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She’s just not that into you: The mediating impact of brand attachment on digital interactions
Journal of Digital & Social Media Marketing,
4
(2),
157-169
(2016)
Abstract
While the theory of brand attachment has been widely studied, very little research has been done to study the number and breadth of digital interactions for those brands with strong brand attachment versus those with weak brand attachment. This paper examines whether brand attachment towards fast-food brands has a mediating impact between loyalty (willingness to recommend) and digital interactions, as well as measuring the relative impact of specific digital interactions on brand attachment. Ultimately, the results suggest that that loyalty alone is not a significant predictor of digital interactions. Furthermore, social media interactions were seen as the highest contributor to brand attachment, suggesting that a consumer with strong brand attachment will have a higher proclivity to follow a brand on social media and subsequently share and create branded content.
Keywords: digital advertising; brand attachment; social media; brand loyalty; marketing
The full article is available to subscribers to the journal.
Author's Biography
JoAnn Sciarrino is Knight Chair, Digital Advertising and Marketing, at the School of Media and Journalism, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Prior to joining the university, she was Executive Vice President of BBDO North America, where she advised global clients such as AT&T, Starbucks, FedEx and Hyatt on brand science, including research, analytics and modelling.
John Prudente is Research Associate at the School of Media and Journalism, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He has over a decade of experience managing online marketing campaigns and departments at both mid market companies and nonprofit organisations. He holds an MPA from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
