Running head: HEALTH & FITNESS AND FASHION PRODUCT PLACEMENTS

Product placement on Instagram

A study on the effect of product placement and the moderating role of authenticity and

identification on advertising effectiveness in the health & fitness and fashion niche.

Peggy van der Heijden

u586596/2029398

Master Thesis

Communication & Information Sciences

Business Communication & Digital Media

School of Humanities and Digital Sciences

Tilburg University, Tilburg

Supervisor: Dr. A.P. Schouten

Second reader: Prof. Dr. M.L. Antheunis

January 2020

HEALTH & FITNESS AND FASHION PRODUCT PLACEMENTS

Preface

After graduating at Fontys University of Applied Science in 2017, I have been curious to learn and study more about communication, marketing and the influences and uses of digital media. In September 2018, I started with the premaster Communication & Information

Sciences followed by the master’s program Business Communication & Digital Media at

Tilburg University. I enjoyed the courses I took and I am happy with how the professors taught me to look at things differently. Especially, the knowledge I gained about how we as humans are structured and how our brain works I find very interesting and valuable.

When deciding my master’s thesis topic, I aimed at deciding on a topic, which is of use in my future job. Digital media, influencers, influencer marketing and consumer behavior are aspects that fascinate me. Especially, nowadays when life seems to become more and more digital. Therefore, I am thankful I got to write my master’s thesis about a topic I am very curious and ambitious about.

This master thesis can be of interest for anyone who would like to know more about influencer marketing and product placement strategies, especially in the health & fitness and fashion niche on Instagram. Also, this study elaborates on the moderating role of identification and authenticity between product placement strategies and advertising effectiveness. I hope you will read my thesis with great interest.

Lastly, I would like to thank Alexander Schouten for guiding me through this process, providing me with feedback and stimulating me to think one step further. Although, obstacles occurred, he helped me find solutions allowing me to fulfill my writing potential.

Peggy van der Heijden,

Tilburg

January 2020

2 HEALTH & FITNESS AND FASHION PRODUCT PLACEMENTS

Abstract

A social media marketing strategy that does not include influencer marketing is hard to imagine nowadays. Companies increasingly collaborate with individuals to endorse their products on Instagram. However, it is unclear what aspects make these endorsements successful and effective. This study investigated in an online experiment (3 (active vs. non- active vs. non-use) between x 2 (health & fitness vs. fashion niche) within design) the effect of product placement strategies in Instagram posts on advertising effectiveness. This study is the first to investigate this relationship in the health & fitness and fashion niche. Furthermore, the moderating role of identification with the influencer and authenticity of the influencer are also taken into account. Results show, type of product placement strategy does not directly influence advertising effectiveness. The type of niche on Instagram does matter, as there is more advertising effectiveness in the fashion niche. Also, identification and authenticity increase advertising effectiveness and the first effects of identification moderating the relationship between type of product placement strategy and advertising effectiveness are found. All in all, this study shows that type of product placement strategy is different for endorsements in these niches. Furthermore, it is important to always collaborate with influencers who consumers identify with or find authentic.

Keywords: product placement strategy, advertising effectiveness, identification,

authenticity, niche, influencer marketing, Instagram

3 HEALTH & FITNESS AND FASHION PRODUCT PLACEMENTS

Introduction

Influencer marketing has become a popular form of social media marketing (Woods,

2016). Endorsements by powerful influencers who promote brands and products are everywhere. The concept of influencer marketing is that a company collaborates with individuals who have a big online social network and are able to connect with and influence their followers and potential customers (Tapinfluence, 2015). Influencer marketing is almost seen as a must in a social media marketing strategy nowadays, as it is supposedly very profitable, with some sources stating that a company can make $6.50 for each $1 they spent on influencer marketing (Talkwalker, 2018).

With one billion monthly active users and over 500 million daily active users,

Instagram is the most popular social media platform for influencer marketing (Mohsin, 2019).

The platform is mostly used by influencers and consumers who follow these influencers on a daily basis. Consumers use Instagram to gain information from influencers in order to make purchase decisions (Casaló, Flavián & Ibáñez-Sánchez, 2018). When companies collaborate with influencers a frequent outcome is an Instagram post that contains the promoted product or brand. A common term for this is product placement. When commercial content is incorporated in a non-commercial environment we can speak of product placement (Williams,

Petrosky, Hernandez & Page, 2011). Previous research by Liu, Chou and Liao (2015) found that product placement is an effective strategy to influence the potential customer, because it is not perceived as a direct message from the company itself. Product placement can be used to increase, for example, consumer engagement, audience exposure, and consumer’s attitudes towards the brand. Although, research about what type of product placement strategy works best for an influencers’ Instagram post to achieve greater advertising effectiveness is still scarce. However, previous research did investigate consumer engagement on social media and product placement on TV and in movies.

4 HEALTH & FITNESS AND FASHION PRODUCT PLACEMENTS

A study by Jaakonmäki, Müller and Vom Brocke (2017) compared users’ social media posts and found that aspects of the creator, context and content all affect user engagement. A study from Gupta and Lord (1998) investigated the difference in prominent (full shot) and subtle (background) product placement in movies on brand recall. Brennan, Dubas and Babin

(1999), investigated these two types more in depth, and state that there are on-set and creative types of product placement that influence brand recognition. The on-set type of product placement means that the product is being consumed or used and the creative type of product placement means that there is no active use of the product. When viewers are exposed to the on-set type of product placement there is more brand recognition than when they are exposed to the creative type of product placement. These two types of product placement that are used in movies might also work in influencer marketing but that has not yet been investigated.

Furthermore, what have been investigated are photo compositions regarding food display in Instagram posts. Holmberg, Chaplin, Hillman and Berg (2016) made a distinction between arranged, handheld and zoomed-in photo compositions. These types are most used in

Instagram posts regarding food and differ in to what extent there is active use of the product.

However, if these photo compositions might work for other product types besides food in influencer marketing has not been investigated yet. Based on previous research it can be expected that there is a difference in type of product placement on advertising effectiveness of an Instagram post. Therefore, the first goal of this study is to investigate what effect active, non-active and non-use product placement strategies have on advertising effectiveness.

The second is aim of this study is to investigate the way product placement affects advertising effectiveness in different niches on Instagram. Influencers are present in multiple types of niches. Knowing which type of product placement strategy enhances the effectiveness of the advertisement is important, but the environment an advertisement is placed in might also influence the effectiveness. On Instagram a niche is where a company

5 HEALTH & FITNESS AND FASHION PRODUCT PLACEMENTS can find its target audience (Socialupgrade, 2018). The influence of type of niche on product placement has not been investigated yet. However, this is important because influencer endorsements might be more effective in one niche than the other. Also, the different niches contain different types of products. These products might need different ways of advertising to enhance the effectiveness of the advertisement.

Some niches contain more utilitarian products and other niches contain more hedonic products. According to Lin, Bruning, and Swarna (2018), influencers can affect the value of utilitarian and hedonic products and they can affect the product itself. The difference between the two product types is that utilitarian products have functional, instrumental, goal oriented and practical aspects and hedonic products have more of an experience aspect (e.g. fun, sensation, social authenticity) (Dhar & Wertenbroch, 2000). Differences in how the type of niche influences product placement are expected between the health & fitness niche, which contains utilitarian product values, and the fashion niche, which contains hedonic product values. Therefore, the second goal of this study is to investigate the different types of product placement strategies on advertising effectiveness in the health & fitness and fashion niche.

Lastly, this study investigates the moderating role of authenticity and identification.

Authenticity and identification enhance the trust followers have in an influencer, therefore followers perceive them as a source of advice (Schouten, Janssen & Verspaget, 2019). As mentioned, consumers use information from influencers to make their purchase decisions

(Casaló et al., 2018). They do this because influencers are seen as authentic, making endorsements more credible compared to an Instagram advertisement from a company (Liu et al., 2015). Due to authenticity, followers also feel a connection with an influencer and do not see their endorsements as advertisements (Woods, 2016). Posting products in a real-life setting increases perceived authenticity (Russell & Rasolofoarison, 2017). Therefore, when the influencer is perceived as authentic and the endorsed product is presented in an active and

6 HEALTH & FITNESS AND FASHION PRODUCT PLACEMENTS realistic, not static, way (e.g. wearing, carrying or using it) there may be more advertising effectiveness.

Furthermore, followers often identify themselves with influencers because of perceived identification with the influencer, leading to wanting the same thing as the influencer. According to Kosenko, Binder and Hurley (2016), identification causes behavioral intention. Their results show that women who identify with an influencer have more intentions to pursue the same product compared to women who do not identify. Also, PSI

(para-social interaction) defines the relationship between followers and influencers and increases identification. Women who have this kind of relationship with an influencer want to have the same appearance as the influencer, which enhances purchase intention (Sokolova &

Kefi, 2019). Influencers who present the endorsed product by wearing, carrying or using it may increase purchase intention, because the influencer is visible and consumers are able to imagine if the product would suit them. Thus, when a consumer identifies with an influencer and an active type of product placement strategy is used there may be more advertising effectiveness. Therefore, the third goal of this study is to investigate if authenticity of the influencer and identification with the influencer have an effect on the relationship between type of product placement and advertising effectiveness.

In sum, there is a gap in research that has explicitly investigated the effect of different types of product placement strategies on advertising effectiveness in different niches on

Instagram, and the possible moderating role of authenticity and identification in this relationship. Therefore, this study aims at investigating the effectiveness of different types of product placement strategies (active vs. non-active vs. non-use) on advertising effectiveness and how this relationship is moderated by identification and authenticity. Furthermore, this study investigates to what extent these differences are present in different niches (health & fitness vs. fashion). The research questions are as follows:

7 HEALTH & FITNESS AND FASHION PRODUCT PLACEMENTS

RQ1: What effects do different type of product placement strategies in influencers

Instagram posts have on advertising effectiveness?

RQ2: To what extent does this effect differ between the health & fitness niche and the

fashion niche?

RQ3: To what extent do identification and authenticity moderate the relationship

between type of product placement strategy and advertising effectiveness?

Theoretical framework

Influencers and influencer marketing

Social media influencers consist of online opinion leaders, celebrities, and experts who have a large social network of followers. Followers perceive these social media influencers as authentic and trustworthy experts in their niche, therefore they trust their advice about products (De Veirman, Cauberghe & Hudders, 2017). Expertise from an influencer derives from the adequate knowledge an influencer has and the skill to promote a product in a believable and trustworthy manner (Van der Waldt, Van Loggerenberg & Wehmeyer, 2009).

Thus, when an influencer promotes a product, consumers believe the influencer does this because they genuinely believe the product is worth buying. Furthermore, the number of followers an influencer has affects the influencers’ popularity and likeability. A study by De

Veirman et al. (2017) shows that someone is perceived as an influencer when he or she has

10.000 or more followers. Therefore, the present study only investigates Instagram posts from influencers who have 10.000 or more followers.

The central point of influencer marketing is the collaboration between companies and one specific individual (the influencer) who has the ability to influence potential customers

(Woods, 2016). These collaborations, where an influencer promotes a specific product or brand, are perceived as more credible than paid advertisements. Therefore, influencer

8 HEALTH & FITNESS AND FASHION PRODUCT PLACEMENTS marketing leads to a decrease in resistance. This can be explained by the influencers’ credibility and authenticity, which create positive electronic word of mouth (eWOM) (De

Veirman et al., 2017).

