European Journal of Business Science and Technology 2020, 6(2):138-153 | DOI: 10.11118/ejobsat.2020.009
Influencer Impact on Brand Awareness: A Mixed Method Survey in the German Fashion Segment
- 1 SRH Hochschule Heidelberg, Germany
- 2 Mendel University in Brno, Czech Republic
This study evaluates the impact of influencer marketing on consumers. Although online influencers are long established in German B2C markets, research in the field is scarce. Marketing managers are unsure how influencer marketing strategies should be drafted and which influencers should be recruited in order to maximize their marketing efforts at the consumer level. Based on a review of previous theoretical and empirical literature, a mixed method empirical study comprising semistructured interviews with three German fashion influencers and a consumer survey (N = 385) among the followers of these influencers are conducted to evaluate the impact of influencer activity on consumer followership, brand awareness and purchase intention. Results indicate that the intensity of influencer network involvement, intrinsic influencer motivation, authenticity of communication style and the real-life character of influencer posts increase the dependent variables. Hence, the empirical study has contributed to identify the most important determiners for the German B2C fashion influencer segment. Marketing managers are strongly advised to select influencers adequately and organize their marketing strategy in correspondence with their company and products.
Keywords: influencer, marketing, B2C, fashion
JEL classification: M3, M31, M37
Received: August 10, 2020; Accepted: December 17, 2020; Published: December 29, 2020 Show citation
References
- AAKER, D.A. & FOURNIER, S. 1995. A Brand as a Character, A Partner and a Person: Three Perspectives on the Question of Brand Personality. Advances in Consumer Research, 1995 (22), 391-395
- ANSOFF, I., SULLIVAN, P.A. 1993. Optimizing profitability in turbulent environments, A formula for strategic success, Long Range Planning, 1993, 25(5), 11-23.
Go to original source...
- BAKER, S.J. 2014. Monetizing Influencers: Diffusion of Innovations and Influencer Marketing Through Blogger Outreach, University of Central Florida.
- BARBER, N., KUO, P. J., BISHOP, M., & GOODMAN, R. 2012. Measuring psychographics to assess purchase intention and willingness to pay. Journal of consumer marketing.
Go to original source...
- BAUER, H. H., MÄDER, R. & HUBER, F. (2002). Markenpersönlichkeit als Determinante der Markenloyalität, in: Zeitschrift für betriebswirtschaftliche Forschung, (Dezember), S. 687-709.
Go to original source...
- BELANCHE, D., CASALÓ, L. V., FLAVIÁN, M., FLAVIÁN, C., & IBÁÑEZ-SÁNCHEZ, S. E. R. G. I. O. 2019. Is Congruity Essential For Influencer Marketing? Exploring Fashion Influencer Campaigns On Instagram. The 2019 WEI International Academic Conference Proceedings.
Go to original source...
- BIAUDET, S. 2017. Influencer Marketing as a Marketing Tool: The process of creating an Influencer Marketing Campaign on Instagram. International Business Thesis.
- BIEL, A. L. (2001). Grundlagen zum Markenwertaufbau, in: Esch, Franz-Rudolf (Hrsg.), Moderne Markenführung, 3. Auflage, S. 61-90.
Go to original source...
- BREVES, P. L., LIEBERS, N., ABT, M., & KUNZE, A. 2019. The Perceived Fit between Instagram Influencers and the Endorsed Brand: How Influencer-Brand Fit Affects Source Credibility and Persuasive Effectiveness. Journal of Advertising Research, JAR-2019.
Go to original source...
- BURMANN, C., MEFFERT, H. & KOERS, M. 2005. Theoretisches Grundkonzept der identitätsorientierten Markenführung, in: MEFFERT, H. / BURMANN, C. / KOERS, M. (Hrsg.), Marken-management: Identitätsorientierte Markenführung und praktische Umsetzung, mit Best Practice-Fallstudien, 2. vollst. überarb.und erw. Aufl., Gabler, Wiesbaden, 3-17.
Go to original source...
- BVDW 2017. Bedeutung von Influencer Marketing in Deutschland 2017, Berlin, 2017, [Online]. Available at: https://www.bvdw.org/fileadmin/bvdw/upload/studien/171128_IM-Studie_final-draft-bvdw_low.pdf, [Accessed: July 17, 2020].
- CAKIM, I. M. 2009. Implementing word of mouth marketing: online strategies to identify influencers, craft stories, and draw customers. John Wiley & Sons.
- CANNON, J. P., DONEY, P. M., MULLEN, M. R., & PETERSEN, K. J. 2010. Building long-term orientation in buyer-supplier relationships: The moderating role of culture. Journal of operations management, 28(6), 506-521.
Go to original source...
- CARBONARO, S. &VOTAVA, C. 2005. "Symbole des Seins: Masse und Klasse haben als Gegensätze ausgedient. Die neue Konsumkultur sucht Qualität in jeder Lebenslage.", in: GDI Impuls: Wissensmagazin für Wirtschaft, Gesellschaft, Handel Herbst (2005), 26-30.
