Local governments increasingly use mascot characters as branding tools to strengthen regional identity and promote local consumption. This study examines how brand authenticity influences purchase intention in the context of Jinju City’s Hamo character, focusing on the mediating roles of brand trust, brand attachment, and brand loyalty. Survey data were collected from 189 consumers familiar with Hamo and analyzed using structural equation modeling. The results show that brand authenticity significantly increases brand trust, brand attachment, and brand loyalty. However, brand trust does not significantly affect brand loyalty, whereas brand attachment strongly enhances brand loyalty, which in turn leads to purchase intention. The mediation results confirm that brand authenticity influences purchase intention mainly through the sequential pathway of brand attachment and brand loyalty. The novelty of this study lies in extending brand authenticity research to the underexplored context of local public mascot branding and showing that emotional attachment is more important than cognitive trust in converting authenticity into purchase intention. However, because the analysis is based on a relatively small sample from a single local mascot case, the findings should be interpreted with caution and verified through larger and more diverse samples.

1.       Li C, Tang Y. Emotional value in experiential marketing: driving factors for sales growth – A quantitative study from the eastern coastal region. Economics & Management Information. 2024; 3(3): 1–13. doi: 10.62836/emi.v3i3.212

2.       Mason MC, Oduro S, Umar RM, Zamparo G. Effect of consumption values on consumer behavior: A Meta-analysis. Marketing Intelligence & Planning. 2023; 41(7): 923–944. doi: 10.1108/mip-03-2023-0100

3.       Liu L, Zhao H. Research on consumers’ purchase intention of cultural and creative products—Metaphor design based on traditional cultural symbols. Plos One. 2024; 19(5): e0301678. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0301678

4.       Widyastuti P. Brand resonance and brand salience in luxury cosmetic products with symbolic value as the mediating variable. Journal of Enterprise and Development (JED). 2023; 5(3): 675–690. doi: 10.20414/jed.v5i3.8338

5.       Zhang C, Han B. How perceived brand localness affects purchase intentions: Examining the role of brand authenticity. Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science. 2025; 35(1): 76–97. doi: 10.1080/21639159.2024.2400955

6.       Septiani E, Kerti Yasa NN, Ekawati NW, Sukaatmadja IPG. The antecedents of purchase intention of local brands: A systematic literature review. Asian Management and Business Review. 2024; 4(2): 260–275. doi: 10.20885/AMBR.vol4.iss2.art6

7.       Yasa NNK, Santika IW, Giantari I, et al. Local brand love based on product, price, promotion, online distribution. Journal of Distribution Science. 2022; 20(5): 35–47. doi: 10.15722/jds.20.05.202205.35

8.       Ardian R, Sanjaya VF, Susanti Y. Impact of thrifting presence on local brands in bandar lampung according to islamic business perspective. Neo Journal of economy and social humanities. 2026; 5(1): 143–158. doi: 10.56403/nejesh.v5i1.392

9.       Kavaratzis M. From city marketing to city branding: Towards a theoretical framework for developing city brands. Place Branding. 2004; 1(1): 58–73. doi: 10.1057/palgrave.pb.5990005

10.    Hamada S, Nitta T. Current state of regional branding using mascot characters media strategy of gunma prefecture and the branding project of “gunma-chan”. Quarterly Journal of Marketing. 2023; 42(4): 97–107. doi: 10.7222/marketing.2023.025

11.    Lee Y. A study on the influence of local government’s emoticon on user relationship. A Journal of Brand Design Association of Korea. 2023; 21(3): 359–370. doi: 10.18852/bdak.2023.21.3.359

12.    Napoli J, Dickinson SJ, Beverland MB, Farrelly F. Measuring consumer-based brand authenticity. Journal of Business Research. 2014; 67(6): 1090–1098. doi: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2013.06.001

13.    Gupta H. Brand storytelling and consumer engagement in the culturally diverse indian market. Decoding Consumer Behavior Using the Insight Equation and AI Marketing: IGI Global Scientific Publishing; 2025. pp. 301–316.

14.    Senthilkumar B. The Role of Storytelling in Enhancing Consumer Engagement and Strengthening Brand Awareness. 2025. doi: 10.2139/ssrn.5201867

15.    Léo T, Élisabeth R. Exploring the impact of corporate philanthropy on brand authenticity in the luxury industry: Scale development and empirical studies. Sustainability. 2023; 15(16): 12274. doi: 10.3390/su151612274

16.    Wu Z. Crafting inconspicuous luxury brands through brand authenticity in China. Frontiers in Psychology. 2022; 13: 826890. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.826890

17.    Morhart F, Malär L, Guèvremont A, et al. Brand authenticity: An integrative framework and measurement scale. Journal of Consumer Psychology. 2015; 25(2): 200–218. doi: 10.1016/j.jcps.2014.11.006

18.    Bruhn M, Schoenmüller V, Schäfer D, et al. Brand authenticity: Towards a deeper understanding of its conceptualization and measurement. Advances in Consumer Research. 2012; 40.

