“I’m hatin’ it”! Negative consumer–brand relationships in online anti-brand communities

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to provide a better understanding of negative consumer–brand relationships in social-media-based anti-brand communities from a consumer culture theory (CCT) perspective. In particular, it investigates the purpose and the meaning of the consumer participation in online anti-brand communities, also through the analysis of the ways in which they express negative feelings toward the hated brands. Design/methodology/approach This study applies a “symbolic netnographic” method to six anti-brand communities related to four global brands, namely, Apple, Nestlé, Uber and McDonald’s. Moreover, several interviews were conducted with anti-brand community administrators. Findings The findings show that the main reason for consumers to join anti-brand communities is a desire to participate in the construction of new meanings and values of modern consumption, translating their ideological incompatibility with certain brands into negative engagement and activism aimed at destroying the hated brand’s image and reputation. Furthermore, the findings reveal that brand anthropomorphism is a frequent means of communication also used in the context of negative consumer–brand relationships, to strengthen the battle against the hated brand in a more frontal and direct manner. Research limitations/implications Although this research provides some initial insights into negative consumer–brand relationships in the social media anti brand communities, the paper also has some limitations. The netnographic approach should be analyzed within more and different anti-brand communities. In this investigation, the authors perceived how difficult it is to obtain feedback from communities and to secure the collaboration of their administrators. There is also a need for research on other potential factors that can play a key role in negative consumer–brand relationships in social-media anti-brand communities, such as cultural capital or the impact of cultural perceptions. Moreover, future research should focus on different types of products and brand services, such as hedonic vs. utilitarian brands, as these might generate different types of consumer behavioral responses. Finally, a further direction for future research would be to consider the set of “brand recovery strategies” that can be implemented by companies to deal with negative consumer–brand relationships, including the identification of situations in which “not acting” could be preferable. Practical implications Understanding the antecedents and types of negative consumer–brand relationships enables companies to identify “brand recovery strategies” for managing negativity in the appropriate manner. Moreover, negative feelings toward brand could even be an opportunity for improving branding management. Originality/value This research improves on previous few studies dealing with online anti-brand communities from a CCT perspective. Firstly, it provides a holistic perspective of negative consumer–brand relationships in general and specifically of brand hate, thus advancing our understanding of the sociocultural dynamics of negative consumer–brand relationships; secondly, it provides new insights into the brand anthropomorphism phenomenon emerging in the negative feelings context. Overall, this research contributes to knowledge for both academics and managers as to why, how and for what purpose consumers experience negative engagement toward certain brands in the specific context of social-media-based anti-brand communities.

An investigation of celebrity brand hate influence in the arts marketing sector of Ghana

“…Banerjee and Goel (2020) have established that consumers hate a brand that is corporately irresponsible based on nonalignment of ethical values, legal and societal concerns. Previous studies have proven a positive impact of ideological incompatibility and BH in extant BH literature (Brandão and Popoli, 2022;Bryson et al, 2021;Curina et al, 2021;Lopez, 2021) albeit not in the arts marketing literature. Therefore, we hypothesized that: H2.…”

“I will always hate you”! An investigation of the impact of anthropomorphism in online anti-brand communities

“…Moreover, several studies have shown the impact of brand anthropomorphism on positive consumer–brand relationships (Golossenko et al , 2020; Portal et al , 2018), whereas, to the best knowledge of the authors, there are no studies on the impact of the brand anthropomorphism on negative consumer–brand relationships. The pertinence for this topic was claimed in a very recent investigation (Brandão and Popoli, 2022).…”

“…From a self-focused perspective , brand anthropomorphism also includes perceived congruity between the brand and the self and brand-self connections (Attiq et al , 2022; Guido and Peluso, 2015; MacInnis and Folkes, 2017; Puzakova et al , 2009). When consumers anthropomorphize a brand, a schema for the type of person is suggested and, therefore, people evaluate it considering how well the brand’s features fit that schema (Aggarwal and McGill, 2007; Brandão and Popoli, 2022). In fact, believing in a nonhuman agent as having a human-like mind may result in the following: perceiving them as worthy of moral concern; perceiving them as capable of intentional action, translating into responsibility for them; and perceiving them as a source of normative social influence for the consumer (Waytz et al , 2010).…”

“…Marketing research literature has addressed anthropomorphism mostly for products (Aggarwal and McGill, 2007; Kim and Kramer, 2015; Kim and McGill, 2011) but less for brands, which are more abstract constructs. Thus, research on brand anthropomorphism is still in its early stage (Brandão and Popoli, 2022; Dessart and Cova, 2021; Tuškej and Podnar, 2018), and what exists to date has not focused on negative consumer–brand relationships. In this regard, MacInnis and Folkes (2017) suggest that more research is needed to gain a better understanding of why certain types of negative relationships prevail, what causes changes in relationships and what are the prevailing factors playing a role in the relationship between brand anthropomorphism and negative consumer–brand relationships.…”

Understanding how satisfactory service relationships can be mutually beneficial in the higher education context

“…Further, how negative emotions such as regret, shame or hate may influence CEBs in relational services requires empirical investigation. For instance, research suggests that negative emotions may lead to vindictive behaviors such as negative WOM and customers joining antibrand communities, which can destroy the image and reputation of a firm/brand (Brandão and Popoli, 2022). In a health care context, patients may also feel other negative emotions such as anxiety, depression and a loss of control (Kim, 2019), which may adversely affect their engagement behaviors.…”