The influence of entertainment, utility and pass time on consumer brand engagement for news media brands: a mediation model

ABSTRACT

Given that the current media condition provides numerous channels that create interaction between news media brands and consumers, the concept of consumer brand engagement (CBE), referred as being the interactive relationships between consumers and brands is more crucial than ever in the media sector. The purpose of this study is to examine the direct and indirect effects of three motives, utility, entertainment, and pass time, on consumer brand engagement for online news media brands. A causal model that illustrates both the direct and indirect effects of the three motives on CBE reveals the critical role of entertainment as a mediator. Utility and entertainment positively impact CBE, whereas pass time is negatively associated with CBE for online news media brands. Entertainment positively mediates the relationship between utility and CBE as well as influencing the negative relationship between pass time and CBE.

KEYWORDS:

• News media brands
• consumer brand engagement
• mediation model
• entertainment

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

I use the mentioned above branded news media website

1. Because it is entertaining.

2. Because I just like to use it.

3. Because it’s enjoyable.

Pass Time (Rubin et al.)

I use the mentioned above branded news media website

1. When I have nothing better to do.

2. Because it passes the time away, especially when I’m bored.

3. Just because it’s on.

4. Because it gives me something to do to occupy my time.

When there’s no one else to talk to or be with.

Utility (E. C. Malthouse & Calder, 2010)

I use the mentioned above branded news media website

1. Because it gets me to try new things

2. Because I really like the tips in it.

3. To learn how to make things.

4. Because it shows me how to do things the right way.

Consumer Brand Engagement (Hollebeek et al., 2014)

1. Using the mentioned above news media website gets me to think about it.

2. I think about the mentioned above news media website a lot when I’m using it.

3. Using the mentioned above news media website stimulates my interest to learn more about it.

4. I feel very positive when I use the mentioned above news media website.

5. Using the mentioned above news media website makes me happy.

6. I feel good when I use the mentioned above news media website.

7. I’m proud to use the mentioned above news media website.

8. I spend a lot of time using the mentioned above news media website, compared to other similar news media brand websites.

9. Whenever I’m reading news online, I usually use the mentioned above news media website.

10. The mentioned above news media website is one of the news media brands I usually use when I read news online.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Kyriakos Riskos

Dr. Kyriakos Riskos is currently a Post Doc Researcher in Marketing at the Laboratory of Digital Marketing and Strategic Communication, School of Journalism and Mass Communications of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. He holds a PhD in Marketing, an MSc in Informatics and Management and a BSc in Economics, all from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. His research interests include Marketing Communications, Consumer Behavior and Media Branding. His research work has been presented in international conferences and published in international academic journals like International Journal of Internet Marketing and Advertising, International Journal of Technology Marketing and Newspaper Research Journal.

Leonidas Hatzithomas

Dr. Leonidas Hatzithomas is currently an Assistant Professor in Marketing at the Department of Business Administration, University of Macedonia, Greece. He holds a PhD in “Advertising”, from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. His research interests include humor in advertising, advertising effectiveness, social media communications and consumer behavior. He has published his work among others in the International Marketing Review, International Journal of Advertising, Psychology and Marketing, Food Research International, Journal of Product and Brand Management, Humor: International Journal of Humor Research, Journal of Marketing Communications, Journal of Customer Behavior, Journal of Managerial Issues and Journal of Current issues and Research in Advertising.

Paraskevi (Evi) Dekoulou

Dr. Paraskevi (Evi) Dekoulou is a lecturer at the Business School of the University of Nicosia, teaching modules such as strategic marketing, marketing communications, consumer behaviour and global marketing. In the past, she has worked as an adjunct lecturer at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, the Hellenic Open University, the Cyprus University of Technology and the Open University of Cyprus. Moreover, she has worked as a Project Coordinator at the Training & Development Unit of Intercollege Nicosia, being highly involved in coordinating the implementation of EU funded projects, as well as a communication officer for European and private organizations. She holds a PhD Degree in Organizational Learning and Knowledge Management from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki [GR]. She received an MSc in Media Management from Stirling University [UK], a Master in Business Administration and a bachelor’s degree (Hons) in Journalism and Mass Media Communication from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki [GR]. Her research work has been published in international academic journals and presented in international conferences.

George Tsourvakas

Dr. George Tsourvakas is a Full Professor of Media Economics and Management and the Director of the Laboratory of Digital Marketing and Strategic Communication, School of Journalism and Mass Communications of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. He received his BA at University of Piraeus, MA at Universities of Hamburg and Stockholm, and PhD at Panteion University. His research has been published in leading journals in the field such as Journal of Media Economics, International Journal on Media Management, Journal of Media Business Studies, European Journal of Law and Economics, Journal of Communications, Journal of Radio and Audio Media, Journal of Applied Journalism and Media Studies, Newspaper Research Journal, Journal of Product and Brand Management, Museum and Management and Curatorship and Journal of Political Marketing.