The use of the social media platform Instagram has increased the fastest and has given the opportunity for the phenomenon of influencer marketing to grow in the fashion industry. The increase of influencer marketing has led marketers to understand that a change of focus is needed. Much of the previous research done in the field has focused on what distinguishes or does not distinguish effective use of influencer marketing for a company. Therefore, it is interesting to study the actual role of influencers in a fashion company’s brand communication and this by studying the fashion companies’ choice of influencers and the way consumers perceive the role of influencers in a fashion company. To operationalize the study, a semiotic analysis has been applied where images have been analyzed to answer the purpose of the study from a business perspective. The results from this are the basis for the design of a qualitative method which is then followed up by a quantitative method for answering the purpose from a consumer perspective. The data was collected through the themes formulated with the support of previous research and theories. These were consumption, the consumer’s approach to influencers and belonging to a group and identity. Within the framework of these themes, the study’s findings showed that influencer marketing is beneficial to use for a company in some areas and in others not. The semiotic analysis showed with certain deficits in the match that the companies choose influencers based on the respondents’ preferences and wishes. / Användningen av det sociala mediet Instagram är den plattform som idag ökar snabbast och har gett möjlighet för fenomenet influencer marketing att växa fram främst inom modebranschen. Ökningen av influencer marketing har lett marknadsförare till att förstå att det behövs ett fokusskifte. Mycket av den tidigare forskning som gjorts inom området har fokuserat på vad som utmärker eller inte utmärker effektiv användning av influencer marketing för ett företag. Därför är det intressant att studera den faktiska rollen av influencers i ett modeföretags varumärkeskommunikation och detta genom att studera modeföretags val av influencers och på vilket sätt konsumenter uppfattar rollen av influencers i ett modeföretag. För att operationalisera studien har en semiotisk analys tillämpats där bilder analyserats för att besvara studiens syfte utifrån ett företagsperspektiv. Resultaten från denna ligger som grund för utformningen av en kvalitativ metod som sedan följs upp av en kvantitativ metod för att besvara syftet utifrån ett konsumentperspektiv. Datan samlades in genom de teman som formulerats med stöd av tidigare forskning och teorier. Dessa var konsumtion, konsumentens förhållningssätt till influencers samt grupptillhörighet och identitet. Inom ramen för dessa teman visade studiens resultat att influencer marketing är gynnsamt att använda för ett företag i vissa avseenden och i andra inte. Bildanalysen visade med vissa brister i matchningen att företagen väljer influencers utifrån respondenternas preferenser och önskemål.

Titel: Kändisen som rabattkupong Författare: Kristine Berglund, Johanna Münter och Kajsa Stävmo  Handledare: Leif V Rytting  Examinator: Leif Marcusson  Kurs: Kandidatuppsats 15hp. Företagsekonomi, Music and Event Management, Linnéuniversitetet, HT 2016  Exekutiv sammanfattning Vi kan idag konstatera att internettillgången har ökat avsevärt nationellt och globalt under det senaste årtiondet. I takt med att digitaliseringen har ökat är det inte längre en lyx att koppla upp sig online. Följaktligen har likaså medier online mångdubblats och enligt svensk e-handel har majoriteten av företag, tidskrifter och myndigheter onlinenärvaro. Parallellt konstaterar vi att antalet kändisar har ökat som en följd av globaliseringen såväl som digitaliseringen och det finns idag fler plattformar att synas på än någonsin. Företagen