Impact of Celebrity, Micro-Celebrity, and Virtual Influencers on Chinese Gen Z’s Purchase Intention Through Social Media

Social media advertising strategies, including using traditional celebrity endorsers and micro-celebrity influencers, are prevalent marketing tools. However, the trend of using virtual influencers to endorse products is a novel potential way to attract young consumers. This present study aims to ana...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inSAGE open Vol. 13; no. 1
Main Authors Chiu, Candy Lim, Ho, Han-Chiang
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.01.2023
SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
SAGE Publishing
Subjects
celebrity endorsement
micro-celebrity influencer
attachment theory
virtual influencer
source credibility
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:Social media advertising strategies, including using traditional celebrity endorsers and micro-celebrity influencers, are prevalent marketing tools. However, the trend of using virtual influencers to endorse products is a novel potential way to attract young consumers. This present study aims to analyze the influence of the three types of endorsers (traditional celebrity, micro-celebrity, and virtual influencers) source credibility (i.e., physical attractiveness, expertise, and trustworthiness) on the purchase intention of the Chinese Generation Z, under varying levels of product involvement, through the mediating effect of emotional attachment. The Hayes Process Macro was used as a statistical analysis tool for our research propositions. Overall, our findings highlight the effectiveness of attachment theory in social media endorsement advertisements. Furthermore, these findings can guide marketers, who desire to respond to the purchase trends of Generation Z, to adjust their marketing strategies accordingly.
ISSN:2158-2440
2158-2440
DOI:10.1177/21582440231164034