ADPR3400: Nike’s Brand and Influencer Marketing

Maddie Fiorante, Meriah Grove, Sarah Hawkins and Lottie Smalley

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Abstract

In support of a hypothetical social media campaign for Nike Women, this research report analyzes the impacts of Instagram influencer follower count on consumers’ likelihood to engage with a sponsored post, as well as consumers’ brand awareness and consumers’ purchase intent after being exposed to a sponsored post. While influencer partnerships continue to grow as a marketing medium, particularly for women’s apparel, it is important for Nike to consider how different types of social media influencers may be perceived by consumers. Comparing the results of questionnaire respondents who viewed a “micro” influencer’s post versus those who viewed a “macro” celebrity influencer’s post, the study found no statistical significance between follower count and consumer reaction.

Introduction

The brand we have chosen to work with this semester is Nike. Nike offers a wide range of ​ ​ athletic products including shoes, clothes, accessories, sports equipment and fan gear. In addition to being the leading athletic apparel company in the world, Nike is committed to moral excellence by aligning on social and environmental issues. Beyond the products Nike offers, the company also facilitates youth sports camps and other community opportunities to promote an active lifestyle to all people.

Nike’s classic “Just Do It” slogan was the hero message that won the hearts of the world. Their mission statement is “to bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete* in the world.” The asterisk came later in the company’s history, following Bill Bowerman’s famous quote, “if you have a body, you are an athlete.”

Nike works hard to be a relatable and personal brand. Often Nike puts its brand in the middle of social conversations and tries to relate to as many people as possible. It is a world-wide brand which has faar reach, but Nike is always trying to speak to the everyday person in addition to the professional athlete.

Organization’s Voice:

The iconic swoosh represents Nike’s many campaign messages, including “make sport a daily habit,” “sport changes everything,” “protect the future of sport,” and most recently, “dream crazier.” Each product line and shoe is built around key messaging sticking close to Nike’s core values. For example, one of the newest running technologies is Nike Joyride Run Flyknit. The messaging behind the shoe marketed towards reluctant runners is a growth story for bringing new people into running, as well as an innovation story by highlighting the cushioning. The tagline “thousands of tiny beads working hard so you don’t have to,” shows consumers that running, and therefore sports, can be fun. “Joyride is engineered to help keep legs fresh,” Nike said in a press release. These messages show the brand’s true voice: inspiration and innovation.

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Nike’s social media platforms have a unified and defined voice. There is a focus on real human stories and real people’s dreams and goals. The company chooses to not only promote the world’s leading athletes, but also real people who are at different levels of their athletic journey. The company also utilizes top athletes when their campaigns call for it, but with their newest messaging campaign: “Dream crazier,” the focus is the everyday person. The voice of their social media is unified and compelling. Nike uses each different social medium to its advantage and we will build upon their strong foundation to create a successful campaign.

Purpose Statement

The final product is a campaign from Nike Women promoting their women’s sportswear through influencer marketing. The campaign would be executed primarily on social media through Instagram, YouTube and podcasts. The @nikewomen accounts would repurpose influencer content for their own channels. This campaign would not only bring awareness about Nike’s womens’ sportswear products, but also inspire bold and active lifestyles among young women.

The objective of our message is to increase sales of Nike women’s sportswear through the influencer marketing campaign. Our target audience is women, ages 18-28 years old. These women lead active lifestyles, whether that be going to the gym or walking to class, or are interested in pursuing this type of active lifestyle. They may dress in athletic wear or athleisure day-to-day, and are known to be brand loyal. Our audience is willing to pay for quality products that can transition from the gym to running errands or going to lunch. They value fitness and experiences. They will primarily be college students, young professionals, and young moms.

Traditional Nike competitors include Adidas, Reebok, New Balance, Under Armor, Puma, Fila and Asics. However many of these companies compete primarily for shoe consumers. Additional competitors relevant to the women’s sportswear campaign would be Lululemon Athletica, Alo Yoga, Outdoor Voices, Fabletics, Gymshark and Victoria’s Secret SPORT.

Fabletics has implemented a successful influencer marketing strategy positioning themselves as the same for less. However, Nike can take key learnings from Fabletics’ strategy and execute their own successful influencer marketing campaign positioning their women’s sportswear as more for same.