och deras varumärken nyttjar det växande nätet och dagens uppsjö av kändisar, vilket därmed har lett till att kändisars medverkan i reklam inte är ett ovanligt fenomen. Vi har därför applicerat kändisreklam på onlinemiljön och detta är uppsatsens övergripande ämne. Marknadsföringskampanjer kan uttrycka sig i många olika former och kanaler men syftet med den här studien har inriktats till enbart kändisars interaktion med reklam via internet. Det finns tidigare forskning kring kändisreklam men hur fenomenet reformeras när det tar form på nätet är ännu ett relativt outforskat ämne vilket vi genom denna uppsats ämnar klargöra.  Syfte och forskningsfrågor Syftet med uppsatsen är att klarlägga och analysera vad som präglar kändisreklam online. Med detta i åtanke har vi parallellt med syftet har vi tagit fram följande två forskningsfrågor:  Vilka styrkor och svagheter finns det med kändisreklam på internet för de inblandade aktörerna? Med vilken målsättning samarbetar företag och kändisar genom onlinereklam? Metod  Uppsatsen är utformad efter en kvalitativ forskningsmetod. Forskningsansatsen präglas av induktion med deduktiva inslag. Den empiriska datan är insamlad genom sju semistrukturerade intervjuer med mycket kunniga personer inom området. Slutsatser  Resultatet visar på ett antal egenskaper som onlinemarknadsföring medför och som inte kan uppnås inom den icke-digitala marknadsföringen. Kändisen som mediakanal, electronic word of mouth, kombinationen av parternas målgrupper och den pricksäkra segmenteringen exemplifieras. Dessa karaktärsdrag och fördelar är målsättningen till varför företag och kändisar samarbetar genom onlinereklam. I studien konstateras också riskerna med kändismarknadsföring online, vilka bland annat är överexponering och negativ påverkan av samarbetspartnerns rykte. Sammanfattningsvis kan vi se att det finns ett stort värde i att använda sig av kändisar i reklam. Vår studie tyder dock på att det finns faktorer som bör tas i åtanke för att kändisreklamen ska nå framgång online. Våra slutsatser kan sammanfattas enligt följande punkter: Krav på äkthet Internet har öppnat upp för en tvåvägsdialog och även möjligheten för konsumenter att granska innehåll vilket har lett till ökade krav på äkthet och transparens. Samarbetet mellan varumärket och kändisen måste kännas äkta och reklamen får inte uppfattas som köpt. Detta är väsentligt då det annars kan leda till ett misslyckat samarbete och skador på varumärkets image. Personifierad kommunikation Med hjälp av internet kan kändisarna använda sina egna kanaler för att nå ut med reklam. Utifrån vår studie går det att utläsa att denna typ av kommunikation upplevs som mer trovärdig och äkta av konsumenten och det är en påtaglig skillnad gentemot traditionell marknadsföring. Detta blir ett sätt att kringgå problemet med att fler och fler blir undvikande mot reklam. Därmed har kändisen fått mer inflytande när det kommer till reklamen då de har möjligheten att påverka dess innehåll vid publicering på deras egna kanaler. Identitetsmatchning Vår studie tyder på att varumärket och kändisen inte får stå för långt ifrån varandra gällande identiteten då detta kan leda till förvirring hos konsumenterna. Negativ publicitet och upplevelser har en tendens att överföras till den andre partnern vilket gör förarbetet viktigt. Detta i kombination med de spridningsmöjligheter som internet medför gör det ännu mer betydande med rätt matchning då negativ publicitet sprids mycket fort på internet.

Main purpose of this thesis is to bring a reader into the problem of celebrity involvement in media marketing communication. In the thesis I explain the basic terms of celebrity marketing, consumer behavior, reference groups, marketing communication and celebrity endorsement. The application part focuses on my own research concerning the attitude of the Czech population sample to the advertisements with celebrities.

