The rise of virtual influencers has significantly transformed the dynamics of influencer-follower relationships. Integrating uncanny valley and parasocial relationship theories, in this study we construct and validate a model to delineate how the anthropomorphism of virtual influencers-characterized by humanness, attractiveness, and eeriness-affects the strength of parasocial relationships. Using survey data from 826 Instagram users, we reveal that this process is mediated by trustworthiness and wishful identification, with autonomy serving as a moderator that interacts with these anthropomorphism characteristics. We also examine variations in relationship development between existing followers and prospective followers, revealing that these two groups utilize distinct criteria to establish parasocial relationships with virtual influencers. Furthermore, we contribute to the ongoing debate on the uncanny valley phenomenon, showing that the relationship between virtual influencers' anthropomorphism and perceived trustworthiness aligns more closely with a linear model than a curvilinear one. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Influencers’ persuasive power is rooted in the informational and emotional support they offer to followers through a certain form of relationship. With a focus on the role of “platforms” in the process, this study adopted the technology affordance lens and a national survey to examine how affordances of visibility and engagement affect followers’ information seeking and affective relationship-building activities in influencer marketing, and consequently contribute to purchase intention. Additionally, the differences in the patterns among three major influencer marketing platforms (i.e., Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook) were explored. Through a national online survey in the US, the results revealed that product visibility, triggered engagement, and social presence engagement were positively related to information seeking; visibility control, social presence engagement, and synchronous engagement were positively associated with affective trust development. The three platforms differed in some of the association strengths between affordances and follower activities. The study added to the literature by revealing the underexplored contextual roles of media technology affordances in influencer marketing and offering platform-specific granular insights.

By leveraging the trust they have instilled in followers, social media influencers open up new brand communication opportunities. Drawing on interpersonal and brand trust theories, this study conceptualizes influencer trust as a relational, multidimensional concept, and adopts the trust transfer theory to explain how this trust helps with brand communication outcomes. Using a national survey, the study shows that influencer ability, benevolence, integrity, authenticity, interactivity, relatability, and past experience quality contribute to trust in influencer, which then contributes to brand trust and consequently purchase and word-of-mouth intentions. Influencer-brand congruence also plays a moderating role in the model. Relatability and interactivity consistently contribute to all dimensions of trust (i.e., cognitive, affective, and behavioral trust), while other factors only predict certain dimensions. All trust dimensions could transfer from influencers to brands, with cognitive and behavioral trust being the most transferable. The moderating role of influencer-brand congruence only applies to cognitive trust.

The engaging and relational nature of podcast listening creates a special media environment for brands. Guided by media context effect perspectives, this study employs a national survey to examine how content engagement, host-audience relationship, and advertising format associate with listeners' brand attitudes, as moderated by advertising receptivity. The findings reveal that content engagement could play both positive and negative roles. The host-audience relationship, including both relational perceptions and actual online interactions, and the host-read advertising format are positive predictors. In addition, advertising receptivity could either enhance or reverse some of the associations. Finally, the identified patterns differ by podcast genre.

Though a nascent field, corporate political advocacy has gained increasing attention as practi-tioners and scholars seek to understand how companies perform their community citizenship while motivating consumers to engage in corporate political advocacy initiatives, particularly on social media. From the perspective of lifestyle politics theory, this study used a survey (N = 913) to explore the factors that are associated with two responses to corporate political advoca-cy--consumer digital engagement in response to corporate political advocacy (CDE-CPA) and political consumerism (i.e., buycotting and boycotting). The findings suggested different mech-anisms for CDE-CPA and political consumerism. We found that weekday social media usage is positively associated with CDE-CPA but negatively associated with buycotting. Also, extraverted individuals prefer to engage in CDE-CPA activities but not political consumerism; and emotionally stable individuals tend to engage in buycotting and high-CDE activities to support corporate political advocacy.

Purpose Since influencer marketing becomes more sophisticated, it is difficult for brands to manage the strategy and process of this marketing practice. With a practical focus, this study aims at helping marketers cope with the challenge by developing conceptual typologies for influencers and followers and suggesting marketing implications for each type of influencer and follower. Design/methodology/approach This study subscribes to the perspectives of virtual community and social information processing to develop conceptual typologies for influencers and followers based on their essential characteristics. Findings Based on levels of expertise and interactivity, influencers can be categorized as broadcasters, leaders, friends and companions. Each type has advantages in certain branding objectives (e.g. increasing awareness, inducing judgments and feelings, building brand and user imagery, encouraging pro-brand behaviors and managing relationships) and is associated with certain marketing limitations (e.g. reach, domain breadth, informational support, brand congruence and relationship management). Based on levels of behavioral engagement and the point of attachment, followers are categorized into spectators, participants, admirers and advocators, with specific marketing communication strategies most effective for each type (e.g. strategies of content, narratives, engagement and co-branding). Originality/value The study translates the idea of influencer community into a practically useful framework for practitioners to best leverage influencer marketing and an innovative perspective for scholars to further investigate the phenomenon.

