LUXURY BRAND IDENTITY AND HERITAGE IN TRANSITION IN LUXURY CAPITALS: THE CASE OF CHRISTIAN DIOR

Joëlle Lagier,Silvia Ranfagni 글로벌지식마케팅경영학회 2018 Global Marketing Conference Vol.2018 No.07

Introduction In the last years, luxury has experienced a multiplicity of transformations from different perspectives. The opening up of the fast-growing economies to luxury has disrupted its essence and identity by bringing in a stratification of the levels in luxury, an expansion of customers’ segments and a new mode of operationalization for luxury brands: the digitalization of luxury. However, luxury brands identity should still be characterized by their rarity, originality and exclusivity. Luxury capitals and their urban ecosystem represent a significant space where luxury brands had and still have anchored their essence, customer experience and all those values that represent their identity. Luxury industries are threatened by a progressive loss of mystique, market analysts say, as consumers search for something more than aesthetics and shallow status symbols (Boston Consulting Group, 2010). Consequently, luxury brands should rely more consistently on their heritage and history, in order to strengthen their appeal (Atsmon et al, 2012). In-store experience is increasingly important in luxury markets (Atsmon et al, 2012) and the shopping destination plays a key role. In fact, besides being an instrumental occasion for getting the needed products, the shopping experience becomes an end valued for its own sake (Rintamaki et al, 2007, p. 628). As a result of the changing context and new priorities, this research will focus on the case study of one main French luxury brand – Christian Dior – and will explore how the brand has capitalized on the local “brandscape” effect of Paris as a luxury city to reinforce the brand heritage and keep its own identity in “turbulent times”. The results of this study are preliminary ones at this stage but they already provide an overview of how the brand has capitalized on the brandscape orientation. Theoritical Development In order to understand how Christian Dior has capitalized on the local “brandscape” effect of Paris and reinforce its brand heritage, this article will first review the main concepts of brandscape and brand heritage. Brandscape City branding literature has overlooked the role of individual brands that, being somehow associated with the city, contribute to city brand building (Pasquinelli, 2014). In city branding literature, a variety of geographical units may be relevant for brands, especially at a smaller scale: the ‘region of origin’ or the ‘city of origin’ (as in this article) may turn out to be of much greater significance. However, the geographical fragmentation of global value chains caused the breakdown of the ‘origin’ into a set of geographical associations (Insch and McBride, 2004), such as the “Made in”, “Designed in”, “Assembled in” and “Headquartered in” (Papadopoulos, 2011). Consequently, origin will not simply be the geographical context where the product is manufactured. Rather, the brand origin becomes ‘the place, region or country where a brand is perceived to belong’ (Thakor and Kohli, 1996, p. 26). The origin is, thus, a matter of perception and, in addition to the physical or material attachment to the place of production, other spatialities may add value to product brands, such as the ‘usage context’ (Gerr et al, 1999), in relation to specific situations and rituals of consumption. In this perspective, rather than a simple and static place–product identification, there is a need to look at the process of constructing geographical associations, where spatial circuits of value and meaning are activated in the production, circulation, consumption and regulation of product brands (Pike, 2009, 2010, 2011). Consequently, cities may become the host of these spatial circuits and, because of their nature in a globalized economy, they play a distinctive role in the ‘local origination’ of product brands, helping local firms to construct globally competitive brands (Pike, 2011). Brand heritage A brand is often represented by s a set of functional attributes and symbolic values, branding being the process of associating the attributes with the product in order to add value to it (Hakala et al., 2011). According to Kapferer (2004), a brand’s success is based on its saliency, differentiability and intensity, and on the trust attached to the associations. In addition to these, Davis (2000) underlines the role and accumulation of experiences in brand recognition. Brand preference ultimately depends on what the brand means to the customer and on the impact of its emotional effect, in other words on its place in the heart (Ballantyne et al., 2006). Related to the same idea, brand attachment is characterized by a strong linkage or connectedness between the brand and the self (Kleine and Kleine, 1993). In this context, brand heritage is one of the associations that marketers can use to differentiate their brands from those of their competitors, ultimately helping them to create a unique image for the offering (Keller and Lehmann, 2006). For Aaker (1996), heritage is a key component of brand equity and this heritage represents an essential value for the customer and other stakeholders (Keller and Richey, 2006). The main advantages of brand heritage is as a matter of fact to add stability, familiarity, sincerity and differentiation (Merchant and Rose, 2013) in order to bring authenticity (Fionda and Moore, 2009; Kapferer and Bastien, 2008), and to reduce purchasing risk (Steewart-Allen, 2002). In difficult times, consumers become less confident in the future and wish to protect themselves from the hazards of the outside world and as a result it increases the interest in brands with a heritage: skillfully exploited, they can evoke past events (Brown et al., 2003) and reassure the consumer. The word heritage is generally associated with inheritance: something transferred from one generation to the next. As a concept, therefore, it works as a carrier of historical values from the past (Nuryanti, 1996). But the concept of heritage is different from history (Urde et al. 2007) and retro (Wiedmann et al. 2011). Heritage corresponds to different meaning. On the corporate perspective, heritage is defined as “all the traits and aspects of an organization that link its past, present, and future in a meaningful and relevant way” (Burghausen and Balmer 2014b, p. 394). This link between the different time strata, called omni-temporality, is a cornerstone of corporate heritage (Balmer 2011). Finally, Banerjee (2008, p. 314) describes the four pillars of the heritage of a brand as its history, image, expectancy and equity. History represents its rich and eventful past, the image "an after effect of the brand communication and positioning based on the perceived benefits by consumers”. Brand expectancy refers to the physical and emotional benefits that consumers receive from the brand. Finally, equity comprises two subsets: a homogeneous and heterogeneous set of competencies that facilitate progression and give advantages over the competition. With the exception of its history, the elements of the brand's heritage in Banerjee’s description (2008) are difficult to measure. Methodology In order to provide specific responses from the field, the empirical research methodology chosen follows the case analysis method (Yin, 1984). Following Yin (1984) case study approach and guidelines, a unique emblematic and successful case study is proposed to be analyzed in its unicity. Data reported will be authorized when required or based on primary evidence from public sources such as online, offline media, press, and advertisement and communication campaigns. The research data collection process has started with a pilot work in order to be oriented by experts in the field with respect to the coherence of the research covered. A focus group has been created and has provided indications to build a guideline for the empirical data collection. As a result, it has been decided to start the empirical data collection through an analysis of public sources on a 2 years timeframe. The length of the public sources analysis is related to the need to provide a consistent evaluation of the brand positioning heritage. The following empirical data will be concentrated on interviews with Christian Dior brand in a timeline of 2 months in order to have access to diverse sources of information and to integrate data necessary to build a coherent case study. The interviews are going to be carried in Paris headquarters and in the diverse flagship stores in Paris. Paris as location of data investigation and collection has been decided in relation to its central role in the research questions of the paper and in the historical development of the brand. Christian dior as a successful case of fashion city brandscape and heritage Christian Dior French New Look appeared in 1947 during the first Christian Dior couture fashion show in Paris. At the time, the Paris couture trade was in a precarious state. What it needed was excitement, and Christian Dior delivered it in a collection of luxurious clothes with soft shoulders, waspy waists and full-flowing skirts intended for what he called flower women. ‘It’s quite a revelation, dear Christian Dior’ pronounced Carmel Snow, the editor of US magazine Harper’s Bazaar. ‘Your dresses have such a New Look.’ And here it was: the New Look dresses were born. Dior brand is specifically embedded on the name of the founder, fashion designer of the brand, very inspired by the atmosphere and history of Paris : “ The air of Paris is really the air of couture” (Dior, 2011). The logo itself reminds the founder of the brand. Its simplicity and elegance reinforce the brand identification for consumers; in the logo, it is possible to find the sophistication and elegance representative of the personality of its creator. The company has made efforts to keep the same values promoted by its original founder Christian Dior. Indeed, Dior was primarily a female brand. Dior’s company is also synonymous of dreams. The designer always wanted to reach the excellence in every pieces he created and it’s on the same motto that the company has reached the success known today. Though earlier Dior focused only on women, it diversified into products for men under the brand of Dior Homme, and for children under the brand of Baby Dior as well as other products lines such as parfumes and cosmetics with the same aspect of perfectionism. Preliminary results and conclusion In order to evaluate Christian Dior relationship with the urban environment -Paris-, a first collection of on line data has shown the following. Christian Dior bought his first couture house in Paris in 1946 after working for Robert Pigue and Lucien Lelong. His first house, 30 avenue Montaigne, was the place where the Dior Label would flourish. Considered as one of the greatest couturiers of this century, Christian Dior never ceased to develop his image and fame around the "great Parisian chic", anchored in the mythical and symbolic history of the famous "light city". His latest exhibition at the “Musée des Arts Décoratifs” celebrating the 70th anniversary of Maison Dior, says a lot about this position. The brand strategy has always been in fact, to bring beauty by respecting the tradition and heritage of the company. In this environment, Dior shows the implementation of a very specific brand communication policy. As in the following examples, the ad is always really elegant and sophisticated with quite often the appearance of a famous person being the “muse” of the brand. And the story always takes place in Paris and is illustrated by short anecdotes in the heart of the capital, next to its most famous monuments such as the Eiffel Tower. The logo is also present in a simple way, reflecting the strength of the brand with a clear recognition and association with French luxury and high quality products. If these ways of communicating remain more classical, where the consumer can easily rely on the values of the brand with a “dream” touch, the real power of Dior’s brand is the way it communicates on the brand itself and its history. The continuation of our research will consist in deepening these preliminary results by analyzing supplementary data coming from public sources and interviews led with Dior's brand.