M.Tech (Marketing, Faculty of Management Sciences) Vaal University of Technology / Given the pervasive use of celebrity endorsements and the high costs involved in this marketing strategy, it is important for marketers to have knowledge of the right set of procedures to follow in selecting an ambassador to market their products. This study draws from the undertones of Ohanian’s (1990:46) Source attributes theory, comprising elements of the Source credibility theory as well as the Source attractiveness theory. Whereas the former (trustworthiness and expertise) influences consumer attitudes and behaviour through a process called internalisation, the latter (attractiveness) influences receivers of marketing communication messages through a process called identification. The theory is useful when applied during the initial phase of selecting which celebrity to use to endorse products, to avoid costly mistakes of choosing celebrities that do not possess the right set of attributes for persuading consumers. The purpose of this study was to apply the Source attributes theory in understanding the key attributes towards consumers’ evaluations of the credibility of an athlete-celebrity endorser. Moreover, the influence of athlete endorser credibility on consumers’ attitudes and purchase intentions towards the celebrity endorsed advertisement. A quantitative study comprising a non-probability snowball sample of 456 consumers was conducted in 2016, in and around the five major towns of Southern Gauteng province in South Africa. The structured-self administered questionnaire requested participants to indicate their perceptions regarding the attributes of nominated athlete-celebrity, namely, trustworthiness, expertise and attractiveness in endorsing the selected product. In addition, the questionnaire related to consumers’ evaluations of the credibility of the selected athlete-celebrity, consumers’ attitude towards the advertisement where the athlete-celebrity appears and purchase intentions towards the endorsed product. Findings from the study indicated that South African consumers have positive perceptions of the selected athlete-celebrity’s trustworthiness, expertise and attractiveness. In addition, the measurement model was verified using statistical accuracy tests, thereby confirming that the purchase intentions model was a six-factor structure comprising trustworthiness, expertise, attractiveness, endorser credibility, attitude towards the advertisement and purchase intentions. The results of both the confirmatory factor analysis and the structural equation modelling suggest that the three dimensions are valid measures of the overall credibility of the athlete- endorser (R2=0.60). This finding provided support for the scale developed by Ohanian (1990) to be a valid vi measure for selecting celebrity endorsers when applied in South Africa. Moreover, the structural model validated the existence of significant, direct impacts of athlete-endorser credibility on attitude towards the advertisement (path estimate=0.704) and attitude towards the advertisement on purchase intentions (path estimate=0.741). Insights gained from this study will assist both marketing academics and practitioners to understand the perceptions of consumers towards the use of athlete-celebrities in product promotions in the South African market. In this regard, if a determination is made that a celebrity could enhance the marketing campaign, marketers should determine to what extent the celebrity should be used. The correct use of the right celebrity, selected in line with these findings, can help ensure greater consumer persuasion.

This study is a content analysis of media content in a 12-month time period in the lives of Jason Wu and Thom Browne, who were the designers of Michelle Obama’s outfit to the second presidential inauguration. In order to discover the increase in awareness and media coverage of these designers due to Michelle Obama’s fashion selection during the second inauguration, which brought about publicity, the researcher compared mentions, tone of stories, and framing of stories concerning these designers 6 months before and after the inauguration. Results indeed gave support to the hypothesis that mentions of these designers increased significantly after that pivotal event, that the mentions were more likely to include Michelle Obama, and that Wu received more mentions than Browne. However, support was not obtained for an increase in positive tone of stories after the inauguration.

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Användandet av sociala medier ökar kraftigt och har under de senaste åren blivit en viktig del i människors vardag. Detta ger företag en möjlighet att använda sig av sociala medier i sin marknadsföring och är en av de mest populära strategierna just nu är när företag samarbetar med influencers i sin marknadsföring. Detta kallas influencer marketing. Dock finns det svårigheter för företag att hitta rätt influencer att samarbeta med och det finns olika faktorer som behöver värderas innan ett samarbete startar. Forskningsfrågorna som har besvarats i denna studie är vilka faktorer företag anser är viktigast samt vad konsumenterna anser är viktigt när företag samarbetar med influencers på Instagram. Räckvidd, relevans samt resonans är tre faktorer som tidigare studier visar har betydelse samt är viktiga vid influencer marketing. Studien genomfördes med en kvalitativ ansats i form av fokusgrupp med konsumenter samt intervjuer med marknadsförare som arbetar på företag inom mode- och skönhetsbranschen i Sverige. Denna information utgjorde den empiriska data som studien består av. Resultatet av studien visar att både konsumenterna och företagen inom mode- och skönhetsbranschen värderar faktorn relevans högst. Konsumenterna anser att det viktigaste är att influencern är trovärdig samt kunnig om produkten personen marknadsför, medan företagen värderade högst att influencerns image speglar företagets. Förslag till fortsatt forskning är att studera vad influencers tycker är viktigast när de väljer företag att samarbeta med. Det skulle vara intressant att veta influencernas åsikter angående detta och om även de värderar relevansen högst.