Followers highly value the perceived honest opinion and noncommercial orientation of influencers, which is shown in their positive engagement (Audrezet, de Kerviler & Moulard,

2018). Besides, identification with an influencer also increases followers’ trust in influencers and leads to adopting the same behaviors and opinions as the influencer (Kelman, 2006).

Influencer marketing is successful because of influencer authenticity and the perceived identification followers have with influencers. Therefore, one aim of this study is to investigate the effect of product placement strategies on advertising effectiveness, while taking potential effects of authenticity and identification into account.

Advertising effectiveness

Companies try to connect with (potential) customers through social media. A platform like Instagram provides companies with the opportunity to reach a large number of people and it allows them to interact with people on a more personal level (Tafesse & Wien, 2018).

However, these opportunities do come with difficulties. Due to Instagram’s algorithms, a company’s content can disappear quite quickly from the public eye if it lacks engagement or relevance (Bernazzani, 2018). Therefore, content that enhances engagement is very important for a company as this increases advertising effectiveness (Calder, Malthouse & Schaedel,

2009).

Hollebeek, Glynn and Brodie (2014) define consumer engagement as “a consumer’s positively valenced brand-related cognitive, emotional and behavioral activity during or related to focal consumer/brand interactions” (Hollebeek et al., 2014, p. 154). In other words, consumer engagement is about a person’s motivational state that increases their involvement

9 HEALTH & FITNESS AND FASHION PRODUCT PLACEMENTS and their behavioral and cognitive responses (e.g. liking and commenting) in an online advertisement (Tafesse, 2016).

There are three aspects that form advertising effectiveness and influence consumer’s involvement with an advertisement. These three variables are attitudes consumers have towards the advertisement, attitudes consumers have towards the brand and consumer’s purchase intention. According to Spears and Singh (2004) attitude towards the advertisement is the favorable or unfavorable evaluation consumers have towards an advertisement. Attitude towards the advertisement has a strong relationship with attitude towards the brand and purchase intention, which are important aspects of advertising effectiveness as well. Spears and Singh (2004) define attitude towards the brand as “a consumer’s internal evaluation of a brand that endures for a short period of time and energizes and directs behavior” (Spears &

Singh, 2004, p. 55). Purchase intention is described as “an individual’s conscious plan to make an effort to purchase a brand” (Spears & Singh, 2004, p. 56). Thus, to measure the effects of different types of product placement strategies on advertising effectiveness this study takes attitude towards advertisement, attitude towards brand and purchase intention into account.

Product placement

Since the early twentieth century product placement is a common form of marketing.

But now, with the evolution of social media, product placement has become one of the most important online marketing strategies (Liu et al., 2015). In the early days product placement was defined as “paid product message aimed at influencing movie (or television) audiences via the planned and unobtrusive entry of a branded product into a movie (or television program)” (Balasubramanian, 1994, p.31). However, the definition of product placement has changed since it expanded to social media. On social media, product placement is generally considered to be the endorsement of a product by an influencer who makes an attractive and

10 HEALTH & FITNESS AND FASHION PRODUCT PLACEMENTS engaging message that contains the promotional message and in which the promoted product is presented through a video or picture (Liu et al., 2015).

Previous research investigated product placement in different types of media (e.g. TV shows, movies and TV series) (d'Astous & Chartier, 2000; Dekker & Van Reijmersdal, 2013).

A study by Gupta and Lord (1998) categorized product placement strategies into three modes, namely visual only, audio only and combined audio-visual. Additionally, Russell (1998) defined product placement strategies into three dimensions. He made a distinction between screen placement, script placement and plot placement. Screen placement is identified by the visibility of a product. This can be in the front or in the background. Script placement is when a product is mentioned in a conversation. When both screen and script placement are combined and the product is part of visual and verbal communication, it is defined as plot placement. These categories overlap with the modes of Gupta and Lord (1998) as screen placement is visual only, script placement is audio only and plot placement combines visual and audio. Both these studies investigated product placement on TV and in movies.

According to Russell (1998), plot placement is the most effective strategy, because it leads to higher levels of brand recall and engagement, which increase advertising effectiveness.

Although Instagram is a different medium, we can draw some analogies between the three types of endorsement and endorsements on Instagram. First, screen placement can be seen as non-use and non-active product placement on Instagram, as it focuses on the visualization of a product or logo. Second, plot placement can be considered as active product placement, because in this category the endorser interacts with the product visually and verbally (either through voice in video or through the post’s description) and makes active use of the product or brand in the Instagram post.

Furthermore, research on photo compositions on Instagram has also shown that there are various ways of presenting endorsed products and brands. A study by Holmberg et al.

11 HEALTH & FITNESS AND FASHION PRODUCT PLACEMENTS

(2016) investigated photo compositions regarding food display in Instagram posts. However, these types of photo compositions can also be found regarding other products on Instagram. A distinction was made between arranged, handheld and zoomed-in photo compositions. They found that the arranged photo composition, where items are artistically arranged and the brand is clearly visible, is most frequently used. In this composition, the influencer does not actively uses a product, but only displays it. The influencer is (partly) visible and the way the product is presented is the focus of the picture. In the handheld composition, which is the second most used composition, items are hold and used. This photo composition achieves a more active use of the product, as the influencer is visible in the Instagram post and makes active use of the product while the photo is taken. In the zoomed-in composition the items are the central focus of the picture. The influencer is not visible in the Instagram post and makes no use of the product while the photo is taken.

In addition, there are several studies that have investigated the visibility of a human face in an Instagram post. The research by Jaakonmäki et al. (2017), who investigated content features of Instagram posts, found that Instagram posts where a human face is visible receives more likes and comments than Instagram posts where a human face is not visible. Bakhshi,

Shamma and Gilbert (2014), found a similar effect. They investigated one million Instagram posts and found that Instagram posts that include a human face have a chance of 32% of receiving comments and a 38% chance of receiving likes. It can therefore be expected that an

Instagram post where the influencer is visible and makes active use of the product results in more advertising effectiveness compared to an Instagram post that contains non-active or non- use of the product and the influencer is partly or not visible.

The findings of these previous studies are relatable to this study. It is expected that there are differences in influencers Instagram posts and the way product placement is used in the picture. Based on these previous studies, we can conclude that when an influencer actively

12 HEALTH & FITNESS AND FASHION PRODUCT PLACEMENTS engages with a product higher levels of advertising effectiveness are achieved. Plot placement can been seen as active product placement (e.g. the influencer is visible and holds, uses or wears the product and a description is included), because the influencer interacts with the endorsed product and this increases advertising effectiveness. Active product placement is more likely to result in better advertising effectiveness than non-active (e.g. the influencer is not or only partly visible and the main focus is the product) and non-use (e.g. the influencer is not visible and the product is presented in a static way), because these types of product placement result in less consumer engagement as they lack interaction. Besides, it is expected that when an influencer does not make active use of the product but they are still visible, there are higher levels of advertising effectiveness compared to when an influencer is not visible at all. Jaakonmäki et al. (2017) and Bakhshi et al. (2014) show that the visibility of a human face affects advertising effectiveness, because a picture where a human is visible is liked more.

Also, non-active (arranged) photo compositions are more popular than non-use (zoomed-in) compositions.

Based on the above, the hypotheses tested in this study are as follows:

H1a: Instagram posts of influencers that contain active product placement lead to higher levels of advertising effectiveness than non-active and non-use product placement.

H1b: Instagram posts of influencers that contain non-active product placement lead to higher levels of advertising effectiveness than non-use product placement.

Identification and influencer authenticity

According to Uzunoğlu and Kip (2014), influencers are important for companies because of their authenticity and the close engagement they have with followers in their niche. Followers feel connected with the influencer through their shared interests and the feeling of being part of a community (Gordon, 2018). When followers identify themselves

13 HEALTH & FITNESS AND FASHION PRODUCT PLACEMENTS with an influencer, through shared interests, characteristics and values, they are more likely to adopt the same behavior and opinions as the influencer (Kelman, 2006).

According to the study of Hoffner and Buchanan (2005) identification with an influencer evolves through perceived similarity and wishful identification. It is both the feeling of having things in common with the influencer and the desire to be like the influencer. Djafarova and Rushworth (2017) say that consumers relate themselves with influencers and find them approachable. Influencers create closeness with their followers, because they address them directly. These aspects affect the effectiveness of an influencers

Instagram post. Thus, the level of advertising effectiveness may be dependent on how connected followers feel with the influencer (Schouten et al., 2019).

Perceived identification between the consumer and influencer can influence the effectiveness of product placement and affect advertising effectiveness (Balasubramanian,

Patwardhan, Pillai & Coker, 2014). According to Thomson (2006), the visibility of a human brand in an advertisement makes consumers feel more attached to a brand, which increases their positive attitudes towards the brand. The connection consumers feel with the influencer causes this attachment. Therefore, it is expected that consumers who see an active type of product placement (the influencer is completely visible and interacts with the product) have higher levels of advertising effectiveness when they identify with the influencer. With active product placement consumers see the human brand, which can result in higher levels of advertising effectiveness when they identify with the human brand. In non-active and non-use product placement there are lower levels of advertising effectiveness when consumers identify with the influencer, because the human brand is not visible. If there is no connection between consumers and the influencer and consumers see an influencer actively using an endorsed product, there is no attachment with the brand and consumers perceive the post just as an advertisement.

14 HEALTH & FITNESS AND FASHION PRODUCT PLACEMENTS

Besides identification with the influencer, the level of perceived authenticity of the influencer can also affect the effectiveness of an influencers Instagram post. According to

Woods (2016), authenticity refers to when an influencer has a close connection with their followers and the followers have high levels of trust in the influencer, that even an Instagram post with paid product placement is perceived as true and authentic. Influencers who keep making attractive content and keep working on the relationship with their followers are perceived as more trustworthy and confident (Woods, 2016). In addition, within influencer marketing an influencer is perceived as authentic when there is a right fit between the product or brand and the influencer (Zietek, 2016). When an influencer is exclusive with the collaborations they have with companies it results in an increase in perceived authenticity. If an influencer has many endorsed posts with different brands, that do not suit the influencer, they are perceived as boring, less trustworthy and the audience starts to believe they are just doing it for the money (Zietek, 2016).

Furthermore, influencers are perceived as authentic when they are able to present products in an authentic way. According to Russell and Rasolofoarison (2017), authenticity is increased when the influencer presents themself and the product in a real-life setting. If followers associate the influencer and the product with a real-life setting, the fit between the product and the influencer is enhanced (Russell & Rasolofoarison, 2017). Real-life means that something exists and happens in reality (Dictionary, 2020). Eating food, carrying a bag and wearing shoes are examples of situations that happen daily. Therefore, presenting products in a real-life setting can be related to active product placement. The influencer interacts with the product by using, wearing or consuming it and is not posing the product. It is expected that consumers who see an active type of product placement have higher levels of advertising effectiveness when they find the influencer authentic. In non-active and non-use product placement there are lower levels of advertising effectiveness when consumers find the

15 HEALTH & FITNESS AND FASHION PRODUCT PLACEMENTS influencer authentic, because the content of the post is perceived less as a real-life setting. If consumers do not find the influencer authentic and they see an Instagram post with active product placement, the real-life setting and fit does not affect them and again consumers perceive the post just as an advertisement.

Based on the above, it can be expected that identification and authenticity moderate the relationship between type of product placement and advertising effectiveness. Therefore, the following hypotheses are formulated:

H2: People who identify more with the influencer have greater differences in advertising effectiveness of Instagram posts that contain an active type of product placement than non- active and non-use product placement compared to people who identify less with the influencer.

