Brand Identification by Product Design: The Impact of Evaluation Mode and Familiarity

Distinctive product design is a cornerstone of sustainable branding. Ideally, consumers will be able to identify brands by product design without seeing any logos. Once companies have established strong associations between product designs and brands in consumers’ minds, they seek protection against imitation as well as consistency in product lines. This research discusses methods for measuring consumers’ abilities to identify brands by product design. Study 1 shows that brand identification depends on the evaluation mode that the identification task evokes. Compared to a task that presents products side by side (comparative mode), participants are more likely to confuse copycats with an original design when they see only one product (noncomparative mode). Study 2 replicates findings of Study 1, demonstrating some robustness of effects across three countries (United States, Spain, Germany) and across three different product categories (beer, smartphones, cars). Study 2 further investigates how familiarity with the product influences brand identification. Although consumers with high (compared to low) familiarity are more likely to accurately identify an original product in a noncomparative evaluation mode, they are also more likely to confuse a copycat with the original product in this mode. Overall, this research extends knowledge about brand identification by product design and provides information brand managers may need for legal decisions in trademark or design patent cases. This research also provides information for brand managers making decisions regarding new product development, for example, product line extensions.     

Vulnerability of global brands to negative feedback effects

Going global is a successful strategy to leverage a brand's equity, in part, because global is synonymous of quality for consumers. This research examines the impact of competitor brand familiarity on the quality perceptions of global brands in Chile when the brand extends into new product categories. The results indicate that there is a negative impact on the quality perceptions of brand extensions when an extension competes with well-known and well-liked competitor brands. However, brand extension quality beliefs seem to produce negative feedback effects on parent brand quality beliefs only for narrowly extended parent brands but not for broadly extended ones.     

Consumer–Brand Relationships: A Contrast of Nostalgic and Non‐Nostalgic Brands

This research examined how consumer–brand relationships change when one contrasts brands perceived as nostalgic with brands perceived as non‐nostalgic. Paired comparisons of brands in six product categories revealed that brand attachment, self‐brand connections, and storytelling, as well as, the propensity to offer the brand as a gift and collect brand‐derived products, depend on the nostalgic status of the brand. On a sample of 606 consumers, the results showed that a brand's nostalgic status has a positive effect on attachment, self‐brand connections, and storytelling. These effects had not previously been considered in nostalgia research. Furthermore, the nostalgic status of a brand has positive effects in terms of intention to purchase the brand as a gift and collect brand‐derived products. Moreover, ANOVA results illustrate that consumer relationships with nostalgic brands are systematically stronger than with non‐nostalgic brands. Finally, results indicated that product category moderates all of the dimensions of brand relationships while gender does not.     

Modeling Simultaneity in Survey Data

Responses to questions in a survey can reflect a behavior process that influences multiple response items. Respondent ratings of brand attributes, for example, can be affected by past purchases by making a brand more salient, or by respondents attributing higher performance to justify their purchases. When multiple response items are influenced by a common underlying process, there is simultaneity in the data. This paper proposes an approach to model the simultaneity in different survey responses by using common parameters and structural relationships motivated by behavioral theories on how consumers respond to surveys. Specifically, the proposed models show how brand usage and attribute perception responses are jointly determined by justification, order, and brand halo effects in two brand positioning studies. We detect a significant tendency for respondents to inflate their reported beliefs for particular brands as well as the selected brand across five countries in an international survey as well as in a domestic study. JEL Classification: C35, C53, D12, M31     

“Retail is detail! Give consumers a gift rather than a bundle”: Promotion framing and consumer product returns

Retailers often use the promotion strategy of offering supplementary products (e.g., free gift, bundle) to attract consumers and increase sales. Despite the growing literature on the promotions that are differently framed but offer economically identical values, little research has examined the link between promotion framing and consumer product returns. The current article sheds light on this relationship, hypothesizing that a free gift promotion would be superior to a bundle promotion in reducing consumer product returns. The findings suggest that a gift‐framed promotion leads to a lower product return intention than an economically equivalent bundle promotion, because consumers tend to perceive more loss from giving up the gift‐framed (vs. bundle‐framed) deal. Further, this study examines a moderating role of brand familiarity (familiar vs. unfamiliar) and shows that the merits of free gift framing on product return intention via perceived loss are amplified (attenuated) when the promoted brand is familiar (unfamiliar). Overall, the investigations of this study imply that it is better to frame a promotion as a “free gift” than a “bundle” to increase perceived loss in returning the purchase and thus to decrease consumer product returns. This strategic intervention works especially when the gift is offered by familiar brands.     