19.    Sun H, Dai Y-Y, Jeon S-S, et al. The impact of brand authenticity on brand attachment, brand loyalty, willingness to pay more, and forgiveness-For Chinese consumers of Korean cosmetic brands. Heliyon. 2024; 10(16): e36030. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e36030

20.    Chen X, Lee TJ, Hyun SS. How does a global coffeehouse chain operate strategically in a traditional tea-drinking country? The influence of brand authenticity and self-enhancement. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management. 2022; 51: 176–186. doi: 10.1016/j.jhtm.2022.03.003

21.    Oliver RL. Whence consumer loyalty? Journal of Marketing. 1999; 63(4_suppl1): 33–44. doi: 10.1177/00222429990634s105

22.    Dick AS, Basu K. Customer Loyalty: Toward an integrated conceptual framework. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science. 1994; 22(2): 99–113. doi: 10.1177/0092070394222001

23.    Thomson M, MacInnis DJ, Whan Park C. The ties that bind: measuring the strength of consumers’ emotional attachments to brands. Journal of Consumer Psychology. 2005; 15(1): 77–91. doi: 10.1207/s15327663jcp1501_10

24.    Park CW, Macinnis DJ, Priester J, et al. Brand attachment and brand attitude strength: conceptual and empirical differentiation of two critical brand equity drivers. Journal of Marketing. 2010; 74(6): 1–17. doi: 10.1509/jmkg.74.6.1

25.    Morgan RM, Hunt SD. The commitment-trust theory of relationship marketing. Journal of Marketing. 1994; 58(3): 20–38. doi: 10.1177/002224299405800302

26.    Chaudhuri A, Holbrook MB. The chain of effects from brand trust and brand affect to brand performance: The role of brand loyalty. Journal of Marketing. 2001; 65(2): 81–93. doi: 10.1509/jmkg.65.2.81.18255

27.    Shimul AS. Brand attachment: A review and future research. Journal of Brand Management. 2022; 29(4): 400–419. doi: 10.1057/s41262-022-00279-5

28.    Zeithaml VA, Berry LL, Parasuraman A. The behavioral consequences of service quality. Journal of Marketing. 1996; 60(2): 31–46. doi: 10.1177/002224299606000203

29.    Goyal A, Verma P. The relationship between brand engagement, brand loyalty, overall brand equity and purchase intention. Journal of Strategic Marketing. 2024; 32(1): 65–79. doi: 10.1080/0965254X.2022.2149839

30.    Reddy BVV, A.S DS. Creating connections through characters: A study of brand mascots and their influence on consumer purchase intentions. Advances in Decision Sciences. 2024; 27(4): 72–89. doi: 10.47654/v27y2023i4p72-89

31.    Fritz K, Schoenmueller V, Bruhn M. Authenticity in branding – exploring antecedents and consequences of brand authenticity. European Journal of Marketing. 2017; 51(2): 324–348. doi: 10.1108/ejm-10-2014-0633

32.    Delgado‐Ballester E, Luis Munuera‐Alemán J. Brand trust in the context of consumer loyalty. European Journal of Marketing. 2001; 35(11–12): 1238–1258. doi: 10.1108/eum0000000006475

33.    Carroll BA, Ahuvia AC. Some antecedents and outcomes of brand love. Marketing Letters. 2006; 17(2): 79–89. doi: 10.1007/s11002-006-4219-2

34.    Yoo B, Donthu N. Developing and validating a multidimensional consumer-based brand equity scale. Journal of Business Research. 2001; 52(1): 1–14. doi: 10.1016/S0148-2963(99)00098-3

35.    Ajzen I. The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes. 1991; 50(2): 179–211. doi: 10.1016/0749-5978(91)90020-T

36.    Zeithaml VA. Consumer perceptions of price, quality, and value: A means-end model and synthesis of evidence. Journal of Marketing. 1988; 52(3): 2–22. doi: 10.1177/002224298805200302

37.    Delgado‐Ballester E, Luis Munuera‐Alemán J. Does brand trust matter to brand equity? Journal of Product & Brand Management. 2005; 14(3): 187–196. doi: 10.1108/10610420510601058

38.    BOOMSMA A. The robustness of LISREL against small sample sizes in factor analysis models. Systems under indirect observation: Causality, structure, prediction. 1982; 1: 149–173.

39.    Anderson JC, Gerbing DW. Structural equation modeling in practice: A review and recommended two-step approach. Psychological Bulletin. 1988; 103(3): 411–423. doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.103.3.411

40.    BENTLER PM, CHOU C-P. Practical issues in structural modeling. Sociological Methods & Research. 1987; 16(1): 78–117. doi: 10.1177/0049124187016001004

41.    Hair JF, Black WC, Babin BJ, et al. Multivariate data analysis, 7th Edn. Hoboken. NJ: Prentice hall; 2010.

42.    Bagozzi RP, Yi Y. On the evaluation of structural equation models. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science. 1988; 16(1): 74–94. doi: 10.1007/BF02723327

43.    Kline RB. Principles and practice of structural equation modeling: Guilford publications; 2023.

44.    Preacher KJ, Hayes AF. Asymptotic and resampling strategies for assessing and comparing indirect effects in multiple mediator models. Behavior Research Methods. 2008; 40(3): 879–891. doi: 10.3758/BRM.40.3.879

45.    Nunnally J, Bernstein I. Psychometric Theory 3rd edition (MacGraw-Hill, New York); 1994.

46.    Hu Lt, Bentler PM. Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal. 1999; 6(1): 1–55. doi: 10.1080/10705519909540118