This ad’s for you: how personalized SNS advertisements affect the consumer–brand relationship

Purpose Firms can now access users’ digital histories due to advances in technology and deliver personalized recommendations through social network sites (SNS) such as Facebook that offers advanced targeting options and reliable conversion tracking. This paper aims to examine the effects of personalized advertisements on SNS on the relationship between consumers and brands, tests the impact of brand attachment and experience on brand equity through personalized SNS ads and investigates the influence of such ads on branded products and services. Design/methodology/approach Two studies were conducted. Study 1 (n = 275) was a survey-based design that leveraged structural equation modeling to test the hypotheses, while Study 2 (n = 350) used experimental design to compare two groups who saw service brand ads versus those who saw product brand ads. Findings Results showed that SNS ads supporting the brand had a significant positive impact on respondents’ brand attachment and brand experience. In both studies, brand experience positively impacted all the elements of brand equity, while brand attachment was found to impact brand loyalty. Originality/value The findings illustrate how personalized ads for brands appearing on SNS can change consumer perceptions, thus affecting the consumer–brand relationship. The results bode well for brands considering leveraging SNS in their marketing mix, particularly when the strategy behind the advertising is brand building.