Consumers' identity signaling towards social groups: The effects of dissociative desire on brand prominence preferences

Abstract

The present research addresses an area of brand behavior that is under studied to date but has important implications for national and international brands. Brand prominence, that is, the extent to which a product reveals important visible brand identifiers, plays a fundamental role in determining consumer signaling behavior towards social groups and requires accurate brand management decisions. Integrating the literatures on brand prominence and social groups, this study proposes that the presence (vs. absence) of dissociative desire towards an out-group increases the preference for products featuring more prominent signs of a brand relevant for an in-group. Brand selfverification explains the relationship between dissociative desire and brand prominence preferences. Moreover, this effect disappears when the brand is used by the minority (vs. majority) of other in-group members and the identification with the in-group is lower. Results of two experiments and one survey support our conceptual framework and suggest that managers should use more prominent brand signs to attract consumers desiring to dissociate from relevant out-groups. Our research thus provides implications for defining branding strategies according to consumers' identity signaling goals towards social groups, which are becoming more important as brands assume global roles in tension with consumer identities and marketing strategy.

What drives sponsorship effectiveness? An examination of the roles of brand community identification, brand authenticity, and sponsor–club congruence

“…Newer brands can focus on other authenticity aspects, such as credibility, integrity, and symbolism. A brand can position itself to reflect standards of excellence and dependability (integrity and credibility) or as one that can enable its consumers' identity creation (symbolism) (Raimondo et al, 2022). Our results reveal that highly identified brand community members support highly congruent sponsor brands.…”

Should luxury brands display their logos prominently? Implications for brand authenticity, coolness and behavioral intentions

“…On the other hand, subtle or muted brand signs include small logos, with less color contrast and discreet patterns. Some brands even adopt a "no logo" strategy, where brand identification elements are usually hidden inside the product (Raimondo et al, 2022). Some luxury brands, including Coach, Michael Kors and Versace, use highly conspicuous logos on all their products, whereas others, such as Brunello Cuccinelli and Ermenegildo Zegna, prefer subtle and muted logos.…”

“…For instance, studies have examined the effect of brand prominence on consumer attitude functions (Wilcox et al, 2009), meaningful segmentation (Han et al, 2010;Berger and Ward, 2010), brand alliance communications (Roosens et al, 2019) and perceptions of social responsibility (Janssen et al, 2017). These studies highlight that brand prominence preferences are driven mainly by consumer identity signaling goals (Raimondo et al, 2022), and that they depend on consumption context and consumer traits. For instance, in a luxury leather goods context, Kauppinen-Räisänen et al (2018) find that men prefer brand prominence.…”

An artificial intelligence analysis of climate‐change influencers' marketing on Twitter

“…As Shoenberger and Kim (2022) show, homophily and perceived authenticity, when understood as the perception of sharing values and uniqueness, drives following the influencer's recommendations. Furthermore Raimondo et al (2022) find that social groups' belonging attracts individuals desiring to dissociate from relevant out‐groups signalling goals towards social group, a strategy relevant in social media (Accenture, 2006).…”

“…Furthermore Raimondo et al (2022) find that social groups' belonging attracts individuals desiring to dissociate from relevant out-groups signalling goals towards social group, a strategy relevant in social media (Accenture, 2006).…”