How to boost Perceived Brand Value? – Let’s ask Facebookers!

Resumo

The fast diffusion of the internet has enabled marketers to pursue new avenues in community marketing. Customers have increasingly been engaging in interactive communication in the web. Social media that gather special interest groups provide a particularly attractive point of leverage for community marketing. For instance, these platforms may help to boost a company's brand image or create awareness through positive word-of-mouth between consumer groups. Beside extensive research on the role of social media in marketing in general, several open questions regarding the success of marketing activities in social media still remain unexplored. Hence, the present study attempts to close this gap by investigating two important issues in this context. First, whether the image of the brand, and second, whether the celebrity endorser credibility of a top sports team influence the perceived customer value of the sponsoring firm (company brand). Based on a quantitative study among members of a Facebook fan group of a celebrity sports team, we identify a positive link between celebrity-centred community marketing in social media and customer value. Our findings add to the discussion of whether it is fruitful to use social media platforms as means of corporate communication as a particular form of community marketing.