A comparative experimental study between 3 social proof reputation systems and their influence on brand attitudes in contemporary digital advertising

Trust is becoming increasingly important for both businesses and consumers when transacting online. Customers can be readily exposed to a wide range of businesses from which they can purchase from. Which of these businesses can they trust? On the flip side, how can businesses stand out and build trust among these potential online customers? Businesses can build this trust by displaying social proof, which customers can evaluate to form judgements surrounding a product or brand. In this paper, we investigate the following research question: To what extent are the social proof reputation systems of ratings, testimonials, and purchase numbers effective in developing positive brand attitudes when displayed in social media advertising? While all three systems are commonly used on other communication mediums, their effectiveness on brand attitudes, if any, when displayed in advertising is a research gap to be addressed. Furthermore, few comparisons are drawn between the effectiveness of these systems in existing literature. A conceptual model was created where the three social proof reputation systems and their interactions were hypothesized to influence advertising value. Research suggests that advertising value affects brand attitudes, and this relationship was also explored in this study. Advertising involvement in the forms of message, medium, and creative involvement was thought to positively affect advertising value. To test this conceptual model, this paper includes a study among young consumers across the European Union and European Free Trade Agreement countries. An experimental survey was sent out and participants were randomly exposed to one of eight social proof conditions, from which they could report their advertising involvement, derived advertising value, and attitudes towards the brand. Data was further analyzed from 316 valid responses from participants hailing from 30 countries across Europe. An ANOVA was used to compare the means between the different experimental groups and a moderated mediation model was employed to analyze the entire conceptual framework. The results find that advertising value does positively affect brand attitudes. Out of the three reputation systems, the heuristic systems of ratings and purchase numbers only displayed a significant effect on advertising value at higher levels of advertising involvement. The effect of testimonials on advertising value never reached significance. None of the four interactions exhibited a significant effect on advertising value either. Advertising involvement was found to be the strongest predictor of advertising value and exhibited a direct effect on brand attitudes. The implications of this study suggest that consumers need to be involved in an advertisement before they derive advertising value to then develop a positive attitude towards the advertised brand.