Consumers have come to show the trend of pursuing their own identities and putting the brand image in the same class through a symbolic value arising from the brand without being satisfied with the advertisement that expressed the function and utility...
Consumers have come to show the trend of pursuing their own identities and putting the brand image in the same class through a symbolic value arising from the brand without being satisfied with the advertisement that expressed the function and utility only in a product. And, most brands that lead this identity are renowned brands in the world that have their own unique brand stories. In particular, foreign famous fashion brand has its story from the birth of brand to its growth. The history of designer and founder becomes the history and philosophy of the brand and the basis in the brand story. Such brand story has been utilized in advertisement and marketing, etc. and its value as a fine article has been recognized for a long time with its differentiated method. Subsequently, the foreign well-known fashion brand has become the subject of aspiration to people as well as a legendary brand which lasts for a long time.
Accordingly, this research set its topic as an examination of effect on utilization of brand story in such a foreign famous fashion brand. The author reviewed the concept and definition of a brand image advertisement as a means to construct a brand as well as the role, etc. as a story production. In addition, the author summarized the concept and importance of a brand story used in a field of business, marketing by utilizing a brand story, and the brand story of a foreign renowned fashion brand. Moreover, as a means to find out whether a utilization of brand story has an effect on a consumer as a means to construct a brand, the author decided to select a form of brand image printing advertisement and experiment through a presentation of a tentative plan per existence or non-existence of a brand story by making a fictitious foreign famous fashion brand which had a high degree of utilization. In terms of research methodology, the demonstrative research selected male and female university students and workers in 20s and 30s living in Seoul and adopted two research questions. First, ‘is there any difference in brand attitude depending on a type of brand image advertisement?’ Second, ‘Will the relationship between a type of brand image advertisement and a brand attitude change depending on a fashion involvement?’ The brand attitude, a dependent variable, was divided into detailed variables such as a brand reliance, brand preference, and brand purchasing intent. The author analyzed the respective survey result. The result of this study can be summarized and analyzed in the following manner.
First, in terms of a survey on brand attitude depending on existence or non-existence of a brand story, the brand image advertisement which included a brand story had a significant effect on brand reliance and preference. In case of an existence of brand story, the effect on brand reliance and preference was greater than non-existence. However, the effect on a direct purchasing intent by an existence or non-existence of a brand story was almost inadequate. And the result was not significant.
Second, in terms of the relationship between a brand story and a brand attitude depending on a fashion involvement, it was analyzed that the interactive effect on a brand reliance and preference by a existence or non-existence of a brand story and a fashion involvement was all significant. It was found out that the person who involved more in a fashion product had a more reliance and preference on a brand story than the person who involved less. Although the fashion involvement was found out as a variable to have a significant effect on a brand purchasing intent, if it acted with a brand story, there was no effect on a dependent variable.
Third, in an additional analysis, the author examined whether the dependent variable of this study, i.e., a brand reliance and preference had a significant effect on a purchasing intent. It was found out that the brand preference rather than the brand reliance had a significant effect on a purchasing intent in a positive direction.
Thus, to give consumers more reliance and preference on a brand in the same fashion brand's image advertisement, it was found out that it would be effective to utilize a brand story which included the history and philosophy of the brand or the story of founder rather than to utilize an image-like emotional copy on a brand. According to the research result, it was more effective to the person who involved more in a fashion product.
Currently in Korea, an active utilization of a storytelling and brand story in a field of business is accepted more positively and is in a trend of more utilization of it. Nevertheless, the study on a brand story in a social science field, in particular, advertisement and marketing field is quite insufficient. And the study on diverse fields thorough a brand story is required. This study is quite limited in that it is the study of effect by a brand story, which is a fundamental purpose and it dealt with a partial area. In respect of confirming the utilization and effect of a brand story, to analyze a consumer's response through a form of a mere copy in a printing advertisement led to the research result which had to be very limited. Nevertheless, as is known in the result of this study, the brand story will play an important role in actively utilizing it in a method of marketing and has provided a positive point on a creation of a brand story by a domestic fashion brand.