To adapt to Millennials’ mobile-centric lifestyle, the U.S. radio broadcasters are integrating mobile apps into their services. Through a national survey, this study explores Millennial radio users’ functionality preferences regarding station-specific apps from radio stations, and factors affecting their adoption intentions and actual adoption behaviors of such apps. The potential contribution of these apps to brand loyalty is also examined. Three types of factors are investigated: technology, brand, and media factors. The results suggest that all of them affect adoption and loyalty building. As such, this study contributes to the literature of technology acceptance, mobile marketing, and media management.

Through a large-scale national survey, this study provided the first comprehensive examination of podcast users in the United States from the perspectives of motivation and usage. It deepened our understanding of this new on-demand audio platform in the context of consumption drivers, behaviors, and competing media options. The results showed that entertainment, information, and audio platform superiority were the most important motivators for podcast consumption. In addition, motives were found to affect listening behaviors, including listening settings, width, depth, and routine of listening, and usage of competing audio media, such as regular radio, online radio, and streaming music. The findings revealed that podcasting is a distinct medium with unique characteristics rather than a mobile, on-demand extension of existing audio platforms like radio. Podcast consumption, especially on today's complex media platforms, is multidimensional and should be measured from multiple aspects and examined in various settings.

As content marketing becomes a viable approach to build brands and connect with consumers, this study assessed top brands' content marketing strategy on branded YouTube channels via content analysis. Using a consumer engagement conceptual framework, the study examined brands' strategies addressing the interactivity, attention, emotion, and cognition aspects of engagement and explored the role of YouTube capabilities, financial resources, and product category in strategy differentiation. Results indicated that engagement through social media content marketing is highly contextual and platform dependent. YouTube capabilities, financial resources, and product category play an important role in strategy differentiation.

The age of social media requires multinational brands to master both global platforms where various cultures coexist, and local platforms dominated by a specific culture. Guided by the theories of high- vs. low-context culture, individualism vs. collectivism, and indulgence vs. restraint, this study examined multinational luxury brands' communication strategies on the global platform Twitter, and the local Chinese platform Weibo. Several strategic aspects were investigated, including visual elements, creative strategy, cultural values, indulgence and restraint communication, and user generated content. The surprising results revealed the evident impact of culture and the distinct characteristics of the luxury industry.

Digital technologies have redefined how people use audio media, especially for the millennial audience segment. Faced with the challenge from streaming music, many broadcast radio stations have launched their own mobile apps to compete with the new audio services such as Spotify. Guided by the uses and gratifications conceptual framework, this study employed a national survey to investigate millennials’ perceptions of the substitutability and complementarity of broadcast radio, its apps, and music streaming services. The results showed that while radio listeners perceived broadcast radio and its apps as similar products, they regarded music streaming services as distinct from the two. In addition, this study examined motivators behind the diverse perceptions and identified information, escapism, entertainment, and socialization as important. The results suggest that radio stations should take advantage of the mobile technology and offer unique values through their apps, rather than duplicate the offline consumption experience.

A qualitative study was conducted to explore Chinese advertising practitioners’ perceptions and interpretations of engagement in the digital era. Twenty-three in-depth interviews were conducted to collect data. Findings revealed that Chinese advertising practitioners emphasize interactive experience in defining engagement, which acknowledges multiple dimensions of engagement; they believe that the execution of engagement should emphasize content creation, media selection, and proper interaction; they tend to discuss engagement in a very holistic way, while they consider the effort versus effect dual-approach as an appropriate criterion to measure engagement, confusions, and discrepancies exist surrounding the engagement measurement among Chinese advertising practitioners. The current study offers insightful implications for the conceptualization of engagement in different cultural contexts as well as on how to bridge the perceptional gap between academia and industry regarding the execution of engagement.

A qualitative study was conducted to examine Chinese advertising practitioners’ perception and interpretation of advertising creativity and strategy in the digital age. Twenty three face-to-face in-depth interviews were conducted to collect data. Findings revealed Chinese advertising practitioners’ definitions of creativity and strategy, perceived criteria of creativity and strategy, perceptions of strategy typology, and how creative person, process, and press shape their perceptions of creativity. Theoretical and practical implications were offered.

The media industry is changing to adapt to an environment that is characterized by the fragmentation of media options, competition for attention, and empowered audiences. Consumer engagement has become the key to success for many media companies. This chapter reviews the shifts of business models in the media industry and discusses how media consumer engagement is becoming the fundamental driver of value creation in media companies' business strategies.

The rise of influencer marketing makes YouTube an ideal media platform to implement such marketing strategies. Many scholars consider the success of YouTube influencer marketing as a result of high consumer perception of information credibility. This study employs heuristic-systematic model to investigate how informational cues influence credibility evaluations of information posted by YouTube influencers. An online survey was conducted to investigate the factors, and a two-step, structural equation modelling data analysis approach was utilised to explore the correlation between variables. The results reveal that trustworthiness, social influence, argument quality, and information involvement are influential factors affecting consumer perceived information credibility on YouTube. The analytic results also reveal a strong and positive correlation between perceived information credibility and brand/video attitudes.