Contemporary Marketing Issues
Executive summary
Brand love is about a brand attitude that people hold about a brand. Some most famous theories of brand love include Sternberg’s (1986) theory of triangular love, Consumer-brand relationship theory proposed by Shimp and Madden (1988), Lovemark theory of Robert (2005), and Emotional brand attachment theory proposed by Carroll and Ahuvia (2006). Findings disclosed that emotional approaches to brand love are stronger than rationale benefits. Organizations that transformed from functional to emotional include Coca-Cola and Walt Disney. These organizations are the examples, of emotional theories as they got huge success through deploying interpersonal emotional theories of brand love. However, Tesco is the worst example of applying Itis recommended to organizations that they must use the combination of rational and emotional approaches towards the creation of brand love.
Introduction
Brand love is relatively a new concept and has been discussed by few researchers. In the highly competitive business arena, it is crucial for a business to create brand love for having long-term customer commitment towards the brand.
The paper aims to discuss the concept of brand love and diverse theories of brand love and their practical utilization. For the attainment of this objective, the paper has been separated into three major sections.
Theories and concepts of Brand love
2.1 Sternberg’s theory of triangular love
Sternberg (1986) theory is amongst the most popular theories of interpersonal love. The author proposed the concept of triangular love with three elements called passion, commitment, and intimacy. He declared the presence of these three components, as a surface that reflects the brand love. As said by Sternberg (1986), these are the highly correlated dimensions and the interpersonal love consists of these three. Consumers based on the absence or presence of these components develops their diverse sorts of love; these factors result in romantic love (Foumier, Breazeale & Fetscherin, 2012). Intimacy refers to the feelings of closeness; it is largely derived from the investments of emotions in a loving relationship. Similarly, passion is largely derived from the involvement of motivation. Commitment/decision is largely a cognitive love’s element. Here it is worth mentioning that decision involves the realization of the relationship of love in theshort term by the partners. However, commitment refers to the need or desire of maintaining that relationship of love for long-term in future (Sarkar, 2011).
The presentence or absence of any one or more than one factor from these leads customers to the eight sorts of interpersonal love. The lone theory of Sternberg (1986) is highly scientific as compared to other theories of love (Sarkar, 2011).
2.2 Consumer-brand relationship theory
Later Shimp and Madden (1988) adapted the same concept and transformed the Sternberg (1986) three components in a consumption context that became yearning, commitment, and liking. Yearning is about the craze of customer for a brand that turns into the arousal of diverse sorts. However, authors referred decision as a realization of an individual that he or she likes or yearns brand in the short term. The intimate feelings associated with a brand or for the brand are recognized as liking. However, they referred the commitment as a brand’s repeat purchase by the same customers for a longer time in future. Shimp and Madden (1988) said that the presence of these three components results in brand loyalty. They proposed that the presence or absence of these components in the concept of consumer and brand lead to eight diverse relationships. Such as liking, non-liking, functionalism, infatuation, loyalty, utilitarianism, inhibited desire, and succumbed desire (Albert, Merunka & Valette-Florence, 2009).
2.3 Lovemark theory
In line with the Robert (2005) theory, mystery, intimacy, and sensuality are the key points in brand love. Mystery refers to the storytelling; it includes dreams, myths, great stories, and the combination of the present, past, and future. When companies communicate a story that touches customers, it connects people with the brand.
Sensuality refers to the creation of brand love through affecting the five senses of customers such as hearings, sights, tastes, smell, and touches. Organizations emotionally engage people through the utilization of certain things like colors, textures, or scents.
Intimacy as explained refers to closeness it is more inspirational because of the two-way process of talking and listening (Grainge & Jhonson, 2015).
brand equity theory
Brand equity is a part of brand love therefore, it is essential to discuss brand equity theories. The two very famous brand equity theories include Keller and Aker’s brand equity models. Aker presents 5 components of brand equity that include brand awareness, perceived quality, brand loyalty, brand association, and other property assets. Aker takes brand equity as benefit donated to product and service. He comments that without having the five components, brand equity cannot be created and therefore, brand love. People love the brand, for this it is essential that they recognize it, perceive it as quality brand, can associate themselves with it, and are loyal with the brand. However, Keller presents a 4 step brand equity model which is as follow:
Keller says that for creating brand equity and therefore brand love, it is pivotal that it has identity; people are aware if the brand that what it is. It is necessary that the brand just not meet the needs of customers but meet them well. Customers response the brand only when they judge the brand as good and feel satisfied by having it; it is only possible when they find quality, innovativeness, and any differentiation in products as compared to competition. Brand resonance is the top stage; it refers to the deep psychological association of customer with brand (Woodside & Megehee, 2009).