PRESTIGE DEGREE AMONG LUXURY BRANDS

Suzane Strehlau,Evandro L. Lopes 글로벌지식마케팅경영학회 2014 Global Marketing Conference Vol.2014 No.7

The luxury market has expanded out of its traditional niche of elite and hit the middle-class consumer; this is part of the brand extension strategies. The goal of the research is to examine whether consumers perceive different degrees of luxuriousness among luxury brands using different brand name extension strategies. Kowalczyk (2010) proposed that a downward vertical extension is related to the dilution of the mother luxury brand. Corroborating this idea Kim, Lavacke and Smith (2001) indicate that the introduction of any vertical brand extension, whether up or down, has a negative impact on consumer evaluation of the parent brand. The results of Hennigs et al (2013) are not clear about the effects of downward extension. This exploratory study presents a quantitative approach; a survey was conducted with consumers who had purchased one luxury goods in the last 12 months (judgement sample). The hypothesis are: H1- The consumer perceives different levels of prestige among luxury brands; H2 – consumers evaluate differently a brand using different brand name strategies in brand extension. Results reveal that consumers perceived different degrees of prestige among brands (F = 19.260, sig.000). The results showed that the Chanel is the brand with a higher degree of prestige with an average of 8.01, the second luxurious brand was the Giorgio Armani (7.40), followed by Emporio Armani (6.28), Diesel (6.13), Armani Jeans (5.77), Calvin Klein (5.43) and finally the less prestigious degree was the Armani Exchange (5.22).Although these are data cannot be extrapolated to the whole population there is evidence that Brazilian consumers evaluate luxury brands inside a range of perceived luxuriousness. Further studies should use a conclusive method to verify the impact of brand extension on the degree of perceived luxury. Chanel (mean = 8.0111, Sd = 2.60393) and Giorgio Armani (mean = 7.4028, Sd= 2.59494) brand are identified as possessing the highest degree of luxury. So this exploratory study can raise the hypothesis to be tested in the future that the strategy of the name being used does not impact on the degree of perceived luxury brand mother. The trademark dilution may occur in the group of lowest degree of luxury (such as Armani Jeans, Armani Exchange.

THE INFLUENCE OF BRAND KNOWLEDGE ON THE INTENTION TO PURCHASE PERSONAL LUXURY PRODUCTS

Kanyanee Ingsa,Li-Wei Mai 글로벌지식마케팅경영학회 2017 Global Fashion Management Conference Vol.2017 No.07

