Brand anthropomorphism and consumer brand evangelism on social networking sites: Prevention focus as a moderator

We investigated how the use of brand anthropomorphism influences brand evangelism in social media marketing. To this end we employed two theories: regulatory focus theory and cognitive–affective personality system theory. A chain mediation model was developed to examine how brand anthropomorphism influences consumers’ brand evangelism through social presence and consumer brand identification. Additionally, we explored how prevention focus moderates this effect. In a cross-sectional experiment we obtained data from 366 respondents. The results showed that brand anthropomorphism had a positive impact on consumer brand evangelism. Social presence and consumer brand identification mediated the relationship between brand anthropomorphism and brand evangelism. The chain mediating effect was moderated by prevention focus. When prevention focus was stronger, the chain mediating effect between brand anthropomorphism, social presence, consumer brand identification, and consumer brand evangelism became weaker. Our findings in this study provide a reference for marketers to optimize their strategies, achieving more effective and targeted social media marketing efforts.