Petfluencers, the Fur-Mula for Sincere Endorsements: Examining How and When Pets Exhibit Greater Persuasion as Influencers

The use of social media influencers (SMIs) is of growing interest to advertisers as well as researchers. Though, to date, much research focuses on human influencers. Increasingly, advertising agencies and brands are turning to animal influencers to promote brands. Given the rise of the ‘petfluencer’, the authors investigate factors which could lead pets to be more persuasive than humans, and if so, why. In four studies, including one field study and one laboratory experiment, this research supports that petfluencers (vs. human SMIs) can be more persuasive. These effects are driven by increased perceptions of sincerity associated with petfluencers. Additionally, the authors argue that petfluencers are more persuasive when the petfluencer’s message matches consumers’ mindset by being present- (vs. future-) oriented.