Impact of Influencer Marketing on Brand Awareness in the COVID-19 Hit Market: The Moderating Effect of Price Sensitivity

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced our life to stay-at-home orders and disrupted all aspects of our life, which made our relationships stay connected with social media. Marketers of the different products and services have adopted the new shift of life; as a result, they have embraced influencers to establish communication as a digital approach. The research would like to investigate the problem related to the determining factors of brand awareness in the COVID-19 situation, which has not been clarified in previous studies. This study aims to investigate the factors affecting purchasing intention through the influencer marketing approach in the COVID-19 hit market of Bangladesh. The study also analyzes the moderating role of price sensitivity between brand awareness and purchase intention. Data were collected through an online survey utilizing the sample random sampling technique from the Y generation users. A total of 258 data were analyzed by using structural equation modeling. The study shows that e-WOM (electronic-Word of mouth), content quality, and influencer attractiveness significantly impact building brand awareness through influencer marketing. Moreover, it was found that price sensitivity has no impact between brand awareness and purchase intention. The study contributes by attributing to the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA), arguing from the perspective of rational and systematic evaluation in purchasing behavior. This empirical study can suggest to brand or campaign managers that influencers' information matters in converting audiences to customers. This research is the first study that empirically analyzes the reasons behind purchasing through influencer marketing.