H3: People who perceive the influencer as more authentic have greater differences in advertising effectiveness of Instagram posts that contain an active type of product placement than non-active and non-use product placement compared to people who perceive the influencer as less authentic.

Niche

There are almost 2000 niches on Instagram but many of them are not profitable or just too small. The top five most profitable niches on Instagram are; health & fitness, beauty, travel, business/making money online, and fashion (Socialupgrade, 2018). When companies try to find their target audience they search and do research into these niches. The difference with mass marketing is that a niche focuses on a particular kind of product, service or theme and the consumers in a niche have identifiable interest and preferences (Tabor, 2018). In this study, two niches are compared, both belonging to the most popular niches on Instagram: the health & fitness niche and the fashion niche (Socialupgrade, 2018). Previous research has mainly focused on different types of influencers on Instagram and what effect they have on

16 HEALTH & FITNESS AND FASHION PRODUCT PLACEMENTS for example credibility, perceived expertise and advertising effectiveness (Djafarova &

Rushworth 2017; Khamis, Ang & Welling, 2017). This study specifically wants to investigate whether the effect of type of product placement on advertising effectiveness differs for these two niches. In other words, is the most effective way of product endorsement different for both these niches?

In general, a distinction is made between hedonic and utilitarian goods (Dhar &

Wertenbroch, 2000; Lin et al., 2018). These two types of products differ in their characteristics and values. Utilitarian goods are products that have a functional value. Lin et al. (2018) found that this value depends on tangible and functional benefits of the product.

They define that “this value is governed by functional motivations related to tangible aspects of product assortment, product quality, convenience, price, and benefits. Utilitarian value is provided through the fulfillment of functional needs and is often recognized through rational decision making” (Lin et al., 2018, p. 433). The products that are present in the health & fitness niche can be related to this type of product and value. Health & fitness products are functional, because they are mainly used for working-out, eating healthy meals and helping people to achieve a certain goal.

The second type is hedonic products, which have a greater experience aspect (Dhar &

Wertenbroch, 2000). According to Lin et al. (2018), hedonic value is contradictory to utilitarian value as it values less function and it has more subjective and symbolic value that is often shown in someone’s social status. They say, “hedonic value relates to non-tangible aspects such as store clientele, personal (and social) product identification, reputation, social interactions, and enjoyable experiences. Hedonic value is often more vaguely felt or sensed by consumers” (Lin et al., 2018, p. 433). This type of product can be related to products in the fashion niche. Products in the fashion niche are often related to symbolic values and feelings

17 HEALTH & FITNESS AND FASHION PRODUCT PLACEMENTS that are related to someone’s social status. Also, the enjoyment of having a new piece of fashion and showing the product is more present in hedonic values and the fashion niche.

In the fashion niche where the products are hedonic, consumers might be more persuaded if they see an influencer actively engaging with a product compared to when a product is passively presented. It can be assumed that, followers want to see how a product fits the influencer so they can imagine how it would be for them. In the health & fitness niche where the products are utilitarian, consumers may be more convinced by a product if it is displayed up close, in the middle or in the front. It can be assumed that, consumers want to pay more attention to the objective characteristics of the product so they can decide if it would be a valuable and functional product for them.

In other words, an Instagram post in the fashion niche that uses active product placement is potentially more beneficial for the consumer, which can increases advertising effectiveness, compared to non-active and non-use product placement. Consumers in the health & fitness niche might appreciate an Instagram post with a close-up of the product more, because they care about the functional aspects of a product and want to see it clearly. In this niche Instagram posts with a non-active or non-use type of product placement can increase advertising effectiveness compared to active product placement. Therefore, it is expected that there are differences in advertising effectiveness in the two niches as type of product placement can influence consumer’s attitudes toward the advertisement. Thus, the following hypotheses are tested:

H4a: In the fashion niche there are higher levels of advertising effectiveness when active product placement is used compared to non-active and non-use.

H4b: In the health & fitness niche there are higher levels of advertising effectiveness when non-active or non-use product placement is used compared to active.

Figure 1 summarizes the six hypotheses and illustrates the range of this study.

18 HEALTH & FITNESS AND FASHION PRODUCT PLACEMENTS

Figure 1. Conceptual model of the effect of type of product placement

Method

Participants

The sampling method used during this study was convenience sampling. Two requirements for participating in the experiment were that participants own an Instagram account and were Dutch. Participation in the study was completely voluntary. The online experiment was conducted through a Qualtrics link, which was distributed via multiple social media platforms. All participants were women between the ages of 18 and 40. This group was chosen as a sample group because they are the most common Instagram users, with 64.1% of

Instagram users falling in this category (Pew Research Center, 2018).

After excluding five participants from the dataset because they were too old, too young, did not own an Instagram account or did not finished the experiment correctly, a total of 201 female respondents participated in this study. The mean age of the participants was 24

(SD = 2.84) and their highest level of education attained is broken down as follows: 41.8% of the participants completed or were currently enrolled in a master program at university,

33.3% completed or were currently enrolled in a program in higher vocational training, 10.9% completed or were currently enrolled in a bachelor program at university, 6.5% completed or were currently enrolled in a program in secondary vocational education, 5.5% completed or were currently enrolled in a pre-master program at university and 2% completed a high school

19 HEALTH & FITNESS AND FASHION PRODUCT PLACEMENTS diploma. Most participants (80.1%) used Instagram every day of the week and spend 49 minutes (SD = 41) per day on Instagram. On average the participants had 385 followers (SD =

256) on Instagram and followed 418 people (SD = 263) on Instagram.

Furthermore, 67 participants saw Instagram posts that contained active product placement, 70 participants saw Instagram posts wit non-active product placement, and 64 participants were exposed to Instagram posts with non-use product placement.

Design and manipulations

The aim of this study was to investigate what effect product placement strategies have on advertising effectiveness, also in different niches, and how influencer authenticity and identification with the influencer moderates this relationship. The experiment consisted of a 3

(product placement: active vs. non-active vs. non-use) between x 2 (niche: health & fitness vs. fashion) within design. This study measured multiple variables that form the overall dependent variable advertising effectiveness, namely attitude towards the advertisement, attitude towards the brand, and purchase intention. Besides these variables, two moderators were taken into account, namely identification with the influencer and perceived authenticity of the influencer.

The design contained six different manipulations. Each type of product placement was present in both the health & fitness niche and the fashion niche. Thus, the manipulations were as follows:

1. Active product placement in health & fitness niche

2. Non-active product placement in health & fitness niche

3. Non-use product placement in health & fitness niche

4. Active product placement in fashion niche

5. Non-active product placement in fashion niche

6. Non-use product placement in fashion niche

20 HEALTH & FITNESS AND FASHION PRODUCT PLACEMENTS

Active use was manipulated by showing an Instagram post were the influencer was clearly visible and she interacted with the product by wearing, using or eating it. Non-active product placement was manipulated by partly showing the influencer and the product was clearly visible and consciously presented in the center of the picture. Non-use product placement was manipulated by not showing the influencer at all and the only focus was the product in the

Instagram post. Furthermore, the health & fitness niche was manipulated by only showing products related to sports or food products related to health. The fashion niche was manipulated by showing products that people wear and are related to wardrobe products like bags and shoes.

Pre-test

A pre-test was conducted to find out which influencers from the health & fitness niche and fashion niche had high levels of likeability to determine who should be chosen for the experiment. Through a Qualtrics survey 12 Dutch women participated in the pre-test. In total,

12 influencers from the health & fitness niche and the fashion niche were selected from

Instagram. The participants were presented with Instagram pictures from these influencers.

They saw six influencers from the health & fitness niche and six influencers from the fashion niche. After seeing an Instagram picture of an influencer the participant had to rate how much they liked the influencer, how authentic they perceived the influencer and to what extent they identified with the influencer, on a scale from 1 to 10. Thus, participants rated 12 influencers in total. To decide which influencers should be included in the experiment the three items were computed into the main variable ‘likeability’. Afterwards, the mean scores for each influencer of this variable were calculated and based on the highest mean scores the influencers were chosen. Table 1 shows the results of the pre-test.

21 HEALTH & FITNESS AND FASHION PRODUCT PLACEMENTS

Table 1. Mean likeability influencers health & fitness (H&F) and fashion niche.

Influencer N Minimum Maximum Mean SD

Marit (H&F) 12 1.00 8.33 5.92 2.17

Nochtli (H&F) 12 1.00 8.67 5.83 2.50

Fajah (H&F) 12 1.67 8.33 5.56 1.96

Joy (H&F) 12 1.00 8.33 5.17 2.13

Sandra (H&F) 12 1.00 7.00 4.44 1.83

Sarina (H&F) 12 1.00 7.00 4.00 1.78

Anna (fashion) 12 1.67 8.67 5.08 2.17

Laura (fashion) 12 1.00 8.67 4.92 2.19

Noor (fashion) 12 1.00 8.33 4.53 2.16

Esmee (fashion) 12 1.00 8.67 4.50 2.38

Daphne (fashion) 12 1.00 6.67 4.44 1.65

Annemiek (fashion) 12 1.00 6.67 4.31 1.73

For both niches four influencers were chosen. The influencers were all Dutch and women, but there was a distinction in profile popularity. Each niche consisted of two influencers that had a popular profile and two influencers that had less popular profiles. The influencers that were chosen for the health & fitness niche with a popular profile were Fajah

Lourens (183k followers) and Nochtli Alvarez (1.1 million followers). For the less popular profiles Joy Bouwmeester (52.1k followers) and Fit with Marit (73.8k followers) were chosen. In the fashion niche Anna Nooshin (890k followers) and Noor de Groot (720k followers) were chosen as influencers with a popular profile and Esmee Trouw (38.7k followers) and Laura van Til (38.2k followers) were chosen for the less popular profiles.

22 HEALTH & FITNESS AND FASHION PRODUCT PLACEMENTS

During the online experiment one influencer from each nice was randomly presented to the participants.

Stimuli

The stimuli consisted of Instagram post from four influencers from the health & fitness niche and four influencers from the fashion niche. Each participant was presented with two Instagram posts, one from each niche. After each Instagram post the participants had to answer some questions regarding the content of the post and the influencer. Both posts contained one of the three types of product placement strategies. Figure 2, 3 and 4 present

Instagram post from the health & fitness niche with each a different type of product placement. Figure 5, 6 and 7 present Instagram post from the fashion niche with each a different type of product placement.

Figure 2. Active, health & fitness niche

Figure 3. Non-active, health & fitness niche

23 HEALTH & FITNESS AND FASHION PRODUCT PLACEMENTS

Figure 4. Non-use, health & fitness niche

Figure 5. Active, fashion niche

Figure 6. Non-active, fashion niche

24 HEALTH & FITNESS AND FASHION PRODUCT PLACEMENTS

Figure 7. Non-use, fashion niche

See the appendix (I) for all stimuli that were used for the experiment.

Procedure

First, before the experiment started the main purpose of the study was explained to the participants, they were thanked in advanced for their time, and they were presented with the informed consent (appendix II). They were told that participation was completely voluntarily and they were reassured concerning the confidentiality of the study. If participants agreed to these terms and wanted to take part in the experiment they were asked to press continue and start the experiment. Second, the participants were presented with two stimuli in total. One was an Instagram post from the health & fitness niche and one from the fashion niche. Each stimulus contained the same type of product placement. After the exposure to one stimulus participants were asked to rate the Instagram post on eight items that measured their attitude, answer a question about purchase intention, rate eight items that measured identification and finally rate ten items that measured authenticity. Lastly, a question was asked about the characteristics of the product and participants had to rate the product on three items of the hedonic and utilitarian scale. When participants finished the first stimuli they were presented with another Instagram post from the other niche containing the same type of product placement and they had to answer the same questions. Third, after the experiment the

25 HEALTH & FITNESS AND FASHION PRODUCT PLACEMENTS participants had to answer a few demographic questions concerning their age, education level and Instagram use and then they were done. Lastly, respondents were thanked for their time and participation. Completion of the experiment took approximately seven minutes.

