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Brands around the world are recognizing the importance of committing to sustainable development through corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives. However, the literature shows scant empirical understanding of the purchase intention of younger consumers of Generations Y and Z regarding brands that engage in CSR initiatives. Drawing on the theory of planned behavior (TPB), the objective of this study is to develop and test an extended model of purchase intention for brands with CSR initiatives among the segment of Gen Y and Z consumers. The model is tested using an online survey applied to Chilean consumers and statistically analyzed using the structural equation modeling (SEM) technique. The findings show that attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control are significantly and directly related to the consumer's intention to purchase brands that demonstrate CSR initiatives. Further, consumer involvement and trust in brands' CSR initiatives have an indirect but significant effect on purchase intention through their impact on attitude. This research contributes to the literature on CSR and branding by addressing the role of consumers in supporting brands, which contribute to sustainable consumption. Findings can help brand managers and policymakers implement strategies to encourage consumer support for CSR initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Generative artificial intelligence technologies are transforming brand‐customer interactions by offering highly personalized and dynamic virtual experiences. This underscores the importance of studying their significant impact on customer experiences in the Metaverse. Accordingly, the study aims to explore how users' attachment to the Metaverse relates to the underlying psychological drivers of customer engagement with brands using generative AI in the digital realm. A mixed‐method approach was adopted, beginning with an exploratory study that involved in‐depth interviews with 24 participants to gain an initial understanding of consumers' psychological and behavioral reactions to brands in the Metaverse. An empirical study was then conducted, surveying 407 UK‐based users of virtual worlds who interacted with brands using generative AI on these platforms. The goal was to understand how the need for uniqueness influences self‐identity expression and to examine how these factors are affected by attachment to virtual places. The research highlights the nuanced relationship between the pursuit of uniqueness and the integration of brand narratives into one's identity particularly when supported by highly personalized, adaptive AI technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multiple scales measuring a customer's, or consumer's, engagement (CE) with a brand or specific brand elements (e.g., advertising/social media content) have been proposed in the literature, offering researchers different options to gauge CE. However, the myriad proposed operationalizations can yield confusion among scholars regarding how to best capture CE, exposing a growing issue for CE research. Addressing this issue, we take stock of major scales measuring a CE with a brand or specific brand elements. To achieve this objective, we performed a systematic review of major CE scale development articles (2005 to January 2023) using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta‐Analyses (PRISMA) approach. We systematically evaluated these scales in terms of their respective CE conceptualization, dimensionality, itemization, and underlying theoretical perspective. We also identify potential scale‐related risks, or pitfalls, exposing important insight for CE researchers. Overall, the results suggest the existence of theoretical contamination in specific CE measures (e.g., through the inclusion of related concepts in the proposed CE definition), compromising their theoretical rigor and raising a need for scholars to verify the theoretical underpinnings of their adopted CE scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People who publicly exhibit behaviours on social media adjust their sense of self accordingly, a process known as identity shift. This manuscript reports on two experiments that extend identity shift research, applying it to consumer engagement with media brands on social media. In the first study (N = 150), participants liked or shared brands' social media posts using their own Facebook accounts. We tested actual behavioural commitment against merely thinking about sharing or liking the post, to provide a rigorous test of identity shift theory. Contrary to expectations, results showed no significant differences between behaviour and thought. Findings did show that users were more cautious in sharing (vs. liking) posts and were more likely to be influenced by their own sharing if they were relatively infrequent social media sharers. The second study (N = 338) extended this design to include Twitter and account for the roles of social media users' personality traits, perceptions of different social media platforms, and user choice and autonomy. Results revealed that liking on Twitter or sharing on Facebook produced more positive brand attitudes. Contrary to expectations, extroverts and those who perceived their online performance as more public reported less positive attitudes after actually sharing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trademark Laws should be understood in light of public interest in protecting the public from falling into the trap of confusion, and not as rights that are excluded from scrutiny. It aims to protect trade symbols to avoid the likelihood of confusion among consumers. It is to be seen whether the broad protection is giving any benefit to consumers or it is serving badly the public interest by shielding firms from healthy competition. Broad legal protection to the trade symbols can sometimes disserve the competition and harms the consumer and larger public as well. The paper questions and analyses the objectives of Trademark Law. Are these trademarks untouchable? Can perpetual monopoly be ever touched on public interest grounds? Can public interest grounds supersede economic interests of individual trademark owners? It can be believed that trademarks can definitely be touched and can be objected on the grounds based on public interests. Also, it must be remembered that intellectual property is not a positive right to use the mark but a negative right to stop others from exploiting it. Thus, the ban on controversial brands can very well be held if found obscene or scandalous in nature or if