Does celebrity attachment influence brand attachment and brand loyalty in celebrity endorsement? A mixed methods study

The study tested a celebrity endorsement model to investigate the direct and indirect influences of celebrity attachment on brand loyalty across two culturally distinct countries: The United Kingdom and Turkiye. The survey was completed by 626 respondents and the data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The findings show that celebrity attachment positively influences actual self-congruence, ideal self-congruence, brand quality, and brand attachment. Brand attachment mediates the effect of celebrity attachment on brand loyalty. Furthermore, the effectiveness of the celebrity endorsement process differs between British and Turkish consumers. Our research complements the meaning transfer model as it confirms that the celebrity endorsement process is influenced by two attachment objects: celebrities and brands. A follow-up study with text mining analysis of the consumer comments about the product reviews posted by social media influencers (SMIs) supported the validity of the celebrity endorsement model. Practitioners should consider the consumer's emotional and cognitive bonding with celebrities, and brands to enhance the effectiveness of the celebrity endorsement process. The more consumers are attached to celebrities (or SMIs) and brands, the more loyal they become to the latter.