Brand love enhances customer loyalty
Brand love is not like human love because human love is altruistic, but brand love is transactional, rational, and based on the receiving of benefits that are rationale and can be emotional (Hank, 2016). It is pivotal that businesses give authentic reasons to customers for loving the brand (Marsden, 2015). Companies have an opportunity to maintain interaction with customers through social media. It contributes to relationship building over time, and the thoughts of the customers and their feelings regarding the brand are optimistically reinforced (Pasewark, 2013). Business can exploit the insights of the data gathered (Hemsley, 2014).
3.1 Other benefits of brand love
Positive word of mouth, increased customer loyalty, and brand trust are the other benefits of brand love. Customers, who feel love for the brand, support the brand and speak in the favor of brand on diverse social media platforms that contribute in positive brand image building and brand equity. Brand love encourage customers to go extra miles in the behavior of customers to the brand that involve defending the brand against ant sort of criticism (Fetscherin & Heilmann, 2015).
The section concludes that brand love is about the combination of emotional and rational benefits and only can be attained by the mix.
Application of theories to organizations
The three theories that are decided to deploy on organizations for evaluating their effectiveness include the theory of Sternberg’striangular theory (1986), Robert (2005) and Shimp and Madden (1988) theory of consumer-object relation. Moreover, brand equity theory of Keller will be deployed as well.
The reason behind the selection of these theories is that Sternberg’s triangular theoryand Roberts Lovemark (2005) takes the emotional aspects of customers into consideration. However, brand love theory proposed by Shimp and Madden (1988) is an extension of Sternberg’s theory but considers that rationale benefits are also important for the creation of brand love. Shimp and Madden (1988) commented that the customers love the brand in the short term because they perceive the product benefits as compatible with their desires (Shimp and Madden, 1988).
Three organizations that have been selected as examples or for the application of the theories include Walt Disney, Coca-Cola, and Tesco. The purpose of applying the theoretical concept on these organizations is to examine the practicality of these theories and find out that how the presence or absences of the factors mentioned in theories affect companies.
4.1 Walt Disney (Good Example)
Robert (2005), a lovemark creation is a growing process; it is difficult to understand the needs of the upcoming generation. Walt Disney is the best example of the lovemark theory, as the corporation knows that how to criss-cross the present, future, and past. The Disney world is not limited to the collection of theme parks, but Disney is a complete themed world, which is a blend of storytelling and imagination with a formed art from the 20th century. When people think of happiness, Disney comes in their minds (brand identity).
A fine story clears customers with its portrayal of the way things sound, look, and smell. Disneyland is utilizing the present, past, and future concepts successfully and effectively with the aim of telling thousands of stories and offering diverse experiences, which are designed for creating illusions that allow customers to forget the world. The corporation just not creates dreams, but also warms the attachment’s feelings to the brand, and all these factors contribute in brand love (Disney Park Video, 2012). The brand creates association with customers through producing family films that have ability to transport the audience at happier place. In this fashion brand satisfies people to keep them loyal (brand loyalty).
Disney later through the application of Sternberg’s theory of triangular love transformed from functional to emotional approach. For example, through introducing the theme park, the company offered rationale benefits of joy, pleasure, and quality of time to its customers (Shimp and Madden, 1988). This strategy differentiated the brand from competition and made the brand superior that derived the brand response that later turned into brand love. The theme park was a product and people find that park compatible with their desire of joy and entertainment. Sternberg’s theory of triangular love depicts that intimacy, enthusiasm, and commitment are the important feature for creating brand love. The company through serving with rationale benefits created brand love among customers. Later the corporations started filming, and storytelling, its world consists of the society of dreams; however, it has been on the rise to a theme part that involves fantasies, stories, futuristic thoughts, and hopes. This built a Psychological level of entertainment that communicated the meaning to people that the Disney is for entertainment. The organization creates intimacy (closeness and association) through its stories and creates ardor by portraying sound, smell, and looks that also create likability and encourage customers response. These features lead theorganization towards the commitment of customers, as emotional power of dreams forces customers to maintain long-term relation with thebrand (Disney Park Video, 2012).The application of these theories allowed the company to generate brand love. In other words, the brand through enhancing closeness and creating obsession encouraged the brand love among people.
