Brand to Brand: Consumer Evaluations of Spillover Effects in Interbrand Communications

Prior research on communications of strategic brand alliances assesses spillover effects of these alliances on consumer attitudes toward brands (Simonin and Ruth 1998; Baumgarth 2004). However, social media strategies have shifted firms’ months-long bureaucratic approval processes of formal alliances to real-time brand-to-brand communications, or interbrand communications (IBCs). This has given firms the ability to co-create brand value, alongside consumer value co-creation. The purpose of this research is to identify and examine the effects of IBCs – using social media – on brand co-creation of value via spillover effects. We simulate an IBC in a controlled between-subjects experiment and use SEM to evaluate the spillover effects of IBCs on consumers’ attitudes to brands. Our results indicate IBCs have positive spillover effects on consumer attitudes toward brands but that those effects are moderated by brand familiarity. However, we fail to find support for consumer attitudes to IBCs leading to consumer-brand engagement. This initial research on IBCs has theoretical implications for social media, brand management, and marketing communications research, as well as practical implications for firms adding IBCs to their communications strategies. We conclude with insights for extending research on IBC characteristics and spillover effects.