The relationship between brand experience and word-of-mouth in the TV-series sector: The moderating effect of culture and gender

ABSTRACT

Omni-channel management is an increasingly popular strategy that involves creating multiple forms of contact between brands and customers to maximise interaction and thereby generate global brand experiences, which can constitute a competitive advantage. The television-series sector is no exception to this phenomenon. The aim of the present research is to examine the effect of television-drama-series brand experience on the generation of word-of-mouth communication among viewers. The study analyses the moderating effect of viewers’ gender and culture – specifically, the individualism/collectivism variable proposed by Geert Hofstede, – in the context of series with high vs. low levels of sexual and violent content. The results indicate that these variables exert a moderating effect on the relationship between brand experience and word-of-mouth only in the case of TV drama series with a low level of such content. Women and culturally-individualistic audiences will be more prone to the experience-based generation of word-of-mouth for this type of television series.

KEYWORDS:

• Omni-channel
• brand experience
• word-of-mouth
• TV series
• individualism/collectivism
• gender

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Spanish National Research Programme (grant number ECO2017-88458-R), the Andalusian Program for R&D (grant number P20-01021) and the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport of the Government of Spain (Ministerio de Educaci?n, Cultura y Deporte FPU16/07456).

Notes on contributors

Álvaro J. Rojas-Lamorena

Álvaro J. Rojas-Lamorena is a Predoctoral Fellow in the Department of Marketing and Market Research, at the Faculty of Education, Economy and Technology of Ceuta, University of Granada (Spain). His areas of interest to research are Brand Management, Cross-Cultural Marketing, Consumers’ Attitudes and Television Marketing. He has taken part in international conferences.

Juan Miguel Alcántara-Pilar

Juan Miguel Alcántara-Pilar is Associate Professor of Marketing at the Faculty of Education, Economy and Technology of Ceuta, University of Granada (Spain). His areas of specialization are Marketing Online, Cross-Cultural Marketing, Language Effect on Consumer Behavior and Behaviors in Multi-Racial Communities. He has published several books as co-author on these matters. He has also published various peer-reviewed papers in prestigious journals such as Journal of Business Research, Tourism Management, Journal of Destination Marketing and Management, Cross Cultural Management: An International Journal, and Computers in Human Behavior, among others.

María Eugenia Rodríguez-López

María Eugenia Rodríguez-López is assistant professor Doctor in the Department of Marketing Research, at the Faculty of Education, Economy and Technology of Ceuta, University of Granada (Spain). Her areas of interest to research are Advertising, Tourism, Cross-Cultural Marketing, and topics related on Hospitality, in terms of Satisfaction and Customer Experience. As for research work, she has been member of Own Plan 2010 program, has published in journals as Journal of Business Research, International Journal of Hospitality Management, Innovar or Tourism & Management Studies, and several contributions in international conferences.