Measurements

The scales that were used to measure the variables in this study are based on previous research. Before any test was performed the reliability of the scales were checked. All scales had a reliable Cronbach’s Alpha as the minimum score was α = .82 and the maximum score was α = .95. Afterwards, the items of each measurement scale were computed into one mean scale.

Advertising effectiveness was measured with three sub-scales, namely attitude towards the advertisement, attitude towards the brand and purchase intention. Attitude towards the advertisement and attitude towards the brand were both measured with a scale that was adapted from Spears and Singh (2004). The scale for attitude towards the advertising was a 7-point semantic differential scale and consisted of the following three items: unreliable

– reliable, insincere – sincere, and untrustworthy – trustworthy (health & fitness Cronbach’s α

= .86, fashion Cronbach’s α = .92). Attitude towards the brand was also measured on a 7- point semantic differential scale and consisted of the following five items: unappealing – appealing, bad – good, unpleasant – pleasant, unfavorable – favorable, and unlikeable – likeable (health & fitness Cronbach’s α = .92, fashion Cronbach’s α = .91). Purchase intention was measured with one item on a 7-point Likert scale (1 = very unlikely to 7 = very likely) asking ‘How likely are you willing to purchase this product?’.

Identification with the influencer was measured with two sub-scales, namely wishful identification and perceived similarity adopted from Hoffner and Buchanan (2005). To measure wishful identification four items on a 7-point Likert scale (1 = totally disagree to 7 = totally agree) were used. Items were: ‘sometimes I wish I could be more like the influencer’,

26 HEALTH & FITNESS AND FASHION PRODUCT PLACEMENTS

‘the influencer is the type of person I want to be like myself’, ‘the influencer is someone I would like to emulate’ and ‘I would like to do the kind of things the influencer does’.

Perceived similarity was also measured on a 7-point Likert scale (1 = totally disagree to 7 = totally agree) and consisted of the following four items: ‘the influencer thinks like me’, ‘the influencer behaves like me’, ‘the influencer is like me’, and ‘the influencer is similar to me’

(health & fitness Cronbach’s α = .91, fashion Cronbach’s α = .95).

Five items adapted from the sub-scale expertise and the sub-scale trustworthiness from the credibility scale by Ohanian (1990) were used to measure influencer authenticity. On a 7- point semantic differential scale participants were asked to rate the influencers’ trustworthiness. Items that were used were: undependable – dependable, dishonest – honest, unreliable – reliable, insincere – sincere, and untrustworthy – trustworthy. Also, expertise was measured on a 7-point semantic differential scale, with as items: not an expert – expert, inexperienced – experienced, unknowledgeable – knowledgeable, unqualified – qualified, and unskilled – skilled (health & fitness Cronbach’s α = .82, fashion Cronbach’s α = .86).

To measure if the products from the different niches presented in the Instagram posts were perceived as hedonic or utilitarian the scale from Voss, Spangenberg and Grohmann

(2003) was used. The hedonic and the utilitarian scale consisted of 12 items but in this study it was used as a control question, therefore only three items per scale were used. The scale for hedonic products consisted of the items not fun – fun, dull – exciting and unenjoyably – enjoyable (health & fitness Cronbach’s α = .87, fashion Cronbach’s α = .87). The utilitarian scale consisted of the items effective – ineffective, functional – not functional and practical – impractical (health & fitness Cronbach’s α = .88, fashion Cronbach’s α = .88). All items were measured on a 7-point semantic differential scale.

The demographics about Instagram use were measured with four questions. Two questions the participants had to answer were about how many times a week they use

27 HEALTH & FITNESS AND FASHION PRODUCT PLACEMENTS

Instagram and how many minutes per day they are active on Instagram. The other two questions were about how many followers they have on Instagram and how many people they follow on Instagram.

Results

The analyses for this study consisted of three Repeated Measures ANOVA that answered H1a, H1b, H4a and H4b and 12 Moderation analyses that answered H2 and H3, using Hayes’ PROCESS v3.3 (Hayes, 2018; model 1; 10.000 samples). First, a Paired Sample

T-test was performed for the manipulation check of product type in the Instagram posts.

Participants had to rate the product they saw in the post on three items of the hedonic and utilitarian scale. Products in the health & fitness niche were seen as more utilitarian (M =

3.81, SD = 1.32) than hedonic (M = 3.61, SD = 1.20). This difference was significant (Mdif =

-0.20, t(200) = -2.38, p = .018). The difference represented a small-sized effect d = .16.

However, products in the fashion niche were not seen as more hedonic (M = 4.07, SD = 1.32) than utilitarian ((M = 4.11, SD = 1.27), Mdif = -0.04, t(200) = -0.45, p = .657).

To test if type of product placement influenced advertising effectiveness (H1a, H1b) and to test if the influence of type of product placement differs for the health & fitness niche and the fashion niche (H4a, H4b), three Repeated Measures ANOVA were performed. Type of product placement strategy was the between-subject factor, niche was the within-subject factor and attitude towards the advertisement, attitude towards the brand and purchase intention were the dependent variables. Furthermore, the following contrasts were taken into account: contrast one consisted of the difference between active product placement and non- active and non-use product placement and contrast two consisted of the difference between non-active product placement and non-use and active product placement. The descriptive statistics regarding the dependent variables, and the moderator variables used for the moderation analysis, can be found below in table 2.

28 HEALTH & FITNESS AND FASHION PRODUCT PLACEMENTS

Table 2. Means and standard deviations of all dependent variables in the models.

Health & Fitness Fashion

Active Non-active Non-use Active Non-active Non-use

Attitude Advertisement M = 3.84 M = 3.48 M = 3.61 M = 4.16 M = 3.99 M = 4.08

SD = 1.28 SD = 1.40 SD = 1.25 SD = 1.41 SD = 1.42 SD = 1.33

Attitude Brand M = 3.87 M = 3.87 M = 3.92 M = 4.41 M = 4.11 M = 4.20

SD = 1.29 SD = 1.20 SD = 1.25 SD = 1.11 SD = 1.15 SD = 1.31

Purchase Intention M = 2.15 M = 2.23 M = 2.16 M = 2.70 M = 2.39 M = 2.36

SD = 1.25 SD = 1.51 SD = 1.42 SD = 1.70 SD = 1.48 SD = 1.57

Identification M = 2.66 M = 2.24 M = 2.26 M = 2.68 M = 2.22 M = 2.42

SD = 1.08 SD = 1.17 SD = 1.02 SD = 1.31 SD = 1.19 SD = 1.22

Authenticity M = 3.97 M = 4.00 M = 4.03 M = 4.24 M = 4.10 M = 4.13

SD = 0.87 SD = 0.82 SD = 0.86 SD = 0.85 SD = 0.78 SD = 0.89

29 HEALTH & FITNESS AND FASHION PRODUCT PLACEMENTS

H1a posed that Instagram posts of influencers that contain active product placement led to higher levels of advertising effectiveness than non-active and non-use product placement. H1b posed that Instagram posts of influencers that contain non-active product placement led to higher levels of advertising effectiveness than non-use product placement.

The test of Between-Subjects Effects in the first Repeated Measures ANOVA showed that there was no significant effect of type of product placement on attitude towards the advertisement F(2, 198) = 1.25, p = .288, partial η2 = .01. The contrast analysis showed that active product placement does not significantly (p = .155) lead to higher levels of attitude towards the advertisement compared to non-active and non-use product placement and non- active product placement also did not significantly (p = .520) led to higher levels of attitude towards the advertisement than non-use product placement.

The second Repeated Measures ANOVA showed no significant effect of type of product placement on attitude towards the brand F(2, 198) = 0.47, p = .625, partial η2 = .01.

The contrast analysis showed that active product placement did not significantly (p = .403) led to higher levels of attitude towards the brand compared to non-active and non-use product placement and non-active product placement also did not significantly (p = .640) led to higher levels of attitude towards the brand than non-use product placement.

The third Repeated Measures ANOVA showed also no significant effect of type of product placement on purchase intention F(2, 198) = 0.39, p = .680, partial η2 = .00. The contrast analysis showed that active product placement did not significantly (p = .398) led to higher levels of purchase intention compared to non-active and non-use product placement and non-active product placement also did not significantly (p = .800) led to higher levels of purchase intention than non-use product placement. Therefore, H1a and H1b were not supported.

30 HEALTH & FITNESS AND FASHION PRODUCT PLACEMENTS

H4a posed that the fashion niche had higher levels of advertising effectiveness when active product placement is used compared non-active and non-use. H4b posed that there were higher levels of advertising effectiveness in the health & fitness niche when non-active or non-use product placement is used compared to active. There was a significant main effect of type of niche on attitude towards the advertisement F(1, 198) = 11.15, p = .001, partial η2 =

.05, showing that attitude towards the advertisement was more positive in the fashion niche

(M = 4.07, SD = 1.38) than in the health & fitness niche (M = 3.64, SD = 1.32). There was no significant interaction effect between type of niche and type of product placement F(2, 198) =

.17, p = .841, partial η2 = .00.

Furthermore, there was a significant main effect of type of niche on attitude towards the brand F(1, 198) = 9.91, p = .002, partial η2 = .05, showing that attitude towards the brand was more positive in the fashion niche (M = 4.24, SD = 1.19) than in the health & fitness niche (M = 3.88, SD = 1.24). There was no significant interaction effect between type of niche and type of product placement F(2, 198) = .71, p = .492, partial η2 = .01.

Lastly, there was a significant main effect of type of niche on purchase intention F(1,

198) = 4.86, p = .029, partial η2 = .02, showing that there was more purchase intention in the fashion niche (M = 2.48, SD = 1.58) than in the health & fitness niche (M = 2.18, SD = 1.39).

There was no significant interaction effect between type of niche and type of product placement F(2, 198) = .82, p = .440, partial η2 = .01. Therefore, H4a and H4b were not supported.

H2 posed that the differences in advertising effectiveness of Instagram posts that contained an active type of product placement than non-active and non-use product placement was greater for people who identify with the influencer than for people who do not identify with the influencer. H3 posed that the differences in advertising effectiveness of Instagram posts that contained an active type of product placement than non-active and non-use product

31 HEALTH & FITNESS AND FASHION PRODUCT PLACEMENTS placement was greater for people who perceive the influencer as authentic than for people who do not perceive the influencer as authentic. To answer H2 and H3 and test if identification with the influencer and authenticity of the influencer moderates the relationship of type of product placement on advertising effectiveness, 12 Moderation analyses were performed. In the analyses, type of product placement was taken into account as a continuous variable, as expected there was a linear effect on advertising effectiveness with active use leading to most advertising effectiveness, non-use to the least, and non-active use in between.

When checking assumptions for the Moderation a Multiple Regression analysis was used. Results showed that assumptions were met for all 12 analyses. The correlations for all

12 analyses were checked and the means and standard deviations were good. There was no evidence for floor (all means being < 1.00) or ceiling (all means begin > 5.00) effects. Also, there was no suspicion of multicollinearity, because the correlations were not greater than .90.

