Issues in defining and placing consumer brand engagement

Abstract

The paper aims to identify the current positioning of consumer brand engagement (CBE) in marketing literature, thus filling a gap and contributing to a richer overview of the concept. Numerous research topics currently overlap in the marketing literature as brand theory has not been systemised precisely, especially with regard to consumer feeling towards brands and consumers’ active role in creating brand equity. The methodology adopted for this empirical research is qualitative, and the research question is the following: what is the current positioning of CBE in marketing theory? To find the answer, three empirical studies were performed. The first, Study 1, involved eight scholars—the key informants—specialising in the topic. In Study 2, 64 academic articles focusing on CBE were analysed. By comparing the two, it was possible to identify some counterintuitive problems and pitfalls impeding the definitive affirmation of CBE in marketing literature. Lastly, in Study 3, six Italian CBE practitioners (marketing managers and digital marketing consultants) were questioned to gather further information and shed light on some grey areas highlighted by the academic community regarding management issues. The principal expected outcome was to ascertain whether CBE has specific and well-defined conceptual dimensions that may be applied to other similar topics in marketing literature. The study’s originality lies in a rationalisation of the theory underpinning the topic and proposing a possible systematisation.

Strategies to drive interactivity and digital engagement: a practitioners' perspective

“…While past research commonly regarded engagement as a multidimensional construct (Cantone et al , 2022), the discussions were predominantly consumer-based and ignored the firm-initiated perspective (Alvarez-Milán et al , 2018). Alvarez-Milán et al (2018) argued that customer engagement can be a firm-initiated resource and organizations normally take an active role to initiate engagement with customers.…”

“…Apart from the three-dimensional nature of engagement, prior research has identified the interactive nature of engagement (Cantone et al , 2022). In marketing, consumer–brand engagement focuses on “consumer/brand interactions” (Hollebeek et al 2014, p. 154), and customer engagement is an interaction between customers and brands through psychological processes (Vander Shee et al , 2020).…”

“…Concerning the significance of experience (Cantone et al , 2022), engagement could be manifested through the thoughts and feelings that individuals have experienced (Calder et al , 2016). Research in marketing suggested that engagement comprises “motivational experiences” (Kim et al , 2013), which enable a user “to be involved, occupied, and interested in something” (Higgins, 2006, p. 442).…”

“…In advertising, the experiential nature of engagement has been defined as “the collective experiences that readers or viewers have with a media brand” (Mersey et al , 2010, p. 40). Experience, along with interactivity, is a key driver of consumer–brand engagement (Cantone et al , 2022).…”

“…An integrative framework of digital engagement (see Figure 1) is proposed in this study based on the socio-technical approach (Morgan-Thomas et al , 2020) and other theoretical concerns (Alvarez-Milán et al , 2018). From an organizational perspective, the framework defines digital engagement in cognitive, affective and behavioral dimensions (Cantone et al , 2022), which takes place between actors (i.e. the organization/brand and its consumers) in the digital technological ecosystem, and interactivity serves as a key driver of engagement (Cantone et al , 2022).…”