This conceptual paper discusses the influence of brand knowledge through various components of personal luxury products’ towards the purchase intention. Rapid shifts in luxury consumers’ behaviours is one of the predominant drivers contributing to the growth of the modern luxury market. In response to this, luxury consumers’ characteristics and profiles need to be reexamined. In recent years, there has been a rapid increase in global luxury consumption with the rise in number of luxury consumers from 140 million to 350 million globally (Bain & Company, 2015). Such a phenomenal growth in the luxury market leads to a widely increased interests among researchers across all disciplines (Truong et al., 2008; 2009, Tynan et al., 2010; Kapferer & Valette-Florence, 2016). In particular, personal luxury goods market is forecast to continue to grow between 2-3 percent through 2020 (Bain & Company, 2016). Despite the fact that personal luxury goods is a major driver of the entire market, there is a limited research in this product category. Two factors of this fast-growing trend stimulate the need for additional research into consumers’ behaviours. First, there has been a shift in luxury consumers’ profile (Hanna, 2004; Fionda & Moore, 2009) and purchasing patterns (Bain & Company, 2015; 2016) where social influences (Dubois et al., 2001; Berthon et al., 2009; Cheah et al., 2015; Yang and Mattila, 2014; Kapferer & Valette-Florence, 2016) and people’s needs for materialism, appearances to enhance their ego and self-concept (Phau & Prendergast, 2000; Kapferer, 2006) are having greater impact on how consumers make their luxury purchase decisions. Second, it appears that the characteristics of the traditional luxury consumers as well as old marketing models from many decades ago need to be redefined (Bain & Company, 2015). Danziger (2005) indicates that the changes in luxury consumers’ purchase decision has created a dramatic shift in the purchase behaviour as a whole, making it difficult for luxury marketers to recognise the trend. To date, existing literature on luxury purchase intention focuses mainly from the cultural, economic, psychological perspectives (Leibenstein, 1950; Veblen, 1899; Bian & Forsythe, 2012; Liu et al., 2012; Wong & Ahuvia, 1998; Vigneron & Johnson, 2004; Shukla, 2012; Cheah et al., 2015) but remains limited on investigating luxury consumers’ behaviours through the integration of brand knowledge domain. Major works from marketing scholars on luxury value perceptions (Wiedmann et al., 2007 and 2009; Vigneron & Johnson, 2004; Shukla, 2012; Shukla & Purani, 2013; De Barnier et al., 2006; Hennigs et al., 2012 and 2013) suggest that they are important in explaining the whole picture of luxury consumption but insufficient in explaining purchase intentions (Shukla, 2012). Kapferer (2006) discusses that it is typical for consumers to identify which brand belongs to the luxury category, however, it could be more complex for the precise definition of luxury to be identified and understood. Therefore, this study seeks to incorporate the branding aspects into the investigation on the significance of brand knowledge towards the intention to purchase personal luxury products. Literature Review The concept of luxury is first explained by Veblen (1899) that the consumption of luxury goods is primarily considered by the affluent consumers with the desire to display their wealth to the relevant significant others. Even though the concept of luxury remains obscure, the clearer definition of luxury is given by Nueno & Quelch (1998) as the “ratio of functional utility to price is low while the ratio of intangible and situational utility to price is high” and that luxury products are beyond an ordinary expensive goods but “an ephemeral status symbol”. Shukla (2010) also defines luxury as the consumption that is not for just oneself but a socially-oriented type of consumption that fulfils the consumers’ own indulgence as well as to serve the “socially directed motives”. The aforementioned definitions of luxury show it is an “elusive concept” (Kapferer, 1998) with “fuzzy frontiers” (Kapferer, 2006). The luxury concept is describes as “incredibly fluid, and changes dramatically” over time and varied among different cultures (Yeoman and McMahon-Beattie 2006). As consumers become richer (Fionda & Moore, 2009) and are able to afford more luxury brands (Nueno & Quelch, 1998), luxury is no longer reserved for the rich but also includes the rising number of aspiring middle-class consumers (Shukla, 2012) who enjoy material comfort (Yeoman & McMahon-Beattie, 2006; Yeoman, 2011: Granot et al., 2013). This change makes the term luxury even more difficult to define (Shukla, 2010) and will continue as an ongoing debate among research scholars (Kapferer & Valette-Florence, 2016). Dubois & Paternault (1995) mention that “luxury items are bought for what they mean, beyond what they are”, this statement defines the nature of luxury brands where consumers often purchase luxury products not merely because of their outstanding quality but because of the name and the symbolic identity the brand provides. Kapferer (1998) recognises the importance in exploring the perception of luxury brands from the end-users themselves because they know best. This also adds to the ongoing complexity and difficulties in giving luxury a discreet definition (Kapferer, 1997 and 1998). The work of Grotts & Johnson (2013) investigates the status consumption of millennial consumers and indicates that it is highly possible that the consumers may not express any interest on the quality of the products but are placing greater emphasis on the ability of the handbags to be recognised and generate attention from their reference groups. With regard to marketing strategy, luxury marketers react to the rapid increase in demand to maintain their position of exclusivity by increasing the price every year in order to secure their clientele (Kapferer, 2015b). Louis Vuitton, Rolex, and Christian Dior increase the price of their products every year to sustain the dream value of the consumers (Kapferer, 2015a; 2015b). It is apparent that most luxury companies are managing the dilemma of maintaining the exclusivity of its products while increasing brand awareness as well as focusing on securing more market share and revenue (Kastanakis & Balabanis, 2012; Berthon et al., 2009). Despite the recognisable shifts in luxury consumption pattern, the sector will continue to grow with the majority of affluent consumers as discussed by Steve Kraus of Ipsos (King, 2015). The most recognisable shift in luxury marketing strategy is on the increasing number of luxury companies offering lower-price products in response to the rising level of demand for luxury consumption by the enthusiastic middle class consumers (Truong et al., 2008; Kastanakis & Balabanis, 2012). Luxury was once reserved for the “happy few” (Veblen, 1899) but this notion is no longer practical for today’s luxury environment where luxury products are “consumed by a larger aspirational segment” (Granot et al., 2013). Democratisation of luxury refers to when luxury brands create a lower-priced accessory items in order to appeal to the broader market, making luxury accessible to those “who could never afford to purchase the principal items in the line” (Nueno & Quelch, 1998) or the new luxury consumers who seeks recognition from luxury purchase. Han et al. (2010) discusses that different classes of consumers can now be distinguished by the brands of purses, watches, or shoes that they own. They let the brands speak for them, whether they prefer the loud Gucci logo or displaying the consumption of a “‘no logo’ strategy” by carrying a Bottega Veneta bag (Han et al., 2010). As Husic & Cicic (2009) state, an important question on today’s luxury consumption that if it is possible for everyone to obtain luxury items, are the brands still considered luxury? This is one of the important agendas concerning luxury consumption that prompts researchers to investigate this changing behaviours and perceptions of luxury consumers. It is also significance to note that the increase in global demand in luxury market is not necessarily positive but could be negative if the demand is not being managed efficiently (Hennigs et al., 2015). Despite frequent changes in luxury consumption patterns, Kapferer & Valette-Florence (2016) argues that it is vital to understand how consumers behave in order for the brands to create and maintain trust and reputation among its consumers. Danziger (2005) argues that the notion of “past behaviour predicts future behavior” may not be applicable to the luxury market. However, the foundation remains where the marketers need to understand the basics about the past and present behaviours in order to offer the products and services at the price that luxury consumers are willing to pay. It is partly due to the minimisation of the possible risks that might occur in purchasing luxury products as stated by Kapferer & Valette-Florence (2016) that “in luxury, no one wants to buy the wrong brand”. In light of these changes in the demand and strategies, a new framework of luxury purchase intention will be presented. This framework integrates brand knowledge in order to accommodate the traditional consumer, who appreciates the brand and its exclusivity, as well as the new buyer who wants recognition. This attempt in merging the two groups of luxury consumers together will highlights how traditional and new luxury consumers make their purchase decisions based on different components of luxury product characteristics as well as different value perception, or that is to say, based on a different levels of brand knowledge. Conceptual Framework Over several decades scholars attempted to agree on a single comprehensive definition for the term ‘luxury’ but have not yet reached that goal because the concept of luxury is highly individual and the market itself is heterogeneous (Hennigs et al., 2013). The definition of luxury, therefore, is very complex to define (Vigneron & Johnson, 1999; Dubois & Duquesne, 1993) due to its “subjective character” (De Barnier et al., 2012) with many diverse facets (Phau & Prendergast, 2000). This study provides a new perspective by looking at the factors that influence luxury purchase intention. Based on the original work of Keller (1993), it is important to understand the structure and content of brand knowledge because these dictate what comes into the consumer’s mind when they think about a brand and what they know about the brand (Keller, 2003). Consumer brand knowledge is defined as the “personal meaning about a brand stored in consumer memory, that is, all descriptive and evaluative brand-related information” (Keller, 2003). Strong, unique, and favorable brand associations must be created with consumers (Kotler & Keller, 2012 and 2016). In luxury consumption, different consumers seek different emotional and functional benefits from luxury brands (Kapferer, 1998), which makes it relevant and significant to investigate the level of influences of brand knowledge and value perceptions on the intention to purchase luxury products. The proposed conceptual framework for this study is presented in Figure 1 in the Appendix section. Managerial Implications This study provides both theoretical and managerial implications. On theoretical grounds, this study provides an enhanced model in investigating the influence of luxury brand knowledge towards luxury purchase intention considering luxury brand characteristics and luxury value perceptions. On managerial perspective, this study provides an update in the modern luxury consumers consumption pattern in terms of what specific characteristics of luxury products they would consider when they intend to purchase. At the same time, this study analyses the types of luxury value perceptions acknowledge by modern luxury consumers towards their purchase decision. In addition, the proposed conceptual framework will take into account the behaviours of traditional luxury consumers, who seems to have been lost due to the increased demand among the new luxury consumers. According to Keller et al. (2012), the marketers of the brand needs to acknowledge the insights to how brand knowledge exists in consumer memory. From the model, marketers can plan and execute efficient marketing and communication strategies for modern luxury consumers given their fast-changing preference in luxury consumption. Following the suggestion from Kapferer & Valette-Florence (2016) which indicates that “luxury is made by brands” and apart from selling luxurious products, the dream is what is attached to the brand logo and name. Therefore, by investigating the relationship between luxury products characteristics along with luxury value perceptions, this study aims to provide a refreshing analysis of today’s luxury consumers and what stimulates them to buy personal luxury products. Further Research A questionnaire will be developed by the integration of the established measurements and scales from the existing luxury consumption and branding literature. A draft of the questionnaire will be reviewed against the literature and the practical insights obtained from the sales associates and experts in the luxury industry for the suitability and clarity of the questions. The final draft of the questionnaire will be pre-test on a small number of respondents from the target audience. The target population for the study is among general luxury consumers. The data collected from the survey will be analysed using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) approach to model decision process and validate the proposed conceptual framework. Cluster analysis will be used to identify segments of consumers as recommended by Aaker et al. (2013). The anticipated research findings will expand on the degree of influences of the brand knowledge towards the willingness to purchase of personal luxury goods. It is also expected that the research findings will be useful in redefining the existing types of luxury consumers to represent today’s luxury consumers.