The assumption of multicollinearity was met, as the VIF and Tolerance statistics were good

(all VIF < 9.94, average VIF = 7.23, all Tolerance > .10). In one model the VIF and Tolerance statistics are higher (all VIF < 29.00, average VIF = 20.10, all Tolerance > .03). However, multicollinearity can be a lot higher when an interaction variable is included in the model, thus there was no need to worry. The largest Cook’s distance was .11 and the assumption for influential cases was also met. All the Durbin Watson statistics were close to two with a minimum score of 1.90 and maximum score of 2.15, which means that the residuals were uncorrelated. Unless noted differentially, the assumption of normality was met, as the

Kolmogorov-Smirnoff tests were not significant. Finally, the assumption of heteroscedasticity and non-linearity were also met as all the plots showed results that did not funnel and were a random array of dots.

In analyses one to six, identification with the influencer was the moderator. In the first and second model attitude towards the advertisement was the dependent variable. The

32 HEALTH & FITNESS AND FASHION PRODUCT PLACEMENTS analysis of the first model, for the health & fitness niche, showed a significant outcome of the overall model R2 = .14, F(3, 197) = 10.72, p < .001, 95% CI [3.49, 3.84]. Identification with the health & fitness influencer had a main effect on attitude towards the advertisement.

Higher levels of identification led to higher levels of attitude towards the advertisement (b =

.42, SE = .08, p < .001, 95% CI [0.27, 0.58]). Type of product placement did not have a significant main effect on attitude towards the advertisement (b = -.04, SE = .11, p = .699,

95% CI [-0.26, 0.17]). There was also no significant interaction effect between identification with the influencer and type of product placement on attitude towards the advertisement (b =

.19, SE = .10, p = .069, 95% CI [-0.01, 0.39]). The second model, for the fashion niche, also showed a significant outcome of the overall model R2 = .16, F(3, 197) = 12.10, p < .001, 95%

CI [3.91, 4.27]. Identification with the fashion influencer had a main effect on attitude towards the advertisement. Higher levels of identification led to higher levels of attitude towards the advertisement (b = .43, SE = .07, p < .001, 95% CI [0.29, 0.57]). Type of product placement did not have a significant main effect on attitude towards the advertisement (b = -

.00, SE = .11, p = .968, 95% CI [-0.23, 0.22]). There was also no significant interaction effect between identification with the influencer and type of product placement on attitude towards the advertisement (b = .15, SE = .09, p = .105, 95% CI [-0.03, 0.32]).

In the third model, for the health & fitness niche, and fourth model for the fashion niche, attitude towards the brand was the dependent variable. For the third model the assumption of normality was not met as the Kolmogorov-Smirnoff test was significant

(D(201) = .07, p = .041). Therefore, bootstrap was performed as a solution. The interpretation of the analysis showed a significant outcome of the overall model R2 = .18, F(3, 197) = 14.15, p < .001, 95% CI [3.73, 4.05]. Identification with the health & fitness influencer had a main effect on attitude towards the brand. Higher levels of identification led to higher levels of attitude towards the brand (b = .48, SE = .07, p < .001, 95% CI [0.33, 0.62]). Type of product

33 HEALTH & FITNESS AND FASHION PRODUCT PLACEMENTS placement did not have a significant main effect on attitude towards the brand (b = .12, SE =

.10, p = .238, 95% CI [-0.08, 0.32]). There was also no significant interaction effect between identification with the influencer and type of product placement on attitude towards the brand

(b = .08, SE = .09, p = .386, 95% CI [-0.10, 0.27]). The fourth model showed a significant outcome of the overall model R2 = .22, F(3, 197) = 18.93, p < .001, 95% CI [4.11, 4.40].

Identification with the fashion influencer had a main effect on attitude towards the brand.

Higher levels of identification led to higher levels of attitude towards the brand (b = .43, SE =

.06, p < .001, 95% CI [-0.32, 0.55]). Type of product placement did not have a significant main effect on attitude towards the brand (b = -.07, SE = .09, p = .449, 95% CI [-0.25, 0.11]).

Importantly, there was a significant interaction effect between identification with the influencer and type of product placement on attitude towards the brand (b = .17, SE = .07, p =

.019, 95% CI [0.03, 0.32]). The effect of identification with the influencer and type of product placement on attitude towards the brand for the -1SD (b = -.29, SE = .14, p = .035) and +1SD

(b = .15, SE = .13, p = .241), showed that when identification with the influencer was low and consumers saw non-use product placement there were higher levels of attitude towards the brand compared to active and non-active product placement. The interaction effect can be seen in figure 8.

Figure 8. The interaction effect between identification with the influencer and type of product placement on attitude towards the brand.

34 HEALTH & FITNESS AND FASHION PRODUCT PLACEMENTS

In the fifth model, for the health & fitness niche, and sixth model, for the fashion niche, purchase intention was the dependent variable. For both models the assumption of normality was not met as the Kolmogorov-Smirnoff test was significant (D(201) = .15, p <

.001) and (D(201) = .11, p = .000). Therefore, bootstrap was performed as a solution. The analysis of the fifth model showed a significant outcome of the overall model R2 = .27, F(3,

197) = 24.44, p < .001, 95% CI [2.05, 2.39]. Identification with the health & fitness influencer had a main effect on purchase intention. Higher levels of identification led to higher levels of purchase intention (b = .63, SE = .08, p < .001, 95% CI [0.48, 0.78]). Type of product placement did not have a significant main effect on purchase intention (b = -.11, SE = .11, p =

.290, 95% CI [-0.10, 0.32]). Importantly, there was a significant interaction effect between identification with the influencer and type of product placement on purchase intention (b =

.29, SE = .10, p = .004, 95% CI [0.09, 0.48]). The effect of identification with the influencer and type of product placement on purchase intention for the -1SD (b = -.21, SE = .16, p =

.193) and +1SD (b = .43, SE = .15, p = .004), showed that when identification with the influencer was high and consumers saw active product placement there were higher levels of purchase intention compared to non-active and non-use product placement. The interaction effect can be seen in figure 9.

Figure 9. The interaction effect between identification with the influencer and type of product placement on purchase intention.

35 HEALTH & FITNESS AND FASHION PRODUCT PLACEMENTS

The interpretation of the sixth model, showed a significant outcome of the overall model R2 = .29, F(3, 197) = 26.24, p < .001, 95% CI [2.30, 2.67]. Identification with the fashion influencer had a main effect on purchase intention. Higher levels of identification led to higher levels of purchase intention (b = .67, SE = .08, p < .001, 95% CI [0.52, 0.82]). Type of product placement did not have a significant main effect on purchase intention (b = -.09,

SE = .12, p = .466, 95% CI [-0.32, 0.15]). There was also no significant interaction effect between identification with the influencer and type of product placement on purchase intention (b = .02, SE = .09, p = .848, 95% CI [-0.17, 0.20]).

Concluding, H2 was only partly supported. Two of the six models showed a significant interaction effect, but one was the opposite of what was expected. Identification with the influencer in the fashion niche did not moderate the relationship between type of product placement and attitude towards the brand in the expected direction. When a consumer had lower levels of identification with the influencer and non-use product placement was used there were higher levels of attitude towards the brand. Identification with the influencer in the health & fitness niche did moderate the relationship between type of product placement and purchase intention in the expected direction. When a consumer had higher levels of identification and active product placement was used there were higher levels of purchase intention.

In analyses seven to twelve, authenticity of the influencer was the moderator. In the seventh and eighth model attitude towards the advertisement was the dependent variable. The interpretation of the seventh model, for the health & fitness niche, showed a significant outcome of the overall model R2 = .37, F(3, 197) = 38.89, p < .001, 95% CI [3.49, 3.79].

Authenticity of the health & fitness influencer had a main effect on attitude towards the advertisement. Higher levels of authenticity led to higher levels of attitude towards the advertisement (b = .94, SE = .09, p < .001, 95% CI [0.77, 1.12]). Type of product placement

36 HEALTH & FITNESS AND FASHION PRODUCT PLACEMENTS had no significant main effect on attitude towards the advertisement (b = -.14, SE = .09, p =

.126, 95% CI [-0.32, 0.04]). There was also no significant interaction effect between authenticity of the influencer and type of product placement on attitude towards the advertisement (b = -.02, SE = .12, p = .865, 95% CI [-0.23, 0.19]). The eighth model, for the fashion niche, showed a significant outcome of the overall model R2 = .47, F(3, 197) = 58.94, p < .001, 95% CI [3.93, 4.22]. Authenticity of the fashion influencer had a main effect on attitude towards the advertisement. Higher levels of authenticity led to higher levels of attitude towards the advertisement (b = 1.14, SE = .09, p < .001, 95% CI [0.97, 1.31]). Type of product placement had no significant main effect on attitude towards the advertisement (b

= .02, SE = .09, p = .816, 95% CI [-0.15, 0.20]). There was also no significant interaction effect between authenticity of the influencer and type of product placement on attitude towards the advertisement (b = .02, SE = .10, p = .823, 95% CI [-0.18, 0.22]).

In the ninth model, for the health & fitness niche, and tenth model, for the fashion niche, attitude towards the brand was the dependent variable. The interpretation of the ninth analysis, showed a significant outcome of the overall model R2 = .35, F(3, 197) = 35.82, p <

.001, 95% CI [3.75, 4.03]. Authenticity of the health & fitness influencer had a main effect on attitude towards the brand. Higher levels of authenticity led to higher levels of attitude towards the brand (b = .86, SE = .08, p < .001, 95% CI [0.69, 1.02]). Type of product placement had no significant main effect on attitude towards the brand (b = .00, SE = .09, p =

.960, 95% CI [-0.17, 0.18]). There was also no significant interaction effect between authenticity of the influencer and type of product placement on attitude towards the brand (b

= -.17, SE = .10, p = .109, 95% CI [0.37, 0.04]). The tenth model showed a significant outcome of the overall model R2 = .48, F(3, 197) = 60.39, p < .001, 95% CI [4.12, 4.36].

Authenticity of the fashion influencer had a main effect on attitude towards the brand. Higher levels of authenticity led to higher levels of attitude towards the brand (b = .98, SE = .07, p <

37 HEALTH & FITNESS AND FASHION PRODUCT PLACEMENTS

.001, 95% CI [0.83, 1.12]). Type of product placement had no significant main effect on attitude towards the brand (b = -.05, SE = .08, p = .489, 95% CI [-0.20, 0.10]). There was also no significant interaction effect between authenticity of the influencer and type of product placement on attitude towards the brand (b = .05, SE = .09, p = .587, 95% CI [-0.13, 0.22]).

In the eleventh model, for the health & fitness niche, and twelfth model, for the fashion niche, purchase intention was the dependent variable. For both models the assumption of normality was not met as the Kolmogorov-Smirnoff test was significant (D(201) = .11, p <

.001) and (D(201) = .11, p < .001). Therefore, bootstrap was performed as a solution. The interpretation of the eleventh model showed a significant outcome of the overall model R2 =

.26, F(3, 197) = 23.40, p < .001, 95% CI [2.01, 2.34]. Authenticity of the health & fitness influencer had a main effect on purchase intention. Higher levels of authenticity led to higher levels of purchase intention (b = .83, SE = .10, p < .001, 95% CI [0.64, 1.03]). Type of product placement had no significant main effect on purchase intention (b = -.02, SE = .11, p

= .857, 95% CI [-0.23, 0.19]). There was also no significant interaction effect between authenticity of the influencer and type of product placement on purchase intention (b = .16,

SE = .12, p = .197, 95% CI [-0.09, 0.40]). Model twelve showed a significant outcome of the overall model R2 = .20, F(3, 197) = 16.48, p < .001, 95% CI [2.28, 2.68]. Authenticity of the fashion influencer had a main effect on purchase intention. Higher levels of authenticity led to higher levels of purchase intention (b = .83, SE = .12, p < .001, 95% CI [0.59, 1.06]). Type of product placement had no significant main effect on purchase intention (b = -.12, SE = .12, p

= .338, 95% CI [-0.37, 0.13]). There was also no significant interaction effect between authenticity of the influencer and type of product placement on purchase intention (b = -.16,

SE = .14, p = .268, 95% CI [-0.44, 0.12]).

