The role of human brands in consumer attitude formation: Anthropomorphized messages and brand authenticity

Abstract

The purpose of the study attempts to assess consumer reactions by classifying anthropomorphized messages according to the authenticity of a human brand with which they are associated. And also the study to investigate the causal relationship between attributions of human brand and consumer-brand relationships, brand attitudes, and purchase intention. An experimental design was used to test the hypotheses. To examine factors that can help brands achieve marketing goals through the use of human brands, this study developed research hypotheses and a structural model by focusing on the consumer information-treating process based on the authenticity of a human brand and message type. The results indicate the existence of a between-group difference with respect to anthropomorphized messages as opposed to non-anthropomorphized messages as well as levels of brand authenticity. An interaction effect was observed for the consumer-brand relationship and attitudes toward a brand. In the main effect analysis, anthropomorphized messages induced a stronger consumer-brand relationship, more positive attitudes toward a brand, and stronger purchase intention for a brand. The results of a path analysis indicated that three dimensions of human brand attributions positively affect consumer-brand relationships. This study provides a new ABOUT THE AUTHORS Hee-Eun Han received Ph.D from Kyonggi University in Korea. Her main research interest is in marketing strategy, brand communication and information technology issues in Marketing.Ge-Qi Cui is Ph.D candidate in the department of Business Administration at Kyonggi University, Korea. His main research interest is in brand Communication, alternative marketing strategy, and consumer behavior.

The Effects of Anthropomorphism, Message Framing, and Voice Type on Unhealthy Sleep Behavior in Young Users: The Mediating Role of Risk Perception

“…This study found that compared with non-anthropomorphic design, the interactive persuasion interface with anthropomorphic design caused users to have more positive attitudes and attracted more users [ 85 , 86 ]. This suggests that the alarm clock and the moon that add human-like features such as eyes and expressions to the interactive persuasion interface may endow the viewer with sensory associations [ 34 ], in turn activating the inanimate object’s life-oriented intention association [ 36 ].…”

Antecedents of Viewers Engagement

“…This concept highlights the attributes exhibited by an influencer and seeks to build a comprehensive perception in the minds of followers/viewers on social media platforms. Social media users often build relationships with influencers that mirror conventional interpersonal relationships, which include emotions, expectations, needs, cognition, motivation, and behavior (Han et al, 2021;Malik et al, 2023).…”