pet influencers influence the purchase of pet items decisions of pet owners in ho chi minh specifically fpt university students

Pets are emerging as influencers and have millions of followers on social media.Similar to regular influencers, Pet Influencers are also popularly used by marketers topromote the buying

Influencer Marketing in particular, and Marketing in general, play a significant role in today'ssociety Depending on the purpose of a marketing campaign, it can influence and changeconsumer behavior In recent years, influencer marketing, especially on social networks, hasreceived much attention from marketers Many studies have shown that social mediainfluencers can significantly influence consumer behavior more than celebrities A newmarketing phenomenon has appeared that has attracted the attention of a large number ofconsumers Pets are emerging as influencers and have millions of followers on social media.Similar to regular influencers, Pet Influencers are also popularly used by marketers topromote the buying behavior of potential consumers, especially for pet products This articlewill use theories, media data, and a survey of FPT University students in Ho Chi Minh Cityto assess the impact of Pet influencers on the purchasing behavior of pet owners for theirpets.

b Social media influencers and influencer marketing 6

new passions and hobbies they will discover to enrich their lives Young Vietnamese today areincreasingly transforming pet raising into a lifestyle, investing a lot of time, effort, and money to carefor pets and treat them as members of the family, moving away from the previous habit of raising petsto keep houses and capturing mice.

Along with an increase in the number of pet owners, pet ownership has also become more expensive.Pety (2021) estimates that pet owners can spend anything from less than 500,000 VND to 2,000,000VND per month on services and products for their pet, with 77% of the amount going toward petfood Businesses for brands, services, and goods for pet gradually expanded due to the rising demand.

Also according to this research, there are up to 87% of customers search for information online,however, pet owners still face difficulties such as a lack of accurate pet care information, difficultyfinding reputable clinics, and not being provided clear information about service quality, prices, andespecially pet products Reading reviews is considered a popular method for customers to makedecisions to use products and services.

There are currently some major pet influencers in Vietnam, especially on the TikTok platform withthousands of followers, who predate that wave of pet ownership Pet influencers are currently anexpanding industry with a lot of potential in the future This study can add to the body of knowledgeregarding the buying habits of pet owners, particularly young people, and the impact of petinfluencers on pet owners' purchase decisions.

2 Research purposes

There were two key goals for this research The first is to give people comprehend the meaning of theterm "pet influencer" and how it is employed in the market today The second is the assortment ofelements that Ho Chi Minh City pet owners, particularly FPT University students, may considerbefore making a purchase decision.

People are utilizing social networks more and more often these days To draw viewers, more and morecontent is being produced One of these messages is that in addition to humans, animals may now beused in advertisements and content development Since then, pets have gained notoriety and power,giving rise to the term "pet influencers." Although this kind of marketing is not new, there hasn't beenmuch investigation into how pet influencers might affect pet owners' purchasing decisions The studymay also enlighten people more about how pets are presented in advertisements and how they affectconsumer behavior.

3 Definition

a.Pet Influencers

Pet influencers are known as pets like a dog or a cat, with a large following on social media

platforms, the average number of followers will be over 10,000 times, they are considered Petinfluencers (Working with Dog, 2017) Pet influencers will be booked by brands to advertise andmarket products and services mostly related to pets through images and videos on social networkingplatforms.

b.Social media influencer

A social media influencer is someone who derives much of their influence from social media (NealSchaffer, 2022) Has the ability to influence the perspective as well as the behavior of the targetaudience, and can share information to persuade others through their authenticity and reach Besides,social media influencers are also known as content creators, because it is impossible to make animpact without content Including activities on social media such as blogging, video production, andimages Their content focuses on a specific niche Otherwise, it will be more difficult for them tobuild their sphere of influence Focus is also important for building trust with your audience overtime Social media influencers often partner with brands, promoting products or services to theirfollowers in exchange for bonuses, free products, or discounts (Pixlee).

