Document Type
Thesis
First Faculty Advisor
Dr. Ganga Urumutta Hewage
Keywords
Marketing
Rights Management
CC-BY-NC-ND; CC-BY; CC-BY-SA; CC-BY-ND; CC-BY-NC-SA; CC-BY-NC
Abstract
The cosmetics industry, one of the largest industries in the world, has taken a major shift toward organic products. Consumers prefer these products because they are safer on the human skin, have longer lasting positive effects, and do not harm animals in the creation of the product. Marketing strategies have taken a major shift toward social media. Partnering with influencers to promote products has become increasingly popular because it can be more effective by creating a deeper, more personal relationship with consumers (Glucksman, 2017). However, distrust has been growing toward influencer marketing because their recommendations are not always authentic (Kowalewisc, 2020). The purpose of this project is to determine which source (influencer vs brand) is more effective in the persuasion of consumers in the organic cosmetic industry. An experiment will be utilized to compare the effects of an Instagram advertisement from a brand and an influencer for organic cosmetics on persuading consumer attitude toward the product. The results revealed a statistically significant relationship between the brand condition and consumer attitude toward organic cosmetics. The results also indicated that goodwill mediated the relationship between the brand and consumer outcomes.