TYPICALITY EFFECTS IN LUXURY BRAND ADVERTISEMENTS

Heejin An,Do Yuon Kim,Robert Pettys-Baker 글로벌지식마케팅경영학회 2017 Global Fashion Management Conference Vol.2017 No.07

Consumers’ perception of advertisements can affect brand attitudes, brand trust, and brand image (Meenaghan, 1995; Sheinin, Varki, & Ashley, 2011). Therefore, strategic selection of elements in advertisements becomes important, especially for luxury brands. Luxury brands tend to position themselves as artisans of a particular category or a product and highlight exclusivity (Fionda & Moore, 2008). When a luxury brand is known for a specific product, a less-known product of the brand in an advertisement would be perceived differently. The present study focused on exploring the different effects of iconic products and less-associated products of a luxury brand in the context of advertisements. Categorization theory, typicality effects, and conceptual fluency provided theoretical foundation in understanding the relationships. Typicality effects, simply put, occur when members in a category are graded, “with members ranging from very good (typical) members of a category to very poor (atypical) members of a category” (Loken, Barsalou, & Joiner, 2008, p. 153). In consumer studies, typicality had been examined in various dimensions and showed to effect consumer attitude (Goedertier, Dawar, Geuens, & Weijters, 2015; Loken & Ward, 1990; Ward & Loken, 1988). However, to our knowledge, the subject had not been covered in the luxury brand advertisement context. To test the effects of typicality, the study examined whether typical products in luxury advertising have a higher level of advertisement liking, pleasantness, and novelty than atypical products (H1), whether consumers’ advertisement attitude from luxury advertising have a positive effect on brand attitude (H2), and whether consumers’ product involvement moderated the relationship between product typicality and advertisement attitude. Before the main test, two pretests were performed; the first to select the luxury brand and products to be used in the main test; the second to ensure the brand-product association of the advertisements. A total of 123 undergraduate students participated in the experiment, a (typical vs. atypical) between-subjects design. Participants were exposed to one of the two experimental conditions and were asked to complete a questionnaire. They were provided with questions measuring advertisement liking, pleasantness, novelty, brand attitude, demographical questions, and manipulation checks. All questions, apart from the demographics and certain questions in the manipulation checks, were measured on a 5-point Likert scale. Reliability analysis, multivariate analysis of variance, and multiple regression analysis were used in hypothesis testing. Results of the study revealed that typical brand products in luxury brand advertisements have a higher level of advertisement liking, pleasantness, and novelty. Additionally, advertisement liking and novelty have a positive effect on brand attitude but pleasantness had no effect. Finally, product involvement did not moderate the effects of product typicality on advertisement attitude. The study shows significance in that it supports the typicality effect in categorization theory by showing that there are certain products that consumers link with brands, and the closer the link, the more positive advertisement attitude becomes. Based on the results, it is recommended that luxury brands take caution in product placement and include iconic products in advertisements. There should also be focus on which products are in the advertisement, not the individual consumer’s involvement in a product. For future research, experiments exploring whether presenting typical products with atypical products in advertisements would strengthen the relationships between brands and atypical products is suggested. Also, studies on how luxury brands can elevate the status of atypical products to typical products by educating consumers would provide practical strategies for luxury brand marketers.

THE ROLE OF LUXURY BRAND ATTACHMENT ON CONSUMER BRAND RELATIONSHIP

Anwar Sadat Shimul,Michael Lwin,Ian Phau 글로벌지식마케팅경영학회 2017 Global Fashion Management Conference Vol.2017 No.07

This study aims to investigate the role of luxury brand attachment on consumer brand relationship by examining the relationship with trust, commitment, satisfaction and loyalty. This also examines the interrelationships among trust, commitment, satisfaction and loyalty from luxury branding context which provides a good number of theoretical and practical implications. Introduction The global luxury market exceeded $1 trillion in the year 2015 with a 5% annual growth (Bain & Co., 2015). However, industry experts predict that the luxury industry will face challenges in upcoming year primarily due to the economic instability and turmoil in the global foreign exchange market (Robert, 2015). Therefore, the luxury brand executives should carefully target their future consumer segment to sustain the current growth (Luxury Society, 2015). Earlier studies demonstrate that consumers seek various types of emotional benefits from luxury brands such as status seeking (Nelissen & Meijers, 2011), hedonic pleasure (Tsai, 2005), feeling good (Aaker, 1999), pleasurable experience (Atwal & Williams, 2009), mental peace (Silverstein & Fiske, 2003), and impressing others (Wiedmann, Hennigs, & Siebels, 2009). Moreover, these emotional benefits create a comprehensive and memorable experience in terms of ownership and consumption of luxury brands (Choo et al., 2012). Therefore, luxury brand marketers should emphasize more on emotional attachment for building a long term and sustainable customer relationship (Orth et al., 2010). Research Gap Existing literature on consumer-brand relationship mostly considers cross-cultural issues (Chang & Chieng, 2006), reviving brand loyalty (Fournier, 1997), consumer attitude (Aggarwal, 2004), satisfaction (Sung & Choi, 2006), self-brand connection (Cheng et al., 2012), trust-based commitment (Hess & Story, 1995) and such other dimensions on brand evaluation (e.g. Swaminathan et al., 2007). Few studies have considered luxury products (Hodge et al., 2015) and the role of emotional aspects (Hwang & Kandampully, 2012) in the consumer-brand relationship. Still, there is a lack of empirical support for understanding the role of luxury brand attachment into the construct. This research will attempt to fulfil these research gaps. Conceptual Model and Hypotheses Psychological theories explain attachment as the tie between a person and an object or any other components (Bowlby, 1979; Hazan & Shaver, 1994). Brand attachment is defined as a long-term and commitment oriented tie between the consumer and the brand (Esch et al., 2006). The conceptualization of luxury brand demonstrates that the inherent traits of luxury brands are distinctiveness, high transaction value, superior quality, inimitability, and craftsmanship; and luxury brand consumption is mostly emotion laden (Nueno & Quelch, 1998). Based on the existing attachment concepts and theories, we define luxury brand attachment as the emotional bond that connects a consumer with a specific brand and develops deep feelings toward the brand. Several past studies have found that brand attachment reinforces brand trust and there is a positive relationship between brand attachment and trust (e.g. Belaid & Behi, 2011). In addition, Esch et al. (2006) argue that brand satisfaction and brand attachment are interrelated and satisfaction results long-term consumer-brand relationships (Gladstein, 1984). Moreover, strong commitment from the consumers has been identified as a critical factor of long lasting brand relationship (Li et al., 2014; Sung and Choi, 2010). Further, Thomson et al. (2005) find that brand attachment creates behavioural loyalty for which consumers are also willing to pay higher prices. Expecting similar relationship from luxury branding context, we propose that H1: The higher the luxury brand attachment, the greater the consumers trust in that brand. H2: The higher the luxury brand attachment, the greater the consumer satisfaction for that brand. H3: The higher the luxury brand attachment, the greater the consumer commitment to that brand. H4: Higher luxury brand attachment leads to higher behavioural loyalty to that brand. Scholars explain that satisfaction is an essential element of brand loyalty and both the constructs are positively related (e.g. Agustin and Singh, 2005). Past researches find that highly satisfied consumers demonstrate repeat purchases (e.g. Bennett et al, 2005). Past studies also show that trust toward the brand results brand loyalty and strengthen the relationship (Bansal et al., 2014; Belaid & Behi, 2011). Fournier (1997) identify brand trust as the key determinant of brand loyalty. Thus, we propose that H5: Higher satisfaction to the luxury brand leads to higher behavioural loyalty to that brand. H6: Higher trust to the luxury brand leads to higher behavioural loyalty to that brand. Ganesan (1994) argue that a satisfied customer develop trust toward a specific brand. In support of this, Belaid & Behi (2011) state that if a brand becomes successful in fulfilling the promise with consistence performance, the consumer will have satisfaction and positive feeling about the brand. In addition, the authors find a positive relationship between brand commitment and behavioural loyalty. Expecting similar relationship from luxury branding context, we propose that H7: The higher the trust in luxury brand, the more customer satisfaction in that brand. H8: Higher commitment to the luxury brand leads to higher behavioural loyalty to that brand. Summary of the hypothesised relationships are illustrated in Figure 1. Methodology The simple random sampling will ensure proper representation of the target population and eliminate the sampling bias (Cook & Campbell, 1979; Zikmund, 2002). The sample population will be 300 young Australian consumers aged between 20-30 years. Previous studies have found that there is a growth in luxury brand purchase by individuals in younger age groups e.g. 20 – 30 (Hung et al., 2011). Therefore, this is representative of the possible drift in the ages of consumers in the market for luxury brand purchase (Han et al., 2010). A consumer panel from Qualtrics database will be used and the sample frame consists of consumers who have higher brand likeability (Martin & Stewart, 2001). Established scales will be used to measure the constructs. All items will be measured on a seven-point Likert scale with 1 representing “strongly disagree” and 7 representing “strongly agree”. Research Significance This would be the very first study to investigate the role of luxury brand attachment in consumer brand relationship. This research will provide meaningful insights for the brand managers, brand strategists and advertising managers. This research will assist luxury brand managers in allocation of resources for the action plans that will ensure a stronger tie with the consumers in a cost efficient way. For brand managers luxury brand attachment may help them with segmentation process and well as providing direction on improving attachment to the consumers to influence trust, commitment, satisfaction, and loyalty.

