DOCSLIB.ORG

The Lived Meanings of Product Placement in Social Network Sites (Snss) Among Urban Chinese White-Collar Professional Users: a Story of Happy Network

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Lived Meanings of Product Placement in Social Network Sites (Snss) Among Urban Chinese White-Collar Professional Users: a Story of Happy Network University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 5-2011 The Lived Meanings of Product Placement in Social Network Sites (SNSs) among Urban Chinese White-Collar Professional Users: A Story of Happy Network Huan Chen [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss Part of the Mass Communication Commons Recommended Citation Chen, Huan, "The Lived Meanings of Product Placement in Social Network Sites (SNSs) among Urban Chinese White-Collar Professional Users: A Story of Happy Network. " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 2011. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/956 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a dissertation written by Huan Chen entitled "The Lived Meanings of Product Placement in Social Network Sites (SNSs) among Urban Chinese White-Collar Professional Users: A Story of Happy Network." I have examined the final electronic copy of this dissertation for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, with a major in Communication and Information. Eric Haley, Major Professor We have read this dissertation and recommend its acceptance: Ron Taylor, Margaret Morrison, Dan Flint Accepted for the Council: Carolyn R. Hodges Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official studentecor r ds.) To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a dissertation written by Huan Chen entitled “The Lived Meanings of Product Placements in Social Network Sites (SNSs) among Chinese Urban White-Collar Professionals: A Story of Happy Network.” I have examined the final electronic copy of this thesis for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, with a major in Communication and Information. Eric Haley, Major Professor We have read this dissertation and recommend its acceptance: Ron Taylor Margaret Morrison Dan Flint Accepted for the Council: Carolyn R. Hodges Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official student records.) THE LIVED MEANINGS OF PRODUCT PLACEMENT IN SOCIAL NETWORK SITES (SNSS) AMONG CHINESE URBAN WHITE-COLLAR PORFESSIONALS: A STORY OF HAPPY NETWORK A Dissertation Presented for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree The University of Tennessee, Knoxville Huan Chen May 2011 Copyright © 2010 by Huan Chen All rights reserved. ii DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to my beloved mother. Wish she gain peace in heaven knowing that her daughter finally became Dr. Chen. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS In my life-world, the lived meanings of doctoral study are expressed in one word – CREATION. “C” refers to challenge. My academic journey of doctoral study is one of the biggest challenges in my life, and I am glad that I finally survived. “R” means research. During my doctoral study, a major part of my social experiences is doing research. “E” represents enjoyment. I truly enjoyed every minute of my doctoral study although the process was full of ups and downs. “A” stands for analysis. The doctoral study requires a strong analytical skill, and I am pride that I possess such an essential skill. “T” denotes transformation. After three and half years’ systematic training, I successfully transformed from a doctoral student into a scholar. “I” is the abbreviation of imagination. My doctoral study is composed of various imaginative activities inside and outside classrooms. “O” signifies originality. In the entire process of my doctoral study, I was constantly encouraged to view a variety of phenomena from fresh perspectives, generate creative and innovative ideas, and solve problems creatively. “N” indicates newness. One of the most important goals of my doctoral study is to add something new to the body of knowledge, and I believe that my dissertation fulfills this goal. The lived meanings of my doctoral study were co-created with some distinctive social actors in my life-world, who deserve my sincere appreciation. First of all, I would like to thank Dr. Eric Haley. I was very lucky to have him to serve as my academic and dissertation advisor. He is my role model as an excellent teacher and a distinguished researcher. He is one of the smartest iv scholars I have ever seen, who has clear thoughts, extraordinary insights, superior analytical skills, and the high work efficiency. Without his kind help, I couldn’t develop intellectually and professionally. Each of my small achievements in the doctoral study was under his guidance and supportive by him. In my life- world, he is the best advisor. I would also like to thank Dr. Ron Taylor. His class of Advertising and Communication Theory is one of the best courses I've taken, and the most unforgettable and intriguing one, which not only greatly benefited my current teaching but also facilitated my research. As my dissertation committee member, during both stages of proposal development and dissertation writing, he raised several critical questions, which were very helpful for me to clarify some important issues. I also enjoyed communicating with him because his subtle humor made our every communication a pleasant experience. I would express my gratitude to Dr. Margaret