Place–brand stereotypes: does stereotype-consistent messaging matter?
| Date | 19 November 2018 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-10-2017-1626 |
| Published date | 19 November 2018 |
| Pages | 754-767 |
| Author | Brittney C. Bauer,Clark D. Johnson,Nitish Singh |
| Subject Matter | Marketing,Product management,Brand management/equity |
Place–brand stereotypes: does
stereotype-consistent messaging matter?
Brittney C. Bauer, Clark D. Johnson and Nitish Singh
Richard A. Chaifetz School of Business, Saint Louis University, Saint Louis, MO, USA
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to address an overarching question: Does matching consumer place–brand associations with stereotype-
consistent messaging affect consumer perceptions of an advertisement?
Design/methodology/approach –This paper presents two experiments that examine participants’differing evaluations of advertisements under
various experimental conditions. Study 1 examines the match of place–brand warmth versus competence stereotype s and the use of symbolic versus
utilitarian advertising messaging for both new foreign and domestic brands. Study 2 examines this match for global brands.
Findings –The paper reveals that stereotype-consistent messaging increases the perceived fit between the advertisement and the brand for new
foreign brands but not for new domestic or global brands. Furthermore, in a post-hoc analysi s, this congruence is found to improve attitude towards
the brand, purchase intentions and brand response, through the mediating effect of attitude towards the ad.
Originality/value –Place–brand stereotypes impact consumer attitudes and opinions regarding brands from different countries. This paper applies
two universal social judgment dimensions from social psychology—warmth and competence—to the novel context of advertising messaging to
examine previously unexplored facets of the place–brand image.
Keywords Country image, Product origin, Advertising appeals, Dimensions of place image, Place-brand stereotypes, Stereotype content model
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Consumers often make judgments based on stereotypes when
evaluating brands from different countries. In fact, we do this
often without paying much attention to it (which camera
brands do you think would be better made, those from Chile or
those from Japan?). Consumers have differing attitudes and
opinions toward brands from their home country, foreign
countries in general and certain foreign countries in particular
(Riefler and Diamantopoulos, 2009). Stereotypes related to
place–brand associations,regardless of their validity, can either
positively or negatively impact consumer decision-making
(Brodie and Benson-Rea, 2016). This paper seeks to examine
how marketers can leverage consumer place–brand stereotypes
to achieve more positive outcomes and when these stereotypes
may not matter.
This research suggests that consumers have preexisting
stereotypes regarding place–brand associations on the social
judgment dimensions of warmth and competence.The
warmth dimension is related to characteristics like
friendliness and sincerity, while competence is associated
with characteristics like capability and skill (Cuddy et al.,
2008). This paper argues that marketing communications
will be more persuasive when they match consumer social
judgments. Thus, the appropriate advertising messaging –
categorized into symbolic appeals that evoke human
emotions or utilitarian appeals that focus on product
qualities (Cheng and Schweitzer, 1996)–depends on
consumers’preexisting place–brand stereotypes. To our
knowledge, no research has examined how the relationship
between place–brand stereotypes and advertising messaging
influences perceptions of fit between the brand and the
advertisement, despite these techniques being used (and
misused) in the real world.
Therefore, this study seeks to understand two key research
questions:
RQ1. How does a match between place–brand social
judgment and the type of advertising appeal affect the
perceived fit of the advertisement?
RQ2. How does this relationship differ for foreign versus
domestic brandsor global versus non-global brands?
By answering these questions, the study offers valuable
contributionsto marketing academicians and practitioners.
First, the paper directly addresses the assumption found in
Chattalas and Takada(2013) that argues:
[...] in their advertisements, marketers may either capitalize on the match
between the product characteristic expectations consumers have and the
dominant national stereotype or position their products to create such a match
(emphasis added; p. 89).
This research is the first to empirically test whether matching
consumer warmth or competence stereotypes to, respectively,
symbolic or utilitarian advertising messaging, can lead to more
positive evaluations. By doing so, we directly answer Halkias
et al.’s (2016) call for more researchon the interaction between
country- and brand-related variables that can aid marketers in
developing effective marketing communications and improve
our understanding of how consumers make decisions in an
internationalmarketplace.
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on
Emerald Insight at: www.emeraldinsight.com/1061-0421.htm
Journal of Product & Brand Management
27/7 (2018) 754–767
© Emerald Publishing Limited [ISSN 1061-0421]
[DOI 10.1108/JPBM-10-2017-1626]
754
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