Antecedents & After-Effects of Content Creator-Based Product Placement: Empirical Insights from Bangladesh

Purpose- The emergence of content creators in social media is a comparatively new phenomenon of interest which has rightfully attracted the digital marketers. As they have discovered a new way to connect with the audience it has inevitably led to the advent of content creator-based product placement. The study is designed to propose and test a creator product placement model uncovering the factors determining audiences’ attitude and subsequent behavioral responses. Design/Methodology- The study employed a single-cross sectional design administering a structured questionnaire-based survey on a sample of 385 respondents. A conceptual model was developed showing the hypothesized relationships among specified variables which was validated using Structural Equation Modeling. Findings- Content preference, relatability, quality, attitude toward creator, parasocial relationship, fit between content and brand and fit between creator and brand are the significant determinants of the attitude toward creator product placement. It in turn influences attitude toward brand and subsequent purchasing intention. Practical Implication- The proposed framework will aid social media marketers to formulate effective creator marketing strategies to elicit desired behavioral response from the audience. It also enriches the existing body of literature of creator marketing. Originality/Value- The study endeavors to come up with a comprehensive model to understand the behavior of the target audience toward creator product placement which is relatively unexplored and unidentified.