How far can brands go to defend themselves? The extent of negative publicity impact on proactive consumer behaviors and brand equity

Negative publicity, defined as the public disclosure of a problematic incident associated with a brand, is a critical issue for fashion brands, as it vitiates the image of targeted brands and drives consumers’ voice and exit behaviors. Despite the impact of negative publicity, few studies have compared the impact of product‐related versus personnel‐related negative publicity, or explored the extent to which brands’ coping strategies can prevent consumers’ anti‐brand behavioral intentions and recover brand equity. This study used multivariate analyses of variance to analyze responses from 594 American consumers, which revealed that when negative publicity is about a product‐related issue, none of the brand's different recovery efforts are effective in decreasing consumers’ voice and exit intentions and protecting brand equity. However, for a personnel‐related issue, functional and informational recovery strategies were effective in decreasing consumer voice and exit intentions, and affective, functional, and informational recovery strategies positively impacted most domains of brand equity (brand judgement, brand feelings, and brand resonance). The following analysis of variance and post hoc analyses revealed the comparative effectiveness of specific recovery types. Discussions and implications of the findings are provided.     

Social Information in Facebook News Feed Ads: Effects of Personal Relevance and Brand Familiarity

The current research examined effects of the “social information” feature in Facebook news feed ads, in relation to personal relevance and brand familiarity. Ads with social information did not always lead to more favorable advertising and brand perceptions. However, interaction effects were found among social information, personal relevance, and brand familiarity, in terms of attitude-toward-the-ad and purchase intention. Social information could help create more favorable advertising responses for unfamiliar and low-relevance brands.     

A brand preference and repurchase intention model: the role of consumer experience

Consumer brand preference is an essential step towards understanding consumer choice behaviour, and has therefore always received great attention from marketers. However, the study of brand preference has been limited to traditional marketing focusing on functional attributes to maximise utility. But now the shift to experiential marketing broadens the role of the brand from a bundle of attributes to experiences. Technological advancements have helped to increase the similarities between brand attributes and product commoditisation. Consequently, consumers cannot shape their preferences among brands using rational attributes only. They seek out brands that create experiences; that intrigue them in a sensorial, emotional and creative way. This study seeks to develop a model that provides an understanding of how brand knowledge and brand experience determine brand preference and to investigate its impact on brand repurchase intention. Accordingly, exploratory focus group discussions are employed followed by a survey of mobile phone users in Egypt. The findings provide insights into the relative importance of consumer perceptions on different brand knowledge factors in shaping brand preferences. It also demonstrates the significance of consumers’ experiential responses towards brands in developing their brand preferences that in turn influence brand repurchase intention. The model therefore offers managers a new perspective for building strong brands able to gain consumer preferences.     

Gender identity and brand incongruence: when in doubt,pursue masculinity

Gender identity is the extent to which an individual identifies with masculine or feminine personality traits. Sex roles in Western societies continue to evolve, so this research examines the developing relationship between gender identity and consumer responses to gendered branding. Grounded in self-congruency theory [Sirgy, M. J. (1982). Self-concept in consumer behavior: A critical review. Journal of Consumer Research, 9, 287–300], the present research reports an experiment that supports a congruence relationship between gender identity and brand response. Masculine consumers prefer masculine brands. The results also show incongruent brand rejection where masculine consumers react negatively to feminine brands although feminine consumers are more accepting of masculine brands. Further, the results suggest that gender identity is a more effective dimension for customer segmentation than biological sex. Overall, the results suggest that masculine brands are more effective than other gendered brand profiles for masculine, feminine, and androgynous consumers.     