- CHAE, I., STEPHEN, A. T., BART, Y., & YAO, D. 2016. Spillover effects in seeded word-of-mouth marketing campaigns. Marketing Science, 36(1), 89-104.
Go to original source...
- CHARLESWORTH, A. 2007. Key Concepts in E-commerce. Palgrave Macmillan.
Go to original source...
- COOPER, D. R., SCHINDLER, P. S., & SUN, J. 2014. Business research methods (Vol. 12e). New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin.
- COURT, D., ELZINGA, D. & MULDER, S.; VETVIK, O. J. 2009. The consumer decision journey. McKinsey Quarterly, 3/2009, 1-11.
- Dalstam, M., Nordlöf, H., & Holmgren, D. (2018). The NA-KD Truth About Influencer Marketing: Exploring influencer marketing through integrated marketing communication and the influencer's role in strengthening a brand. Working Paper. Jönköping University, May 2018.
- DAVIES, J. 2017. State of social platform use in Germany in 5 Charts, Digiday UK, [Online]. Available at: https://digiday.com/marketing/state-social-platform-use-germany-5-charts/, [Accessed: July 17, 2020].
- DEIGHTON, J., ROMER, D. & MCQUEEN, J. 1989. Using Drama to Persuade, Journal of Consumer Research, 16 (December), 335-343.
Go to original source...
- DE VEIRMAN, M., CAUBERGHE, V., & HUDDERS, L. 2017. Marketing through Instagram influencers: the impact of number of followers and product divergence on brand attitude. International Journal of Advertising, 36(5), 798-828.
Go to original source...
- DLODLO, N. (2014). Profiling Marketplace Change Agents (Influential) Using the Multiple Flow Communication Theory. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 5(20), 705.
Go to original source...
- DOYLE, P., & STERN, P. 2006. Marketing management and strategy. Pearson Education.
- DRON, R., & MOHAMAD, M. 2015. Electronic word of mouth for mobile fitness application: an action case study, University of Salford, Working Paper.
- EROĞLU, F., & BAYRAKTAR KÖSE, E. 2019. Utilization Of Online Influencers As An Experiential Marketing Tool: A Case Of Instagram Micro-Celebrities. Journal Of International Social Research, 12(63).
Go to original source...
- EVANS, N. J., PHUA, J., LIM, J., & JUN, H. 2017. Disclosing Instagram influencer advertising: The effects of disclosure language on advertising recognition, attitudes, and behavioral intent. Journal of Interactive Advertising, 1-12.
Go to original source...
- FOURNIER, S. 1998. Consumers and Their Brands: Developing Relationship Theory in Consumer Research, 24 (März), 343-373.
Go to original source...
- FRANKLIN, B. 2008. The future of newspapers, Journalism Practice, 2(2), 306 - 317
Go to original source...
- GADALLA, E., LIU, R., MARTIN, F., & SUPATCHAYA, N. T. 2019. Persuasive or not?: The Effect of Social Media Influencer's Credibility on Consumer Processing and Purchase Intention. In British Academy of Management 2019 Conference.
- GANESAN, S. 1994. Determinants of long-term orientation in buyer-seller relationships. Journal of marketing, 58(2), 1-19.
Go to original source...
- GNANN, C. 2008. Angewandte Markenforschung. Electronic Design Automation im Hochfrequenz-Markt, Diplomica Verlag, Hamburg.
- HERRMANN, A. 2005. Planung der Produkteigenschaften. In Handbuch Technologie-und Innovationsmanagement (pp. 379-396). Gabler Verlag.
Go to original source...
- HILKER CONSULTING 2018. Prognose zum Marktvolumen für Influencer marketing in der DACH-Regina für die Jahre 2017 und 2020, [Online]. Available at: https://blog.hilker-consulting.de/aktuelle-studien-zum-influencer-marketing, [Accessed: July 17, 2020].
- HOMBURG, C. & KOSCHATE, N. 2007. Bedeutung von Kundenzufriedenheit und Kundenbindung, in Sönke Albers & Andreas Herrmann (Hrsg.): Handbuch Produktmanagement: Strategieentwicklung - Produktplanung - Organisation - Kontrolle, Wiesbaden: Gabler (2007), 844 - 867.
Go to original source...
- HU, M., MILNER, J., & WU, J. 2015. Liking and following and the newsvendor: Operations and marketing policies under social influence. Management Science, 62(3), 867-879.
Go to original source...
- HUTTER, K., & MAI, R. 2013. Effective Incentives for Buzz Marketing: How Moral Concern Moderates the Willingness to Engage as Buzz Agents. Working Paper of ZBW, Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, http://hdl.handle.net/10419/96482.
- ISTANIA, F., PRATIWI, I. P., YASMINE, M. F., & ANANDA, A. S. 2019. Celebrities and Celebgrams Of Cosmetics: The Mediating Effect Of Opinion Leadership On The Relationship Between Instagram Profile And Consumer Behavioral Intention, International Journal Of Scientific & Technology Research Volume 8, Issue 08, August 2019 Issn 2277-8616.
