SALES PROMOTION MESSAGE APPEAL AND BRAND AMBASSADOR EFFECTS TOWARD TOKOPEDIA’S PURCHASE INTENTION

Companies nowadays attracts more customers by holding Sales Promotion. For the record, Tokopedia has been known as the most accessed E-commerce in Indonesia also holds Sales Promotion event frequently using their Instagram. Furthermore, Tokopedia is also going hand in hand with the world’s biggest boyban, BTS to attract more audiences on a wider scale. The Objective of this research is to find out the react of Sales Promotion and Brand Ambassador towards Purchase Intention of free delivery fee products of Tokopedia and the percentage of the react. The method used on this research are quantitative explanator with positivism paradigm and purposive sampling technique. This thesis is being analysed by using SPSS statistic method. The result of this study indicates the influence of sales promotion message appeal and BTS as brand ambassador on the purchase intention of WIB Sale products by 49,8%.


PRELIMINARY
Assistant Deputy of the Ministry of Cooperatives, Sutarmo stated on Youtube Hybefast HBBL 2021 virtual press conference that E-commerce users in Indonesia itself have been increasing every month since the beginning of the pandemic Covid 19, the increase was up to 26 percent or equivalent to 3.1 million transactions per month. This is caused by the government regularions on physical distancing and activities restriction to break the chain of the Covid-19 virus that has not yet ended (Santia 2021). Moreover, Evelyin Wu, General Manager of Genie Indonesia stated that the number of transactions in E-commerce continued to increase during the pandemic to 220 times higher than 2019 which is before the pandemic (Saputra 2021).
Indonesia sits on the first place as the highest users of E-commerce in the world with a percentage rate of 88.1% of all internet users in Indonesia. As of for now, Tokopedia has been listed as the largest E-commerce with the highest number of visitors in Indonesia, which is 147,790,000 visitors every month (Lidwina 2021). As a way to attract the attention of potential customers to make transactions on Tokopedia, this company often choses sales promotion as their strategy. Sales promotion is an action outside of advertising, public relations, personal selling, direct marketing, and online marketing/social media that stimulates consumer instant behavior to buy a brand or to increase product sales aggressively (Shimp and Andrews 2013).

LITERATURE REVIEW
The results of a survey conducted by Jakpat regarding considerations in choosing an E-commerce platform for shopping, they found that the majority of the people chose to shop through the E-commerce platform because they felt benefited greatly in terms of lower prices, lots of discounts, and the highest results with percentage gains of up to 66% were due to free shipping promo (Katadata.co 2021). The high level of public enthusiasm to benefit from sales promotions can also be seen from the high level of criminalism in Indonesia in the form of fraud accompanied by free gifts. The fraudster's way of getting the victims to be attracted by the lure of free gifts given is conveyed through a message that seems very attractive so that the victims finally agree to do harmful things requested by the fraudsters for their personal gain (CNN 2020).
Apparently, this condition can be explained in the Elaboration Likelihood Model theory (Prasetya and Susilo 2022). This theory explains that not everyone has the dedication, time, and capacity to behave rationally in accordance with the views of others. Hence, someone will be selective in choosing the arguments that will be the focus and of course the issues chosen are those that are most relevant to that person. According to this theory, the process of digesting information is divided into two ways, namely centrally or peripherally (McQuail 2020).
Besides sales promotion, Tokopedia also saw the Korean Wave entering Indonesia (Susilo 2021). The Korean wave or what is called Hallyu is a popular South Korean culture that has been going worldwide since the early 2000s (Shim 2006). Another thing that has been trending worldwide becase of Hallyu is K-pop. K-pop is an abbreviation of Korean pop which is a pop culture from South Korea not only in terms of music, but also from dance choreography which is the unique selling point from this K-pop industry. Hallyu continues to grow and increasingly dominates the international world until now. The number of conversations on Twitter about K-pop itself counted from July 2020 to June 2021 reached 7.5 billion with Indonesia ranking on the first place as the largest volume of talking about K-pop (Kim 2021). Twitter also shared a lineup of the most talked about K-pop artists. The first place was occupied by BTS with the most conversation volume beating NCT, Blackpink, Exo, and Treasure (Kim 2021). By looking at the large K-pop market in Indonesia, Tokopedia has been partnering up with BTS the global megastar group as their brand ambassador since 2019 and continues to extend the contract again up until this day.
Another thing that can't be separated from BTS is their extremely loyal and supportive fans called BTS ARMY. Well known for their unbreakable bond and endless support towards BTS, ARMY would do just anything when it comes to their idol (Thomas 2021). They even managed to sell out BTS concert tickets at Los Angeles' Rose Bowl stadium, and London's Wembley Stadium in less than an hour (Wedhaswary 2021). Indonesia sits in first place as the country with the largest number of BTS ARMY in the world according to Army Cencus 2020 hence it is safe to say that the number of fans and enthusiasm of the megastar BTS is very large in Indonesia (Armycencus 2020).
Tokopedia has celebrated its 12th birthday on August 17 th 2021. In addition to that, Tokopedia always held massive sales promos as an effort to enliven its birthday, some of the programs were giving out BTS members' exclusive photocards and free shipping coupon on WIB SALE campaign. This exclusive photocards were only available for a limited time with a limited quantity per day (Liputan6.com 2021). To inform about the ongoing sales promotion, Tokopedia utilizes their Instagram platform, namely @tokopedia (Instagram Tokopedia 2021). Tokopedia's Instagram account now has 5.3 million followers, the highest number compared their other social media (HypeAuditor 2022). Therefore, to convey the information about the WIB sale campaign through Instagram is considered very effective with the help of appealing messages and content that are in accordance with the ongoing promotions.
The enthusiasm was so great that the photocards provided are sold out in a few minutes on the first week and even seconds on the next following week. Therefore, this research intends to focus on examining whether the message appeal of sales promotion (exclusive BTS photocards and Free Shipping coupons) and BTS as Tokopedia's brand ambassador can influence purchase intention in the Tokopedia WIB SALE products.

