The Influence of the Perceived Hedonic vs. Utilitarian Product Type on Consumers’ Brand Engagement on Social TV

The transformation of TV into a highly targeted and measurable medium, coupled with evolving consumer viewing behaviors, has led marketers to focus on brand engagement on social TV (STV). We present a conceptual framework for understanding how consumers engage about brands advertised on TV (CBE) on social media, and examine how their perception of the brand as hedonic (H) vs. utilitarian (U) influences their intention to engage (CIE) and the positive valence of this engagement sentiment (CES). We investigate the mediating roles of ad liking and personal ad relevance in this process. Through a field study, a survey, and two lab experiments, we demonstrate that hedonic brands elicit higher CIE and are more likely to generate positive eWOM (CES) on social media. Our results, confirming the causal relationship between perceived H vs. U product type and CBE, as well as the mediation effects, provide insights for both theoretical understanding of CBE on STV, and practical implications for marketing and advertising strategies.