All in all, H3 was not supported as all models showed a main effect of authenticity of the influencer on advertising effectiveness and no model showed a significant interaction

38 HEALTH & FITNESS AND FASHION PRODUCT PLACEMENTS effect between authenticity of the influencer and type of product placement on advertising effectiveness.

Discussion

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of different types of product placement strategies in influencers’ Instagram posts on advertising effectiveness in the health

& fitness niche and the fashion niche. Also, the moderating roles of identification with the influencer and authenticity of the influencer on product placement and advertising effectiveness were investigated. No support was found for the effect of type of product placement on advertising effectiveness. The results do show that there are differences in the type of niche on advertising effectiveness. In the fashion niche there are higher levels of advertising effectiveness than in the health & fitness niche. The results show no evidence for type of product placement influencing advertising effectiveness in the different niches.

Furthermore, identification with the influencer and authenticity of the influencer affected advertising effectiveness. When someone identifies with an influencer or perceives an influencer as authentic there are higher levels of advertising effectiveness. Authenticity of the influencer does not affect the relationship between type of product placement and advertising effectiveness. However, identification with the influencer does moderate the relationship between type of product placement and purchase intention in the health & fitness niche and type of product placement and attitude towards the brand in the fashion niche.

It was expected that Instagram posts of influencers that contain active product placement would lead to higher levels of advertising effectiveness than non-active and non- use product placement (H1a) and non-active product placement would lead to higher levels of advertising effectiveness compared to non-use product placement (H1b). In contrast to what was expected, the results show that type of product placement does not affect advertising effectiveness. This means that according to this study it does not matter which type of product

39 HEALTH & FITNESS AND FASHION PRODUCT PLACEMENTS placement strategy is used in Instagram posts to gain the best results in advertising effectiveness.

An explanation why this study did not find results may be due to the fact that people perceive endorsed Instagram post, independently of type of product placement strategy, as advertisements. Based on previous research, it was expected that active product placement would lead to more advertising effectiveness compared to non-active and non-use product placement, because it contains more interaction and a human face, which may decrease the perception of an advertisement. Also, according to Sertoglu, Catli and Korkmaz (2014) consumer’s purchase intention is increased if they genuine believe and like the content that an influencer posts. Because active product placement creates more engagement and are liked more it was expected that there was more advertising effectiveness for this type of product placement. However, if endorsed Instagram posts are seen as advertisements consumers might doubt the sincerity of the post.

Furthermore, it was expected that people who identify more with the influencer would have greater differences in advertising effectiveness of Instagram posts that contain an active type of product placement than non-active and non-use product placement compared to people who identify less with the influencer (H2). As expected, identification with the influencer influences advertising effectiveness. Higher levels of identification result in higher levels of advertising effectiveness. The desires to be like an influencer and the connectedness with an influencer positively affect advertising effectiveness. However, identification with the influencer did not fully moderate the relationship of type of product placement and advertising effectiveness as how it was expected. Only two out of the six cases showed evidence for this effect and one was in the opposite direction to what was expected. In the health & fitness niche, active product placement leads to more purchase intention compared to non-active and non-use product placement when there are higher levels of identification. In

40 HEALTH & FITNESS AND FASHION PRODUCT PLACEMENTS contrast to what was expected, there is a negative effect of active product placement on attitude towards the advertisement. In the fashion niche non-use product placement leads to more attitude towards the brand compared to non-active and active product placement when there are lower levels of identification.

An explanation for finding an effect on purchase intention in the health & fitness niche and not in the fashion niche, may be due to the fact that active product placement is more obvious in the health & fitness niche. When active product placement is used in the health & fitness niche, consumers can clearly see how to use the product (e.g. elastic resistance bands).

Because consumers see the product in use they also see what its value and function is, which affect purchase intention. Thus, active use of a health & fitness product enhances the feeling of experiencing the functional and practical value of the product and leads to intentions to buy the product. In the fashion niche there are less possibilities to actively use a product, besides wearing it, compared to the health & fitness niche. Therefore, there is no effect on purchase intention in the fashion niche.

However, the effect of active product placement on purchase intention is only present when consumers identify with the influencer. Looking at the influencer and aspects like what she wears, how she looks and what kind of product she endorses, help decide if someone identifies with the influencer. Therefore, the use of active product placement in an Instagram post in the health & fitness niche can help someone imagine if they would use the product or if it would suit them based on how similar they perceive themselves to the influencer. Thus, when consumers see the product in use and how it would suit them, it results in more purchase intention when they identify with the influencer.

Furthermore, when consumers do not identify with a fashion influencer and they see an Instagram post with active product placement they have less positive feelings and attitudes towards the brand and advertising effectiveness low. However, when consumers do not

41 HEALTH & FITNESS AND FASHION PRODUCT PLACEMENTS identify with the influencer and they see an Instagram post with non-use product placement, there are more positive feelings and attitudes towards the brand and advertising effectiveness is higher. When a consumer does not identify with an influencer, they do not care about how a product looks on an influencer. Active product placement may decrease the perception a consumer has of a brand, because it is less visible due to the influencer. When they see an

Instagram post with non-use product placement only the product is visible and a better perception of the brand is possible. Thus, when no identification is present consumers need an

Instagram post where the influencer is not visible to have more positive attitudes towards the brand.

Besides, it was not only expected that identification would moderate the relationship between type of product placement and advertising effectiveness. In this study, authenticity of the influencer was also expected to be a moderator. It was expected that people who perceived the influencer as authentic would have greater differences in advertising effectiveness of

Instagram posts that contain an active type of product placement than non-active and non-use product placement compared to people who perceived the influencer as less authentic (H3).

As expected, authenticity of the influencer influences advertising effectiveness. Higher levels of authenticity result in higher levels of advertising effectiveness. The authentic characteristics of an influencer positively affect advertising effectiveness. In contrast to expectations, authenticity of the influencer does not moderate the relationship between type of product placement and advertising effectiveness. Thus, active product placement does not increase advertising effectiveness compared to non-active and non-use product placement when perceived authenticity is high.

An explanation for why identification has certain effects but no effects were found for authenticity could be that deciding if an influencer is authentic based on one Instagram post is quite difficult, especially if the influencer is not visible. It can take some time before an

42 HEALTH & FITNESS AND FASHION PRODUCT PLACEMENTS influencer is perceived as authentic, because this is based on the personal characteristics of the influencer and getting to know the influencer. Whereas identification can be formed more on one Instagram post, as this is more based on the personal characteristics of the consumer and the presence of social identity cues. A study by Peña et al. (2019) shows that there is an effect of human cues on identification. The presence of human cues, such as Instagram name and profile picture, influences a consumer’s identification. Thus, influencers do not have to be visible in an Instagram post for consumers to identify themselves with the influencers. This explains why identification affects type of product placement and advertising effectiveness, as identification is also present in an Instagram post that includes non-use product placement.

For authenticity this is not the case. Finding personal characteristics that make an influencer authentic in an Instagram post that contains non-use or non-active product placement is quite impossible, as the influencer is not visible. It is difficult to get to know someone when you do not see someone or see someone only one time and perhaps for the first time.

Lastly, it was expected that in the fashion niche there would be higher levels of advertising effectiveness when active product placement is used compared to non-active and non-use (H4a) and in the health & fitness niche there would be higher levels of advertising effectiveness when non-active or non-use product placement is used compared to active

(H4b). Based on the differences between hedonic and utilitarian products it was expected that differences would be found between the two niches. Overall, there is more advertising effectiveness in the fashion nice than in the health & fitness niche. Thus, the fashion niche may be a more interesting niche for marketeers as a whole.

However, against expectations there were no differences in the interaction between the two niches and the type of product placement on advertising effectiveness. An explanation why no differences were found may be due to the fact that the manipulation check was not fully significant. As expected, products in the health & fitness niche were seen as more

43 HEALTH & FITNESS AND FASHION PRODUCT PLACEMENTS utilitarian. However, the products used in this study for the fashion niche were not seen as more hedonic. There was no difference in hedonic and utilitarian perception for the fashion products. This may be due to the kind of products that were chosen. The fashion products in this study were bags and shoes. People might perceive these products not only as hedonic but also as utilitarian because bags and shoes also have a functional value. These products are not just for show but also used for walking and carrying stuff in. Other fashion products, for example, jewellery have less utilitarian value and might have been perceived as more hedonic. Therefore, fashion products should be used that have a clearer distinction between hedonic and utilitarian values.

Furthermore, the distinction between utilitarian and hedonic values not being clear enough may explain why no results were found for higher levels of advertising effectiveness when active product placement was used in the fashion niche. Due to the fact that the fashion products were not perceived as more hedonic but they also have an utilitarian value, consumers might want to see a bag from up close to see the details and functional values of the product and then decide if the like it or not. Also, the hedonic values of the products in the fashion niche have an effect on consumer’s likeability towards the product and the desire to experience the feeling of owning the product. However, the products in the fashion niche are quite fancy and expensive (e.g. Chanel bag) and for most consumers not affordable.

Therefore, seeing influencers using these products does not increase advertising effectiveness, because the products fall outside the consumer’s budget and are not realistic for them to purchase. Lastly, in the health & fitness niche higher levels of advertising effectiveness were expected when non-active or non-use product placement was used. However, due to the utilitarian value of health & fitness products consumers may not only want to see the product up close but also want to see it in use. This way they can see the functional and practical values of the product, how to use it and what effect it has.

44 HEALTH & FITNESS AND FASHION PRODUCT PLACEMENTS

Theoretical and practical implications

This study contributes to the field of product placement strategies on social media and especially in the health & fitness and fashion niche, which has limited research available.

There are only a few studies that investigated the effects of Instagram endorsements and these did not make a clear distinction between niches. Nowadays, there is more and more interest in type of product placement strategies on Instagram, as this platform is crucial in organization’s social media marketing strategy and especially in their influencer marketing strategy. This study did not find support for the effect of type of product placement strategy on advertising effectiveness, indicating that type of product placement does not matter in Instagram posts for advertising effectiveness.

However, previous research did find evidence for active type of product placement on recognition, brand recall, consumer engagement and advertising effectiveness (e.g. Gupta &

Lord, 1998; Russell, 1998). The gap here may be due to the fact that these studies investigated product placement in movies and on TV. So why do different types of product placement strategies work in movies and on TV, but do not have the same effect for Instagram endorsements? Perhaps product placement on Instagram works differently because an endorsement is more obvious on Instagram. In movies and on TV there are a lot more distractions, which make product placement less obvious. When people watch a movie they pay attention to what is happening in the storyline and to the actors. They do not think about whether the can of coke the actor is holding is an advertisement. On Instagram there are less distractions and an endorsed post is more in your face no matter what type of product placement is used, because there is not much left to look at than the picture.

