The Slender Line from Valentine to Vampire - An experimental study about the appearance of an overshadowing effect on brand recall with the use of influencers

Sammanfattning: The aim of this study is to investigate (1) whether the use of influencers in advertisements has a negative effect on brand recall in general and (2) which conditions enhance or weaken such a negative effect. A combination of experimental and case based research was applied to establish control (unknown model) and experimental groups (influencer) for different cases in order to test for brand recall under various conditions. The study is mainly based on theories concerning influencer marketing and social media. Furthermore, theories of celebrity endorsement, especially one study by Erfgen, Zenker and Sattler (2015), are applied as comparative research. The empirical data of this study was gathered through a web-based questionnaire of 251 male and female participants. The results demonstrate that the use of influencers has partially a negative effect on brand recall. Furthermore, brand and influencer familiarity as well as gender moderate this relationship. Against the profound prediction, influencer-brand congruence has no significant influence on the relationship. The study was able to contribute to existing theory as the occurrence of the vampire effect in influencer endorsement was determined. Marketers therefore have to be aware of the existence of the vampire effect when considering influencer endorsement strategies. However, a direct negative impact can only be found for unaided brand recall. A brand that is using influencer endorsement in an already existing environment can overcome this negative effect.