Research Technique

There are several key insights that would help inform our final campaign. These insights include: (1) What is the effectiveness of influencer marketing by platform on women ages 18-28 years old? (2) What size and types of influencers drive the highest sales relative to the target audience? (3) How can we measure athleisure wear brand loyalty of women ages 18-28 years old? (4) Which factors impact the buying decision of athleisure garments including price, quality, and material?

The insights listed are crucial to guide our campaign tactics. Understanding the content and sales performance based on types of influencer and the medium sponsored content is delivered 4 through will better inform Nike’s marketing budget for maximum results. Additionally, being aware of what companies our target audience is currently brand loyal to, as well as what they look for in athleisure, and athleisure brands can instruct Nike’s key messaging throughout this campaign.

Implementation

In order to answer our research questions, we will conduct an experiment using Qualtrics with a link sent out via email, social media and group messaging platforms. After answering basic demographic questions, participants will be shown either a “micro” influencer sponsored post or a “macro” celebrity influencer sponsored post and answers questions about their perception of Nike as a brand when used in these posts.

Literature Review

With competitors on the rise like Lululemon, Outdoor Voices and Fabletics, it is essential for Nike to capture the active young adult female, who may exercise a few times per week but would likely not be considered a “traditional athlete.” This is especially important now that activewear is no longer contained to the gym and is increasingly worn for casual use (Watts, 2018). According to a 2016 survey, over half of women made purchasing decisions based on influencer recommendations, making influencer marketing a worthwhile strategy to examine for Nike to reach this audience (Morrison, 2015).

But, what exactly is an influencer? Freberg reports that, “social media influencers represent a new type of independent third-party endorser who shape audience attitudes through blogs, tweets, and the use of other social media” (Freberg, 2011). These content creators are often paid to post to their social media channels about a specific product, service or campaign to help the brand reach a goal, like generating awareness or driving sales. Although it is important to note, influencers may also post about free products they were gifted without being paid to do so.

Although, just because someone has a following doesn’t mean they have influence. There is certainly concern for brands about “influencer fraud,” when people buy followers to emulate influence. In this way, it’s important to look at engagement such as likes and comments to determine impact (Sanders, 2019). Influence may actually be more present with a smaller, engaged following. One study found that, “the strength of the influencer-follower relationship had an impact on whether an influencers Instagram profile is seen as credible or not. The way in which an influencer presents a sponsorship or collaboration on their Instagram profile, had the greatest effect regarding the influencer’s credibility” (Anongdeth, 2019). But influence is truly in the eye of the scroller. “Just as some people are more influential than others, some people are also more apt to being influenced than others. Influence is subtle, yet powerful” (Schild, 2019).

Additionally, there are celebrities with an enormous online following, and while many are influencers, there’s a difference between them and the influencer who is a likable, authentic, everyday person. These “regular” people garner followers and become influencers because their 5 fans grow to trust them and their genuine advice. A 2014 study determined that generation Z finds YouTube stars “more approachable, more authentic and more relatable compared to celebrities. Generation Z also believes that YouTube stars have their best interests in mind more than other celebrities. This gives social media influencers a lot of power when they are testing products and stating their opinion to their followers” (Paakkari, 2016).

Partnering with influencers truly “opens up a new channel for brands to connect with consumers more directly, more organically, and at scale” (“10 Reasons Why Influencer Marketing is the Next Big Thing,” 2015). Influencers can serve as the ultimate, tailored connection between a brand and their target market. Where traditional marketing and advertising typically speak to mass audiences, brands can now target previously unreachable niche consumer groups through the use of influencers. In return, influencers offer value to brands by connecting them with their audience in a favorable way (Newberry, 2019).

It’s impossible to overlook that “social media plays a big role in generation Z’s lives.” This fact has allowed sportswear companies like Nike to develop mutually beneficial relationships with social media influencers to market their items to generation Z. People who fall in this category naturally seek fashion inspiration from social media, with the number one platform being Instagram (Paakkari, 2016). According to a study, “Instagram has the highest level of involvement through time spent on the app. Influencer marketing has increased with the numbers 325% in Google searches within the year 2017” (Anongdeth, 2019). Instagram is also growing more rapidly than other platforms. For these reasons, Instagram is the platform of choice for influencers. On each social media platform, influencers curate content in the form of posts or videos that is intended to shape consumer opinion and drive them to purchase. These posts are generally monitored and must be approved by the brand. “About a third of the influencer content on Instagram appears in Stories. This number is likely to grow this year” (Newberry, 2019). While Instagram is increasingly the most popular influencer platform, other platforms should not be ignored. “Nearly a quarter of daily Facebook users have made a purchase based on blogger or influencer recommendation. So have 29% of daily Twitter users.”

