Influencers and brands successful collaborations: A mutual reinforcement to promote products and services on social media

ABSTRACT

Brands and influencers are increasingly collaborating in the development of marketing campaigns. This work analyses to what extent the collaboration of influencers with renowned brands affects the effectiveness of the message and the influencer’s own reputation. The results of an experiment with more than four hundred Spanish consumers indicated that renowned brand-influencer collaborations, in comparison to non-renowned brand-influencer collaborations, enhanced consumers’ attitude towards the message, their purchase intentions and the perceived credibility of the influencer. Furthermore, positive attitude towards the message and intention to search for information are greater for services offered by renowned brands than for their products. This study contributes by bridging a gap in the literature and raises interesting implications for brand managers and their decisions to collaborate with influencers on social media.

KEYWORDS:

• Renowned brands
• influencers
• attitude
• credibility
• Instagram
• social media

Disclosure statement

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

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Inno-vation and Universities under Grant [PID2019-105468RB-I00]; European Social Fund and the Government of Aragon (“METODO” Research Group S20_20R, and pre-doctoral grant 2020-2024 BOA CUS/581/2020).

Notes on contributors

Sergio Ibáñez-Sánchez

Sergio Ibáñez-Sánchez (PhD) works as a researcher at the University of Zaragoza (Spain). His main research line focuses on analyzing the impact of new technologies and social networking sites on the customer experience and behavior. The main results of his research have been published in academic journals such as Journal of Business Research, Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, Online Information Review, Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management and Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing. His research has also been presented in national and international conferences such as the International Conference on Corporate and Marketing Communications, where he received the Don E. Schultz Award.

Marta Flavián

Marta Flavián is a PhD student at the University of Zaragoza (Spain). She has a degree in Business Administration and Management and her research addresses the relationships established between influencers in Instagram, their followers and the products they promote through this social networking site. Results and conclusions from this research have been already published at the Journal of Business Research and the Spanish Journal of Marketing – ESIC.

Luis V. Casaló

Luis V. Casaló (PhD) is Associate Professor of Marketing at the University of Zaragoza (Spain). His research interests include the influence of social media and new technologies on consumer behavior, and service marketing and management. Results and conclusions from this research have been published in well-recognized international journals such as International Journal of Information Management, International Journal of Electronic Commerce, Information & Management, Journal of Business Research, Psychology & Marketing, Computers & Education, Computers in Human Behavior, Internet Research, Journal of Environmental Psychology, or Tourism Management.

Daniel Belanche

Daniel Belanche (PhD) is Assistant Professor of Marketing (Universidad de Zaragoza, Spain). Research lines: consumer behavior in social media, AI and robots in services, new services adoption, consumer emotions and identities, and video advertising. Results and conclusions from this research have been presented at seminars and national and international conferences, and published in scientific journals as Information & Management, Journal of Interactive Marketing, Journal of Service Management, Journal of Environmental Psychology, Computers & Education, Government Information Quarterly, or Psychology & Marketing.