METHOD
This research uses a survey method to collect the data. According to Neuman, this method has a very high level of data accuracy and validity (Neuman 2016). The survey of this research was conducted by distributing questionnaires indirectly by online questionnaires targeted to Tokopedia Instagram followers, male and female who are still included in the gen z category, namely aged 18-24 because according to the results of the Napoleon Cat survey, the majority of Instagram users in Indonesia are from the 18-24 year age group (Katadata.co.id 2021).
To measure the data collected, this research has passed the validity and reliability test. Validity test is a measurement of whether a questionnaire is valid or not. This research uses SPSS version 25 to test the validity of the data through the Pearson Correlation of 30 respondents. According to Azwar, 30 respondents is enough to test the validity so that the test results approach the normal curve (Azwar 2017). The questionnaire is said to be reliable if each question is answered by the respondent consistently or stable from time to time. The questionnaire is said to be reliable if the Cronbach Alpha value is greater than 0.70 (Ghozali 2016).
To analyze the data on this research, the researcher used the normality test to see whether the residual variable in the regression model has a normal distribution (Ghozali 2016). Multiple correlation test were also used in this research to see the correlation between two or more variables of this research (Budiwanto 2017). Lastly, researcher used multiple linear regression test which aims to determine the effect of the independent variable on the dependent variable (Yuliara 2016).

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Exclusive Photocard and Free Delivery Message Appeal
The data from the research shows that the majority of the respondents strongly agree and agree to the indicators from all of the variables in this research. In the sales promotion message appeal variable (X1) there are 3 dimensions which are the main strategies to ensure that information about sales promotions can be conveyed properly, namely through cognitive  (Clow and Baack 2018).
The result on the cognitive message strategy dimension with the generic message indicator received the highest mean value of 3.8 compared to other dimensions. This proves that one of the strategies to attract sales promotion messages carried out by Tokopedia in the form of BTS members exclusive photocards as a premium gift and free shipping coupons delivered in the form of generic messages is the most effective. According to Clow and Baack generic message is delivered directly by promoting the attributes, features, and benefits that will be obtained by consumers without claiming that the brand is superior to other brands. This strategy can stimulate brand awareness of a product in the minds of consumers (Clow and Baack 2018).
The other strategies affective and conative message strategies are also considered effective as the mean value shows 3,7 and 3,4 which indicate that most of the respondents still strongly agree to the indicators from these dimensions as well. This these results align with Ogden-Barnes and Minahan' statement regarding on highlighting the word free gift on the sales promotion messages carried on Tokopedia Instagram uploads that can be used to attract consumers' attention because consumers sometimes need an extra effort to be influenced and changed their buying behavior and as well as their preference for a brand (Ogden-Barnes and Minahan 2015).

