The Mindful Marketplace: Ideological Repackaging in Influencer Marketing
Date
Authors
Errmann, Amy
Leban, Marina
Supervisor
Item type
Journal Article
Degree name
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Abstract
Amid the broader cultural rise of contemplative traditions, social media influencers, particularly those promoting mindfulness, blend commercial self-promotion with the ideological commitments of this philosophy. This study examines how they navigate authenticity and commerciality by repackaging mindfulness into marketable products. Using a qualitative analysis of 16 mindfulness influencers on Instagram, we identify two strategies, discourse and practice, that enable them to maintain authenticity while commercializing a belief system. Our findings challenge the assumption that authenticity and commerciality are inherently oppositional. This study demonstrates how these dynamics can coexist, while raising ethical concerns around authenticity inflation, informal expertise, and the monetization of belief systems.Description
Keywords
35 Commerce, Management, Tourism and Services, 3506 Marketing, Complementary and Integrative Health, 1505 Marketing, Marketing, 35 Commerce, management, tourism and services
Source
Journal of Business Research, ISSN: 0148-2963 (Print), Elsevier BV, 203, 115768-115768. doi: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115768
Publisher's version
Rights statement
© 2025 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).