EXPLORING LUXURY BRAND CONSUMPTION IN A MULTICULTURAL MARKETPLACE

Yuri Seo,Margo-Buchanan-Oliver,Angela Cruz 글로벌지식마케팅경영학회 2014 Global Marketing Conference Vol.2014 No.7

As luxury brands have become a globalised phenomenon, marked with the appearance of recognizable and standardized platforms worldwide, we ask how their consumption and meanings are shaped by divergent cultural beliefs that permeate contemporary multicultural marketplaces. Cross-cultural luxury branding literature advises luxury brand managers to cultivate coherent brand identities tied to their internal ‘brand DNA’, with the aim to translate this identity into a consistent global brand image. However, this managerial commitment to a standardized approach in international marketing has meant that brand researchers often adopt an ethnocentric perspective on branding, characterized with the tendency to assess marketplaces in terms of their various degrees of ‘glocalization’. Consequently, the literature on cross-cultural luxury branding has largely focused on the effects of global positioning and local cultural influences, paying little attention to the influences of other foreign cultures that may operate within a multicultural marketplace. This paper is concerned with advancing our knowledge about how complex multicultural influences shape luxury brand markets. In particular, focusing on the interplay between local and foreign cultural meanings in a single national market, we demonstrate how the consumption of luxury brands is influenced by multiple, and at times conflicting, cultural beliefs. Luxury brands and cultural meanings are thoroughly intertwined. Throughout history, the idea of luxury has been influenced by various ideological beliefs, providing an “illuminating entr?e into a basic political issue, namely, the nature of social order” (Berry, 1994: 6). For instance, since ancient civilisations, such as the Egyptians and Amerindians, luxury goods have been used as the symbol of status and power (Kapferer and Bastien, 2009). In the days of Plato and early Christianity, luxury was also perceived in a pejorative form that signified the corruption of a virtuous manly life; and with the works of Adam Smith, the idea of luxury has become a vindication of commercial society (Berry, 1994). Over the last two decades, we have witnessed unprecedented demand for luxury brands by international consumers in Japan, in East Asia, and now in the BRIC (i.e., Brazil, Russia, India, and China) and CIVETS countries (i.e., Colombia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Egypt, Turkey, and South Africa) (Kapferer, 2012). Due to the accelerated flows of consumption meanings, ideologies, and people resulting from global economic forces (Appadurai, 1997), many of these emerging marketplaces are characterized by cross-cutting cultural flows, exhibiting a high degree of inner differentiation and complexity (Craig and Douglas, 2006), mutual entanglement (Robertson, 1992; Welsh, 1999), and interpenetration (Andreasen, 1990). Consequently, there is a growing need to advance our understanding of how increasing multicultural influences shape luxury brand markets. Informed by a cultural branding approach (Bengtsson et al., 2010) and research on multicultural marketplaces (Craig and Douglas, 2006), we address this issue in cross-cultural luxury branding by offering a qualitative inquiry into luxury brand consumption in New Zealand, uncovering the interplay between two distinct cultural beliefs permeating this multicultural market – the local Kiwi ‘tall poppy syndrome’ and the foreign ‘face-saving’ orientation originating from East Asian immigrant cultures. The Kiwi tall poppy syndrome conveys a negative social attitude towards people (the ‘tall poppies’) who are conspicuously successful and whose distinction, rank, or wealth attracts envious notice or hostility (Mouly and Sankaran, 2002). Conversely, the East Asian ‘face-saving’ orientation is concerned with the social image of success that an individual projects in society (Le Monkhouse et al., 2012). We found that not only did these two local and foreign cultural beliefs convey oppositional meanings about luxury brands in New Zealand, but they also prompted consumers to adopt different luxury brand consumption styles. Furthermore, despite being oppositional in nature, our findings suggest that these beliefs could jointly influence individual consumers, adding yet increased complexity to how these individuals consumed luxury brands. In particular, we demonstrate that luxury brand consumers in New Zealand are able to hold multiple and conflicting local and foreign cultural beliefs in tension, emerging as contextual cultural shifters. While the literature on cross-national luxury branding conventionally privileges cross-national methods which tend to de-emphasise the heterogeneity within national luxury markets (Wiedmann et al., 2007), the results of our study suggest the need to consider intercultural diversity at the intra-national level. Indeed, Brewer and Venaik (2012) decry the danger of applying culture-level constructs to the level of the individual. Brubaker (2004) calls this the fallacy of groupism, where we treat ethnic groups as concrete entities instead of seeing group-making as an on-going project. This is echoed by Calhoun (2003: 547) who encourages “avoiding the illusion that plagued much earlier thoughts of ethnicity and nationalism – that there was one basic identity common to all members of a group.” Essentially, when an individual’s cultural identity is reduced to the nationality or the ethnicity that he or she declares on a survey, not only does this overlook the multidimensionality and complexity of cultural influences which shape how they consume luxury brands, but this also misses further opportunities to engage with luxury brand consumers. While some cross-national luxury consumption studies have accommodated a degree of complexity with the consideration of differences between global and local cultures (e.g., Park et al., 2008; Shukla and Purani, 2012), the results of our study show that, within multicultural marketplaces, the level of cultural complexity goes beyond the global-local dichotomy. Rather, the consumption of luxury brands is transculturally constituted and derived from multiple forms of belonging (Calhoun, 2003). In these markets, consumers find themselves negotiating the meanings and consumption styles of luxury brands at the confluence of multiple cultural beliefs. For marketers operating within multicultural markets, this means that nationality, ethnicity, and degree of glocalisation may be less useful bases for segmentation, prompting the consideration of other ways in which to understand and use cultural influences in segmenting, targeting, and positioning luxury brands. In our study, two distinct cultural belief systems, one local and one foreign, shaped luxury brand consumption in New Zealand. Furthermore, these cultural beliefs were not necessarily tied to an individual consumer’s ethnicity. Given these complexities, it may be more useful to consider other bases of segmentation such as the influence of situational factors (Douglas and Craig, 2011) and the relative salience among multiple cultural beliefs. Furthermore, this is the first study to empirically demonstrate the impact of multiculturalism on luxury brand markets, where consumers emerge as contextual cultural shifters. Our findings illustrate that contextual factors in a multicultural marketplace, like a filter, shaped which cultural influences were appropriated by individual consumers in a given consumption situation. Thus, underlying any given luxury brand consumption situation is a complex interplay between multicultural influences, situational norms, and individual factors. This prompts multiple considerations for luxury brand managers. Might it be possible to go a step further and encourage consumers to adopt culturally-constituted consumption styles which fit better with one’s brand positioning? More specifically, by questioning which cultural influences underpinning luxury brands are more dominant for them, consumers could be encouraged to reconsider their personal uses and attitudes towards luxury brands. Further research is required to find out what contexts are likely to tilt consumers’ consideration in favour of one cultural influence over another. If a luxury brand is a status symbol, might it be possible to prime both Western and Asian consumers to switch to status-conspicuous beliefs? For example, what cues and appeals might marketers present to encourage consumers to think in a more face-saving way? If a brand is understated, might it be possible to prime consumers to adhere to cultural beliefs which encourage more discreet styles of consumption? For example, what cues and appeals might marketers present to encourage consumers to consider the tall poppy syndrome? Such research would be particularly useful for marketers who have little room for repositioning their luxury brand image. Finally, rather than a glocal branding approach, which involves cultivating brand identity within the organisation and overcoming local brand image inconsistencies (Matthiesen and Phau, 2005), we posit that managers need to adopt a multicultural branding approach. We envision that such an approach would involve identifying and pursuing opportunities for the development of dynamic brand identities (da Silveira et al., 2011), where luxury brand managers can assume the role of proactive architects of luxury brand cultures which support diverse modes of luxury brand consumption. This carries implications for cross-cultural luxury branding on three levels. At the basic level, a multicultural branding approach involves paying closer attention to the contextual topography of a given marketplace and consumer receptivity to global, local, and foreign cultural beliefs. As our study showed, a luxury brand entering an emergent multicultural market like New Zealand will invariably face consumer resistance due to the influence of the dominant Kiwi ‘tall poppy’ syndrome. However, this is by no means a monolithic discourse; its influence is uneven. Because of greater diversity and intercultural exchange, consumers in cosmopolitan centres such as Auckland are more likely to be receptive to other cultural influences. As such, it would be a logical point of entry for a global luxury brand. This also suggests that, rather than cross-national differences, segmentation based on the prevalence of multiple cultural beliefs and consumption styles in major cities could be a more appropriate strategy for luxury branding. At a more advanced level, luxury brand managers can not only select, but also focus on proactively cultivating the most conducive contexts, where consumers would feel more empowered to appropriate their desired luxury brand consumption styles within a multicultural marketplace. In doing so, marketers will be able to both target the increasing buying power of ethnic consumers by appealing to their foreign consumption styles (Lisanti, 2010), as well as to find a better positioning to the mainstream consumers who are receptive to cultural shifting. For instance, several respondents in our study presented an interesting dynamic between the two cultural influences: on one hand, they have a desire to consume luxury brands in a more conspicuous way due to the influence of face-saving beliefs, but on the other hand, they feel that they must suppress this desire due to the influence of the Kiwi ‘tall poppy’ syndrome. To unlock this hidden market potential, luxury brand marketers would do well to design liminal spaces and retail spectacles (Kozinets et al., 2004). In the same way that the “Coca-Cola Telenovela Club” provided a liminal space in which Latina moms in the US could explore and perform their love of telenovelas (Lisanti 2010), luxury brand managers might design similar liminal spaces and retail spectacles where could safely circumvent the influence of the local tall poppy syndrome. In contrast to the social sanctions on conspicuous consumption in their everyday lives, liminal spaces can provide an immersive space where foreign styles of brand consumption can be affirmed and cultivated. In other words, luxury brand managers can empower consumers to appropriate their desired culturally-constituted meanings and, therefore, to endorse the particular styles of luxury brand consumption within a multicultural marketplace. Finally, at the broader strategic level, rather than cultivating brand identity entirely within the organisation and then communicating this identity to consumers, luxury brand managers can aim to collaborate with the diverse range of consumers in developing a dynamic multicultural brand identity. This strategy would involve incorporating a wider range of cultural meanings and developing the most appropriate brand positioning(s), thereby addressing tensions around the conflicting luxury brand consumption styles within a multicultural marketplace. In line with the cultural branding (Bengtsson et al., 2010) and dynamic brand identity (da Silveira et al., 2013: 31) approaches, the multicultural branding approach should view brand identity as developing over time through “mutually influencing inputs from several social constituents” that include both brand managers and consumers. Moreover, it should focus on more proactively and thoroughly intertwining the on-going social construction of brand meaning with the on-going evolution of multiculturally-informed consumption styles of luxury branding that emerge within a marketplace. In short, by assuming the role of cultural architects, luxury brand marketers must become more aware of the varying sensitivities of consumers to multiple cultural beliefs and practices across a range of contexts, proactively cultivate contexts which enhance their brand receptiveness, and strive to construct multiculturally-informed dynamic brand identities that embed the brand image more deeply within a marketplace and assist consumers in coping with dynamic cultural change.