The platform used for influencer marketing depends on the brand they are working for and the message they are trying to put out to consumers. In the case of Nike, Instagram is the platform of choice. “Nike is a highly recognizable consumer brand present on Instagram” (Balan, 2017). The company has 17 verified-badge Instagram accounts that post content consistently, with each account catering to a specific target audience. A study found that “content that focused on user experience and aspirational values appeared to have more engagement power than other themes approached by Nike” (Balan, 2017). This opens the opportunity for Nike to partner with influencers who can advertise their products by posting about their personal experience. Influencers get the attention of consumers by being relatable, where celebrities do not always have the same appeal.

“As the world has shifted to social media, consumers look at fellow consumers to inform their purchasing decisions” (“10 Reasons Why Influencer Marketing is the Next Big Thing,” 2015). Instead of looking at companies, shoppers turn to social media users with large followings to help advise their purchases. Nearly two-thirds of North American retailers are using influencer 6 marketing for this reason (Newberry, 2019). “Social media influencers are an independent third party, who marketers can view as a threat or as an opportunity” (Paakkari, 2016). Nike has chosen to see influencers as an opportunity because of their ability to shape consumer attitudes and drive them to make purchases.

Research Questions and Hypothesis

The study being conducted aims to answer a few key questions in regards to social media influencers (SMIs) and their effect on purchase behavior for the brand Nike. The research questions center around influencers’ follower count and the impact it may have on consumer purchase intention, sentiment and brand awareness. The study focuses on purchase intention, ​ ​ customer sentiment, and Nike brand awareness as key metrics to answer the research questions. The experiment will focus solely on Instagram as the platform of comparison since it is the most widely used by consumers and is the most rapidly growing social media platform on the market (Balan, 2017).

Instagram is the most highly engaged with and most rapidly growing social media platform in the world (Balan, 2017). Nike’s particular brand recognition on social media is the leading in the sportswear market (Balan, 2017).

Based upon the current available literature, we hypothesize that influencer follower count and engagement will have a positive correlation with consumer opinion and purchase behavior. A ​ ​ piece of literature which supports this hypothesis is a customer survey which was completed in 2016: In this study over half of women respondents made their purchasing decisions based on social media influencer recommendations (Morrison, 2015). Bearing this in mind, influencer ​ ​ marketing is likely an effective strategy for Nike to reach their target customer demographics.

There is substantial literature which has tied influencer follower count to influencer effectiveness and reach (Anongdeth, 2019). This is the basis of our hypothesis. Additionally, these terms are important to distinguish between, follower count alone does not necessarily correlate to influence. Influence may actually be more present with a smaller, engaged following ​ ​ (Anongdeth, 2019). One study found that, “the strength of the influencer-follower relationship had an impact on whether an influencers Instagram profile is seen as credible or not. The way in which an influencer presents a sponsorship or collaboration on their Instagram profile, had the greatest effect regarding the influencer’s credibility” (Anongdeth, 2019). This will be an important distinction in our proposed study. We will evaluate follower count and the perceived influence that it has on our proposed consumer base.

Research Question: Does an influencers follower count impact consumer purchase behavior, ​ brand sentiment and brand awareness?

H1: As influencer follower count increases, the likelihood of consumers purchase intention will ​ increase. H2: Influencer follower count as it increases will have an equally positive impact on the brand ​ awareness of Nike. 7

H3: As influencer follower count increases, a consumer's likelihood to engage with the post will ​ increase as well.

