Tickle me on WeChat Moments: the role of brand love

Chatouillez-moi sur WeChat Moments: le rôle de l'amour de la marque

Jashim Khan, Jean-Eric Pelet () and Somayeh Zamani
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Jashim Khan: UNIS - University of Surrey
Jean-Eric Pelet: INSEEC - Institut des hautes études économiques et commerciales | School of Business and Economics
Somayeh Zamani: University of Isfahan

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Abstract: Purpose-This study aims to expand the understanding of the implicit exposure of brands in Web dramas with congruent branding messages shared on social media Moments. This study also aims to examine the mediating role of word of mouth (WOM) and brand love in the relationship between Web-drama connectedness and viewers' intention to spend and spending per week. Design/methodology/approach-A total of 657 usable questionnaires were gathered from Chinese participants who watch the famous weekly drama "My Huckleberry Friends" and make weekly purchases from McDonald's. Partial least squares regression was used to test the theoretical model of the study. Findings-Results of this study reveal that WOM and brand love mediate the relationship between Web-drama connectedness and intention to spend on the exposed brand. Intention to spend mediates the relationship between brand love and spending. WOM mediates the relationship between Web-drama connectedness and spending. Originality/value-Tencent's WeChat is a well-known Chinese social media platform with a history of forbidding advertising. Users constantly flood social media with Web-drama content, influencing consumers' spending habits. To the best of the authors' knowledge, the present study is one of the first attempts to develop an understanding of Web-drama connectedness, brand love, WOM and behavioural intention by tracing the spending on advertised brands. This study highlights how brands maintain consumer spending by enhancing brand love via Web-drama advertising and instigating ticklish moments as "print screens" of WOM on social media.

Keywords: Social media; Parasocial relationship; Ticklish moments; Brand love; Web-drama connectedness; WeChat word of mouth (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021-02-26
Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-04139743v1
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Published in Journal of Product & Brand Management, 2021, 31 (1), pp.29-39. ⟨10.1108/JPBM-10-2019-2597⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04139743

DOI: 10.1108/JPBM-10-2019-2597

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