The Impact of Attribute Agenda-Setting on Brand-Customer Engagement: Evidence from Chinese ERKE’s Douyin

Active consumer engagement on social media platforms can effectively enhance brand awareness, loyalty, and word-of-mouth. While numerous studies have examined the impact of content and media characteristics on consumer engagement (CE), the specific effect of different brand attributes on CE on Douyin remains underexplored. To address this research gap, this study applies attribute agenda-setting theory to explore how brand attributes drive consumer engagement on Douyin. The study used survey data from the Chinese sportswear brand ERKE’s customer community on Douyin. The partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was employed to examine how media use, attribute agenda-setting, and the need for orientation (NFO) contribute to brand communication effectiveness on Douyin. Findings showed that all direct impacts were statistically significant, but no differences between structural models for different NFO groups were found. The study highlighted the role of attribute agenda-setting in brand communication, showing that emphasizing substantive attributes stimulates primer CE while emphasizing affective attributes fosters deeper CE. This work extends agenda-setting theory and offers insights for branded content management, suggesting a balance of substantive and affective attributes to enhance CE.