Does Traditional and Social Media Advertising Affect Brand Trust and Impact Purchase Intention? (The Cases of Delta Airlines and Turkish Airlines Companies)

Social media has become the latest trend of the 21st century. Building on the foundation of Web 2.0, social media platforms and social networks have facilitated unprecedented growth of human interaction in modern times. Studies have shown positive associations between liking a brand trust and purchase intention, but studies of advertising effects via traditional and social media is scarce in the aviation industry sector. The purpose of current study is to investigate the effect of traditional and social media on customers‟ brand trust and purchase intention. This study took into consideration the two giants of aviation industry Delta and Turkish Airlines, and measured the effect of traditional and modern advertising on brand trust and purchase intention. Facebook has been widely recognized as a popular contemporary trend in marketing. Using a Facebook fan page can help a firm successfully establish and maintain positive consumer–brand relationships. Population was customers of Delta and Turkish Airlines companies in the area of Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and United States of America. Using an administrated questionnaire, 287 respondents were asked to answer the survey divided in the two countries. Analysis was performed using AMOS 22.0 and SEM. Results showed a significant positive effect for the followers of a brand‟s Facebook page on brand evaluations such as brand trust. Thus, brand trust playing a major role in affecting purchase intention. This provided evidence that following a brand's Facebook updates can cause positive changes in brand evaluations. The effects were explained by indicating the importance of conducting a cross-sectional advertising campaign. The results of structural equation modeling indicated that traditional advertising and social media have significant impact on brand trust. Further, brand trust has a significant impact on purchase intention. The results indicated that the online marketing communications and advertising campaigns in online communities and online advertisement are effective in improving brand trust and purchase intention through Facebook and social media platforms. Keywords: Traditional marketing, Social media, Facebook, Brand trust, Purchase intention, advertising, SEM, CFA, Delta Airlines, Turkish Airlines, Online advertising.