명품 브랜드 요소와 명품 선호도 결정요인

신혜나(Shin, Hye Na),이문규(Lee, Moonkyu),신성혜(Shin, Sunghye) 한국상품학회 2011 商品學硏究 Vol.29 No.2

Brand management has become one of the central challenges for most companies as the importance of brand started to be recognized. Brand is also important in managing and marketing luxury products. In the domestic fashion industry, the importance of marketing strategy to build luxurious brands has increased dramatically with a remarkable growth of global luxury brands. Therefore, research on common characteristics of luxury products and consumer preferences for luxury brands has become an important topic. However, there is no accurate definition of the word ‘luxury’ yet, and studies with various perspectives on this topic are still unavailable. This study derived a definition of the luxury and elements of the luxury brand, focusing on global fashion luxury brands through case studies and in-depth consumer interviews. Based on the previous literature, the study tested the effect of elements of the luxury brand on preferences for the brand. Also, the study tested on how individual differences affected the relationship between the luxuriousness of and preferences for luxury brand. As a result of several regression analyses, the important elements that decide the luxuriousness are shown in the order of relative importance as social status suggestiveness, unique logo, unique design style, high quality, and brand extendibility. These five elements of the luxury brand significantly affected preferences for luxury brands. In addition, the luxuriousness significantly affected preferences for the luxury brand. The implications of the results are discussed. 국내 패션시장에서는 최근 몇 년 동안 세계적인 명품 브랜드의 급속한 성장과 함께 브랜드를 명품화하기 위한 마케팅 전략의 중요성이 강조되고 있다. 하지만 명품에 대한 뚜렷한 정의 파악이 아직 어렵고, 명품에 대한 높은 관심에 비해 다양한 관점에서의 명품 연구가 부재한 실정이다. 이에, 본 연구에서는 사례연구와 정성 연구를 통해 기업의 관점이 아닌 소비자의 관점에서 명품의 정의와 명품 브랜드 요소를 해외 패션브랜드를 중심으로 도출하였고, 정량연구를 통해 중요 명품 브랜드 요소를 추출하고 이들의 상대적 중요도를 파악하였으며, 명품 브랜드 요소가 명품 브랜드 선호도에 미치는 영향을 알아보았다. 또한 소비자 개인차 성향인 미(美) 민감성, 물질주의, 과시소비, 그리고 자기 존중감이 명품성과 명품 브랜드 선호도에 어떠한 영향을 미치는지 측정하였다. 연구결과, 명품성을 결정짓는 가장 중요한 요소는 최상급 품질, 차별화된 디자인 스타일, 고유한 로고, 사회적 지위 인정, 그리고 여러 제품 생산으로 나타났으며, 명품성을 예측하는 데 있어 이들 명품 브랜드 요소의 상대적 중요도는 사회적 지위 인정, 고유한 로고, 차별화된 디자인 스타일, 최상급 품질, 여러 제품 생산의 순으로 나타났다. 또한, 한 브랜드에서 여러 제품을 생산하지 않고 몇 가지의 주력제품에 브랜드를 포커스했을 때 명품성의 예측력이 증가하였고, 사회적 지위 인정, 차별화된 디자인 스타일, 최상급 품질, 여러 제품 생산, 고유한 로고는 명품 브랜드 선호도를 예측하는 데 중요한 변수로서 작용하였다. 마지막으로 이러한 연구결과는 명품 브랜드 구축 및 유지 관리 전략을 도출하는 데 효과적으로 활용될 수 있으며, 본 연구에서 밝혀진 명품성요소는 브랜드에 관련된 의사결정에 있어 올바른 방향을 설정할 것으로 예측된다. 또한, 명품 브랜드로서의 브랜드 관리에 있어 효과적인 마케팅 프로그램을 세우고, 구체적인 하부계획을 수립하는 데 도움이 될 수 있음을 의미한다.

