Turning fans into funders: The power of idol communication in mobilising donations for marketing campaigns

Fan communities increasingly contribute their own financial resources to support idol-related promotional campaigns, yet the psychological mechanisms underlying this collective behaviour remain insufficiently understood. This study examines how marketing communication surrounding idols mobilises fans' willingness to donate in fandom-based campaigns. Drawing on the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) framework, it investigates how perceived idol authenticity, charisma, and parasocial interaction operate as communication cues translated into collective financial participation through idol attachment, fandom identification, and perceived impact, while accounting for the moderating role of fandom norms. Survey data from 895 fans in Vietnam were analysed using PLS-SEM. The findings show that perceived authenticity strengthens attachment, identity alignment, and perceived impact, whereas charisma strengthens identity alignment and perceived impact but does not foster emotional attachment. Parasocial interaction enhances attachment, identity alignment, and perceived impact but does not directly predict donation, indicating that relational closeness alone is insufficient to trigger financially costly behaviour. Instead, fandom identification and perceived impact emerge as the strongest drivers of donation, particularly under strong fandom norms. By explaining how communication cues are converted into collective financial mobilisation, this study advances understanding of fandom as a communication-driven marketing system. The findings also offer practical insights for marketers, highlighting authenticity-based communication, identity-centred narratives, and norm-supported community strategies as budget-efficient approaches to mobilising financial support in idol- and ambassador-led campaigns.