Morrison. The Qualitative Research Method course I took from her was one of the most demanding and interesting courses in my doctoral study. To a certain degree, this course shifted my mindset from the quantitative camp to the qualitative world. I would also like to show my sincere appreciation for her to be my dissertation committee member. During the whole process, she always responded to my messages promptly. Her constructive and insightful suggestions for my dissertation proposal greatly improved the quality and the feasibility of the research design. Her sincere and incisive feedbacks for the first draft of my dissertation helped me to view the dissertation from a reader’s perspective thus allow me to better tell the story. v I would also like to show my appreciation for Dr. Dan Flint. In addition to my advisor, he was the only person with whom I had two doctoral seminars during my study at UTK. These two courses were deemed by me the most challenging but enjoyable ones in my doctoral study. Specifically, Dr. Flint’s distinction of three traditions in qualitative research methods greatly benefited me when I conducted my dissertation research and other research projects. He was also very generous to serve as my committee member. His pertinent and enlightening comments were of great importance for me to revise my dissertation and think about my future research directions. My friends and colleagues, Lei Wu, Arsev Aydinoglu, Anthony Ho-Young, Nutthaun Rajanakorn, and Katerina Spasovska, deserve special thanks. I thank Lei Wu for her understandings, insights, and advices at critical points. In my life- world, she is my best friend, elder sister, research consultant, and psychotherapist. I thank her and Arsev for helping me to rehearse my dissertation presentation and being supportive in my oral defense. Their helpful comments and encouragement were crucial for me to successfully pass my oral defense. I thank Anthony for his direct and insightful comments, and I thank Nikki and Katerina for their kindness and support in my entire doctoral study. I would also like to thank Xiaolei Zeng and Qinghua Yan for recruiting participants for me, and thank Xiaolei Zeng and Zhen Yang for providing accommodation during my trips to Beijing and Shanghai. I would like to thank my participants as well. Without their kind help, my research would never have left the ground. I thank Laurie Knox for serving as my dissertation editor. With her vi kind assistance, my dissertation appears more polished and professional than previous drafts. Finally, I would like to thank my beloved parents – Shike Chen and Yuju Wu, my husband – Bin Xu, and my daughter – Flora Xu for their endless love and support. Without their generous support and constant encouragement, I couldn’t survive my doctoral study and earn the Ph.D. degree. vii ABSTRACT A phenomenology study reveals the lived meanings of product placement in social network sites (SNSs) among Chinese urban, white-collar professional users through an investigation of a newly launched SNS, Happy Network. In total, 25 face-to-face, in-depth interviews were conducted to collect data. Findings indicated that participants’ interpretations of product placement were interrelated with the socially constructed meanings of the SNS, participants’ social role of white-collar professionals, and the consumer culture of contemporary Chinese society. In particular, the emerged themes with regard to the shared meanings of the SNS include five dialectic relations: in control/controlled by, dependent/independent, public/private, intimate/distant, and personal/social. Meanwhile, the socially constructed meanings of product placement in the context of SNS are justifying the existence, connecting to the real world, noticing the familiar, insinuating brand image, and linking to consumption. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Prohibiting Product Placement and the Use of Characters in Marketing to Children by Professor Angela J. Campbell Georgetown Univ
    PROHIBITING PRODUCT PLACEMENT AND THE USE OF CHARACTERS IN MARKETING TO CHILDREN BY PROFESSOR ANGELA J. CAMPBELL1 GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY LAW CENTER (DRAFT September 7, 2005) 1 Professor Campbell thanks Natalie Smith for her excellent research assistance, Russell Sullivan for pointing out examples of product placements, and David Vladeck, Dale Kunkel, Jennifer Prime, and Marvin Ammori for their helpful suggestions. Introduction..................................................................................................................................... 3 I. Product Placements............................................................................................................. 4 A. The Practice of Product Placement......................................................................... 4 B. The Regulation of Product Placements................................................................. 11 II. Character Marketing......................................................................................................... 16 A. The Practice of Celebrity Spokes-Character Marketing ....................................... 17 B. The Regulation of Spokes-Character Marketing .................................................. 20 1. FCC Regulation of Host-Selling............................................................... 21 2. CARU Guidelines..................................................................................... 22 3. Federal Trade Commission....................................................................... 24
