How to Build a Strong Brand Attitude: Exploring the Role of Emotions and Usage Experience in Branding

Abstract

What factors constitute a “strong” brand attitude? This study divided affective brand evaluation into two factors: pride and closeness and demonstrated that brand attitudes based on closeness were less susceptible to negative word-of-mouth messages than those based on pride. The reason for this was hypothesized as follows: closeness can be based on intuitive evaluation, whereas pride can be an emotion derived from deliberate thinking. This hypothesis was tested by an experiment comparing the strength of brand attitude with deliberate thinking through product usage, to the strength of brand attitude based on intuitive response without product usage. The result showed that closeness was resistant against negative word-of-mouth messages, regardless of product usage. However, pride was less susceptible when participants used the products and thought deliberately than when they did not use them (only read the advertisement). Finally, the limitations and practical implications of this study were discussed.