanishes when sponsorship is disclosed. The results also show that message credibility plays a significant mediating role only when sponsorship is not disclosed. We believe our research offers interesting insights to both researchers and practitioners on the topic of virtual influencers.
This study seeks to examine under what circumstances brand advertising that advocated for socially desirable behaviors (e.g., mask wearing) during the COVID-19 pandemic may be successful in ...increasing the intention to engage in such behaviors. In doing so, we examine the effectiveness of real brands' persuasive attempts via activist advertising, focusing on messages used in real advertisements that may cause psychological reactance. Using a 2 (message type: threat to freedom vs. no threat) × 2 (brand: Uber vs. Heineken) between-subjects design, our study confirms that threat to freedom messages lead to lower ad attitudes, lower intention to engage in socially responsible behaviors, and greater psychological reactance. Brands should be careful when using "threat to freedom" language in their advertising. Further, our results suggest that perceived authenticity of a brand's messaging is key to the success of activist advertising.
Social media influencers (SMIs) are now a significant element in organizations' marketing mix. However, there has been little attention paid to how SMIs might change the way people process a ...commercial specifically designed to enhance corporate reputation. Three studies were conducted to understand possible influencer impacts on how people respond to commercials designed to enhance corporate reputation. In Study 1, we found that when a commercial was introduced by an influencer, message attitudes and perceived corporate reputation were more positive via reduced persuasion knowledge (PK), as compared to the impact of the commercial presented by itself. In Study 2, the influencer enhancement effect disappeared when sponsorship was disclosed, again as mediated by increased PK. The findings are consistent with prior research; however, this research is the first to explore disclosure effects in the context of corporate reputation with video stimuli. In Study 3, the style of the influencer's message (narrative versus nonnarrative) influenced response to the corporate commercials, with a narrative introduction engendering more favorable message attitudes and corporate reputation perceptions through decreased PK. However, the positive effect of an influencer's narrative introduction occurred only when sponsorship was not disclosed.
The present study examined how two types of ethical ideologies (idealism, and relativism) influenced behavioral intention to wear a mask during the COVID-19 pandemic through two appraisals (moral ...norms, and threat to freedom) of a mask-wearing issue. A total of 823 responses were collected through a cross-sectional survey, and 776 responses were used for testing hypotheses. The study found that idealism has a significant indirect effect on behavioral intention through increased moral norms and decreased threat to freedom. Also, the study revealed that relativism has a significant indirect effect on behavioral intention through increased threat to freedom.
We propose and test an integrated process explanation for why narrative ads in general are more persuasive than non-narrative ads. A study involving a random sample of 25 narrative and 25 ...non-narrative TV commercials and 484 nonstudent research participants confirmed that a set of four process variables-emotive response, ad hedonic value, ad credibility, and perceived goal facilitation-collectively mediate the positive effects of narrative (versus non-narrative) ads on attitude toward the ad (A
ad
) and brand attitudes. The results also supported moderated mediation processes, with type of featured product and product involvement as important moderators. Implications for theory as well as practice are discussed.
•Axonal protein synthesis occurs in healthy mature axons in vivo.•Protein synthetic and processing machinery may take different forms in axon and soma.•Functionally related proteins are locally ...synthesized by coordinate mRNA translation.•Presynaptic, mitochondrial and ribosomal proteins are synthesized in mature axons.•Dysfunctional axonal translation may trigger axon destruction and neurodegeneration.
Distal axons, remote from their cell bodies and nuclei, must survive the lifetime of an organism. Recent studies have provided compelling evidence that proteins are locally synthesized in healthy, mature central nervous system axons and presynaptic terminals in vivo. Presynaptic, mitochondrial and ribosomal proteins are locally synthesized in most adult axons of diverse cell types, linking local translation to axon function and survival. Accordingly, inhibiting the intra-axonal translation of key mRNAs or the function of their translational regulators causes dying-back axon degeneration, and human mutations in RNA metabolic pathways are increasingly being associated with neurodegenerative diseases that accompany axon degeneration. Here, we summarize recent relevant findings in a highly simplified ‘RNA operon’-based model and discuss open questions and future directions.
Domestic violence stems from deeply rooted patriarchal norms and directly conflicts with humanitarian standards. Given that this issue impacts women across the world, many countries have initiated ...campaigns to heighten awareness and fight this epidemic. Based on Social Cognitive Theory (SCT), we explored whether narrative health messages might prompt bystanders to intervene (e.g., calling a helpline number) when they encounter domestic violence. Using a sample of participants from India, we found that narratives had a stronger impact on attitude toward the ad and reporting intention than non-narratives and such effects were mediated by feelings of empathy. More importantly, the mediating effects of empathy were significantly greater when bystander efficacy was low rather than high.
•A narrative approach to green messaging is more persuasive than a factual approach.•Acknowledgement of a self-serving factor in green messaging is advantageous to companies.•Specific facts in green ...messaging foster greater message credibility.•Two-sided green messaging amplifies the positive effect of a narrative approach.
Companies are going green, both to benefit the planet and to make their brands more appealing. But some green initiatives have a twofold nature: they require cooperative behaviors by consumers, but save costs for the company. In such situations, companies advertising green initiatives have to overcome a message credibility problem, because people suspect the initiatives are primarily designed to save company costs. This research examines different approaches for making green advertising more credible. Study 1 shows that a narrative (vs. non-narrative) message style is more credible and yields better green evaluations; further, these effects are amplified when the message has two-sided (vs. one-sided) claims. Study 2 confirms the positive effects of narrative (vs. non-narrative) messages and demonstrates the advantage of using messages with specific (vs. general) information about the green initiatives. Results also support the theorizing that the effects of the message variables on green evaluations are mediated by message credibility.
PDF
