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Purpose Augmented reality (AR) apps offer a great opportunity for brands to provide better service to customers by creating augmented customer service. However, not every AR app is equally effective in improving customer experience. Investigation of underlying processes and brand-related outcomes of AR marketing remains scarce and it is unclear how different types of AR apps influence brand perceptions, such as brand personality. This paper aims to fill in this knowledge gap and provide practical insights on how different AR apps can improve service brand personality. Design/methodology/approach Using an experimental plan, the authors investigate how attitudes towards AR apps contribute to customer perceptions of brand personality (i.e. excitement, sincerity, competence and sophistication) according to two different variables, namely, the location of the AR app (location-specific vs non-location-specific) and its orientation (augmenting the product, brand or store experience). The authors also examine the effect of expected customer experience with the AR app (i.e. playfulness and pleasure) and customer technological innovativeness and shopping orientation as predictors of attitudes towards the AR app. Findings The findings show that non-location-specific and product-oriented AR apps (i.e. virtual try-on apps) receive more positive evaluations and lead consumers to perceive the brand as more exciting, sincere, competent and sophisticated. Moreover, the playfulness and pleasure experienced with the AR app determine consumers’ attitudes towards the app. Additionally, AR apps improve brand personality perceptions amongst more innovative and adventure-focussed shoppers. Originality/value The authors show that brand announcements on high-technology, customer-oriented service offerings are an effective branding tool. Thus, AR apps perceived as pleasant and playful can signal and improve brand personality.

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Les auteurs remercient les doctorants de marketing du Centre Magellan pour l'aide qu'ils ont apportée à l'occasion de l'expérimentation sur laquelle s'appuie cette recherche ainsi que les deux relecteurs anonymes qui ont permis de faire évoluer cet article.

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One highly regarded platform of social media is a video blog or a vlog. A vlog uses video as its communication medium. The content of such vlogs may range from product or service reviews, trending news, entertaining celebrity gossips, travel, unboxing, gaming, how to videos and much more. The paper specifically focusses upon YouTube as a vlogging platform, which is a popular video-sharing website that enables its users to create and upload videos. Companies wishing to get their brand or product brought up in vlogs most commonly offer vloggers products or services for free, gift cards or money (Liljander et al. 2015). In exchange, the vloggers provide positive and interesting content about the products or services on their vlogs (Liljander et al. 2015). However, the effectiveness of such vlogs and the reputation of the vlogger may be seriously undermined or strengthened by viewers who leave a trail of negative or positive comments, respectively, in relation to the posted content. Despite its relevance and importance, scholarship that focusses upon the impact of comments on the effectiveness of endorsements in the context of YouTube vlogs is understudied. The present study investigates the interactive effect of the valence of audience comments and perceived credibility of the vlogger (PCV) on the attitude of the viewer towards the endorsed brand (BA). The study further explores if such comments are by one vs. multiple viewers and if there exists a dyadic interaction between the commentator(s) and the viewer and its role in moderating the PCV-BA relationship. Several propositions are presented along with a proposed methodology.