The word “anthropomorphism” derives from the Greek Anthropos meaning “(hu)man” andmorph meaning “form.” Initially, it was used to describe the attribution of human characteristics tothe gods, but we now include other animals, inanimate objects, and even the weather (Louise Barrett,2011)

Animal anthropomorphism can take many different forms in advertising Animals are depicted inhuman clothing, with human voices or smiles Animals can be live animals or animated animals Inpet influencers, anthropomorphic images that can be used are topics that review food when the petfeels good or content about a pet's day Moreover, it can also be used as a mascot for the brand.

d.Consumer buying behavior

Consumer buying behavior is how consumers act while choosing and purchasing a good that meetstheir needs, how customers behave and what motivates them to purchase and use particular goods.Consumer buying behavior studies a variety of subjects, including what consumers buy, why they buyit, when they buy it, how often they buy it, why they buy it, and much more Consumer buyingbehavior is crucial for brands, especially marketers because it helps them understand what customersexpect from them In order to introduce new products to the market, it is essential to identify the typesof products that buyers want Brands can understand what consumers enjoy and dislike so that theycan create their marketing strategies accordingly

1 Endorsement marketing

a.Influencer endorsers and source model

For a long time, the use of KOLs and Influencers as a certifier for the prestige and quality of productshas been applied by many brands in promoting their products and services Influencers Marketing isas far back as possible in 1890 when a French model posed for a photo on a poster promoting riceflour The effectiveness of this model has also been confirmed by many marketers.

According to The Source Credibility Model (Hovland and Weiss, 1951), the level of trust, reputation,and expertise of certifiers can influence the beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors of the target customers ofthat brand In other words, a well-recognized, reputable, and well-liked Influencer will positivelyaffect the way users evaluate the product that influencer represents.

b.Social media influencers and influencer marketing

Social media influencers and influencers are individuals who have built their reputations in a certainfield They regularly post about it on their social networking sites, resulting in a large following wholove, stick around, and care for their opinions Brands value social media influencers because they canset trends and motivate their followers to buy the things they review and recommend

“A reliable and credible channel with a real impact in swaying consumer behavior” (The Keller FayGroup and Berger, 2016) Influencers collaborate with companies and get paid with money or freeproducts and services to promote (Tapinfluence, 2017) Essentially, they are sharing the brand'sproducts or services through their social media platform, either simply and posting it as anadvertisement or in a more subtle way (Review, comment, experience, ).

Marketing agency Tapinfluence conducted a study with Nielsen in 2016 where they found thatinfluencer marketing delivers 11x more “Returns” than traditional forms of digital marketing(Tapinfluence & Nielsen, 2016) Consumers exposed to influencer marketing made considerably morepurchases per buy occasion than a control group exposed to conventional web marketing, according toa study by Nielsen and Tapinfluence.

Brands must select influencers with the correct audience for the product in order to be as effective aspossible Influencers will produce content in the form of product descriptions, usage examples, andother formats to increase consumer trust in the product.

2 Animals in marketing

In other nations, businesses frequently target the practice of using animals in marketing, particularlypets, when trying to reach their target demographic There are, however, not many study studies onthe issue and the phrase "animals in marketing" is uncommon in Vietnam To better understand

consumer purchasing habits, we shall study more about Vietnamese pet culture in this part, includingthe interaction between pets and owners.

a.How people in Vietnam raise their pets

As opposed to when society is still developing and the word "pet" is not widely used in Vietnam, petswere only seen as tools at that time; dogs were used to keep the home clean, and cats were used tocapture mice They do not even treat them in a petty manner As a result, the market for pet itemscould be more established, and there needs to be more variety in the offerings.

However, as more people in Vietnam keep dogs, they are "personified" and treated as members of thefamily, regularly visiting spas for treatments and haircuts, to consume nutrient-rich pet food.Vietnamese people now treat dogs well, therefore they are concerned about their health, from coats todaily meals of high quality.

b.Human-pet relationship

The relationship between humans and pets is collaborative and mutually beneficial Both subjectsbenefited from health, and emotional well-being A pet's relationship with humans is influenced byhuman psychological, emotional, and physical interactions.

Many studies have shown that the relationship between pets and humans brings many benefits,especially health A study conducted by AAHA (American Animal Hospital Association) found thatmore than 90% of pet owners believe that having a pet has a positive effect on their physical andmental health (Cite in Prudential, 2021) Or when a child comes into contact with a pet, it also createssocial skills, responsibility, respect, or love for the pet and the people around it.