Method

In order to answer our research questions, we will conduct an experiment. This method allows us to compare consumer responses to sponsored content and gauge the effectiveness of influencer marketing based on follower count. We chose this method specifically because it allows us to show our respondents one of two randomized stimuli in equal proportions so we could get data regarding the effectiveness of both a “micro” and a “macro” influencer. The experiment will be created using Qualtrics with a link sent out via email, social media and group messaging platforms. The experiment will be conducted primarily among college-aged students, with our target audience ranging from 18-28 years old. We chose this sampling strategy because it allowed us to reach the maximum number in the least amount of time. By using our preexisting networks we could distribute our survey to people whose insights we (and Nike) are interested in, being Gen-Z and Millennial women who lead active lifestyles and dress in athletic clothes. A limitation to this method is that our data will be reflective primarily of the opinions of college students at the University of Georgia and can not be generalized to all 18-28 year-olds. We will examine Nike sponsored posts from two influencers, one from a well-known and widely followed celebrity and one from a micro-influencer. Qualtrics will randomize the posts to show each participant either the celebrity influencer’s post or the micro-influencer’s post. They will then be prompted to answer several questions regarding their likelihood of purchasing the Nike product after seeing the post, the credibility of the influencer and their overall sentiments about the brand after seeing the sponsored content. Using the data from this experiment, we hope to address our research question regarding the impact an influencers’ follower count has on consumer purchase behavior and brand awareness.

Procedure

Upon providing consent, the participants will be prompted to answer a few demographic questions including age, gender and employment status. Additionally, respondents will be asked if they use Instagram. If they answer no, they will be directed out of the study because their insights will not be useful in answering our research question. Participants will then be asked to identify the types of accounts they follow on Instagram from a list of options. These options include friends/family, influencers, news/media outlets, organizations, brands and celebrities. If the participant does not select any combination of brands, celebrities or influencers, they will be directed out of the study because their insights will not be useful in answering our research question.

After confirming that the participant uses Instagram and follow brands, celebrities or influencers, they will be randomly assigned to either the micro-influencer or the celebrity influencer. Participants will see two photos: a static Instagram post created by their assigned influencer in partnership with Nike, including the number of likes and comments it received, as well as a screengrab of the influencer’s account profile displaying follower count and verification status. 8

Half of the participants will view the celebrity influencer’s content while the other half will view the micro-influencer’s content.

Participants will then be directed to answer several questions related to their experience with the content they were shown. The proposed questions are attached in the appendix.

Measures

We are measuring attitudes towards influencer marketing and likelihood of purchasing Nike products based on the influencers follower count. Participants will respond to many of the statements listed above using a Likert scale where higher numbers signify more agreement. Other questions require a more direct yes or no answer. Participants’ answers to these questions will allow us to gauge the degree to which follower count affects purchase behavior, brand awareness and trust. The answers to these questions will also give us insights into how consumers in the target market use Instagram, specifically in relation to their engagement with brands and influencers.

Analysis

The questions addressed in our survey are all categorical, independent variables. While the responses which act as our dependent variables are categorical, many of the answers use a Likert scale and may be assigned a numerical value for analysis. In this way, we analyzed the results primarily using pivot tables comparing different variables and through ANOVA analysis. Through our analysis, we hope to uncover trends and insights that may inform Nike’s influencer marketing strategy moving forward.

Results

The questionnaire used for this study was open for a total of 9 days, 13 hours and 29 minutes. We received 238 completed responses. There were 87 responses that we could not use because they did not complete the entire questionnaire. Then, of the 238 responses which were complete beginning to end, we had to perform some data cleaning based on requirements for an ethical study, and because of data not pertinent to our study. There were 29 respondents which we had to remove because they were under the age of 18. Then, we removed the data of 11 more respondents because they answered our initial demographics question about Instagram activity with “I am not active on Instagram.” We decided to remove these people because our study hinged on Instagram usage, so the data from people who are inactive on Instagram would not give us helpful data.

The results of our study were aimed to answer a couple different hypotheses. The Hypotheses which we were studying were, (H1) As influencer follower count increases, the likelihood of consumers purchase intention will increase. (H2) Influencer follower count as it increases will have an equally positive impact on the brand awareness of Nike. (H3) As influencer follower count increases, a consumer's likelihood to engage with the post will increase as well.

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All results will be presented in terms of “micro” and “macro.” This distinction shows when the data is about the condition which respondents were assigned. If the respondents were shown the post from the “micro” influencer, Hayet Rida, their data is denoted with “micro.” If the respondent was shown the post from Tracee Ellis Ross, our celebrity influencer, the data is denoted with “macro.” This is how all data analysis will be denoted.

