The Influence of Branding on Charity Advertising and Fundraising Effectiveness

In this paper, we describe a study designed to contribute to the stream of research on nonprofit brand-related topics. Specifically, we develop and test a conceptual model to add to our knowledge of the influences of brand familiarity, brand remarkability, and brand attitudes on audience support intentions (donation intentions, word-of-mouth intentions, and social network sharing intentions). We also examined the moderation influences of perceived donor risk, value congruence, and evoked sympathy. A sample of 266 individuals completed an online questionnaire. Data were analyzed using PLS-SEM. We found that brand familiarity’s influence on audience support intentions was fully mediated by brand attitudes and moderated by brand remarkability. We also found that brand attitudes’ influence on social network sharing intentions was moderated by perceived donor risk. Additional findings are presented. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.