BTS As Brand Ambassador of Tokopedia
As for the brand ambassador variable (X2) there are 4 dimensions, namely visibility, credibility, attraction, and power. It was found that the visibility dimension obtained the highest mean value of 3.9 which means that almost all respondents strongly agree that BTS has a very high popularity and is supported by a large number of fans, so they are just the right celebrity for Tokopedia's brand ambassador. The visibility dimension assumes that the popularity of celebrities who represent a brand and fans or loyal followers of celebrities play a major role in influencing the success of selling products represented by these celebrities (Firmansyah 2019).
The next dimension is credibility. The credibility dimension discusses how celebrities promote a brand to make it attractive in the eyes of fans, judging by the expertise and objectivity of the celebrity. Next there is the dimension of attraction. This dimension has a mean value of 3.7, which means that most respondents agree that BTS has a strong appeal so that they feel satisfied shopping at Tokopedia because BTS is the brand ambassador. The last dimension with the lowest mean value of 3.5 is the power dimension. According to Royan in Firmansyah, the power dimension is the level of celebrity's ability to persuade and influence fans to consider consuming, using, or buying the products represented (Firmansyah 2019). Even though the mean value of this indicator is lower than the other dimensions, the fact is that BTS still has a big influence in persuading potential customers to shop at Tokopedia because the research results still show that the majority of respondents agree and strongly agree to the indicator.

In Coherence with Elaboration Likelihood Model Theory
This theory explains a person's mindset regarding relevant information, issues, or arguments contained in a message. According to Cacioppo & Petty in John & Foss, the process of digesting information in this theory is divided into 2 ways, namely central and peripheral (John and Foss 2009). The results of this study indicate that the indicator with the highest mean value in this study is generic message on the cognitive message strategy dimension. Where the majority of respondents strongly agree that Tokopedia conveys messages about sales promotion activities very clearly and they also immediately receive information about how to participate in these activities and the BTS photocard calendar schedule through Tokopedia Instagram uploads clearly.
In addition, the face of this sales promotion activity is BTS, which has high credibility and popularity, as well as many BTS fans who feel compelled to take part in this sales promotion activity solely because of BTS. This is in line with the study of the possibility of elaboration theory based on the peripheral route, which explains that the recipient of the message will do less consideration in processing a persuasive message because of factors including credible sources, likeableness which means the message will be received more quickly when it comes from someone who they like, and consensus which means that the recipient of the message feels encouraged, persuaded, influenced by a persuasive message.
However, the reason why the urgency indicator in the conative message strategy dimension gets a slightly lower mean value can also be explained in this theory. Although the majority of respondents still agree with the statement of this indicator which reads "I want to buy the free delivery labeled products because the BTS photocard that was given away was very popular". However, this does not become a stronger trigger for someone to be intrigued in taking part on a sales promotion activity than if they can find out clearly what benefits that they can get if they take part in the activity. This is in line with the elaboration possibility theory based on the central route. The central route explains that when someone receives persuasive information, they will be directed by a numbers of critical thoughts, the more relevant the recipient of the message to the topic being conveyed, the greater the possibility for critical thinking (John and Foss 2009). From there, it can be concluded that respondents do not merely want to take part in the sales promotion activities held by Tokopedia just because of a sense of FOMO or fear of missing out by seeing the large number of enthusiasts from the exclusive BTS photocard but they also consider other things.