CONCEPTUALISING BRAND CHARISMA

Siobhan Hatton-Jones,Min Teah,Ian Phau 글로벌지식마케팅경영학회 2017 Global Fashion Management Conference Vol.2017 No.07

The conceptualisation of brand charisma is multi-disciplinary, using luxury branding context. This research adds value by making significant contributions by extending and building theory; holds managerial implications for policymakers and brand managers in shaping and communicating brand charisma; additionally to develop a research framework and scale to measure brand charisma. Introduction Charisma in grounded in anthropology and sociology; which has been divided into three key definitions. At the root of the sociological construct it is associated with a leader who generates extremes of loyalty and motivation among followers (Smothers 1993).The primary reason charisma is used, historically speaking, is to gain control over a group of people, and create a strong following (Weber 1946; Dow 1968; Smothers 1993). Research has demonstrated that charismatic leaders are more likely to effect and motivate individuals (followers) beyond expectations and command extremes of attachments (Bass 1985, 1988; Conger 1988; House et al 1988). This implies that charisma can inspire devotion to a leader that surpasses mere loyalty (Spencer 1973; Dow 1968); an irrational bond and inspiration between leader and follower (Marcus, 1961). As competition continues to grow within the luxury sector brand resonance is increasingly important as some of the effects include: higher loyalty to the brand, increased number of followers, ease to move consumers, development and diffusion of new products and greater consumer accommodation for the brand. In recent years, as brands try to become more ‘accessible’ to consumers and provide them with more brand experiences online we see the brand become diluted and evidence of brand fatigue set in (Business Insider 2015). Brand experience has been conceptualised as ‘sensations, feelings, cognitions, and behavioural responses evoked by brand related stimuli’ (Brakus et al 2009); which are often subjective and internal responses (Brakus et al 2009). Most experiences occur directly when consumers shop, buy, and consume products. Experiences can also occur indirectly—for example, when consumers are exposed to advertising and marketing communications, including Web sites. As a majority of luxury brand consumers are deemed to be loyal to the brand, it is important to capitalise on these followers (Levitt 1975) to further foster brand- follower- consumer engagement. Pastor et al (2007) were able to demonstrate that followers’ emotional responses have a significant influence on charismatic leaders; where followers experienced higher levels of arousal, they were more likely to rate leaders as charismatic. Brands can have charisma through social construction, compelling emotional associations that build on imagery, symbolism and prestige. Thus, it leads to extraordinary levels of motivation and attachment- achieving brand resonance. Thus, followers and consumers will view the brand as being sacred, and imbued with deeply significant and metaphorical meaning (Smothers 1993). It is evident that brand charisma allows the brand to exercise control and influence over a following or group of consumers. As brand charisma serves as a motivational tool to inspire and communicate their brand vision to followers, it allows the charisma to remain unique and rare (only for those in the community). While the ability to attain this brand charisma is always kept out of reach for everyday consumers, in order to motivate them to perform and engage with the brand beyond expectation. From the followers perspective, charisma is used to communicate or signal to others their social belonging and identity to a particular community. The presence therefore of brand charisma serves as a guide, or vision, of the brand that is aspirational and inspirational for the followers, with the promise of the ‘dream’ being attainable by belonging to this group. It is interesting, and pivotal to note that brand charisma is not like a normal brand- follower relationship, but rather a unique bond that is value laden, ongoing and influential on perceptions. Some key characteristics have been used in forming a conceptual definition of brand charisma, form both the brand and follower perspective. These include “exercise diffuse and intense influence over the beliefs, values, behaviour and performance of others through own behaviour and example” (Dow 1969; House et al 1991; Shils 1965); “unique connection between leader and follower that can account for extraordinary performance and accomplishments of individuals, work groups, units and organisations” (Yammarino et al 1992; Bensman and Givant; Conger and Kanungo 1998); “transcendent from the ordinary” ; “the process is both parallel and analogous process…both change meaning and perceived value” (Weber 1922; 1966; Levitt 1975; Smothers 1993). Drawing from the above emerging characteristics, which is reflective of the literature, a tentative conceptual definition of brand charisma has been proposed below: “The ability to articulate the brand vision, elicit a positive emotional response by its audience or followers that is characterised by extremes of motivational attachment” Through a content analysis of luxury brands and a rigorous literature review, has identified ‘core’ and ‘supplementary’ characteristics for the presence of brand charisma, which is aimed to be further explored. The Core characteristics of brand charisma can be thought of as the source of the brands charismatic aura and this must be present for charismatic brands; while the supplementary characteristics are not crucial or inherent to every charismatic brand. Research Gaps Based on the extended literature review, the following key gaps have been identified: 1. To the best of my knowledge there has been no conceptualisation of brand charisma in marketing and branding (e.g. Smothers 1993; Dion and Arnould 2011) a. Lack of working definition for brand charisma and lack of research framework and scale to measure brand charisma 2. Diminutive studies have used the concept of charisma in luxury branding or marketing 3. Assessing whether brand charisma should be implemented or is present across various ‘categories’ of luxury (e.g. inaccessible vs. affordableluxury) 4. Past studies have not addressed the influence of brand charisma on consumer emotions and perceptions (e.g. Dion and Arnould 2011) Based on the above research gaps the following research questions have been developed: RQ1: What is brand charisma? RQ2: How does the presence of brand charisma influence brand resonance? RQ3: Does the presence of brand charisma differ between affordable and inaccessible luxury? RQ4: What are the emotional responses elicited by the presence of brand charisma? Theoretical Framework and Hypotheses Development Stimulus- Organism- Response (S-O-R) model is the underpinning theoretical framework for the proposed research (Mehrabian and Russell 1974). The S-O-R model has been widely used in retail environment (e.g. Buckley 1991; Chang et al. 2011) and to study different types of involvement (Arora 1982). Based on the S-O-R model, the stimulus is defined as any external stimuli that influence the internal states of an individual which consist of both environmental influence and marketing mix variable (Bagozzi 1978; Eroglu et al. 2003). In this proposed research the presence of brand charisma will serve as the external stimuli that influence consumers’ perception of luxury and brand affect. The perception of luxury is affected by brand related stimuli and imagery (Brakus et al 2009), which include but not limited to, elements such as; brand name, products sold and communications. Organism is defined as the internal emotional response which influences the relationship between external stimuli and the behavioural response (Bagozzi 1978). In this study, perception of luxury and brand affect will serve as the internal consumer responses (sensations, feelings and cognitions) which is degree to which a consumer is effected via the environment, being either direct or indirect, through the 5 senses (sensory appeal). In this study, the resulting response will be brand resonance, as this extends beyond loyalty and encapsulates a brand follower or consumer to willingly and proactively engage in word of mouth, have deep attachment or connection with the brand, feel proud of association with this brand and community followers (Keller 2001). Supporting Theory As brand charisma is a set of activities to capture the distinctive brand essence, which creates a strong sensory appeal compelling consumers to strongly advocate for the brand; we see the transfer of charisma onto the brand through concepts such as brand experience (consumer touchpoints) and brand resonance (brand- follower relationships). Thus, the Law of Contagion is the underpinning theory to support the effects of brand charisma (Frazer 1959, Mauss 1972; Tylor 1974). The Law of Contagion for the proposed research focuses on sympathetic magic, namely the effects of contagion, which deem that whatever is done to a material object will affect equally the person with whom the object was once in contact, whether it formed part of his body or not (Frazer 1889). This can be extended to brand activities such as communications, Furthermore, Spillover Effects, is the secondary effect of brand charisma as we are assessing the ‘spillover’ of charisma onto the brand and the effects it will have on the proposed relationships (Simonin and Ruth 1998) between perception of luxury, brand affect and brand resonance. Charismatic Leadership Theory (Weber [1922] 1978) has been deemed ‘transformational’, ‘visionary’ or ‘inspirational’ throughout the organisational literature (e.g. House 1977; Conger and Kanungo 1988). These theories focus on exceptional leaders who have extraordinary effects on their followers and larger social systems (Shamir et al 1993); hence leaders transform the needs, desires, values and aspirations of followers from self- interest to collective interest. This is demonstrated through brand communities, and kinship, as followers become highly committed to the leader’s mission and often perform above and beyond what is expected of them. Charismatic Leadership is further demonstrated through the strong relationship between follower and brand by; emotional and motivational arousal through brand behaviour, nonverbal communications, visionary and inspirational messages and ideological appeals. Therefore, in layman terms, the more charismatic brands are, the more likely they are to experience overall higher brand resonance. Brand resonance is the outcome variable proposed for this research. Brand resonance aims to capitalise on previously acquired loyalty and equity (Huang et al 2014); thus brands add value to consumer goods by supplying meaning, and consumers like brands because they package meaning derived from interaction with the brand (Biel 1970). This can further be explained by an enduring sense of communal kinship and affiliation; which sees followers of the brand invest personal resources in order to stay connected (Keller 2001; Huang et al 2014). Social Identification Theory (Tafjel and Turner 1985) is used to support the outcome variable of brand resonance, as one of the primary drivers of brand resonance is that followers draw some association or similarity between themselves and the brand. Social Identification Theory is also closely linked to Charismatic Leadership Theory (Shamir et al 1993) (discussed below), as brand behaviours define the boundaries of the collectivity to emphasise its distinctiveness, prestige and competition with other groups. Such leader behaviour increases the salience of the collective identity in members’ self- concepts (Ashforth and Mael 1989); therefore, identification with the leader (brand) as it is perceived via a representative character (brand activities). Based on the above, we postulate the following: H1: High Presence of brand charisma will lead to high perception of luxury H2: High perception of luxury will lead to high brand affect H3: High presence of brand charisma will lead to high brand affect H4: Perception of luxury mediates the relationship between presence of brand charisma and brand affect H5: High presence of brand affect will lead to high brand resonance Methodology My research will encompass a mixed methods approach and be split into three predominant phases. The first being scale development, followed by stimulus development and finally the main study. The mixed method offers greater depth and breadth of understanding and corroboration (Johnson et al 2007) and is in line with the underlying pragmatist paradigm of this study (Johnson and Onwuegbzie 2004). A convenience sample will be used comprising of consumer panel data. The sampling frame will consist of everyday consumers, as these consumers need not be buyers of luxury brands. Phase 1: Scale Development The scale development phase will use methods by Churchill (1979) and Devillis (1991). The purification, CFA, EFA and validity will be undertaken to refine and test the scale. The approximate sample for this phase is approximately 200 respondents. Phase 2: Stimulus Development This phase will use expert panel to select the most appropriate charismatic brand and stimulus to use for this research. The potential brands of interest, thus far guided by literature, are; Hermes, Chanel, Dolce & Gabanna, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Valentino and Oscar de la Renta. The sample size of the expert panel will comprise of approximately 15-30 respondents (Endacott et al 1999; Keeney et al 2010). Phase 3: Main Study This phase will comprise of the self-administered questionnaire, with all sclaes measured on a 7- pinot Likert scale. With the use of an embedded stimulus, using consumer panel data with the sample size of approximately 800. Validation study will be included using psycho-physiological equipment available in the School of Marketing to validate the brand charisma scale; and to test whether there is positive emotions elicited that can be attributed to the charisma of the brand. This sample will consist of approximately 120, in line with recommended JCR guidelines. Significance Theoretical Contributions • Building and extending the current branding literature by conceptualising brand charisma, which has only been attempted in fragments throughout the literature. •Developing a scale to measure brand charisma in a luxury context. Until now, a brand charisma scale demonstrating rigour and validation is lacking within the literature • Empirically evaluating the developed brand charisma scale, validating the applicability and the moderating effects of brand charisma on the relationships between perception of luxury, brand experience and brand resonance. Methodological Contributions • This study will develop a brand charisma scale, employing psychometric properties to demonstrate reliability and validity. • This scale will then be used to further develop a Brand Charisma Index Managerial Contributions This study aims to provide a blueprint for luxury brand managers, owners and policymakers on: • How to use brand charisma to grow brand community, brand attachment and brand engagement; vis-a – vis the brand. • Build stronger brands, that are resilient to market changes and fluctuation • Segmentation process to identify consumers with high brand resonance To identify what cues of brand charisma should be present for brand content and campaigns and how to augment these • For inaccessible and affordable luxury offerings, identify whether the presence of brand charisma should be used for both. Provide insights how the presence of brand charisma can impact and influence consumer’s perceptions and emotional responses.