hitting public interest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although marketers are increasingly developing strategies to promote environmentally‐friendly images for their brands, little is known about green brand architecture strategies. The current study examines two sub‐branding strategies and finds that when green products are dispersed across several sub‐brands (vs. concentrated within one sub‐brand), consumers are more likely to infer that the overall parent brand is environmentally friendly. The sincerity of the company's sustainability efforts is found to mediate the effects of the sub‐branding strategy on consumers' eco‐friendly beliefs of the parent brand. Specifically, consumers associate dispersed strategy (vs. concentrated strategy) with intrinsic motive (vs. extrinsic motive) of the company's sustainability policy. As a result, dispersed strategy instead of concentrated strategy promotes spillover effects of sustainability to the parent brand, demonstrating the impact of brand structure on spillover to the parent brand equity. Managerial implications are discussed related to the automobile company's sub‐branding strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: This article explores the intersection between advertising by food brands, practices on YouTube and child obesity. The objective is to analyse the communication features of marketing content by food brands targeting children on YouTube. The existing literature confirming the relationship between exposure to food advertising and actual consumption prioritizes television while largely ignoring the digital world. When children connect to the internet, watching videos on YouTube is their most common activity. We analyse and compare the advertising by food brands on regular TV networks (traditional advertising) with videos by child YouTubers (influencing) in Spanish. An exploratory study is conducted by means of a content analysis of 304 videos, with 12 variables grouped into 2 categories: prevalence of ultra‐processed vs healthy products in advertising, and marketing style. The results reveal marked differences in practices between brands and child YouTubers, along with the rise of hybrid media forms. The conclusions highlight the absence of advertising warnings in content targeting children. Changes are recommended to increase the responsibility assumed by these media spaces that exert such a huge influence on an audience as vulnerable as children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research Summary: The resource‐based view of the firm characterizes brands as important resources for firm growth and competitive advantage. Existing studies offer theory and evidence that venture capital (VC) backing enhances the growth of new technology ventures along different dimensions. It is not clear, however, whether and how VC backing affects the development of brand assets. In a study of VC‐backed and non‐VC‐backed nanotechnology ventures in the United Kingdom, we find a positive association between VC backing and the development of brand assets. We also find that VC‐backed technology ventures tend to create brand assets with a wider scope, which can be deployed across multiple different product‐markets. Managerial Summary: Brand strategy is critical for the success of entrepreneurial firms and can be challenging for firms operating in nascent industries that aim to commercialize innovations stemming from general purpose technologies. Such firms face dilemmas on whether to diversify or not into different product‐markets, how many brand assets to develop, and whether to leverage a brand asset across multiple product categories. In a study of nanotechnology ventures, we find that VC‐backing can affect the development of brand strategy: VC‐backed ventures tend to develop more brand assets compared with non‐VC‐backed ventures and tend to create brand assets with a wider scope, which can be deployed across multiple different product‐markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Implicit theories are the beliefs that individuals hold regarding the nature of human and nonhuman attributes, as well as more global phenomena. Over the past three decades, social and consumer psychologists have garnered a rich set of findings from investigating the processing and judgmental impact of implicit theories on various facets of people's day‐to‐day lives. This review begins with a brief summary of the history of implicit theory research before explicating its current state in consumer psychology. The review categorizes the current, and rather fragmented, landscape of the consumer psychology of implicit theories into three broad areas: brands, persuasion, and consumption behaviors. We conclude our review by contributing to an expanding dialogue regarding the future of consumer research pertaining to implicit theories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fournier and Alvarez (2019—this issue) and Batra (2019—this issue), respectively, offer interpretive and psychological perspectives on how brands acquire cultural meanings. In this commentary, we discuss the opportunities for leveraging these two perspectives, and use an assemblage theory lens to uncover the dynamics of how cultural models articulated through cultural myths, metaphors, ideologies, and cultural objects circulate through the brand assemblage and through the consumer assemblage. We offer a bridge‐crossing approach to research opportunities bringing both a socio‐historical‐cultural approach and psychological approach to understand how cultural meanings are assembled into brands and how consumers assemble brands into their lives. This article is part of a Research Dialogue: Krishna (2019): https://doi.org/10.1002/jcpy.1120 Fournier & Alvarez (2019): https://doi.org/10.1002/jcpy.1119 Batra (2019): https://doi.org/10.1002/jcpy.1122 MacInnis et al. (2019): https://doi.org/10.1002/jcpy.1118 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research demonstrates that brands can influence children's food preferences and potentially contribute to unhealthy consumption patterns. This article extends this line of research by investigating the complex and interacting effects of food brand marketing on experienced taste. The empirical field in a remote Russian town enabled the assessment of branding effects when entering a newly established market. Examining the combination of various advertisement features with emotional brand elicitation, we derive hypotheses about the interplay of brands and advertisement components linked to the perceived taste of a fast food meal. In Novosibirsk, Russia, 778 children and adolescents aged 