Brand Exploration in Metaverse: Effects of User-Avatar Resemblance on Engagement and Brand Attitude

Abstract

Brand metaverse, which refers to the brand in a virtual world, has become an important medium for brands to communicate with customers. In this study, we investigate the influence of user-avatar resemblance on brand metaverse engagement and brand attitude. Specifically, we propose that user-avatar resemblance affects brand attitude by virtue of the engagement with the brand metaverse. Furthermore, we posit that copresence, the simultaneous presence of multiple avatars in the brand metaverse, acts as a moderator that strengthens the mediation. We conducted an experiment using a fashion brand’s virtual world in a popular metaverse platform. Our hypotheses were supported for the main and interaction effects. The findings provide meaningful implications for marketing practitioners who have intentions to implement ‘metaverse marketing.’