Analysis of a new visual marketing craze: The effect of LINE sticker features and user characteristics on download willingness and product purchase intention.

Rapid advances in mobile technology have given rise to a proliferation of mobile apps. LINE, an instant messaging app popular around the world, combines text-based communications with cute emoji-like images called "e-stickers." This study extended the stimulus-organism-response (SeO-R) model to investigate how sticker features and user characteristics influence branding effect (brand awareness, brand attitude, and brand attachment), download willingness, and product purchase intention. A 2 (brand image: with vs. without) x 2 (product image percentage: high vs. low) x 2 (usage period: short vs. long) x 2 (sticker-use frequency: high vs. low) between-subjects design was employed. Structural equation modeling (SEM) of data collected from 361 participants in 2016 found that brand image, product image percentage, usage period, and sticker-use frequency had different impacts on branding effect. Moreover, brand attitude significantly influenced download willingness of LINE stickers, and both brand attitude and brand attachment influenced product purchase intentions. Finally, this study further examined the moderating effect of sticker-use frequency and 24 indirect effects of three mediators to detail how sticker features and user characteristics influence download willingness and product purchase intention. Important managerial implications for online marketing managers are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]