THE LUXURY BRAND-BUILDING CANVAS

Marco Eisenberg,Klaus Heine,Michel Phan 글로벌지식마케팅경영학회 2016 Global Marketing Conference Vol.2016 No.7

There has been a global growth of luxury business start-ups, which has accelerated especially since the late 1990s along with the upswing of the global luxury market. Start-ups in the high-end cultural and creative industries reflect the various new types of luxury from green or sustainable luxury and slow luxury to value luxury, and from digital and high-tech luxury to experience luxury. However, there exist only a few studies about luxury brand-building, the related area of luxury marketing success factors (Fionda and Moore, 2008) and the new research domain of luxury entrepreneurship (Fonrouge and Lipovetsky, 2013). Therefore, the objective of this paper is to identify critical success factors of luxury brand-building. In the high-end and generally in the lifestyle segment, the generation of a business model must go hand in hand with brand-building. Even more, setting-up a luxury or lifestyle business is hardly possible without emphasizing on brand-building. Consequently, we suggest combing business model generation with brand-building as this is naturally an interrelated process, especially in the high-end and creative industries. Based on the Business Model Canvass by Osterwalder and Pigneur (2014), we develop the Brand-Building Canvas and then use it as a framework to analyze the success factors of luxury brand-building. As success criteria of luxury marketing depend on a brand’s stage of development, we employ the concept of brand lifecycles to differentiate success factors. Due to its explanatory power for real-life organisational phenomena, our study relies on Grounded Theory, combined with a multiple case study methodology according to Fionda and Moore (2008). We analyzed ten luxury start-ups in different development stages and from various luxury industry segments and countries. The empirical database was obtained from multiple sources including also documentary material such as company presentations, brochures, homepages, and media articles. Moreover, expert interviews were conducted with representatives of the luxury start-ups and other relevant industry experts. Based on a content-analysis of the empirical database, we outline an overview of success factors of luxury brand-building, organized by brand lifecycle stages and the categories of the Brand-Building Canvas.

명품 브랜드 이미지와 자아 이미지 일치성이 브랜드의 품질, 신뢰도 및 충성도 지각에 미치는 영향

현우정,김정희 단국대학교 미래산업연구소 2022 산업연구 Vol.46 No.1

In the context of a change in the luxury market expansion and consumption culture that selects and pursues symbolic values rather than tangible values of brands, this study suggests that luxury brands and consumer self-images are consistent, and this results in perceived brand quality, brand reliability, and brand loyalty. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect on To this end, research models and hypotheses were derived, and empirical analysis was conducted through surveys. The study results are summarized as follows. First, the self-image correspondence between luxury brands and self-image showed multidimensional characteristics divided into actual self-image correspondence, ideal self-image correspondence, and social self-image correspondence. Second, the correspondence between the actual self image and the social self image with the luxury brand image had a significant positive (+) effect on the perceived luxury brand quality. Third, the correspondence between the luxury brand image and the ideal self-image had a significant positive (+) effect on the luxury brand reliability. Fourth, in the luxury brand image, the actual self-image and the social self-image coincidence had a significant positive (+) effect on the luxury brand loyalty. Fifth, luxury brand reliability had a significant positive (+) effect on luxury brand loyalty. These results suggest that the more the image they pursue and the image of a luxury brand match, the more favorable they respond to a specific brand. 명품 시장 확대와 소비문화가 브랜드의 기능적 가치보다 상징적 가치를 선택하고 추구하는 상황에서, 본 연구는 명품 브랜드와 소비자 자아 이미지 일치성이 지각된 브랜드 품질, 브랜드 신뢰도, 브랜드 충성도에 미치는 영향을 규명하고자 하였다. 연구결과는 다음과 같다. 첫째, 명품 브랜드와 자아 이미지 일치성은 실제적 자아 이미지, 이상적 자아 이미지, 사회적 자아 이미지 일치성으로 구분되는 다차원적 특성을 보였다. 둘째, 명품 브랜드 이미지와 실제적 자아 이미지, 사회적 자아 이미지 일치성이 지각된 명품 브랜드 품질에 유의한 정(+)의 영향을 미쳤다. 셋째, 명품 브랜드 이미지와 이상적 자아 이미지 일치성이 명품 브랜드 신뢰도에 유의한 정(+)의 영향을 미쳤다. 넷째, 명품 브랜드 이미지와 실제적 자아 이미지, 사회적 자아 이미지 일치성이 명품 브랜드 충성도에 유의한 정(+)의 영향을 미쳤다. 다섯째, 명품 브랜드 신뢰도는 명품 브랜드 충성도에 유의한 정(+)의 영향을 미쳤다.