Self-Brand Connection

A Comparative Study Amongst Well-liked, New, and Unfavorable Brands

Tan, Salo, Juntunen & Kumar — Journal of Business Research (2018)

Introduction & Research Gap

The Core Concept

  • Self-Brand Connection (SBC) is the sense of “oneness” consumers feel with a brand (Park et al., 2010).
  • Traditional research focuses almost exclusively on well-liked or beloved brands.

The Research Gap

  • Limited understanding of how SBC forms when consumers are unaware of a brand (New Brands) or have negative attitudes (Unfavorable Brands).
  • The Question: How can consumers connect with a brand they don’t yet like or have even rejected?

Research Goal: Compare the drivers of SBC—Brand Attitude, Familiarity, and Self-Presentation—across three distinct brand states.

Theoretical Framework

Key Theories

  1. Customer-Based Brand Equity (CBBE): The differential effect of brand knowledge on consumer response (Keller, 1993).
  2. Self-Presentation by Brand (SPB): The use of a brand as an identity signal to maintain a positive impression in front of others.

Hypothesized Drivers

  • H1: SPB is positively related to SBC.
  • H2: Brand attitude is an antecedent of SBC (Schmitt, 2012).
  • H3: For well-liked brands, attitude is a stronger driver than SPB.
  • H6: Brand familiarity dilutes SBC for unfavorable brands (The “Love-Becomes-Hate” effect).

Methodology

Two Comparative Studies using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM)

Study 1 — New vs. Well-Liked

  • Condition: Fictitious brand (Zeemiata) vs. positive listed fashion brand.
  • n = 277 students from a public university.
  • Manipulation check confirmed success in creating “New” brand state.

Study 2 — Unfavorable vs. Well-Liked

  • Condition: Respondents listed a dissatisfaction/betrayal brand vs. a satisfied brand.
  • n = 393 recruited via Amazon MTurk.
  • Product categories: Clothing and Consumer Electronics.

Key Findings

1. The Dominance of SPB

For New and Unfavorable brands, only Self-Presentation (SPB) positively predicts SBC. - New brand: SPB (\(\beta=0.74\)) | Attitude (\(\beta=0.03\), ns) - Unfavorable: SPB (\(\beta=0.72\)) | Familiarity (\(\beta=-0.13\))

2. The Well-Liked Exception

For well-liked brands, Attitude (\(\beta=0.46\)) and Familiarity (\(\beta=0.20\)) are the primary drivers of connection.

3. The Dilution Effect

Love-Becomes-Hate: For unfavorable brands, higher familiarity actually weakens the connection. Negative memories act as a barrier to recovery.

SPB serves as an “informational cue” or identity signal that bypasses the lack of prior knowledge (new) or presence of negative knowledge (unfavorable).

Managerial Implications

Strategy for the Weak & Wounded

  • For New Brands: Don’t just focus on “liking” (Attitude). Focus on how the brand helps the consumer present themselves to others.
  • For Unfavorable Brands: Rebuilding familiarity is dangerous. Focus on the brand’s symbolic benefit as an identity signal to bypass negative associations.

Tactical Implementation

  • Personalization & Customization: Implement onsite/app features (e.g., custom covers, name engraving) that enhance the brand’s self-presentational utility.
  • One-on-One Marketing: Relevant for both new and unfavorable brands to foster individual identity links.