A consequence could be that people think more about what they see in an endorsed

Instagram post. For example, the products endorsed by fashion influencers (e.g. Chanel bag) may not be realistic for the audience to purchase. Therefore, the Instagram post might create

45 HEALTH & FITNESS AND FASHION PRODUCT PLACEMENTS negative thoughts with the audience, because they are more conscious about the post, independently of the type of product placement that is used to endorse the product. These thoughts may arise because consumers are aware that they are looking at an advertisement and they form an opinion about it.

In addition, this is the first study that focused on two particular niches on Instagram. It became clear that there are differences between the two niches. Overall, in the fashion niche there is more advertising effectiveness than in the health & fitness niche. However, there were no clear differences in the type of niche and type of product placement, indicating that different types of products do not need different types of product placement strategies. Maybe it does not matter with which type of product placement strategy a product in the health & fitness is endorsed, because the products are perceived as more utilitarian. When people find a product more functional type of product placement does not matter, because the functional characteristics are perceived in all of them.

However, when products are perceived as more hedonic type of product placement maybe does matter. In the fashion niche the products were expected to be more hedonic, but there was no clear distinction between utilitarian and hedonic values. If other products are used in the fashion niche that do have more hedonic value perceptions, there may be more advertising effectiveness when active product placement is used. Due to the experience characteristics and social values that hedonic products contain, type of product placement for these products may need more attention for the endorsement to be effective compared to products where the utilitarian value is more dominant. When a hedonic product is endorsed with non-active or non-use product placement the values and characteristics of the product might not come across, which makes the advertisement less effective. If active product placement is used consumers may find the advertisement more effective as they perceive the experience values of the product better, because the influencer is interacting with it.

46 HEALTH & FITNESS AND FASHION PRODUCT PLACEMENTS

Identification with the influencer and authenticity of the influencer are important aspects that explain how advertising effectiveness is increased in general. The effect of advertising effectiveness is stronger when identification or authenticity is present compared to when they are not present. As mentioned above, type of product placement strategy does not affect advertising effectiveness on its own. However, type of product placement has an effect on advertising effectiveness when identification with the influencer is present. When consumers identify with an influencer they care more about the content of the Instagram post and that the product is actively shown so they can decide if they want the product for themselves. Thus, to increase advertising effectiveness type of product placement does matter when consumers identify with an influencer.

Furthermore, authenticity does not affect the relationship between product placement strategies and advertising effectiveness. It was expected that advertising effectiveness would increase for influencers who use an active type of product placement when they are perceived as authentic. However, authenticity is not found as a moderator for this relationship. Previous research stated that authenticity leads to close connection, trust and confidence in the influencer (Woods, 2016). Active use was seen as more believable due to its real-life setting, compared to simply posting the product, and would enhance trust. Nowadays, there are so many influencers on Instagram that want to show the perfect picture, which may make them all similar and less believable. Also, this perfect picture might include products that are not realistic to purchase for the consumer, which decreases the perception of a real-life setting.

Therefore, real-life settings are not that easily perceived as authenticity anymore and trust and confidence is more difficult to evolve.

Companies keep incorporating influencer marketing in their social media marketing strategy, as it is very profitable (Talkwalker, 2018). However, before making this profit with a successful influencer marketing strategy there are some important aspects to keep in mind.

47 HEALTH & FITNESS AND FASHION PRODUCT PLACEMENTS

Firstly, companies must collaborate with influencers who consumers identify with and find authentic, as this enhances advertising effectiveness. The engagement between influencers and consumers can increase perceived similarity, which results in more identification with the influencer. When people identify more with an influencer they tend to adapt their behavior and opinion. For companies it is important to find influencers that have close engagement with their consumers, because due to this engagement on Instagram more advertising effectiveness is created (Mediakix, 2019). Also, the authenticity of an influencer enhances the connection with consumers and makes the endorsement more trustworthy, which increases advertising effectiveness. Therefore, it may not really matter what type of endorsement a company has with an influencer, as long as they collaborate with an influencer who their consumers identify with or find authentic.

Secondly, the association consumers make with a product and how they perceive its value is important to know for a company. Companies want consumers to have a positive relationship with their products and want the products to come across in the best way possible. Therefore, knowing in what niche your product suits the most and what type of product placement results in more advertising effectiveness matters. In the fashion niche there are higher levels of advertising effectiveness. Thus, the best way for a company to endorse a product is with an influencer from the fashion niche that consumers can identify with or find authentic. However, endorsements in the health & fitness niche can also lead to advertising effectiveness. Clearly presenting the functional characteristics of a product in an Instagram post, for example with active product placement, enhances consumer’s purchase intention.

All in all, it is important to remember that type of niche, identification with the influencer and authenticity of the influencer all matter when companies want successful endorsements that increase advertising effectiveness.

48 HEALTH & FITNESS AND FASHION PRODUCT PLACEMENTS

Limitations and future suggestions

Reflecting on this study, an aspect that might have affected the obtained results are the investigated products. As expected, the products used in the health & fitness niche were perceived as more utilitarian than hedonic. However, the manipulation checked showed a non-significant result for the products used in the fashion niche. These products were not perceived as more hedonic than utilitarian. For these products it was expected that there would be higher levels of advertising effectiveness in the fashion niche when active product placement was used, due to the experience value these products contain. Overall, there was only the effect of type of niche on advertising effectiveness but there was no interaction effect of type of product placement on advertising effectiveness in these niches. The distinctions in hedonic and utilitarian value for the products used in the fashion niche were not as clear as expected and may have affected the results to compare niches. For future research it is advised to first investigate which products are perceived as more hedonic than utilitarian. It could be valuable to research several products in different branches and see how they are perceived. This way, a clear line can be drawn between the types of products and their values and uncertainties about how a product is perceived can be eliminated.

Furthermore, it was expected to find main effects of type of product placement on advertising effectiveness independently of type of niche. This study used existing and quite known brands in the Instagram posts. This might have affected the results as well. Previous research shows that people do not only have a connection with the influencer but also with the endorsed brand (Long & Schiffman, 2000). People can identify and feel close to a brand as well. Therefore, seeing a known brand in the Instagram posts might have influenced someone’s perception of the Instagram posts. People might already have an opinion about a certain brand, therefore it does not matter anymore how the brand is shown in the advertisement. Also, the products shown in the Instagram post may have been products that

49 HEALTH & FITNESS AND FASHION PRODUCT PLACEMENTS were unsuited to the consumer. A Chanel bag may not have been a realistic product to the respondents. This can explain why no results were found for type of product placement.

Future studies can keep the brand and feasibility of the product in mind as well. For example, they can investigate if there are differences in advertising effectiveness when unknown brands are used. These results can be valuable for scientific research as the results are not be biased by known brands but they can also be valuable for existing and new brands.

This study is a useful starting point for increasing advertising effectiveness in the health & fitness and fashion niche on Instagram. It shows that both identification with the influencer and authenticity of the influencer enhance advertising effectiveness. Therefore, it is important to carefully choose who endorses a product. Furthermore, not only who endorses the product is important but this study also shows the first signs of the importance of how a product is endorsed.

In sum, the goal of this study was to investigate different types of product placement strategies (active vs. non-active vs. non-use) on advertising effectiveness, how identification and authenticity moderate this relationship and to investigate to what extent these differences were present in different niches (health & fitness vs. fashion). According to the results of this study, when identification and authenticity are present there is more advertising effectiveness.

There is a small effect of type of product placement on purchase intention when identification is high, as active product placement affects purchase intention compared to non-active and non-use product placement. When identification with the influencer is low there is a small effect of type of product placement on attitude towards the brand, as non-use product placement lead to higher levels of attitude towards the brand compared to non-active and active product placement. Therefore, it is worth it to keep these types of product placements in mind for endorsements in these niches. Also, companies should always collaborate with influencers who their consumers identify with or find authentic.

50 HEALTH & FITNESS AND FASHION PRODUCT PLACEMENTS

References

Audrezet, A., De Kerviler, G., & Guidry Moulard, J. (2018). Authenticity under threat: When

social media influencers need to go beyond self-presentation. Journal of Business

Research. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.07.008

Bakhshi, S., Shamma, D. A., & Gilbert, E. (2014). Faces engage us: Photos with faces attract

more likes and comments on Instagram. Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on

Human factors in computing systems, 14, 965-974. Retrieved from

https://doi.org/10.1145/2556288.2557403

Balasubramanian, S. K. (1994). Beyond advertising and publicity: Hybrid messages and

public policy issues. Journal of Advertising, 23(4), 29-46.

doi:10.1080/00913367.1943.10673457

Balasubramanian, S. K., Patwardhan, H., Pillai, D., & Coker, K. K. (2014). Modeling attitude

constructs in movie product placements. Journal of Product & Brand

Management, 23(7), 516-531. doi:10.1108/jpbm-04-2014-0552

Bernazzani, S. (2018, May 3). The decline of organic Facebook reach & how to adjust to the

Algorithm [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/facebook-

organic-reach-declining

Brennan, I., Dubas, K. M., & Babin, L. A. (1999). The influence of product-placement type

& exposure time on product-placement recognition. International Journal of

Advertising, 18(3), 323-337. doi:10.1080/02650487.1999.11104764

Calder, B. J., Malthouse, E. C., & Schaedel, U. (2009). An experimental study of the

relationship between online engagement and advertising effectiveness. Journal of

Interactive Marketing, 23(4), 321-331. doi:10.1016/j.intmar.2009.07.002

Casaló, L. V., Flavián, C., & Ibáñez-Sánchez, S. (2018). Influencers on Instagram:

Antecedents and consequences of opinion leadership. Journal of Business Research.

51 HEALTH & FITNESS AND FASHION PRODUCT PLACEMENTS

Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.07.005 d'Astous, A., & Chartier, F. (2000). A study of factors affecting consumer evaluations and

memory of product placements in movies. Journal of Current Issues & Research in

Advertising, 22(2), 31-40. doi:10.1080/10641734.2000.10505106

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.

doi:10.1080/02650487.2017.1348035

Dekker, K., & Van Reijmersdal, E. A. (2013). Disclosing celebrity endorsement in a

television program to mitigate persuasion: How disclosure type and celebrity

credibility interact. Journal of Promotion Management, 19(2), 224-240.

doi:10.1080/10496491.2013.769473

Dhar, R., & Wertenbroch, K. (2000). Consumer choice between hedonic and utilitarian

goods. Journal of Marketing Research, 37(1), 60-71. doi:10.1509/jmkr.37.1.60.18718

Dictionary. (2020). Real-life. Retrieved from https://www.dictionary.com/browse/real-life

Djafarova, E., & Rushworth, C. (2017). Exploring the credibility of online celebrities'

Instagram profiles in influencing the purchase decisions of young female

users. Computers in Human Behavior, 68, 1-7. Retrieved from

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.11.009

Gordon, L. (2018, December 16). Instagram niches and why they are important. Retrieved

from https://medium.com/@LenfGordon/instagram-niches-and-why-they-are-

important-1550c18a86e3

Gupta, P. B., & Lord, K. R. (1998). Product placement in movies: The effect of prominence

and mode on audience recall. Journal of Current Issues & Research in

Advertising, 20(1), 47-59. doi:10.1080/10641734.1998.10505076

52 HEALTH & FITNESS AND FASHION PRODUCT PLACEMENTS

Hoffner, C., & Buchanan, M. (2005). Young adults' wishful identification with television

characters: The role of perceived similarity and character attributes. Media

Psychology, 7(4), 325-351. doi:10.1207/S1532785XMEP0704_2

Hollebeek, L. D., Glynn, M. S., & Brodie, R. J. (2014). Consumer brand engagement in social

media: Conceptualization, scale development and validation. Journal of Interactive

