Images of Success and the Preference for Luxury Brands

Abstract

This research examines the impact of media depictions of success (or failure) on consumers’ desire for luxury brands. In a pilot study and three additional studies, we demonstrate that reading a story about a similar/successful other, such as a business major from the same university, increases consumers’ expectations about their own future wealth, which in turn increases their desire for luxury brands. However, reading about a dissimilar successful other, such as a biology major, lowers consumers’ preferences for luxury brands. Furthermore, we examine the role of ease of imagining oneself in the narrative as a mediator of the relation between direction of comparison, similarity, and brand preference.

From conspicuous to considered fashion: A harm-chain approach to the responsibilities of luxury-fashion businesses

“…The literature has attempted to explain luxury fashion in terms of its symbolic function (Fionda & Moore, 2009;Mandel, Petrova & Cialdini, 2006), its currency in aspirational terms as a status symbol, its exclusivity, and as a highly involved consumption experience linked to individual self-concept (Vigneron & Johnson, 1999). Most definitions highlight that luxury goods and fashion are non-essential, but nonetheless deliver desirability and indulgence to the owner.…”

The Factors Affecting the Affluent Consumers Luxury Purchasing Behavior in China

“…People seem more likely to express optimism about their future life if their present life situation is satisfying than if it is not (Oishi, Wyer, & Colcombe, 2000). If consumers were satisfied with the life, they may have positive expectations of future (MacLeod & Conway, 2005), which in turn increase their desire for luxuries (Mandel, Petrova, & Cialdini, 2006). Thus, we expect that:…”

The Role of Self-Construal and Emotionsin Younger Consumers' Commitment to Luxury Brands

“…Wearing luxury fashion brands like Chanel can signal ones' social status with respect to a shared identity between the user and the brand. Notably, being iconic is crucial for younger consumers, and luxury fashion brands are preferred by younger consumers to confer such iconic images on the self (Mandel et al, 2006). In so doing, younger consumers try to identify themselves with luxury fashion brands, and the degree of similarities between consumers and a brand determines the level of emotional bond between the two (Fournier, 1998;Sirgy, 1982).…”

“…Topics of prior work include value perceptions of luxury brands (Shukla & Purani, 2011), critical key attributes of luxury fashion brands (Fionda & Moore, 2009), symbolic representation of social status leading to consumers' preference for luxury brands (Mandel et al, 2006), and the effects of individual characteristics and consumer attitudes on purchase intention of luxury brands (Bian & Forsythe, 2011). Also, emotional bonds such as brand attachment or brand love have been found to play important roles of branding and brand loyalty (Grisaffe & Nguyen, 2011;Patwardhan & Balasubramanian, 2011).…”