Purchase Intention on WIB Sale products
This study has one dependent variable, namely purchase intention (Y). Purchase intention or purchase intention is the stage where consumers form their choices in purchasing decisions for a product or choosing a brand. According to Saidani & Arifin, there are 4 dimensions in this variable, namely transactional, referential, preferential, and explorative interest (Saidani and Arifin 2014).
The results of the study indicate that the majority of respondents agreed they really wanted to shop and try the features on Tokopedia regardless of the existence of this sales promotion activity or not. This is proofed by the results of the mean value of this indicator

SALES PROMOTION MESSAGE APPEAL AND BRAND AMBASSADOR EFFECTS TOWARD TOKOPEDIA'S PURCHASE INTENTION
Justyne Artha Thehawijaya 1 , Daniel Susilo 2 DOI: https://doi.org/10.54443/sibatik.v2i2.559 480 SIBATIK JOURNAL | VOLUME 2 NO.2 (JANUARY 2023) https://publish.ojs-indonesia.com/index.php/SIBATIK which shows the number 3.5. Then there is the dimension of referential interest, which is an interest that is direct or indirect to recommend what consumers are interested in to their closest people so that they both buy the product. Indicators on this dimension get lower scores than other dimensions. This is indicated by the results of the mean value of this indicator which shows a value of 3.4. In addition, the third dimension is the dimension of preferential interest, which means that consumers with this interest basically already have their own preferences and standards before buying a product. It can be concluded that the majority of respondents strongly agree that they do prefer to shop at Tokopedia compared to other competitors because there are many interesting promos and the transactions are very secure. This is evidenced by the results of research on this indicator which gets the highest mean value of 3.6. The last dimension in this variable is the dimension of exploratory interest. The results show that the indicator on this dimension gets a mean value of 3.5, which means a consumer will find out more about the product of interest and seek more information about the brand before finally buying.
Although this indicator also states that most respondents agree that they are interested in finding out about the features provided by Tokopedia, it still does not exceed the preferential interest of those who choose to shop at Tokopedia not because of the features provided, but because of guaranteed transaction security and interesting promos compared to its competitors.

The Influence of Independent Variables Towards Dependent Variables
The table value obtained from the t test results in multiple linear regression analysis which aims to determine whether or not there is a partial influence given by the independent variable, either X1 or X2 to the dependent variable Y. If the value of sig < 0.05 and the value of t count > t table, then there is a partial effect between the independent variables on the dependent variable. Therefore, it can be concluded that there is a partial influence between X1 and Y variables (Budiwanto 2017).
The results of the coefficient test show that the value of sig X1 is 0.00 < 0.05 and the t-count value is 6.398 > 1.972 (t table). Then the value of sig X2 is 0.00 < 0.05 and the t  (t table). Therefore, it can be concluded that there is a partial influence between X1 variable and Y variable. Same thing applies to the X2 variable and Y variable.
In addition, to determine the effect of the two variables X1 and X2 on Y variable simultaneously, it can be seen from F test results. If the sig value <0.05 or the calculated F value > F table, then there is a simultaneous effect of independent variables on the dependent variable (Budiwanto 2017). The results show the value of sig 0.00 < 0.05 and the calculated F value is 94.01 > 3.04 (F table). So it can be concluded that there is a simultaneous influence between the sales promotion message appeal variable (X1) and brand ambassadors variable (X2) on the purchase intention variable (Y). Then to find out the number of influence given by X variables simultaneously on Y variable can be seen from the value of R square which shows a value of 0.488 or equal to 49.8% and the remaining 51.2% is influenced by other variables which are not examined in this research. This is answered theoretically in this research, namely H0 is rejected and H1 is accepted, meaning that the Tokopedia sales promotion message appeal and BTS as brand ambassadors do influence the purchase intention of the WIB Sale products.

CONCLUSION
The contents of the conclusion are written in Times New Roman 12. The conclusion is an Based on the results of research and analysis that has been done by the researcher about the influence of the sales promotion messages appeal on Tokopedia's Instagram and BTS as Tokopedia's brand ambassador toward purchase intentions on WIB Sale products, this research has been conducted on 200 respondents who use Instagram, following @tokopedia on Instagram, aged 18-24, and aware about the exclusive BTS photocard sales promotion activities carried by Tokopedia on 17th-31st August 2021.
The researcher draws a conclusion that there is a significant influence of the exclusive BTS photocard sales promotion message appeal and BTS as brand ambassador both partially and simultaneously on the purchase intention of WIB Sale products. The number of influence of the exclusive BTS photocard sales promotion message appeal and BTS as brand ambassador towards the purchase intention on the WIB Sale products is 49.8%, while 51.2% is being influenced other factors.