A study on the influence of virtual idol endorsers on consumer brand attitude

With the continuous development of technologies such as big data and artificial intelligence, digital idols are gradually being favored by branded enterprises. Based on meaning transfer theory and trust theory, this paper conducts four scenario experiments to explore how virtual idol endorsers influence consumers' brand attitudes, as well as the moderating effect of brand type. The study results show that virtual idol endorsers affect consumer brand attitude when they buy symbolic brand products by enhancing their social identity. When consumers buy functional brand products, virtual idol endorsers influence their brand attitude by improving their brand trust. Theoretically, this study enriches the research on the influence of virtual idol endorsers on consumer brand attitude under different brand types. Practically, it provides valuable reference for brands to formulate global virtual endorsement strategies and improve the stability and continuity of corporate brand marketing and promotion.