The Analysis of the Moderating Role of Brand Type in the Association of Endorser Credibility With Endorser Congruence and Consumer Based-Brand Equity

One of the important strategies to build powerful consumer-based brand equity (CBBE) for products is to connect them to celebrities. The use of this key marketing strategy is growing around the world. The present study aimed to explore the effects of endorser credibility and endorser congruence on CBBE while considering the mediating role of congruence and the moderating role of brand type (strong/weak). The statistical population of the study was comprised of the buyers of megamalls in Tehran, from among whom 186 completed questionnaires were gathered using the simple random sampling method. Structural equation modeling in SmartPLS software was used to test the hypotheses. The results of the hypothesis tests showed that celebrity endorser's credibility had a significant positive effect on endorser congruence and CBBE. In addition, endorser congruence had a positive impact on CBBE. The findings revealed that in the statistical sample of the present study, the effect of the variable celebrity endorser on congruence and CBBE did not differ from the perspective of brand type (strong/weak) and that this variable had a positive and significant effect on paths between 'celebrity credibility-celebrity congruence' and 'celebrity credibility-CBBE'. Important theoretical and managerial implications have been derived from these findings.