- JAAKONMÄKI, R., MÜLLER, O., & VOM BROCKE, J. 2017. The impact of content, context, and creator on user engagement in social media marketing. In Proceedings of the 50th Hawaii international conference on system sciences.
Go to original source...
- JANSON, A. 2012. Der Kunde im Fokus: Das Konzept der Customer Journey, Studienarbeit Grin Verlag.
- JIN, S. V., MUQADDAM, A., & RYU, E. 2019. Instafamous and social media influencer marketing. Marketing Intelligence & Planning.
Go to original source...
- KELLER, K.L. 1993. Conceptualizing, measuring, and managing customer-based brand equity. Journal of Marketing, Jan 1993, 57, 1.
Go to original source...
- KELLER, K. L. 2001. Building customer-based brand equity: A blueprint for creating strong brands (pp. 3-27). Cambridge, MA: Marketing Science Institute.
- KELLER, E. & FAY, B. 2016. How to use influencers to drive a word-of-mouth strategy. Research Paper, Marketing Best Practice, April 2016, [Online]. Available at: https://www.engagementlabs.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/How_to_use_influencers_to_drive_a_wordofmouth_strategy_.pdf, [Accessed: July 17, 2020].
- KELLEY, R. 1992. The power of followership. New York, NY: Doubleday.
- KOERBER-RIEL, L. & WEINBERG, M. 2002. Konsumentenverhalten. 7. Auflage. München.
- LIM, X. J., RADZOL, A. M., CHEAH, J., & WONG, M. W. 2017. The impact of social media influencers on purchase intention and the mediation effect of customer attitude. Asian Journal of Business Research, 7(2), 19-36.
Go to original source...
- LOCK, A. C. 2016. Impact of Brand Knowledge on Brand Trust in Private Higher Education Institutions: How Do Word of Mouth Sources Intervene'. Sarjana, 31(2), 13-32.
- MAYRING, P. 2002. Einführung in die qualitative Sozialforschung. Eine Anleitung zu qualitativem Denken. 5., überarbeitete und neu ausgestattete Auflage.
- MEYER, C., & SCHWAGER, A. 2007. Understanding customer experience. Harvard business review, 85(2), 116.
- MINTZBERG, H. 1978. Patterns in Strategy Formation, Management Science May 1978, 24(9), 934-948.
Go to original source...
- MINTZBERG, H. 1994. The Fall and Rise of Strategic Planning, Harvard Business Review, January-February 1994, 107-114
- MOLDENHAUER, R. 2004. Krisenbewältigung in der New Economy. Lösungsansätze und Handlungsempfehlungen für Gründungs- und Wachstumsunternehmen. Dissertation, Berlin.
- MCQUARRIE, E. F., MILLER, J., & PHILLIPS, B. J. 2013. The megaphone effect: Taste and audience in fashion blogging. Journal of Consumer Research, 40(1), 136-158.
Go to original source...
- RIEDL, J., & VON LUCKWALD, L. 2019. Effects of Influencer Marketing on Instagram. Open Science Publications Of Access Marketing Management A non-commercial scientific association.
- ROWLEY, J. 2004. Just another channel? Marketing communications in e-business. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 22(1), 24-41.
Go to original source...
- SAFKO, L. 2010. The social media bible: tactics, tools, and strategies for business success. John Wiley & Sons.
- SCHMITT, B. 2012. The consumer psychology of brands. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 22(1), 7-17.
Go to original source...
- SCHULTZ, R. 1987. Bekannte Anwendungskonzepte und Aggregationsprinzipien für den Umgang mit Datenunsicherheit. In Quantitative Entscheidungsunterlagen auf der Grundlage von Szenarien (pp. 129-173). Gabler Verlag.
Go to original source...
- STATISTA 2017. Haben Sie für das Jahr 2017 ein Budget für Influencer Marketing vorgesehen?, [Online]. Available at: https://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/686090/umfrage/geplante-investitionen-in-influencer-marketing/, [Accessed: July 17, 2020].
- TORBERT, W. R., & TAYLOR, S. 2008. Action inquiry: Interweaving multiple qualities of attention for timely action. The Sage handbook of action research: Participative inquiry and practice, 239-251.
- WEBSTER, J., & WATSON, R. T. 2002. Analyzing the past to prepare for the future: Writing a Literature Review. MIS quarterly, 26(2), 13-23.
- WEE, T., MING, T. & CHUA HAN, M. 2003. Leveraging on symbolic values and meanings in branding, in: Brand Management, 10 (3: Februar), 208-218.
Go to original source...
- WOODS, S. 2016. # Sponsored: The Emergence of Influencer Marketing. University of Tennessee. Working Paper.
- XIAO, M., WANG, R., & CHAN-OLMSTED, S. 2018. Factors affecting YouTube influencer marketing credibility: a heuristic-systematic model. Journal of Media Business Studies, 15(3), 188-213.
Go to original source...
- YIN, R.K. 2014. Case Study Research: Design and Methods. 5th. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0), which permits use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original publication is properly cited. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.