Addressing H1, the question asked in the questionnaire was: “How likely are you to purchase this product based on this recommendation?” The respondents were given a likert scale between 1: Very Unlikely to 7: Very Likely. to See Table 1 below for the statistical analysis of this particular question: Table 1: Mean - Macro Mean - Micro Standard Standard T-Test Results Deviation Deviation Macro Micro

3.02 3.1 1.56 1.62 0.735

Chart 1:

The mean shows that for both the micro and macro condition the respondents were nearly even on the somewhat unlikely option of 3. The two curves between micro and macro show a left sided curve. Of each option, the micro versus macro conditions had little to no difference for respondents. We ran a T-test which showed our p-value was 0.735. Our p-value was greater than .05 which means that we cannot conclude that a significant difference exists. In addition to the mean and T-test we measured the standard deviation of our responses. Again, the standard deviations showed that the micro and macro conditions were not very different. On the standard deviations of each condition we tested the critical value. For the macro condition the CV was 0.519 and for the micro the CV was 0.525. Both of these were less than 1 which means that there is low variance between the responses. Our hypothesis was not supported, the respondents were not more likely to purchase the product advertised as the follower count increased.

Addressing H2, the question asked in the questionnaire was: “This post increases my awareness about Nike as a brand.” The respondents were given a likert scale between 1: Strongly Disagree 10 to 7: Strongly Agree. to See Table 2 and Chart 2 below for the statistical analysis of this particular question:

Table 2: Mean - Macro Mean - Micro Standard Standard T-Test Results Deviation Deviation Macro Micro

3.58 4.33 1.7 1.6 0.002

Chart 2:

The comparisons of the means shows that the micro condition respondents felt the post did not increase their awareness as much as the macro condition respondents did. The curve of the micro condition is pretty far right skewed versus the macro condition is a nearly perfect bell curve around the center. We conducted critical value test to see the variance of each condition. The macro condition had a CV of 0.473 and the micro condition had a 0.371 CV. Both of these CVs are well below 1 which means that there is low variance between the answers. Our T-test results show that our p-value is not statistically significant. Our hypothesis was not supported by the data we collected. The brand awareness did not increase as the follower count increased.

Addressing H3, the question asked in the questionnaire which corresponds was: “How likely is it that you would engage with this post? (Comment, Share, or Like the post)” The respondents were given a likert scale between 1: Very Unlikely to 7: Very Likely. See Table 3 and Chart 3 below for the statistical analysis of this particular question:

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Table 3: Mean - Macro Mean - Micro Standard Standard T-Test Results Deviation Deviation Macro Micro

3.67 3.64 2.27 2.14 0.914

Chart 3:

The means between the micro and macro conditions are nearly the exact same. The chart shows that the micro and macro conditions both skew to the left with most of the respondents saying they would be very unlikely to engage with the posts shown to them. Additionally the standard deviations between the two conditions were nearly the same. We did an analysis of how likely the same respondents would have to engage with any influencers post. The average answer of the respondents was 4.26. Meaning they would be neutrally likely to engage with any influencers post versus not very likely to engage with the post that we showed them. The critical value tests we performed showed that the macro condition had 0.619 variance and the micro condition had 0.588. Both of the conditions had low variance. The data shows that our hypothesis is not supported. The likelihood of engagement does not increase as the influencer’s follower count increases.

Discussion

Our study set out to answer three hypotheses: (H1) As influencer follower count increases, the likelihood of consumers purchase intention will increase. (H2) Influencer follower count as it increases will have an equally positive impact on the brand awareness of Nike. (H3) As influencer follower count increases, a consumer's likelihood to engage with the post will increase as well.

Discussing (H1), the slightly left skewed graph (See Chart 1) shows that respondents are ​ ​ generally less likely to purchase the product shown in the stimuli. But, our hypothesis was trying to address the difference between the follower counts of the two influencers. In that regard, the 12 two conditions did not show a statistical difference between respondents. The means were close to even, there was not much deviation between answers and then there was very low variance between the responses. So, our hypothesis was rejected. In the study conducted, as follower count increases, the likelihood of purchase intention does not necessarily increase too.

When addressing (H2), one can see in the chart corresponding with the data (See Chart 2) a ​ ​ nearly perfect bell curve in the macro condition, but a significantly right skewed bell curve for the micro condition. This means that to a degree, the macro influencer had a stronger increase in brand awareness than the micro influencer condition did. The analytics also supported the fact that the macro condition was slightly more influential. That being said, the difference found was not statistically significant. We cannot claim that this data leaning leads to confirming our initial hypothesis. Rather, our hypothesis must be rejected. As follower count increased, the brand awareness did not increase in a statistically significant way.