    [Show full text]
  • Product Placement in Movie Industry
    www.pwc.com/it 2012 Product Placement in Movie Industry Strategic Insights & Fashion Apparel Case Studies Agenda Page 1 Product Placement Overview in the Movie Industry 1 2 Product Placement in Movie Industry – Fashion Apparel 10 Case studies Section 1 Product Placement Overview in the Movie Industry PwC 1 Section 1 – Product Placement Overview in the Movie Industry PwC Strategy advises fashion clients in defining their marketing strategies There is a multiplicity of channels/means from which consumers can receive messages • Fashion shows Brand Awareness Seasonal • Media (TV, magazine, etc.) Exhibitions Instruments • • Catalogues • Sponsorships • … Customer Fidelisation • Showrooms • Corporate Magazines Institutional • Testimonials Instruments • … Product Sales increase Placement • Product Placements Emotional • Star Endorsements Lifestyle activities instruments • Global Reach • Shopping experience • … • Web site, social network, blog • Trunk Shows Stimulate a Relational • Word of mouth (co-marketing) Reaction instruments • Events • … PwC 2 Section 1 – Product Placement Overview in the Movie Industry How to reach a captive and involved audience? Product placement is a way of promoting a company or a product by using movies and other types of media to advertise the product or company. Product placements are often established by an agreement between a product manufacturer and the media company, in which the media company receives economic benefit. The Product Visual Placement - the (Placed product or brand) product, service, or logo can
    [Show full text]
  • Effects of Placement Marketing on Product Attitude and Purchase Intention in Traditional Industry
    EURASIA Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education ISSN: 1305-8223 (online) 1305-8215 (print) OPEN ACCESS 2017 13(12):8305-8311 DOI: 10.12973/ejmste/78701 Effects of Placement Marketing on Product Attitude and Purchase Intention in Traditional Industry Chialing Yao 1,2, Paichin Huang 1,2* 1 School of Accountancy, Fujian Jiangxia University, Fuzhou, Fujian, CHINA 2 Finance and Accounting Research Center, Fujian Jiangxia University, Fujian Province Philosophy Social Science Research Base, CHINA Received 28 June 2017 ▪ Revised 13 September 2017 ▪ Accepted 16 October 2017 ABSTRACT In the information explosion era nowadays, various television advertisements are on television. However, such traditional message delivery is losing the efficacy to directly communicate with target consumers; consumers have appeared zapping behaviors as they are fed up with traditional advertisement. At the time, seeking other alternatives for effective commercial communication is important and urgent for traditional industry. Product placement is now a broadly applied alternative. Why is such marketing communication with skillful product placement largely utilized by companies? It is considered in traditional industry that product placement is comparatively inexpensive but could achieve high contact, reinforce memory, and create positive links with program characteristics. Taking Chinese general consumers of the product in traditional Industry as the research subject, on-site questionnaire distribution and collection is adopted in this study. Total 250 copies of questionnaire are distributed and 218 valid copies are retrieved, with the retrieval rate 87%. The research results reveal 1.significant effects of placement marketing on product attitude, 2.remarkable effects of placement marketing on purchase intention, and 3.notably positive effects of product attitude on purchase intention.
    [Show full text]
  • Sex and the City" Film a Marketing Dream
    upstatetoday.com - Upstate South Carolina's leading news and information Web site | The... Page 1 of 4 You are not logged in. (Log in | Create account | Subscriber Center | Contact Us | Bookmark Us) Home News Opinion Tell Willie Obits Arrests Sports Couples Entertainment Ev Jobs "Sex and the City" film a marketing dream E-mail story Discuss story iPod friendly version By Michelle Nichols, Reuters May 16, 2008 - 12:00 a.m. EST NEW YORK (Reuters) - From Manolo Blahnik high heels to designer Photo dresses, the materialism of the characters in television's "Sex and the City " Click on photo to enlarge has made the movie version a marketing dream that some companies are paying for dearly and at least one is getting for free. The film about the glamorous lives of writer Carrie, publicist Samantha, lawyer Miranda and curator Charlotte, whose friendships, loves and fashion sense in Manhattan captivated millions of viewers during six seasons on HBO, opens in theaters worldwide this month. Manolo Blahnik and Jimmy Choo became household names thanks to Carrie's love of designer shoes. Now some corporations are hoping her Actresses (L-R) Kristin Davis, Sarah influence will reach beyond fashion and that fans will covet products Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon and Kim ranging from luxury cars to designer handbags. Cattrall arrive for the German premiere of ''Sex And The City: The Movie'' at a New Line Cinema has reportedly dubbed it "the Super Bowl for women" in cinema in Berlin May 15, 2008. reference to the U.S. football championship that sees companies pay REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch millions of dollars for television ads.
