The effects of impartiality disclosure on brand objectives for no and multiple product endorsements

Regulation stipulates that social media Influencers on Instagram need to disclose sponsorship information when a relationship exists between the brand and the influencer. While influencers may simply use the Instagram disclosure label “Paid partnership with brand X”, others add additional messages or hashtags which express that the opinions voiced in Instagram posts are honest. This study examines how emphasizing “honest opinions” in sponsored and not sponsored Instagram posts affects consumers’ responses. Second, it explores if the influencers endorsing multiple products moderates the relationship between impartiality disclosure and credibility or ad perception. The results found that compared to the no disclosure condition, “This is not a sponsored post” diminishes consumers’ purchase intention. Further, it can support that perceived source credibility relates positively to purchase intention and that the use of “#honestopinion” diminishes advertising perception. A central finding is the existence of an indirect positive mediation effect of the impartiality disclosure “#honestopinion”, advertising disclosure and trustworthiness on purchase intention. Lastly, this study can support that a consumer’s attachment to an influencer has a positive impact on that consumer’s purchase intention. About the author Dr. Corina Oprea received her PhD at the markstones Institute of Marketing, Branding & Technology, within the research group of Prof. Dr. Cristoph Burmann, at the University of Bremen.