Additionally, when discussing (H3), it can be observed in the attached graph (See Chart 3) that ​ ​ respondents felt nearly equally likely to engage with the post they were shown. The respondents did not feel any more or less inclined to engage with the post whether it came from a micro influencer or a macro influencer. An interesting piece of data we collected from these same respondents was their likelihood to engage with any influencer’s post. When not addressing our specific stimuli, respondents say that they are significantly more likely to engage with any influencer’s post. The data collected from this particular study does not confirm our hypothesis. As follower count of influencer increased the respondents were not more likely to engage with the post.

Our research shows implications specific for Nike Women Sportswear. Based on data we collected, we advise to avoid using celebrity endorsements because our research shows no difference between consumer opinions on effectiveness, authenticity or trust for celebrities versus influencers. Celebrities have proven to be expensive and difficult to secure. They are also frequently are photographed wearing Nike as a trend anyway. Instead, the strategy for a future campaign would be showcasing women’s sportswear through influencer marketing on a micro and macro level. The @nikewomen account would share influencer content under the concept “to inspire bold lifestyles” reaching active young women. One of Nike’s current focuses are how to include HER in sport, and this could help achieve that goal while increasing brand loyalty and selling more sportswear product. By including micro and macro influencers, Nike has a better chance of reaching a larger segment of their target audience, since women between ages 18 and 28 likely follow different types of influencer accounts. Using this campaign strategy, we believe Nike could further include women of all athletic journeys and be the champion brand for inspiring them to live bold lifestyles.

This study does have potential limitations. Due to the type of research questions and the subjective nature of influencer marketing itself, this research was based largely on quantitative research methods using a likert scale in order to streamline and measure responses. The questionnaire conducted in this research did not, for the most part, yield statistically significant results. While the questionnaire was meticulously constructed, it is not without flaws and the results are certainly limited by the questionnaire sample size. The study does not boast an ideal 13 simple random sample and likely has selection bias due to voluntary response. The sample collected was 198 largely regional-based female respondents. In this way, the results should not be applied to the general population nor the target audience of this campaign. An additional misstep of our study was including the 4.55% of male questionnaire respondents in our analysis. Because our campaign target audience is solely young adult women, in the future only ​ ​ respondents who fall within this target audience should be included in any analyses. Finally, in terms of sample limitations, respondents provided self-reported data and thus may have reported differently than how they would respond organically without responses being recorded. Furthermore, respondents may interpret the likert scale in slightly different ways.

Additionally, our stimuli of micro-influencer Hayet Rida and macro-influencer Tracee Ellis Ross may have additional limiting implications. There is concern about the role of participants’ familiarity with the influencers used in the questionnaire. Respondents may have stronger viewpoints about posts from influencers they are plugged into, as compared to influencers they have never been introduced to. Also, in terms of stimuli, Tracee Ellis Ross may be considered a more relatable celebrity influencer than a traditional macro-influencer. A resulting limitation is that our comparison of a traditional “micro” influencer to a non-traditional “macro” celebrity influencer may have impacted our results. The differences in Hayet Rida and Tracee Ellis Ross not only include difference in their amount of followers but in their celebrity status as well. In the future, researchers might compare a “micro” influencer with a more traditional “macro” influencer who is not necessarily a celebrity. Finally, we as researchers had a number of limitations, including limited access to a representative sample of respondents, time constraints and personal biases.

Based on our known limitations, there are improvements to be made in future research studying the relationship between influencer effectiveness and follower count. In our study we included two stimuli, a “micro” influencer (Hayet Rida) and a “macro” celebrity influencer (Tracee Ellis Ross). We made this decision in order to determine if a celebrity endorsement or a “micro” influencer would be more effective when it comes to consumer purchase intention, brand awareness, and brand sentiment. What we didn’t consider at the time is the possibility of celebrity status affecting our respondents answers. There is a probability that responses were not determined via follower count. In order to eliminate this confounding variable, future studies should use a traditional “micro” influencer and traditional “macro” influencer that is not a celebrity so the primary surface-level difference is follower count. This would allow us to better evaluate our research question. Another change we would make in future research would be to use only female responses. While the number of male responses to our survey was low, their insights were not useful to us as men are not a part of our target audience. In our experiment, the sponsored content we included was Instagram posts only. In future studies, it might also be helpful to researchers and to the brand to include Instagram story advertisements. Instagram stories are becoming increasingly popular, meaning brands should consider this as a potential form of advertising. Finally, if resources allowed, we would recommend that future researchers collect a more representative sample for research on the topic. We were limited by time constraints and resources and as a result our data and insights can be only be applied to a select group of people, namely college-aged females. Future research on influencer marketing would benefit greatly from making the aforementioned adjustments. 14

