Brand Endorsement, Popularity, and Event Sponsorship as Advertising Cues Affecting Consumer Pre-Purchase Attitudes

Abstract The ability of three advertising cues—third-party product endorsement, brand popularity, and event sponsorship—to affect consumer perceptions with regard to product quality, uniqueness, manufacturer esteem, and corporate citizenship is the focus of this study. A factorial experimental design, with cue level as either present or absent, yields eight cells with a total of 185 respondents. Results suggest significant main effects for both endorsement and sponsorship cues, with endorsement affecting perceived quality, uniqueness, and esteem, and sponsorship affecting only citizenship. The popularity cue lacks a significant main effect. The three cues do not significantly interact with each other.