Can personalised prosocial ads be harnessed for brand equity enhancement

Abstract

Brands from various industries are partnering on social initiatives, using social media to speak out on social challenges. A prosocial ad needs to attract the audience's attention before it can have the intended impact. Since standing out in the digital environment is a constant issue for brands seeking to improve equity, marketers have employed a personalisation strategy. The highlights are: 1) this study developed and validated a comprehensive model to examine the mechanism of personalised ad impact on brand equity; 2) personalised ads were found to be a significant antecedent of brand self-expressiveness and perceived ad value; 3) brand engagement is boosted by a favourable attitude toward the ad and a high level of brand self-expressiveness; 4) customers' engagement with brand-related content on Instagram leads to higher brand equity; 5) theoretical and practical implications for how brand managers can improve brand equity employing the research model are offered.