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Schild, Courtney. “Influencers: The New Medium of Marketing.” Oregon State University ​ Master’s Thesis, Oregon State University, n.d., ​ https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/downloads/8623j011k. ​

Watts, Lauren, et al. “Key Factors Influencing the Purchase Intention of Activewear: an Empirical Study of US Consumers.” International Journal of Fashion ​ Design, Technology and Education, vol. 12, no. 1, 2018, pp. 46–55., ​ doi:10.1080/17543266.2018.1477995.

“10 Reasons Why Influencer Marketing is the Next Big Thing.” AdWeek, Adweek, 14 July 2015. ​ ​ www.adweek.com/digital/10-reasons-why-influencer-marketing-is-the-next-big-thing/

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Appendix:

Consent Form

Dear Participant, You are invited to participate in a research project conducted as part of the requirements for a class in the Department of Advertising and Public Relations at the University of Georgia. For this project, we will be conducting a survey about sentiments related to Instagram content. The course is Insights and Analytics, taught by Professor Alexander Pfeuffer. The purpose of this research project is to help students learn about purchasing behavior. The information generated will not be used for publication. Data collected will be completely confidential. There are minimal foreseeable risks associated with this study. Benefits to participants are none. Taking part in this research study will have no cost to you. The survey will last about 6 minutes. This survey is entirely voluntary. You are free to withdraw your participation at any time should you choose to. Additionally, you may be removed from the survey at any time without your approval. If you have any questions or concerns, you may contact Professor Alexander Pfeuffer, Ph.D, at [email protected]. (706-542-8091) or the researchers directly at [email protected]. By continuing this survey, you are giving your consent to participate in this study, acknowledge that you have read the above information and understand its contents, and acknowledge that you are at least 18 years of age. If you have further questions about this study, you understand that you can contact the above professor and researchers. You understand that your participation is completely voluntary. We hope you will enjoy this opportunity to share your experiences and perspectives with us. Thank you for your help. Sincerely, the researchers: Maddie Fiorante, Meriah Grove, Sarah Hawkins and Lottie Smalley

Do you agree to participate?

o Yes (1) ​ o No (2) ​ End of Block: Default Question Block

17

Questions

Start of Block: Block 5

Age What is your age in years? (e.g., 19)

______

End of Block: Block 5

Start of Block: DEMOGRAPHICS

Sex What is your biological sex?

o Male (1) ​ o Female (2) ​ o Prefer not to answer (3) ​

Q6 What is your current employment status?

o Unemployed (1) ​ o Student (2) ​ o Part-time employment (3) ​ o Full time employment (4) ​ 18

o Retired (5) ​

User Are you an active user on Instagram?

o Definitely Yes (1) ​ o Definitely No (2) ​ o Might or might not be (3) ​

Q7 What kinds of Instagram accounts do you follow? (Please check all that apply)

▢ Friends and Family (9) ​ ▢ Influencers/Brands/Celebrities (10) ​ ▢ News/Media Outlets (11) ​ ▢ I am not active on Instagram (12) ​ ▢ Other (13) ​ End of Block: DEMOGRAPHICS

19

Start of Block: MICRO

Q25 Please take time to look over this post on Instagram. The first photo is the post, the second photo is this user's profile. Please take notice of all parts of the post, the profile and the messaging. Answer the questions which follow about this person's post and profile.