Submitted by Anderson do Nascimento Ricci (anderson.ricci@fgv.br) on 2018-07-23T14:09:36Z No. of bitstreams: 1 J.Ribeiro da Silva_Tese FGV.pdf: 2952965 bytes, checksum: 91408927dff5ec9499641b2db136c131 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Janete de Oliveira Feitosa (janete.feitosa@fgv.br) on 2018-07-24T13:39:22Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 J.Ribeiro da Silva_Tese FGV.pdf: 2952965 bytes, checksum: 91408927dff5ec9499641b2db136c131 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-07-24T18:59:02Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 J.Ribeiro da Silva_Tese FGV.pdf: 2952965 bytes, checksum: 91408927dff5ec9499641b2db136c131 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-06-20 / Purpose – The Match-up hypothesis is a concept which suggests that the stronger the match (i.e. the congruence, adequacy), between both a celebrity and a product, the more effective an endorsement will be. In this paper, we pretend to examine the mentioned match-up hypothesis under a social class perspective. Design/Methodology – An experiment, consisting of two surveys, was conducted to evaluate both the perceived adequacy of a celebrity-product match and its impact on consumers’ purchase intentions. Findings – Results revealed that, although the match enhanced consumer’s perceived adequacy, this rise was not translated into greater purchase intentions. Research limitations – The usage of only one product category, as well as differences regarding personal preferences and biases stemming from the non-probabilistic sampling method, were some of the limitations faced during the research. In addition, the lack of information about the topic, since it had never been studied, corresponded to another limitation. Practical implications – By acknowledging that consumers do perceive an adequacy and match between the type of products and the celebrities’ social class, companies, through their marketing and communication departments, are able to create, design and “shape” specific strategies in order to increase both the effectiveness of endorsements and consumers’’ engagement. Social implications – As a result of its marketing nature and company specific focus, the present research does not offer a wide spectrum of social implications. However, one might consider the understanding of an existing cognitive association, as well as a mental construct, between consumers’ minds and the social characteristics of the elements involved in a consumption decision as a major contribution in this field. Originality - Extant literature has only focused on the celebrity’s attractiveness (physical and/or intellectual) and credibility (expertness and trustworthiness), being the present work the first to focus and explore other perspectives and characteristics such as the social class. / Objetivo – A teoria de “Match-up hypothesis” (hipótese de combinação) é um conceito que sugere que quanto mais intensa, forte, for a combinação (i.e., a congruência ou adequação) entre a celebridade e o produto promovido, maior será a eficácia do endosso. Neste trabalho, nós pretendemos examinar o referido conceito e o impacto do mesmo sob uma perspectiva de classe social. Metodologia – Um experimento/estudo, consistindo em dois questionários, foi conduzido com o objetivo de avaliar tanto a adequação percebida entre celebridade e produto, assim como o impacto da última nas intenções de compra dos consumidores. Resultados – Os resultados revelaram que, não obstante ao facto do o referido “match” realçar e aumentar a adequação percebida pelo consumidor, esse aumento não se traduz num crescimento das intenções de compra. Limitações – A utilização de apenas uma categoria de produtos, assim como as diferenças relacionadas com preferências pessoais e enviesamento decorrente de um método de amostragem não probabilística, foram algumas das limitações enfrentadas durante a pesquisa conduzida. Adicionalmente, a falta de informação e dados sobre o tópico discutido, uma vez que nunca fora antes estudado, correspondeu a outra limitação. Aplicabilidade do trabalho – Ao reconhecer que os consumidores são capazes de entender a existência de um “match”, uma relação, entre o tipo de produtos e a classe social da celebridade, as empresas podem criar, projetar e “desenhar” estratégias específicas de forma a aumentar não só a eficácia do endosso como também o engajamento dos consumidores. Contribuições para a sociedade – Devido à natureza do trabalho e ao seu foco nas ações de uma empresa, o presente estudo não oferece um espectro muito alargado de contribuições no campo social. Todavia, o reconhecimento da existência de uma associação cognitiva, assim como de construções mentais, entre a mente dos consumidores e as características sociais dos elementos envolvidos na decisão de consumo pode ser considerado o maior contributo do estudo neste campo em análise. Originalidade – A literatura existente tem-se apenas focado na atratividade (aparência, física e/ou intelectual) e na credibilidade (perícia e confiança) de uma celebridade, sendo o presente trabalho o primeiro a focar-se e explorar outras perspectivas e características tais como a classe social.