The Effects of Humor on Ad Processing: Mediating Role of Brand Familiarity

The effect of humorous advertisement on memory and attitude has been an important topic among advertising scholars. However, scholars have used fake brands to test the effects of humor. Since the possibility for consumers to be exposed to the commercial for a completely new brand is very low, using a fake brand to test humor effects is not realistic. Hence, this study examined the role of brand familiarity on the effects of humor on memory and attitude by using existing brands in a laboratory experiment. This study suggests a different structural model for familiar and unfamiliar brands based on the previous studies in consumer behavior. Results revealed different effects of humorous advertisements for the familiar or unfamiliar brands. The structural model proposed for this study revealed a mediating role of brand familiarity on humor effects. Humorous ads worked better for the unfamiliar brands. For the familiar brands, the effects were mediated by the subjects’ brand familiarity and prior brand attitude.     

Condoms and bananas: Shock advertising explained through congruence theory

This research examines the impact of shock advertising on consumer brand evaluations, for both socially acceptable and controversial product categories. The intervening roles of brand familiarity, perceived incongruity and disgust are also investigated. Utilizing two experiments and drawing upon congruence theory, this research offers empirical evidence to demonstrate that: (1) when familiar brands are advertised using a shock advertisement, consumers will show less favorable evaluations towards brands in a socially acceptable product category as compared to controversial products, and (2) for familiar brands, the differences in consumer evaluations between a socially accepted versus controversial product categories is mediated by perceived incongruity and disgust (a serial mediation). Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

中国背景下的全球品牌:洞察中国消费者的决策(英文)

本文探究了与全球十大品牌相关的中国消费者决策。通过四个层面(品牌熟悉度、品牌喜爱度、品牌信任度以及知晓一个品牌的原产国)来预测中国消费者样本的品牌购买意向,同时分析指出,中国消费者对世界主义、民族优越感、全球—本地身份的认识以及与全球消费者文化的区别也可能会影响其全球品牌购买意向。本文为全球十大品牌建立了回归模型,并有提供最有力证据的层级模型。品牌熟悉度、信任度和喜爱度基本上在很大程度上解释了差异的存在。     

Quantity of Information and Information Display Type as Predictors of Consumer Choice of Product Brands

Research has shown that consumers like large quantities of product information and believe that it helps them to make better purchase decisions. In light of this finding, it is quite possible that consumers might make brand choice decisions based on the amount of information provided. In cases where brands differ in amount of information, consumers may choose those brands that provide the most information. This article reports the results of exploratory research designed to examine this question as well as the effects of two information display types on brand choice in situations of varying information quantity. The findings revealed evidence to support the hypothesized consumer preference for high-information brands over low-information brands. The magnitude of the effect was also found to differ by type of information display.     

The role of art infusion in enhancing pro-environmental luxury brand advertising

Underpinned by art infusion theory, this present research examines the effect of art infusion on brand attitudes under different brand conditions (i.e. pro-environmental luxury brands and luxury brands) in advertising. Across two experimental studies, this research offers empirical evidence to a moderated mediation model, such that when an advertisement features an artwork (vs. no-artwork), consumers will perceive lower levels of incompatibility between luxury and sustainability, leading to a more favorable brand attitude toward the pro-environmental luxury brand. However, such differences will not occur among consumers evaluating an ordinary luxury brand. The findings of this research broaden the current body of knowledge related to the art infusion effect and provide important implications for marketers in their advertising strategy. Furthermore, these findings suggest that art infusion may be the solution to the dilemma facing sustainable luxury brands since luxury and sustainability are often perceived as incongruent concepts.     

What if something unexpected happens to my brand? Spillover effects from positive and negative events in a co‐branding partnership

Brands sometimes enter into co‐branding agreements and major events can occur to one of the brands which can have either negative or positive consequences for the brands involved in the partnership. The current study investigates as yet unanswered research questions regarding whether and how positive and negative events happening to one brand in a co‐branding partnership affect the brand equities of the other brands in the partnership. The authors provide and test a new integrated attribution‐diagnosticity framework to explain the process that underlies the magnitude of these spillover effects. Findings show that while positive and negative event‐related spillover effects occur between the co‐brand and both parent brands, they were surprisingly absent between the parent brands. Further, the (a)symmetry of parent brand equity before the event influences the magnitude of event‐related spillover the parent brands receive from the co‐brand. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.     

