Membangun Kepercayaan, Mendorong Minat Beli: Peran KOL dalam Pemasaran Produk Virtual Mobile Legends

This study aims to analyze the influence of Key Opinion Leader (KOL) features, characteristics, recommendation information, and content on the purchase intention of the virtual product Mobile Legends, with customer trust as a mediating variable. The case study was conducted on the Markocop YouTube channel using a quantitative, non-probability sampling method with 200 respondents, and data analysis was conducted using AMOS Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The results showed that the influence of KOL features on consumer trust was rejected, as was the impact of KOL characteristics. Conversely, recommendation information and KOL content were shown to affect consumer trust positively. In terms of purchase intention, KOL features had no effect, whereas KOL characteristics, recommendation information, and KOL content did. Consumer trust itself did not directly influence purchase intention, but acted as a mediator in the relationship between KOL features and purchase intention. The mediation of consumer trust in the relationship between KOL characteristics, recommendation information, and KOL content on purchase intention was rejected. These findings show that the content elements and information quality of KOLs are more decisive in building trust and driving purchase intention than KOL features or personal characteristics alone. This research not only makes theoretical contributions to the SOR-based digital marketing literature but also offers practical implications for e-sports brands, highlighting the relevance and applicability of our findings to their KOL-based promotional strategies.