The effect of brand communications on loyalty: A study on mediating role of brand-user imagery and brand credibility

In today’s highly competitive markets, brand loyalty is a central element of marketing strategies and tactics. The sources of loyalty and the processes through which it is established is becoming central concern of marketers. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of brand controlled and uncontrolled communications on loyalty of mobile telecommunications service providers’ customers and also to test empirically whether this relationship is mediated by brand-user imagery and brand credibility. Data were collected through a sample survey from 544 of Irancell and Hamrahe-Aval subscribers in Yazd province. Structural equation modeling and path analysis were used to test the research model. Findings indicate that uncontrolled brand communications including WOM and brand publicity have significant effect on customer loyalty directly and through the mediation role of brand-user imagery and brand credibility indirectly. The results also show that advertisement as a major tool for controlled brand communication, affects customer’s loyalty indirectly through brand-user imagery and brand credibility.