Children’s bonding with popular YouTube vloggers and their attitudes toward brand and product endorsements in vlogs: an explorative study

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this study has three primary aims. The first is to examine the amount of time children spend per week on viewing vlogs. Second, the authors explored children’s awareness and understanding of the brand or product placement in vlogs. Finally, the authors explored children’s self-perceived susceptibility to the potential persuasive effects of these vlogs. Design/methodology/approach Self-reported measurements were assessed among children (N = 127, 10-13 years of age). Findings Results indicate that the majority of children frequently view vlogs and that their degree of bonding with the vlogger predicted the time spend on viewing vlogs. Children recalled products and brands that were shown in vlogs, which were mostly food and beverages and considered themselves and others affected by endorsements in vlogs. Research limitations/implications Only cross-sectional data were collected; these data cannot be used to analyze behavior over a period of time or draw causal inferences. Practical implications Considering the popularity of vlogs among young people, it is important to acquire more insight into the frequency and amount of time children spend on viewing vlogs and children’s processing of persuasive messages in vlogs. This may lead to a better understanding of underlying processes and prediction of the outcomes of advertising through this form of media content. Current findings raise further questions about the persuasive content of vlogs. Originality/value Because of the popularity of online (social media) channels among youth, companies dedicate a significant proportion of their marketing budget on online influencer marketing. Therefore, it is important to acquire insight into children’s processing of online persuasive messages. To the authors’ knowledge, there is no empirical research on children’s potential bonding with popular vloggers and their awareness and understanding of the brand or product placement in vlogs.

“It’s Just Addictive People That Make Addictive Videos”: Children’s Understanding of and Attitudes towards Influencer Marketing of Food and Beverages by YouTube Video Bloggers

“…Children's beliefs about the likely effects of influencer marketing are consistent with advertisers' increased spend in this area [17,18] and as result of this fast-growing industry children are frequently exposed to influencer marketing of HFSS food and beverage products [14,[19][20][21].…”

“…Collaborations between brands and YouTubers (also referred to as 'influencers') is a fast-growing marketing technique referred to as 'influencer marketing' [17]. Industry spend on this form of marketing is predicted to increase from $500 million per year in 2018 to $5-$10 billion per year in 2023 [18].Children are frequently exposed to influencer marketing of HFSS food and beverage products and brands on social media [14,[19][20][21]. This is a concern given that evidence suggests that exposure, via Instagram [22] and YouTube [23], increases children's (9-11 years) immediate consumption of HFSS products, compared with exposure to equivalent marketing of non-food products.…”

“…Children are frequently exposed to influencer marketing of HFSS food and beverage products and brands on social media [14,[19][20][21]. This is a concern given that evidence suggests that exposure, via Instagram [22] and YouTube [23], increases children's (9-11 years) immediate consumption of HFSS products, compared with exposure to equivalent marketing of non-food products.…”

Disclosing Influencer Marketing on YouTube to Children: The Moderating Role of Para-Social Relationship

“…In addition, understanding that the video was not purely made for fun or entertainment, but also had a commercial purpose, may instigate a "change of meaning" (Friestad and Wright, 1994). Children do not seem to like advertising in YouTube videos (Folkvord et al, 2019), especially when they doubt the honesty of the influencer and realize that a video actually has a commercial purpose (Van Dam and Van Reijmersdal, 2019). The realization that a video is actually advertising may thus alter their response to the video.…”

“…The YouTubers who create this content can become very popular and build large communities with occasionally millions of followers and subscribers. Their large network, the popularity of their content, and the fact that children consider YouTubers as likeable, credible, and inspirational characters have made them interesting spokespersons for advertisers (De Jans et al, 2018a;Evans et al, 2018;Folkvord et al, 2019). Hence, YouTubers have become important social media influencers that can reach a young audience.…”