    [Show full text]
  • Product Placement Effects on Store Sales
    Product Placement Effects on Store Sales: Evidence from Consumer Packaged Goods∗ Simha Mummalaneni † Yantao Wang ‡ Pradeep K. Chintagunta § Sanjay K. Dhar ¶ February 21, 2019 Abstract Product placement provides an alternative way for brands to reach consumers and does so in a more subtle way than through traditional advertising. We use data from both traditional television advertising and product placement on television shows to compare how these marketing instruments affect consumer demand for brands in the soda, diet soda, and coffee categories. Our approach is to estimate a logit demand model using weekly store-level sales data at the UPC (product) level, while accounting for heterogeneity in consumer preferences and response parameters across markets. Estimates from this model indicate that product placement is generally effective, but that the elasticities are small. For the soda and diet soda categories, average short-term elasticities are around 0.08 for the major brands in the data; these estimated elasticities for product placement are generally larger than those for traditional TV advertising, albeit on the same order of magnitude. For the coffee category, product placement elasticities are roughly zero while the advertising elasticities are larger. The results suggest that product placement is overall more effective than traditional TV advertising for the brands in our data; however, there is a significant amount of heterogeneity in elasticities across categories, brands, and geographical areas. Keywords: Product Placement, Advertising, Media, Demand Estimation ∗We thank Günter Hitsch for initiating this project with us. We also thank Brad Shapiro and seminar participants at the 2018 UW-UBC marketing camp, the 2018 Marketing Science conference, Johns Hopkins University, the FTC Bureau of Economics, and the 2019 University of Washington winter marketing camp for their thoughtful comments and suggestions.
    [Show full text]
  • Baby Boomers' Attitudes Towards Product Placements
    University of Nebraska at Omaha DigitalCommons@UNO Communication Faculty Publications School of Communication Fall 2006 Baby Boomers’ Attitudes Towards Product Placements Nichole M. Schmoll John Hafer University of Nebraska-Lincoln Michael L. Hilt The University of Nebraska at Omaha, [email protected] Hugh J. Reilly The University of Nebraska at Omaha, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/commfacpub Part of the Advertising and Promotion Management Commons, Communication Commons, and the Family, Life Course, and Society Commons Recommended Citation Schmoll, Nichole M.; Hafer, John; Hilt, Michael L.; and Reilly, Hugh J., "Baby Boomers’ Attitudes Towards Product Placements" (2006). Communication Faculty Publications. 64. https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/commfacpub/64 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the School of Communication at DigitalCommons@UNO. It has been accepted for inclusion in Communication Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@UNO. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Baby Boomers’ Attitudes Towards Product Placements By Nicole M. Schmoll, John Hafer, Michael Hilt, and Hugh Reilly Abstract: Including branded products within mass media programming is becoming common. Previous research has focused almost entirely on college-age students' attitudes about placements in movies and television. This research focuses on Baby Boomers and is the first to include questions about multiple media in forming attitudes towards product placements. Six hypotheses were tested. Attitude toward product placement is related to media consumption. Males appear more positive than females. Interactions effects of media consumption x gender and media consumption x age appear insignificant. Analytical results, graphs, tables and managerial implications and representative comments from respondents are presented.