Marketing, 28(2), 149-165. doi:10.1016/j.intmar.2013.12.002

Holmberg, C., E. Chaplin, J., Hillman, T., & Berg, C. (2016). Adolescents' presentation of

food in social media: An explorative study. Appetite, 99, 121-129. Retrieved from

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2016.01.009

Jaakonmäki, R., Müller, O., & Vom Brocke, J. (2017, January). The impact of content,

context, and creator on user engagement in social media marketing. Proceedings of

the 50th Hawaii international conference on system sciences. Retrieved from

https://doi,org/10.24251/HICSS.2017.136

Kelman, H. C. (2006). Interests, relationships, identities: Three central issues for individuals

and groups in negotiating their social environment. Annual Review of

Psychology, 57(1), 1-26. doi:10.1146/annurev.psych.57.102904.190156

Khamis, S., Ang, L., & Welling, R. (2017). Self-branding, ‘micro-celebrity’ and the rise of

social media influencers. Celebrity Studies, 8(2), 191-208.

doi:10.1080/19392397.2016.1218292

Kosenko, K. A., Binder, A. R., & Hurley, R. (2016). Celebrity influence and identification: a

test of the Angelina effect. Journal of Health Communication, 21(3), 318-326.

doi:10.1080/10810730.2015.1064498

Lin, H., Bruning, P. F., & Swarna, H. (2018). Using online opinion leaders to promote the

hedonic and utilitarian value of products and services. Business Horizons, 61(3), 431-

442. doi:10.1016/j.bushor.2018.01.010

53 HEALTH & FITNESS AND FASHION PRODUCT PLACEMENTS

Liu, S. H., Chou, C. H., & Liao, H. L. (2015). An exploratory study of product placement in

social media. Internet Research, 25(2), 300-316. doi:10.1108/IntR-12-2013-0267

Long, M. M., & Schiffman, L. G. (2000). Consumption values and relationships: segmenting

the market for frequency programs. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 17(3), 214-232.

doi:10.1108/07363760010329201

MediaKix. (2019, March 14). What Is Influencer Marketing? [Blog post]. Retrieved from

https://mediakix.com/blog/what-is-influencer-marketing/

Mohsin, M. (2019, September 2). 10 Instagram statistics everyone should know in 2019

[Infographic]. Retrieved from https://www.oberlo.com/blog/instagram-stats-every

marketer-should-know

Ohanian, R. (1990). Construction and validation of a scale to measure celebrity endorsers’

perceived expertise, trustworthiness, and attractiveness. Journal of Advertising, 19(3),

39-52. doi: 10.1080/00913367.1990.10673191

Peña, J., Ghaznavi, J., Brody, N., Prada, R., Martinho, C., Santos, P. A., … Dimas, J. (2019).

Effects of human vs. computer-controlled characters and social identity cues on

enjoyment. Journal of Media Psychology, 31(1), 35-47. doi:10.1027/1864-

1105/a000218

Pew Research Center. (2018). Core Trends Survey [Dataset]. Retrieved from

http://www.pewinternet.org/dataset/jan-3-10-2018-core-trends-survey/

Russell, C. A. (1998). Toward a framework of product placement: Theoretical

propositions. ACR North American Advances, 25, 357-362. Retrieved from

http://acrwebsite.org/volumes/8178/volumes/v25/NA-25

Russell, C. A., & Rasolofoarison, D. (2017). Uncovering the power of natural endorsements:

54 HEALTH & FITNESS AND FASHION PRODUCT PLACEMENTS

a comparison with celebrity-endorsed advertising and product

placements. International Journal of Advertising, 36(5), 761-778.

doi:10.1080/02650487.2017.1348033

Schouten, A. P., Janssen, L., & Verspaget, M. (2019). Celebrity vs. Influencer endorsements

in advertising: The role of identification, credibility, and product-endorser fit.

International Journal of Advertising, 1-24. Retrieved from

https://doi.org/10.1080/02650487.2019.1634898

Sertoglu, A. E., Catli, O and Korkmaz, S. (2014). Examining the effect of endorser

credibility on the consumers` buying intentions: An empirical study in Turkey.

International Review of Management and Marketing, 4 (1), 66-77. Retrieved from

https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/irmm/issue/32079/355045

Socialupgrade. (2018). The top 10 profitable niches for Instagram Influencers [Blog post].

Retrieved from https://socialupgrade.co/blog/best-way-to-get-instagram

followers-niches/

Sokolova, K., & Kefi, H. (2019). Instagram and YouTube bloggers promote it, why should I

buy? How credibility and parasocial interaction influence purchase intentions. Journal

of Retailing and Consumer Services. Retrieved from

https://doi:10.1016/j.jretconser.2019.01.011

Spears, N., & Singh, S. N. (2004). Measuring attitude toward the brand and purchase

intentions. Journal of Current Issues & Research in Advertising, 26(2), 53-66.

doi:10.1080/10641734.2004.10505164

Tabor, R. (2018, April 25). Niche market vs. mass market in the WordPress business sphere

[Blog post]. Retrieved from https://freemius.com/blog/niche-vs-mass-market/

Tafesse, W. (2016). An experiential model of consumer engagement in social media. Journal

of Product & Brand Management, 25(5), 424-434. doi:10.1108/jpbm-05-2015-0879

55 HEALTH & FITNESS AND FASHION PRODUCT PLACEMENTS

Tafesse, W., & Wien, A. (2018). Using message strategy to drive consumer behavioral

engagement on social media. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 35(3), 241-253.

doi:10.1108/jcm-08-2016-1905

Talkwalker, Influencers, U., & Power, W. (2018). Influencer marketing. Retrieved from

https://www.talkwalker.com/resource/ebook-influencer-marketing-guide.pdf

Tapinfluence. (2015, February 6). What is influencer marketing? [Blog post]. Retrieved from

https://www.tapinfluence.com/blog-what-is-influencer-marketing/

Thomson, M. (2006). Human Brands: Investigating antecedents to consumers’ strong

attachments to celebrities. Journal of Marketing, 70(3), 104-119.

doi:10.1509/jmkg.70.3.104

Van der Waldt, D. L. R., Van Loggerenberg, M., & Wehmeyer, L. (2009). Celebrity

endorsements versus created spokespersons in advertising: a survey among students.

South African Journal of Economic and Management Sciences, 12(1), 100-114.

doi:10.4102/sajems.v12i1.263

Voss, K. E., Spangenberg, E. R., & Grohmann, B. (2003). Measuring the hedonic and

utilitarian dimensions of consumer attitude. Journal of Marketing Research, 40(3),

310-320. doi:10.1509/jmkr.40.3.310.19238

Williams, K., Petrosky, A., Hernandez, E., & Page Jr, R. (2011). Product placement

effectiveness: revisited and renewed. Journal of Management and Marketing

research, 7, 1-24. Retrieved from

http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.456.5884&rep=rep1&type=

pdf

Woods, S. (2016, May). #Sponsored: The emergence of influencer marketing. University of

Tennessee honors thesis projects [Thesis]. Retrieved from

https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_chanhonoproj/1976

56 HEALTH & FITNESS AND FASHION PRODUCT PLACEMENTS

Zietek, N. (2016, July 21). Influencer marketing: The characteristics and components

of fashion influencer marketing [Thesis]. Retrieved from http://www.diva-

portal.org/smash/get/diva2:972106/FULLTEXT01.pdf

57 HEALTH & FITNESS AND FASHION PRODUCT PLACEMENTS

Appendix

I. Stimuli experiment

Fashion

Active product placement

Non-active product placement

58 HEALTH & FITNESS AND FASHION PRODUCT PLACEMENTS

Non-use product placement

Active product placement

59 HEALTH & FITNESS AND FASHION PRODUCT PLACEMENTS

Non-active product placement

Non-use product placement

60 HEALTH & FITNESS AND FASHION PRODUCT PLACEMENTS

Active product placement

Non-active product placement

61 HEALTH & FITNESS AND FASHION PRODUCT PLACEMENTS

Non-use product placement

Active product placement

62 HEALTH & FITNESS AND FASHION PRODUCT PLACEMENTS

Non-active product placement

Non-use product placement

63 HEALTH & FITNESS AND FASHION PRODUCT PLACEMENTS

Health & Fitness

Active product placement

Non-active product placement

64 HEALTH & FITNESS AND FASHION PRODUCT PLACEMENTS

Non-use product placement

Active product placement

65 HEALTH & FITNESS AND FASHION PRODUCT PLACEMENTS

Non-active product placement

Non-use product placement

66 HEALTH & FITNESS AND FASHION PRODUCT PLACEMENTS

Active product placement

Non-active product placement

67 HEALTH & FITNESS AND FASHION PRODUCT PLACEMENTS

Non-use product placement

Active product placement

68 HEALTH & FITNESS AND FASHION PRODUCT PLACEMENTS

Non-active product placement

Non-use product placement

69 HEALTH & FITNESS AND FASHION PRODUCT PLACEMENTS

II. Informed consent

Original version in Dutch

Beste deelnemer,

Ten eerste, bedankt voor je deelname aan mijn onderzoek! Mijn naam is Peggy van der

Heijden en ik schrijf momenteel mijn thesis voor mijn master diploma Communication and

Information Sciences aan Tilburg University. Met dit onderzoek wil ik graag inzicht krijgen in de effectiviteit van advertenties in Instagram posts. Een vereiste om deel te nemen aan dit onderzoek is dat je zelf beschikt over een Instagram account en een vrouw bent tussen de 18 en 40 jaar.

Als je deelneemt aan het onderzoek ben je bewust van het feit dat je deelname compleet vrijwillig is en je geen vergoeding krijgt voor je deelname. Daarnaast, heb je altijd het recht om te stoppen met het onderzoek zonder daar een geldige reden voor te hoeven geven of consequenties. Je antwoorden worden zorgvuldig bewaard, vertrouwelijk mee omgegaan en blijven anoniem. Deelname aan dit onderzoek kost max. 7 minuten.

Voor vragen kan je altijd mailen.

Door op de onderstaande knop te klikken begin je met het onderzoek en verklaar je dat je de bovenstaande informatie heb gelezen en begrijpt en dat je voldoet aan de vereiste voor dit onderzoek.

Alvast bedankt!

Met vriendelijke groet,

Peggy van der Heijden

70 HEALTH & FITNESS AND FASHION PRODUCT PLACEMENTS

English translation

Dear participant,

First of all, thank you for participating in this study. My name is Peggy van der Heijden and I am currently writing my thesis for my Master’s Degree Communication and Information

Sciences at Tilburg University. With this study I want to gain insight the advertising effectiveness of Instagram posts. A requirement for participating in this experiment is that you own an Instagram account and you are a female between the ages of 18 and 40 years old.

When you take part in this experiment you are aware of the fact that you participate in this study voluntarily and you will not be paid for taking part in this study. Besides that, you have the right to withdraw at any time, without giving any reason, and without any prejudice. Your responses will be stored with care, will be kept confidential and will stay anonymous.

Completing this experiment takes a maximum of seven minutes.

By clicking on the button below to start the experiment, you declare that you have read and understood the information stated above, you agree with this and you meet the requirements.

If you have any questions, you can contact me.

Thank you in advance!

Kind regards,

Peggy van der Heijden,

71