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Although there is a growing body of literature on how celebrity involvement impacts the effectiveness of destination marketing, the underlying mechanisms of that relationship are still underexplored. Based on the affect transfer and meaning transfer theories, this study aims to examine the impact of celebrity attachment on customer delight toward K-culture and K-culture attachment, affective and cognitive images of Korea, and the intention to visit Korea.

Online survey data were collected from 2,614 US residents, representing various demographic characteristics. For the data analysis, the partial least squares-structural equation modeling was conducted to evaluate the structural model and test the hypotheses.

The results showed that celebrity attachment is positively related to customer delight toward K-culture and K-culture attachment, which, in turn, positively influences affective and cognitive images of Korea. Additionally, K-culture attachment positively influences cognitive and affective images of Korea, which are positively related to the intention to visit Korea.

By using the affect transfer theory and meaning transfer theory, this study provides valuable insights into how consumer’s attachment to celebrities has spillover effects on the decision-making process. This study also adds a new concept, customer delight connected to cultural experience, in the context of destination marketing.

By understanding the importance and influence of people’s intimacy with media characters, practitioners can apply parasocial relationship theory, affect transfer theory and meaning transfer theory to their marketing strategies.

As one of the few empirical studies that examines the impact of celebrity attachment on consumers’ perceptions and behaviors, this study can make significant contributions to the destination marketing literature.

Of the three major streams of research in celebrity endorsements, the “Meaning Transfer Model (MTM)” has received the least attention from researchers. In the present study, the authors aim to investigate the basic components of the “Meaning Transfer Model” proposed by McCracken (1986, 1989) and outcome of the flow of meaning through celebrity endorsements.

The authors used an interpretive approach to address four broad research questions framed after a comprehensive literature review. Eight focus group discussions (FGD) (along with embedded word association techniques) were conducted among audience from heterogeneous demographic backgrounds from India. Content and thematic analysis were carried out on the FGD transcripts and the word association test results to generate findings.

The findings indicate seven themes of celebrity meaning, namely, personality, credibility, physical appearance, feelings, performance, values and cogent power. Most meanings were found to be transferred to a brand via the endorsement. The possibility of reverse meaning transfer and the change of celebrity meanings overtime were also observed.

The major contribution of the present study is the development of a measurable and applicable model of meaning transfer in celebrity endorsements, along with a set of testable propositions.

The findings provide a guiding framework for practitioners who would like to use a celebrity endorsement strategy.

This is one of the first attempts to develop a comprehensive model of meaning transfer in celebrity endorsements that includes sub-constructs of “meaning” and the moderators in the process.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the moderating effect of brand exposure time and exposure frequency in image transfer. In study 1, H1 and H2 assumed the bidirectional image transfer (i.e. from an event to a brand, from a brand to an event). H3 and H4 were set to examine the moderating effect of brand exposure time and exposure frequency in image transfer upon spreading activation theory, mere exposure effect and three-hit theory.

According to study 1, the result indicated that the amount of image transfer varied based on the exposure time. However, brand exposure frequency did not show statistically significant interactions. Study 2 was performed to complement the H4 of the study 1. In study 2, apart from the number of exposures on a screen (group 1=four times; group 2=eight times), the perceived number of exposures were separately measured (group 1=2.67; group 2=3.96) to see if the number of perceived exposures moderated the amount of image transfer.

The results indicated that there was no group difference in the amount of image transfer. Based on the result of the study, a sponsor brand must be exposed for enough time duration in order to maximize the return on investment regardless of how frequently it is exposed.

The current study examined the image transfer in sport sponsorship. Although previous studies empirically examined the image transfer phenomenon in sport sponsorship, they failed to establish theoretical ground. Thus, this study incorporated the three theories in advertising and examined how we can apply the theories to sport sponsorship. In addition, we examine the image transfer based on video clip which is mainly how people are exposed to sport sponsorship. Next, we examined the moderating effects of exposure duration and exposure frequency, which has never been studied in sport sponsorship context.

Celebrity endorsement is one of the most popular forms of marketing, and this study aims to suggest that celebrity endorsement should be considered as a brand alliance, where meanings and values can transfer from either partner to the other. This paper seeks to report on an exploratory attempt to identify the processes involved and explore whether celebrity endorsement should be considered a brand alliance.

After a review of both celebrity endorsement and brand alliance literature, a case of meaning transfer process was examined. The collaboration between Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd and celebrity chef Jamie Oliver was studied as a case, within which a special episode of negative publicity emerged and was analysed through newspaper articles.

A model for a reciprocal meaning transfer process is proposed and the existence of a brand‐alliance‐like relationship in the case is established.

The paper is the first qualitative study to examine meaning transfer process in a real life celebrity endorsement context. It indicates the need for managing celebrity endorsement as a brand alliance by suggesting that celebrity endorsement should be considered as an alliance of equals. A model illustrated and supported by a case study is proposed.

