PENGARUH KREDIBILITAS BRAND AMBASSADOR DINO SEVENTEEN DAN FREKUENSI KOMUNIKASI KELOMPOK RUJUKAN TERHADAP BRAND IMAGE AZARINE DI KALANGAN GENERASI Z PADA MEDIA SOSIAL TWITTER (X)

Abstract

This study was motivated by the rapid growth of the beauty industry in Indonesia, particularly in the skincare segment, which has intensified competition among brands. Azarine, a growing local skincare brand, appointed Dino of SEVENTEEN as its first international brand ambassador, generating significant engagement on Twitter (X) especially among Generation Z consumers within fan communities. Beyond the brand ambassador's presence, communication within reference groups also plays a key role in shaping consumers' brand perceptions. Therefore, this study aims to examine the effect of Dino SEVENTEEN's credibility as brand ambassador and the frequency of reference group communication on Azarine's brand image among Generation Z on Twitter (X). This study employed a quantitative approach involving 207 Generation Z respondents who are active Twitter (X) users and are aware of Dino SEVENTEEN as Azarine's brand ambassador. The collected data were analyzed using simple linear regression through SPSS. The results indicate that Dino SEVENTEEN's credibility as brand ambassador has a positive and significant effect on Azarine's brand image, with a significance value of 0.000 and an R Square value of 0.375. The frequency of reference group communication also has a positive and significant effect on Azarine's brand image, with a significance value of 0.000 and an R Square value of 0.617. These findings confirm that the frequency of reference group communication is a more dominant factor than the brand ambassador in shaping Azarine's brand image. This means that recommendations, shared experiences, and social conversations within consumers' reference groups exert a stronger influence on brand image than the mere presence of a brand ambassador. Therefore, it is important for Azarine to not only focus on selecting the right brand ambassador, but also to optimize community communication and reference group engagement as a primary strategy for strengthening its brand image.