The organization still enjoys the brand differentiation benefit, and people are committed towards the Disney stories, which is evident from their repeat purchase behavior (brand resonance or behavioral loyalty). Therefore, it can be said that the Walt Disney is the perfect or an excellent example of utilizing triangular, trademark, and customer-brand relationship theories. Brand equity theory says that customers love the brand and see it special when they have psychological attachment and Disney has create a brand love through creating psychological attachment with its customers.
4.2 Coca-Cola Company (Good Example)
Coca-Cola is a perfect example of brand love and the utilization of triangular brand love theory and customer-brand relationship theory. The brand was used to offer rational benefits of unique taste to customers. People were buying the brand immensely until they do not have awareness related health (Fisher, 2013).
However, later when the awareness related health issues increased, people became conscious about their wellbeing and started adopting healthy practices in their lives. Coca-Cola at that moment faced a considerable decline in its sales and started introducing new brands like diet coke for creating intimacy. Nevertheless, as the coke was the famous and core brand of the company, therefore, the company created intimacy through its marketing strategies such as by printing the names of people on the cans and bottles (Fisher, 2013).For example, the business rather communicating rationale benefits, appealed people through emotional techniques and created brand love in this way.
For example, this strategy of printing the name created a excitement among customers and enhanced the attractiveness of the products that lead them towards maintaining their will of keeping arelationship with the brand (commitments). The company when failed to convince people on providing rationale benefits, turned to build feelings through communicating Coca-Cola as a family brand. These strategies ultimately created anemotional association of the brand with customers.Currently, the brand is emotionally appealing customers creating intimacy and passion, due to which it is the number one selling brand in beverage market (The statistics portal, 2015; Shimp & Madden, 1988; Sternberg 1986).
In a highly competitive market, despite have negative publicity the company based on its emotional appeals is able to secure the position of market leaders, which communicates that the emotional approach of brand love is more effective as compared to the rationale approach. The mystery, sensuality, intimacy aspect of customers brand relationship theory exists in Coca-Cola Company. The company has created a new website that is inspired by the storytelling’s power(Robert, 2005).
Through the utilization mystery concepts, the firm is sharing its journey with theshareable digital magazine and visual contents themed around social media, marketing campaigns, career advice, pop culture, and brand history. The brand creates sensuality through is a specific color, unique taste, and bottle texture (Gioglio, 2016).
4.3 Tesco (Bad Example)
Tesco is a British general merchandise and grocery multinational retailer. The retailerhas been a giant in a retail sector, but recently the organization faced a record loss of £ 6.38 billion on an annual basis, amongst the multiple reasons one was the decline in sales. The giant is facing the pressure to close its 200 stores. As it was defined that the creation of intimacy, enthusiasm and commitment is an ongoing process, but it has been determined that the retailer is no more in the process of creating intimacy, due to which customers do not like the brand(Shimp & Madden, 1988).
The organizations did not make any efforts to make relation with customers or appeal them emotionally, due to which customers are turning their backs on Tesco. Moreover, the company is also not rationalizing on the product options (Shimp& Madden, 1988). The corporation has become the worst example of brand love just because of the absence of creating intimacy (liking), passion (yearning), commitment, sensuality, mystery (Shimp & Madden, 1988;Sternberg 1986;Robert, 2005).
Conclusion and recommendations
Brand love is relatively new concepts and multiple organizations for developing customer loyalty applying this concept. Coca-Cola and Walt Disney are the examples of such applications.
Currently, Coca-Cola is focusing on the emotional approaches of brand love solely. Therefore, it is recommended to the company that it should also market its brand that provides rationale reasons to customers for buying the product. The combination of rational and emotional approaches will enable the company to capture greater market share and will allow beating its own records. Currently, the brand has a major focus on creating intimacy, excitement, and commitment for its Coke; the firm should give some attention to its other brand so they may generate more profit for the company as compared to the profit they are generating now.
However, analysis revealed that Tesco is failing in creating any close relation with consumers; the retailer is no more a favorite brand of customers. Therefore, the Tesco is recommended to focus on building close relation with customers, attract them through the utilization of emotional concepts.
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