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The effects of brand exposure and writing style in corporate blogging on brand equity for services

Tilbeurgh, M.J.H. van (2014) The effects of brand exposure and writing style in corporate blogging on brand equity for services.

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Abstract:Blog marketing has become a common used instrument in the marketing mix. Yet, little is known about the impact of corporate blogging on the value of a brand. Therefore, this study focuses on the impact of brand exposure and writing style in corporate blogging on brand equity. Brand equity is one of the main instruments to measure a firm’s competitive position in terms of awareness and image of the brand. This research discusses the results of an online survey study where a 3 (no, average and high level of brand exposure) x 2 (jargon and plain language writing style) between-subjects experiment was conducted. For this study, a fictitious retirement consultant agency was used. This type of service has a high level of credence attributes, in which the quality can toughly be assessed and expectations are purely based on the provided information. The results of 303 respondents indicate that the use of plain language results in a more favorable brand image than jargon in terms of credibility, expertise, trustworthiness, accuracy and bias, and attitude, especially among people who are not employed in the financial service sector. The identification of the brand at the end of the blog (used as an average level of brand exposure) showed to be the best level to enhance the brand image and brand equity. However, a high level of brand exposure resulted in the highest awareness of the brand. Furthermore, a significant interaction between the two independent variables on brand image and brand equity showed that the effect of writing style is dependent on the level of brand exposure in which the ones that read plain language were more sensitive for the exposure of the brand. This interaction was only significant for people who are lowly involved with the service, i.e. the ones that lack ability or motivation to read the content and therefore rely more on peripheral cues like the brand. Here, the exposure of the brand may positively affect brand image, but overexposure reverses this effect. The main implication of this study is that service providers who want to engage in corporate blogging need to find congruence in the writing style and the presented level of brand exposure, with respect to the level of involvement of their target audience.
Item Type:Essay (Master)
Faculty:BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences
Subject:05 communication studies
Programme:Communication Studies MSc (60713)
Link to this item:https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/66570
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