Digital marketing campaigns increasingly utilize social media influencers. Research in influencer marketing has investigated popularity metrics but found conflicting results on how the number of followers and likes on posts might influence consumers’ behaviors. The present research investigates green living orientation of influencers as a moderating characteristic that leads to differential interpretation of popularity metrics in the context of green advertising messages. Specifically, lower popularity metrics seem to benefit green influencers or “greenfluencers.” An increased perception of trust in greenfluencers with lower popularity results in enhanced attitudes toward a sponsored product and increased purchase intentions. Additionally, consumers are willing to donate higher amounts to a related charity after exposure to a promotional post by a green influencer with low following. We present the results of three lab studies and discuss theoretical and practical implications.

Prior research has examined the role of the traditional five sensory systems (visual, olfactory, haptic, auditory, and gustatory) and how they influence food evaluations. This research extends the boundaries of sensory marketing by examining the effects of the vestibular system, often referred to as the “sixth sensory system,” which is responsible for balance and posture. The results of six experiments show that vestibular sensations related to posture (i.e., sitting vs. standing) influence food taste perceptions. Specifically, standing (vs. sitting) postures induce greater physical stress on the body, which in turn decreases sensory sensitivity. As a result, when eating in a standing (vs. sitting) posture, consumers rate the taste of pleasant-tasting foods and beverages as less favorable, the temperature as less intense, and they consume smaller amounts. The effects of posture on taste perception are reversed for unpleasant-tasting foods. These findings have conceptual implications for broadening the frontiers of sensory marketing and for the effects of sensory systems on food taste perceptions. Given the increasing trend toward eating while standing, the findings also have practical implications for restaurant, retail, and other food-service environment designs.

Social media is emerging as a powerful platform for marketing communications. More than half of the world's population, companies, influencers, and celebrities use social media platforms to promote a desired image and advertise ideas and products. Social media users and influencers document many different aspects of their lives to the public. In that regard, one type of product prominently portrayed on social media is food. The present research investigates how the type of food (healthy vs. unhealthy) featured next to a person in a social media ad or influencer post impacts online engagement. The results of four studies, including a field experiment on Facebook, reveal that an image of a healthy (vs. an unhealthy) food adjacent to a person leads to higher engagement and higher likelihood to try a recommended product. This effect is driven by greater identification with the person in the image when the adjacent food is healthy (vs. unhealthy).

No abstract