Communicating brand gender through type fonts

The marketing literature suggests that positioning a brand in terms of brand gender (i.e., brand masculinity and brand femininity) generates favorable consumer responses, yet there is little research on how brand gender perceptions arise. This research examines whether type font can be employed to create brand gender perceptions in the context of unfamiliar brands. Building on the theoretical framework of personality inferences based on static cues, three studies involving a range of type fonts, brand names, and product categories demonstrate that type font influences consumers’ perceptions of brand gender. Type font effects emerged for brand names presented in isolation (Study 1), brand names presented on signage (Study 2a), and brand names on product labels (Studies 2b and 3). Importantly, type font effects on brand gender persisted in the presence of a competing brand gender cue (i.e., brand name with gender associations), and type font and brand name influenced brand gender perceptions independently. A fourth study demonstrates that type fonts representing the brands influence consumers’ likelihood to recommend the brand. The article concludes with a discussion of theoretical and brand management implications.     

The impact of brand equity and the hedonic level of products on consumer stock-out reactions

We investigate the impact of brand equity and the hedonic level of the product on consumer stock-out responses. We also examine whether the hedonic level of the product moderates the effect of brand equity. Using a sample of Dutch consumers divided over eight product groups and eight retail chains, we tested our hypotheses and found that consumers were more loyal to high-equity brands than to low-equity brands in the case of a stock-out situation. In hedonic product groups, consumers were more likely to switch to another store. Purchasers of high-equity brands in hedonic product groups were, compared to purchasers of high-equity brands in utilitarian product groups, less inclined to postpone the purchase but were more likely to switch to another item by that brand. In addition to these two main variables, we also investigate the effect of variables from prior research and some new variables, such as stockpiling and impulse buying. Finally, we discuss the theoretical and managerial implications of the findings.     

The impact of product knowledge on consumer product memory and evaluation in the competitive ad context: The item‐specific‐relational perspective

Research evidence to date suggests that the combined presence of item‐specific and relational processing is necessary to induce higher memory performance of the target ad and proper evaluation of the target brand. This elaborative processing, however, requires cognitive capacity. In this paper, an item‐specific‐relational processing framework was employed to explain the roles of consumer product knowledge in the competitive and non‐competitive ad contexts. Findings from an experimental study suggest that high‐ and low‐knowledge consumers differed in product memory and evaluation in competitive and non‐competitive ad contexts. Such differences could be explained by consumers' engaging in item‐specific and/or relational processing depending on whether target brand information was presented with or without information on competing brands. It appears that competitive ad context would benefit low‐knowledge consumers by serving as a reference. In contrast, high‐knowledge consumers did not seem to be affected by ad context. Both theoretical and managerial implications are discussed. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

On the Role of Brand Stereotypes in Shaping Consumer Response toward Brands: An Empirical Examination of Direct and Mediating Effects of Warmth and Competence

The purpose of this article is to contribute to the branding literature by examining the critical role of brand stereotypes in shaping consumers’ brand‐related responses. Drawing on the Stereotype Content Model, this article examines how warmth and competence stereotypes impact consumers’ emotional reaction toward brands and in turn consumers’ brand attitudes and behavioral intention. In addition, this article examines how brand stereotypes mediate the relationships between brand personality and consumers’ brand emotions. The results from this study support the dual role of brand stereotypes as relevant predictors of brand emotions, and intervening variables mediating the effects from brand personality perceptions on brand emotions. The findings support the view that mechanisms of social perception apply to brand perception and provide new insights about the relationship between consumers’ brand perceptions and their responses toward brands.     

How Attitudes Toward Product Categories Drive Individual Brand Attitudes and Choice

Three experiments examine the role of attitudes toward the category to which a brand belongs in consumers’ attitudes toward individual brands. The core findings indicate that what consumers think generally about a category affects their evaluations of singular brands belonging to the category. Study 1 demonstrates that both consumers’ attitudes toward a category as well as their relative attitudes toward a brand versus intracategory competitors drive overall attitudes toward individual brands. Study 2 shows that manipulating attitudes toward a product category affects attitudes toward, and purchase intention of, individual brands belonging to that category. Study 3 demonstrates that more versus less favorably evaluated categories are more likely to exhibit brand positivity effects in judgments of singular brands. The results suggest the practical importance of measuring attitudes toward product categories, as well as the utility of marketing interventions aimed at the category level.