Title: Can personalised prosocial ads be harnessed for brand equity enhancement?

Authors: Setareh Heidari; Sepideh Nasiri; Donya Rahmani; Somaye Nargesi

Addresses: Faculty of Industrial Engineering, K.N. Toosi University of Technology, No. 17, Pardis Avenue, Mollasadra Street, Vanak Square, Iran ' Faculty of Industrial Engineering, K.N. Toosi University of Technology, No. 17, Pardis Avenue, Mollasadra Street, Vanak Square, Iran ' Faculty of Industrial Engineering, K.N. Toosi University of Technology, No. 17, Pardis Avenue, Mollasadra Street, Vanak Square, Iran ' PLU School of Business, 12180 Park Avenue S. Tacoma, WA 98447, USA

Abstract: Brands from various industries are partnering on social initiatives, using social media to speak out on social challenges. A prosocial ad needs to attract the audience's attention before it can have the intended impact. Since standing out in the digital environment is a constant issue for brands seeking to improve equity, marketers have employed a personalisation strategy. The highlights are: 1) this study developed and validated a comprehensive model to examine the mechanism of personalised ad impact on brand equity; 2) personalised ads were found to be a significant antecedent of brand self-expressiveness and perceived ad value; 3) brand engagement is boosted by a favourable attitude toward the ad and a high level of brand self-expressiveness; 4) customers' engagement with brand-related content on Instagram leads to higher brand equity; 5) theoretical and practical implications for how brand managers can improve brand equity employing the research model are offered.

Keywords: personalised advertising; prosocial advertising; brand equity; cause-related marketing; CRM; brand engagement; brand self-expressiveness; perceived ad value; attitude toward the ad.

DOI: 10.1504/IJIMA.2023.133317

International Journal of Internet Marketing and Advertising, 2023 Vol.19 No.3/4, pp.305 - 327

Received: 28 Jun 2022
Accepted: 01 Nov 2022
Published online: 12 Sep 2023 *