Business Commons^™

Consumers And Their Celebrity Brands: How Personal Narratives Set The Stage For Attachment, Ben Eng, Cheryl B. Jarvis

Marketing Faculty Research

This research demonstrates how consumer attachment to celebrity brands is driven by perceived narratives about the celebrity’s persona, which triggers communal (i.e., altruistic) relationship norms. The research investigates the differential role of narratives about celebrities’ personal vs. professional lives in creating attachment, and identifies and tests moderating effects of narrative characteristics including perceived source of fame, valence and authenticity.

Design/methodology/approach – Three online experiments tested the proposed direct, mediating, and moderating relationships. Data was analyzed using mediation analysis and multiple ANOVAs.

Findings – Results suggest relationship norms that are more altruistic in nature fully mediate the relationship between narrative type …