The Perceived Credibility of Ambient Marketing Activities on Consumer Purchasing Intention: Examining the Mediation of Consumer Attitudes Towards International Fast-Food Franchises in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Ambient marketing is a creative advertising strategy where companies use unconventional environmental media to interact with their customers and make lasting impressions. Unlike traditional advertising, ambient marketing allows for brand connection by blending in with the everyday surroundings while adding a surprise factor. Furthermore, it assesses the mediating role of consumer attitude, which is one of the critical gaps in the current literature on the effectiveness of ambient marketing within the fast-food sector. A positivistic, quantitative research design was employed to achieve the research objectives. Data were collected through a structured, self-administered questionnaire administered online to 408 Sri Lankan consumers who are familiar with ambient practices in the fast-food industry. The study results indicate that perceived credibility significantly relates to consumer purchasing intentions. More precisely, trustworthiness and expertise were crucial in determining consumer perceptions about ambient marketing campaigns. The consumer attitude proved to mediate this relationship, though differently for both trustworthiness and expertise. In the case of trustworthiness, partial mediation was observed, implying that consumer attitude enhanced the relationship that already existed between perceived credibility and purchasing intention. In turn, expertise exhibited the full mediation effect, with consumer attitude fully mediating perceived expertise and purchasing behaviour. The current research addresses the significant theoretical gap by connecting ambient marketing activities and consumer purchasing intention in the fast-food sector, particularly in Sri Lanka. It extends the literature by emphasising the mediating role of consumer attitude and provides empirical evidence of the importance of trustworthiness and expertise in unconventional marketing strategies.