An investigation on the effectiveness of hedonic versus utilitarian message appeals in luxury product communication

Abstract

This research studies the role of hedonic versus utilitarian message appeals in luxury goods communication, investigating how using one or the other type of message appeal affects product perceived luxuriousness and, in turn, product attitude, and consumers' willingness to buy. This research presents three experiments in which message appeal and brand prominence have been manipulated, while perception of luxuriousness, attitude toward luxury products, willingness to buy them and consumers' conspicuous consumption orientation have been measured. Hedonic, compared with utilitarian, message appeals increase perceived luxuriousness, thereby increasing product attitude and consumers' willingness to buy the product promoted. This effect is particularly likely to occur for consumers with lower levels of conspicuous consumption orientation and for products carrying lowly prominent logos. We extend the literature on luxury communication by studying the effect of hedonic versus utilitarian message appeals on consumers' responses, and the literature on hedonism versus utilitarianism by studying this dichotomy in the context of luxury goods communication. This research suggests that different message appeals used in luxury goods communication produce different effects on consumers' responses and that this differential effectiveness is particularly likely to manifest for certain types of consumers and certain types of luxury products.

Consumers Emotional Responses to Functional and Hedonic Products: A Neuroscience Research

“…Research conventionally makes a distinction between hedonic and utilitarian products ( Kempf, 1999 ; Kim and Morris, 2007 ; Lin et al, 2018a ; Amatulli et al, 2020 ). Hedonic products are consumed mostly for affective or sensory fulfillment aim, while functional products for utilitarian goals ( Woods, 1960 ; Strahilevitz and Myers, 1998 ; Kivetz and Simonson, 2002 ; de Witt Huberts et al, 2014 ; Lu et al, 2016 ).…”

How does face influence the purchase of imitative new products? Moderating roles of product design characteristics

“…Moreover, a consumer could purchase imitative new products for their hedonic or utilitarian value. Hedonic value is primarily related to emotional benefits that a consumer can obtain through purchasing or owning an imitative product, whereas utilitarian value relates to practical benefits that help consumers solve problems (Amatulli et al, 2020; Voss, Spangenberg, & Grohmann, 2003). Because product hedonism could influence consumers' goals and thus their motivation to purchase a product (Huber et al, 2018), we expect that whether an imitative new product is hedonic or utilitarian could play a significant role in how the desire to gain face and the fear of losing face influence purchase intention.…”

“…Moreover, the imitation literature has traditionally examined the degree of imitativeness (Lee & Zhou, 2012; F. Wang & Chen, 2020) while overlooking other important product design factors, leaving a recent call for more studies of “ what is imitated” (van Horen & Pieters, 2012, p. 253, italics are original) unanswered. A new product is a bundle of functions, assumes an esthetic form (Blijevens & Hekkert, 2019; Hagtvedt & Patrick, 2014; Ulrich & Eppinger, 1995), and is designed to satisfy consumers' hedonic or utilitarian needs (Amatulli, De Angelis, & Donato, 2020; Batra & Ahtola, 1991), so an imitative new product could be imitative in either its form, function, or both, and could be hedonic or utilitarian. As such, it is imperative to examine the roles of important product design characteristics such as imitation locus, imitation scope, and product hedonism as factors that affect the efficacy of face consciousness on consumer purchases of imitative new products.…”

Consumer self-reported and testosterone responses to advertising of luxury goods in social context

“…An analysis of the motivations that typically drive consumers’ decision to buy luxury goods suggests that consumers see in many cases the attainment of luxury goods as the fulfillment of a dream. Recent research on luxury consumption has highlighted that luxury brands’ communication is typically oriented to instill dream and aspiration in consumers (Amatulli et al, 2020 ), via the employment of different tactics, such as, for example, the use of imagery rather than text (Amatulli et al, 2018 ), the use of celebrities (Erdogan & Drollinger, 2008 ) and the use of hedonic rather than utilitarian advertising appeals in textual advertisements (Amatulli et al, 2020 ). However, one important factor that prior studies on luxury goods communication seem to have overlooked is the context in which consumers are exposed to luxury goods communication and how it can affect consumers’ perceptions of advertised goods.…”

“…Building on prior literature that stressed out the importance of studying consumer responses to advertising in social contexts which resemble the contextual environment in which real-life advertising is typically experienced (Pozharliev et al, 2017 ; Puntoni & Tavassoli, 2007 ), we address this gap by exploring whether and how the presence of another person in the environment in which a consumer is exposed to an advertisement affects consumer responses to luxury-goods advertising. In particular, we investigate how consumer perception of the social value defined as “the utility derived from the product’s ability to enhance social self-concept” and quality value defined as “the utility derived from the perceived quality and expected performance of the product” (Sweeney & Soutar, 2001 p. 211) affects their responses to luxury-goods advertising (Amatulli et al, 2020 ; Han et al, 2010 ; Vigneron & Johnson, 2004 ; Wang & Griskevicius, 2013 ). Gaining a better understanding on how contextual variables (e.g., the.…”