This study examines the effects of congruence and reliability on cause-brand alliance (CBA) program attitudes—exploring how CBA program attitudes and sport entity attitudes affect attitudes toward a sport-related and sport-unrelated brand in a single CBA.

About 240 survey participants answered questions before and after being exposed to information about the NFL Play 60 program. Consistent partial least squares structural equation modeling is utilized to test the hypotheses.

Results suggest both congruence and reliability positively influence CBA program success; and both sport-related and sport-unrelated brands positively affect consumer attitudes when they participate in a CBA with a high-profile sport entity. This occurs directly through CBA program attitudes for a sport-unrelated brand and indirectly through sport entity attitudes for a sport-related brand.

This study extends the CBA literature in sports by showing (1) the role of reliability on CBA program attitudes, (2) the role of sport entity attitudes on other cause partner attitudes and (3) different paths for sport-related versus sport-unrelated brands that are partnered with a premium sport entity to achieve CBA program brand enhancements.

Endorsement deals are a key contributing factor for companies to gain brand recognition and positive brand associations from consumers. However, endorsement relationships can be risky for firms in the event of an endorser’s bad behavior or involvement in scandals. The purpose of this paper is to examine how brands can use endorsement exit strategies to minimize and even benefit from negative situations involving its endorser.

After a review of celebrity endorsement literature, the paper investigates the Rio Olympic Games robbery scandal involving American swimmer Ryan Lochte as a detailed case. By studying the timeline of sponsor-related activities, relevant theories and brand outcomes through Google Trends, indications of a calculated and strategic exit from the endorsement relationship emerge.

The case analysis establishes that sponsors can successfully leverage the negative associations toward a disgraced endorser. Based on the process of meaning transfer, this case proposes that sponsors can benefit from its public dissociation from the endorser and gain awareness from this separation.

This paper is the first study to examine the positive impact of a celebrity endorsement scandal. It highlights the need for managers to actively prepare endorsement exit strategies in the event of negative associations or endorser actions. The timing and scope of the exit strategy can both limit negative meaning transfer, and leverage the situation creating positive perceptions of integrity and ethics for the sponsor.

There is limited research examining social drivers and mediators of online brand community identification in the context of business models development. This study aims to identify them behind the social mechanisms and present essential factors which should be applied in business models to foster value co-creation.

Data were collected from a convenience sample of 712 cases gathered among young European Facebook users via an electronic survey and analyzed using the structural equation modeling method.

Customer–other customers’ identification is a pivotal factor in influencing brand community identification.

If companies want to implement online brand communities into business models effectively and co-create brand value, they need deliver brand content useful for customer self-expression and social interaction to enhance consumer-brand identification and customer–customer social bonds which enable to transform the audience into a community. Focusing on the constant reinforcement of online brand community by supporting customer–customer relationships is critical for voluntary value co-creation.

The main contribution of this study to the literature on online brand communities is the presentation and empirical verification of pivotal social mechanisms of online brand community identification considered as a starting point to potential co-creation and capturing value based on the social presence theory.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of celebrity-advertising context congruence on transferring a celebrity’s image to a brand image.

This study investigates the effect of the advertising context, which is the background of the ad provided by the vehicle carrying it, in transferring a celebrity athlete’s image.

The results indicate that the presentation of a celebrity athlete in an advertising context that is congruent with the professional expertise of the athlete enables the more effective transfer of the athlete’s image to the brand’s image compared with the incongruent advertising context. In addition, the findings suggest that image attributes perceived as belonging to the professional expertise of an athlete are transferred more effectively by a context-congruent advertisement, while image attributes based on the sociocultural influence of an athlete show no difference in image transfer based on the advertising context.

Although the advertising context has been thought to influence advertising effectiveness, no specific research has thus far analyzed the relationship between image transfer and the advertising context in the sports marketing literature.

Presents a model which identifies factors that influence the creation of an event’s image. Uses theoretical perspectives from the celebrity endorsement literature to suggest that an event’s image associations are transferred to the sponsoring brand through event sponsorship activities. Discusses moderating variables impacting the strength of the meaning transfer and attitude towards the brand. Offers future research directions in the form of research propositions.

Students’ experiences with instructors and courses determine an institute’s identity. With the instructor analogous to a brand spokesperson and the course to a brand, this study aims to examine the impact of the instructor experiential values on the student’s course experiences, as well as their attitudes and behavioral intentions towards the instructor.

This study uses a mixed-method approach that combines literature review and qualitative research, with two stages of empirical validation using structural equation modeling.

The instructor experiential values comprise appearance, entertainment, escapism, intrinsic enjoyment, efficiency and service excellence. The course experiences are composed of sensory, sentimental, behavioral and intellectual experiences. Strong effects of the instructor experiential values on the course experiences and, in turn, on the students’ attitudes and behavioral intentions are found.

This study contributes to higher education literature by leveraging the theories of meanings transfer, experiential value and brand experience for a unique perspective to the students’ interactions with higher education institute instructors and courses.

The paper’s analogy of an instructor as a brand spokesperson endorsing the course brand is an original contribution to this domain.