In short, the relationship between a pet and a person is always supportive of each other, both of whichhave certain benefits when in the relationship Since ancient times, pets have also been consideredsupporting animals for people such as guarding the house, or fighting,

3 The advertising of dogs and cats affects buying behavior

According to the experts, when targeting customers based on the circumstances surrounding theirexposure to pets, marketers should think about tailoring their advertising messaging differently orproposing various products and services Ads that feature dogs are likely to be more compelling forgoods or services that are primarily seen as promotional (such as stock investments or sportsvehicles) Including cats in an advertisement might make it more appealing for goods or services thatare thought to be more prevention-focused (like mutual fund investments or health campaigns).

Using a quantitative research method by creating a survey form to collect data on the influence of Pet

influencers, the study uses a Likert scale with 5 levels (1 Totally disagree, 2 Disagree, 3 Neutral 4.Agree, 5 Totally agree) to 161 students at FPT University about pet ownership and the influence ofPet influencers on their pet product purchases Based on the results of the survey to analyze thepurchase behavior of pet owners when influenced by pet influencers.

IV.Theoretical Framework1 Influencer Marketing Theory

Although academic research on influencer marketing is still in its infancy, there are some encouragingsignals Together with Dr Jonah Berger, a marketing professor at the Warton School of the University,The Keller Fay Group, a renowned market research firm with an emphasis on consumer WOM andsocial influence, conducted a study According to their research, influencers "A dependable andreputable channel with a meaningful impact in changing customer behavior" (The Keller Fay Groupand Berger, 2016).

Before buying any goods, two-thirds of social media users consult influencers, friends, and family.Marketers saw this as a chance to leverage influencers to persuade users of social media to buy acertain brand's goods Influencers should establish a good rapport with their audience beforeimplementing any influencer marketing strategies.

2 Purchase Intention Theory

Purchase intention can be described as the cognitive behavior regarding the intention to buy aparticular brand (Shah et al., 2012) Purchase intention is also the probability that a customer willpurchase a product or service This is a theory that is very commonly used in sales or productpromotion campaigns Understanding consumer buying behavior, actions, and perceptions areimportant because it can help us predict the buying process Unexpected situational factors alsoinfluence purchase intention The customer may decide to buy a product based on expectations forthings like expected family income, expected pricing, and expected product advantages When theconsumer is about to act, unexpected situational factors may arise to change the purchase intention(Kotler, P et al 2005)

A consumer's decision-making process consists of five stages; need recognition, information search,evaluation of alternatives, purchase decision, and post-purchase behavior (Kotler and Armstrong.2010) In the first stage of purchase, the intention will recognize their needs or wants When a userfeels the need to buy a particular product, they come to a buying intention Second, to solve theirneeds or wants, the customers will look for the best option for their issue from the possibilities thatare accessible This led to the information-searching stage Third, after searching for enoughinformation and substitute products, consumers will evaluate products based on a number of factorssuch as packaging, price quality, Then they will rate product replacement based on their needs and

wants In the fourth stage, the consumer will decide whether to buy that product or not The finalpurchase decision may be ‘interrupted’ by two factors (Kotler, P et al 2009) A marketer has toidentify the numerous factors influencing the consumer's decision-making at this point Price, valueand shifting customer requirements may all be contributing factors In the last stage, consumers willassess the purchase to determine whether they will repeat it or regret it.

Descriptive statistics describe the data in a sample through a number of summary procedures andstatistics (McCormick, Salcedo, and Poh, 2015) The experiment had N=161 respondents and wasdivided into two groups, the raise and do not raise pet groups The raised pet group have N=114respondents and the group that does not raise pet have 47 respondents

In table 2, our survey question is “How much can you afford a pet product” There are 3 options forhow much you can afford a pet product Out of a total of 114 pet owners at FPT University in thesurvey 75 people spend less than 1 million VND to pay for a pet product The number of people

willing to pay from 1 million to 3 million for a pet product is 33 people Finally, the number of peoplespending more than 3 million to pay for a pet product is the least, only 6 people.

Among pet owners at FPT University, 67.5% of survey respondents want to learn about betterproducts for their pets, accounting for the highest percentage showing that pet owners mostly alwayslove their pets and want the best for them 25.4% of participants had no particular opinion and only 8participants equivalent to 7% didn't want or don't care better things for their pets.

Similar to the desire to learn good products for your pet, the behavior of buying pet products is anaction based on that desire According to the survey, 53.5% of participants regularly buy pet products.Which, 17.5% are people who tend to buy products most often 31.6% do not buy products too often,and only 14.9% of participants or 17 people do not really agree to spend money to buy products fortheir pets.