Co-creation of metaverse brands equity with the impact of celebrity virtual images and real-life influence: from the perspective of experience-dominant logic

Brand equity co-creation can drive up platform value. In real world, celebrities play a crucial role in influencing brand equity co-creation. However, in metaverse celebrity-infused entertainment activities, there is a research gap in the impact of celebrities on brand equity co-create intention, which is crucial for marketing. Through a moderated mediation model, we examine the impact of celebrity virtual image and celebrity real-life influence on experience co-creation (parasocial relationship, presence) and further analyze the impact of experience co-creation on brand equity co-create intention. Additionally, we explore the moderating effect of celebrity real-life influence. Our study provides theoretical contributions by linking celebrity features to brand equity co-create intention from a virtual experiential-dominant perspective. We also find that celebrity real-life influence has a virtual-reality continuum and the characteristic of implicit priming moderating effect. We suggest that new media marketing practitioners recognize that metaverse celebrity virtual image branding and endorsement can be cost-effective while ensuring effectiveness.