Q10 The following questions are about the product advertised in the post you observed. Very (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) Very Unlikely Likely (1) (7)

How likely are you to purchase o o o o o o o this product based on this recommendation? (1)

How likely is it that you would o o o o o o o engage with this post? (Comment, Share, or Like the post) (2)

Q11 Who do you feel the messaging in this post comes from?

o The Influencer themselves (1) ​ o Both the influencer and the brand (2) ​ 20

o The brand alone (3) ​ o Unsure (4) ​

Q12 The following questions are about the creator of the post you observed. Strongly (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) Strongly Disagree Agree (7) (1)

The creator of o o o o o o o this post is credible. (1)

The creator of o o o o o o o this post is relatable. (2)

The creator of o o o o o o o this post is helpful. (3)

Q14 How do you view Nike as a brand after seeing this post?

o Very favorable (1) ​ 21

o (2) ​ o (3) ​ o (4) ​ o (5) ​ o (6) ​ o Very Unfavorable (7) ​

Q15 The following questions are about your brand awareness of the sportswear company Nike. Strongly (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) Strong Disagree Increase (1) (7)

This post increases o o o o o o o my awareness about Nike as a brand. (1)

This post increases o o o o o o o my awareness about Nike’s values. (2) 22

This post increases o o o o o o o my awareness about Nike’s product offerings. (3)

End of Block: MICRO

Start of Block: CELEBRITY

Q26 Please take time to look over this post on Instagram. The first photo is the post, the second photo is this user's profile. Please take notice of all parts of the post, the profile and the messaging. Answer the questions which follow about this person's post and profile.

Q17 The following questions are about the product advertised in the post you observed. Very (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) Very Unlikely Likely (1) (8)

How likely are you to purchase o o o o o o o this product based on this recommendation? (1)

How likely is it that you would o o o o o o o engage with this post? (Comment, 23

Share, or Like the post) (2)

Q18 Who do you feel the messaging in this post comes from?

o The Influencer themselves (1) ​ o Both the influencer and the brand (2) ​ o The brand alone (3) ​ o Unsure (4) ​

Q19 The following questions are about the creator of the post you observed. Strongly (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) Strongly Disagree Agree (7) (1)

The creator of o o o o o o o this post is credible. (1)

The creator of o o o o o o o this post is 24

relatable. (2)

The creator of o o o o o o o this post is helpful. (3)

Q20 How do you view Nike as a brand after seeing this post?

o Very favorable (1) ​ o (2) ​ o (3) ​ o (4) ​ o (5) ​ o (6) ​ o Very Unfavorable (7) ​

Q21 The following questions are about your brand awareness of the sportswear company Nike. 25

Strongly (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) Strongly Disagree Agree (7) (1)

This post increases o o o o o o o my awareness about Nike as a brand. (1)

This post increases o o o o o o o my awareness about Nike’s values. (2)

This post increases o o o o o o o my awareness about Nike’s product offerings. (3)

End of Block: CELEBRITY

Start of Block: Continued questions

26

Q22 Please answer these questions based on your usage and opinions from Instagram. Strongly (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) Strongly Disagree agree (1) (7)

I make purchases based on social o o o o o o o media recommendations. (1)

I find out about new trends o o o o o o o through social media. (2)

I often engage with influencer o o o o o o o accounts on Instagram (follow, like, comment, etc.). (3)

Influencers have my best interest at o o o o o o o heart. (4)

When an influencer has o o o o o o o more followers, they are more credible. (5)

When an influencer has o o o o o o o more followers, they are more relatable. (6) 27

When an influencer has a o o o o o o o smaller following, they are more credible. (7)

When an influencer has a o o o o o o o smaller following, they are more relatable. (8)

If my favorite influencer o o o o o o o recommends a brand, I am more likely to try it. (9)

My perception of an influencer is o o o o o o o more favorable when they are transparent about product placement. (10)

If an influencer regularly posts o o o o o o o sponsored content, I am less likely to trust them. (11)

I have heightened brand awareness o o o o o o o about companies that partner with my favorite influencers on Instagram. (12) 28

I am likely to purchase o o o o o o o something that my favorite celebrity promotes. (13)

My perception of a celebrity is more o o o o o o o favorable when they are transparent about product placement. (14)

If a celebrity regularly posts o o o o o o o sponsored content, I am less likely to trust them. (15)

Q23 I have followed a brand on Instagram directly from an influencer’s post.

o Yes (1) ​ o Maybe (2) ​ o No (3) ​

Q24 I have followed a brand on Instagram directly from a celebrity’s post. 29

o Yes (1) ​ o Maybe (2) ​ o No (3) ​ End of Block: Continued questions

Stimuli

30 31 32