    [Show full text]
  • Hidden Messages: the Growth of Product Placement
    5c Hidden Messages: The Growth of Product Placement Keeping track of who is renting our eyeballs is more diffi cult today as “stealth ads” become embedded into the content of movies, TV shows and video games. Known as product placement, it is an increasingly common practice whereby advertisers pay media makers to use or display their products as props yet never reveal this arrangement as a form of advertising. Having students locate product placements in media programs helps them understand the economics of the media they consume. Creating their own product placements for good causes reveals the strategy behind the practice. Objectives: Students will be able to… 1. Identify product placements they see in TV programs and movies. 2. Build awareness of the pervasiveness of advertising in their culture. 3. Develop critical skills necessary to think independently in a media saturated consumer society. Correlation With McRel National Standards: Language Arts Standards and Benchmarks Grades 3-5: (S9/B7) Grades 6-8: (S9/B9) Grades 9-12: (S9/B4, B10), (S10/B7) Materials/Preparation: 1. VCR & TV 2. Videotape short segments from TV shows or choose scenes from video or DVD movies that have numerous product placements. Resource Tip: Brandchannel.com is a website that tracks brand appearances and product placement in each week’s number one fi lm. An online archive back to 2002 cross-references both brands and movies. 3. Access to Internet or overhead projector. 4. Read the Backgrounder below to help you explain product placement. 5. For more understanding of product placement and its pervasiveness today visit the websites recommended throughout this lesson.
    [Show full text]
  • Global Advertising & Marketing Revenue Forecast 2019-23
    Global Advertising & Marketing Revenue Forecast 2019-23 7th Edition of the Most Comprehensive and Intelligent Data and Analysis of the Global Advertising & Marketing Economy Covering 100 Traditional, Digital & Alternative Media Platforms and Channels in Every Major Global Market by Country Report #1 of 3 in PQ Media's Annual Global Media & Tech Series Top 20 Global Markets Advertising Media Marketing Media *United States *Japan *Broadcast TV *Branded Entertainment *Argentina *Mexico *Directories *Content Marketing *Australia *Netherlands *Entertainment Media *Direct Marketing *Brazil *Poland *Internet & Mobile *Internet & Mobile *Canada *Russia *Magazines *South Africa *Promotions *China *Newspapers *France *South Korea *Out-of-Home Media *Public Relations *Germany *Spain *Pay Television *India *Taiwan *Radio *Italy *United Kingdom • Benchmark the Performance of the Top 20 Global Advertising & Marketing Markets by Country and the Rest Of All 4 Major Global Regions; • Analyze Consistent & Actionable Data Covering 15 Broad Digital & Traditional Media Silos, 12 Overall Digital & Alternative Media Platforms, 42 Digital Media Channels, & 12 Overall Traditional Media Platforms; • In-Depth Datasets Covering the 2013-23 Period, Including 2013-18 Historical Data, Current 2019 Pacing Estimates & 5-Year Projections for 2019-23; • Detailed Industry Definitions & Segmentation, Top 20 Country Profiles, Exclusive Global & US Rankings of Largest, Fastest-Growing Media linkedin.com/company/pq-media-llc www.pqmedia.com twitter.com/pqmedia Copyright Page
    [Show full text]
  • Child Social Media Influencers and Unhealthy Food Product Placement Amaal Alruwaily, Chelsea Mangold, Tenay Greene, Josh Arshonsky, Omni Cassidy, Jennifer L
    Child Social Media Influencers and Unhealthy Food Product Placement Amaal Alruwaily, MPH,a Chelsea Mangold, MPH,a Tenay Greene, BA,a Josh Arshonsky, BA,a Omni Cassidy, PhD,a Jennifer L. Pomeranz, JD, MPH,b Marie Bragg, PhDa,b OBJECTIVES: We aimed to determine the frequency with which kid influencers promote branded abstract and unbranded food and drinks during their YouTube videos and assess the nutritional quality of food and drinks shown. METHODS: Researchers used Socialbakers data to identify the 5 most-watched kid influencers (ages 3 to 14 years) on YouTube in 2019. We searched for 50 of their most-watched videos and 50 of their videos that featured food and/or drinks on the thumbnail image of the video. We coded whether kid influencers consumed or played with food or toys, quantified the number of minutes food and/or drinks appeared, and recorded names of branded food and/or drinks. We assessed the nutritional quality of foods using the Nutrient Profile Model and identified the number of drinks with added sugar. RESULTS: A sample of 418 YouTube videos met the search criteria, and 179 of those videos featured food and/or drinks. Food and/or drinks were featured in those videos 291 times. Kid influencers’ YouTube videos were collectively viewed .48 billion times, and videos featuring food and/or drinks were viewed 1 billion times. Most food and/or drinks were unhealthy branded items (n = 263; 90.34%; eg, McDonald’s), followed by unhealthy unbranded items (n = 12; 4.1%; eg, hot dogs), healthy unbranded items (n = 9; 3.1%; eg, fruit), and healthy branded items (n = 7; 2.4%; eg, Yoplait yogurt).
