Abstract:
The study investigates the influence of emotional advertising appeal on consumer brand trust within Sri Lanka's burgeoning consumer electronics sector, a domain seeing heightened usage, particularly in Colombo. Despite this, the impact of emotional advertising appeal on brand trust remains underexplored in Sri Lanka. Thus, this research aims to delve into this relationship, specifically examining the mediating role of attitude toward advertising. Drawing from an extensive literature review, a conceptual framework was developed. The hypotheses were tested using regression analysis, while the convenience sampling method was used to analyse data from 272 respondents who recently purchased or searched for consumer electronic items in Sri Lanka's Western province. The analysis was assisted by the SPSS 23 version. Results reveal a significant impact of emotional advertising dimensions (humor and romance appeal) on brand trust. Notably, the study reveals the mediating effect of attitude toward advertising in linking emotional advertising appeal to brand trust. There is still a need for more research into the effect of emotional advertising appeal on brand trust and attitudes toward advertising in the Sri Lankan context. Additionally, the paper discusses managerial implications and suggests avenues for future research, contributing novel insights to the field.
