Conveying brand authenticity through television advertising in a transmedia world

ABSTRACTTelevision advertising is an important channel through which brands create equity, based on the brand associations that consumers derive from viewing television advertisements (TV ads). This study examines how these associations’ effect on brand authenticity may depend on how brand-related information is received through multiple media channels. The entity-referent correspondence framework conceptualises brand authenticity along three dimensions of truthfulness. Based on a national panel involving food brands, this study indicates that TV ad-related brand associations strongly influence brand authenticity, depending on consumer social brand engagement and brand scandal awareness. In turn, brand authenticity reinforces brand equity by improving brand clarity and uniqueness. Our findings provide insights to assist advertisers design TV advertising campaigns that create authentic brands.KEYWORDS: Television advertisingbrand associationsbrand authenticitysocial brand engagementbrand scandalstransmedia Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Notes1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cf87i6w5o6MAdditional informationNotes on contributorsFrançoise SimonFrançoise Simon is a full Professor of Marketing at the University of Haute-Alsace, Faculty of Marketing and Agrosciences. After a few years working in industry, she completed her PhD and took up a lectureship in 2005. Her research focuses on relationship marketing and brand communication, with a particular interest in the effects of brands’ relationship investments on consumer behaviour. Her research has been published in, among other journals, International Journal of Research in Marketing, Marketing Letters, Journal of Business Research, European Journal of Marketing, and Psychology & Marketing.Anne BontourAnne Bontour is a lecturer in marketing at the University of Haute-Alsace. Her research interests include advertising and the impact of personality variables on advertising reception.