    [Show full text]
  • Product Placement Effectiveness: Revisited and Renewed
    Journal of Management and Marketing Research Product placement effectiveness: revisited and renewed Kaylene Williams California State University, Stanislaus Alfred Petrosky California State University, Stanislaus Edward Hernandez California State University, Stanislaus Robert Page, Jr. Southern Connecticut State University ABSTRACT Product placement is the purposeful incorporation of commercial content into non- commercial settings, that is, a product plug generated via the fusion of advertising and entertainment. While product placement is riskier than conventional advertising, it is becoming a common practice to place products and brands into mainstream media including films, broadcast and cable television programs, computer and video games, blogs, music videos/DVDs, magazines, books, comics, Broadway musicals and plays, radio, Internet, and mobile phones. To reach retreating audiences, advertisers use product placements increasingly in clever, effective ways that do not cost too much. The purpose of this paper is to examine product placement in terms of definition, use, purposes of product placement, specific media vehicles, variables that impact the effectiveness of product placement, the downside of using product placement, and the ethics of product placement. Keywords: Product placement, brand placement, branded entertainment, in-program sponsoring Product placement effectiveness, Page 1 Journal of Management and Marketing Research INTRODUCTION In its simplest form, product placement consists of an advertiser or company producing
    [Show full text]
  • Effectiveness of Product Placement in Tv Shows
    EFFECTIVENESS OF PRODUCT PLACEMENT IN TV SHOWS Felix Dietrich Advisor: João Ricardo Martins Silva Freire IPAM – THE MARKETING SCHOOL LISBON, JULY, 2016 1 Felix Dietrich Table of Contents Abstract ........................................................................................................................................................ 4 1. Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 5 1.1 History of product placement in TV and movies ....................................................... 8 1.2 Term analysis ............................................................................................................................. 10 1.3 Types of product placement agreements .................................................................... 11 1.4 Current trends in product placement ........................................................................... 12 1.5 Research proposal, objectives and aim ........................................................................ 13 2. Literature review ............................................................................................................................. 15 2.1 Current attitude towards traditional TV advertising and rise of product placement ............................................................................................................................................. 15 2.2 Types of product placements ............................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Product Placement on Instagram: the Power of Shaping Consumers’ Attitudes and Intentions?
    Running head: PRODUCT PLACEMENT ON INSTAGRAM Product Placement on Instagram: the Power of shaping Consumers’ Attitudes and Intentions? Marie Althoff ANR: 583584 Master Thesis Communication- and Information Science Business Communication and Digital Media Tilburg School of Humanities Tilburg University Supervisor: dr. A.P. Schouten Second reader: dr. L. Janssen June 2017 PRODUCT PLACEMENT ON INSTAGRAM 1 Abstract Instagram has become a legitimate platform for endorsing fitness products online. Through word of mouth marketing, Instagram bloggers promote fitness products with their personal recommendations by placing products in their storylines. However, prior research did not yet focus on absence or presence of a blogger in combination with the fit of a product in an Instagram post and the effect of these different combinations of advertising on the credibility of a blogger, which might influence attitudes towards the ads, products and purchase intention in different ways. This study made use of a 2 (type of blog post: presence vs absence of a blogger) x 2 (fit vs non-fit of a product) x 2 (blogger Jen vs blogger Pam) mixed-design with blogger as a within-subject variable and presence/absence of blogger as between-subject variable. Furthermore, it was expected that self-esteem had a moderating effect on the relationship between type of blog post and credibility of the blogger, while credibility was expected to play a mediating role in the relationship between type of blog post and the dependent variables attitudes towards the ads, attitudes towards the products and purchase intention. A total of 253 participants attended the experimental questionnaire. The most important results showed that a product is better endorsed directly in an Instagram product placement and that the type of blogger promoting a product plays a highly important role when engaging in product placement on Instagram.
    [Show full text]