Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate how various retail store atmospheric cues can impact store brand loyalty (SBL) via eliciting store brand love. This paper posits that different store brand experiential cues can predict brand love only when the experience is processed based on perceiving the brand as human-like entity, i.e. brand anthropomorphization. Brand love cannot be strongly elicited without the sense of brand anthropomorphization. Moreover, brand love can impact brand loyalty intention only under the moderating condition of perceived firm’s positive relationship marketing orientation. Design/methodology/approach Survey was conducted among urban shopping mall consumers, and the data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Findings The findings support that store brand experience elicited by store environmental cues can better predict store brand love when the store is perceived as human, and store brand love can better predict conative SBL when consumer perceives that the store is having a positive relationship orientation. Originality/value The value of the paper lies in empirically testing the psychological mechanism through which store atmospheric cues lead to SBL.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper was to uncover various factors that make the young consumers in emerging Asian market devotees of brands and sacrilize brands giving rise to a phenomenon called brand sacralization where the individual consumer considers brand as sacred as religion. Another objective of this research was to investigate the acculturation process taking place among the young adult consumers in emerging Asian market. Design/methodology/approach – Based on prior literature review, the concept of brand sacralization has been defined to bring theoretical sensitivity. Grounded theory method has been used to collect, analyze and interpret the data collected through semi-structured depth interviews. Findings – Data analysis reveals various underlying dimensions of brand sacralization and various actionable antecedents and consequence of brand sacralization. Originality/value – Value of the article lies in developing a grounded theory framework for brand sacralization that can guide the marketers doing business in emerging markets to build a strong brand that the consumers would sacralize.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to capture the strength of consumer’s perceived brand sacredness. The authors developed and validated a measurement scale composed of three related dimensions: supremacy, mesmerization and communitas. Design/methodology/approach Six empirical studies were conducted to identify the brand sacredness construct domains, develop and validate the measurement and test the nomological network between brand sacredness and it antecedent and outcome variables. Findings Results from a series of studies provided robust supports for the scale structure and demarcated the construct domains from other consumer–brand relationship measures. Testing of nomological validity of the scale further showed that brand sacredness is influenced by brand love, emotional brand attachment and brand loyalty and, meanwhile, provides explanatory power to predict theoretically related outcome variables, including transcendent consumer experience, defense of brand, incorporation brand in extended-self, brand ritualism and brand evangelism. Research limitations/implications This study is based on cross-sectional survey data obtained from respondents belonging to well-established brand communities. A longitudinal study involving recent and emerging brand communities could provide an enhanced understanding of the evolution of brand sacredness with time, including brand sacralizaton process as well as possible de-sacralization process. Practical implications The study provides significant insights for brand managers to create an enduring brand and ascertain that consumers find their affiliations with the brand and make it the sacred core of their lives by fandom management through brand evangelism. Originality/value This study adds to the theory on consumer–brand relationship realm by delineating the domains of brand sacredness with its defining feature of extraordinary experience transcending an ordinary brand. It contributes to the existing body of branding and customer-based brand equity literature by incorporating the spiritual aspects of faith, passion and devotion into measuring the value of a brand.

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Purpose This paper aims to analyze the impacts of distinct advertising appeals on brand attitudes and purchase intentions toward green brands across two different product categories (technology-intensive and technology non-intensive) among the young adult consumers. Design/methodology/approach On the basis of focus group discussion, recyclable shopping bags (technology non-intensive) and hybrid cars (technology intensive) were identified as two product categories for the final study. A total of eight advertisement copies were developed (three in each product class + two control group ads) and distributed across 240 young consumers. A 4 (three advertising appeals + one control group) × 2 (product classes) between group experimental design was used to test the hypotheses formulated. Findings The study findings show that all the three advertisement appeals significantly influence attitudes and purchase intentions toward green brands across both the product categories. However, it was also found that functional appeal generated significantly lower mean scores for brand attitude and purchase intention for recyclable shopping bags compared to hybrid cars, whereas emotional appeal generated significantly lower mean scores for brand attitude, as well as purchase intention for hybrid cars compared to bags. This implies that functional green ad appeal would be more effective for technology-intensive products and emotional green ad appeal would be more effective for technology non-intensive products. Self-expressive green ad appeal was found to be equally effective in impacting brand attitudes and purchase intentions across both product categories. Originality/value The value of this research lies in investigating how the effects of distinct green brand advertising appeals on brand attitude and purchase intention can vary across technology-intensive and technology non-intensive products.