As a result of three decades of rapid economic development, China has become the world’s second largest economy and the second biggest market for luxury consumer products (Chevalier & Lu, 2009; Degen, 2009). The most populous nation in the world is also a leading sports power with strong yet mythical potentials in its sports business market (Chadwick, 2008). This thesis studies the area where luxury consumption and sports business intersect in the market by examining the phenomenon of sports celebrity endorsement of luxury brands and how such endorsements lead to the intentions and decisions by Chinese consumers to purchase the endorsed brands. Employing a mixed-method approach by using qualitative interviews and quantitative surveys, this study adopts a methodological triangulation research design, which involves semi-structured interviews with brand managers and professionals to explore their knowledge and experiences, questionnaire surveys of consumers to understand their demographic characteristics and luxury consumption motives and considerations, and confirmative structured interviews with consumers to ensure the reliability of the research and expand the findings. Research data analysis generated three major findings. Firstly, the purchasing intentions and decisions of the consumers are the result of the synchronised functioning of a triad of social, personal, and commercial factors that define both the endorsers and the consumers. Secondly, the characteristics of the sports celebrity endorsers in terms of their attractiveness, trustworthiness and expertise have positive relationships with the represented brand equity, which in turn has a positive relationship with the consumers’ intentions and decisions to purchase the endorsed products. Thirdly, Chinese consumers demonstrate a weak and conditional preference for local sports celebrities to endorse international luxury brands. These research findings explain why it is more difficult for luxury brand owners to sell to the consumers than to impress or interest them, particularly in the context of the Chinese market. This is a pioneering academic study, intended to provide insights into how consumers in China respond to sports celebrity endorsement of luxury brands. It 2 provides an academic understanding of a knowledge gap between the studies of luxury business and sports marketing. It may benefit the strategists and practitioners of luxury brands by providing an empirical understanding of Chinese consumers and their decision-making processes under the influences of sports celebrity endorsements, so they can develop marketing communication strategies more effectively in the emerging market.

Problem formulation: What factors affect the consumers perception of credibility in influencer marketing on social media? How and why do certain factors affect the credibility of influencer marketing? Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to understand what factors affect the perception of credibility in influencer marketing on social media. Moreover, the aim is to understand how and why certain factors affect the credibility in influencer marketing in order to elaborate a conceptual model consisting of factors generating credible influencer marketing. Theoretical framework: The theoretical framework of this paper consists of existing theories regarding social identity theory, perception, brand communication, word-of-mouth (WOM), celebrity endorsement and social influencers. Methodology: This study is conducted through both a quantitative and a qualitative study with a deductive approach. The collection of primary data consists of an online survey where 120 respondents participated followed by five qualitative interviews. In order to determine what aspects to examine, a conceptual model was created based on the previous findings within credibility in WOM and celebrity endorsement. The secondary data building the theoretical framework of this thesis are collected from peer reviewed articles published in scientific journals as well as books. Empirical findings: The empirical findings consist of the result from the qualitative and quantitative study. The result of the quantitative study presents the outcome from 24 Likert scale items presented in text, charts and tables. The empirical findings from the qualitative study presents the outcome from the interviews conducted through personal communication face to face or through Skype and are presented in text that are strengthened with citation from the interviews. Conclusion: The findings show that the credibility in influencer marketing is positively affected by the perception of the influencer being a credible source and the influencer and the brand being a good fit.