10–18 years were exposed to fast food advertisements with real and imaginary brand logos and varying advertising claims. The advertisements consisted of a warning, an exaggerated credence claim, or both. A subsequently offered fast food meal—a portion of French fries—was experimentally varied and prepared to be either healthier but less tasty and unsalted, or less healthy but tastier and salted. The findings verify strong and positive brand effects on children's taste satisfaction. Warnings in advertisements "worked" only for novel fast food brands by negatively affecting taste satisfaction, but increased taste satisfaction when applied in advertisements for established brands. Single credence claims did not improve the taste experience, but counteracted the negative effects of warnings for novel brands. Finally, the established brand influenced taste satisfaction positively when the fries were saltier. The findings reveal various opportunities for fast food marketing to artificially create taste satisfaction for potentially unhealthy food. Public health strategies that focus on advertising claim restrictions should be reconsidered in the context of possible evasion strategies of the food industry and counter‐effects of warnings among strong fast food brands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the research is to identify different consumption styles based on a large collection of letters to Santa written by some children and/or their families and submitted to the French Post website (La Poste). One of our main interests focuses on the presence and weight of brands and licenses in children's wish lists. We have had access to all the anonymous posts sent to Santa Claus through La Poste's website during the 2013 and 2014 Christmas holidays. We analyzed the nature of the wish lists as shown in the 43,000‐post database using several textual data analysis techniques. Extensive heterogeneity was found among children's and families' postures regarding that specific ritual. The different types of emails reflect the meaning families associate with Christmas time but also their different consumption styles or attitudes toward consumption: reasoned, educational, hedonistic, or materialistic, for example. When focusing on brands and licenses, we can also observe significant differences in the way families and children include them in their consumption decisions. Brands could have a very different weight in Christmas wish lists and their natures reflect different value transmission modes. The French market for Christmas children brands is rather stable and focuses on a few top leading global brands such as Playmobil, Barbie, or Lego. At least one of the ten leading brands is mentioned in half of evaluated Christmas wish lists. The analysis confirms that brands are very clearly gendered and associated with the children's ages. Peak time for brand desire is alleged to be reached between the age of 7 and 9. To our knowledge, our research is the first to analyze a large sample of spontaneous data to capture children's consumption styles and attitudes toward brands. Because of our classification, a first typology of parental consumption styles has also been identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Background and aim: Plain packaging of cigarettes appeared in the United Kingdom in July 2016 and was ubiquitous by May 2017. The change coincided with another legislative change, raising the minimum pack size from 10 to 20 cigarettes. Laws imposing plain packaging on cigarette packs remove another promotional route from tobacco companies, but the effect of such laws on brand diversity, pricing and sales volume is unknown. This study aimed to (1) describe and quantify changes in brand diversity, price segmentation and sales volumes and (2) estimate the association between the introduction of plain cigarette packaging and cigarette pricing in the United Kingdom. Design: We used a natural experiment design to assess the impact of plain packaging legislation on brand diversity and cigarette prices. The data comprised a sample of 76% of sales of cigarettes in the UK between March 2013 and June 2017. Setting: United Kingdom. Measurements: Cigarette prices, number of brands and products and volumes of sales. Findings: During the period analysed, there was a slight decrease in the number of cigarette brands. There was also an initial increase observed in the number of cigarette products, due mainly to an increase in the number of products in packs of fewer than 20 cigarettes sold before July 2016, which was then followed by a rapid decrease in the number of products that coincided with the implementation of the new legislation. Cigarette sales volumes during this period did not deviate from the preceding secular trend, but prices rose substantially. Regression results showed that price per cigarette, regardless of pack size, was 5.0 [95% confidence interval (CI) = 4.8–5.3] pence higher in plain than in fully branded packs. For packs of 20 cigarettes, price increases were greater in the lower price quintiles, ranging from 2.6 (95% CI = 2.4–2.7) GBP in the lowest to 0.3 (95% CI = 0.3–0.4) GBP per pack in the highest quintile. Conclusions: The implementation of standardized packaging legislation in the United Kingdom, which included minimum pack sizes of 20, was associated with significant increases overall in the price of manufactured cigarettes, but no clear deviation in the ongoing downward trend in total volume of cigarette sales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Attention to the asset value of intellectual property (IP) has traditionally concentrated on high‐value patent sales and licenses. This narrow focus neglects nonpatent assets held by a broader set of economic agents, such as trademarks, and overlooks the evolving ways owners are employing and monetizing their intangible assets. To help remedy this deficiency, the Office of Chief Economist of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is releasing a series of datasets in formats convenient for researchers. This article describes the USPTO Trademark Assignment Dataset, a database of over 785,000 transactions recorded during 1952–2013 affecting almost 4.2 million trademark registrations and applications. We provide a comprehensive description and present key trends, showing that among registrations issued during 1978–2013, more than 31% were affected by some transaction during their lives, 21% were transferred to different parties, and 12% were involved in at least one security interest agreement. Examining transaction rates by registration cohort, we find evidence that registered U.S. trademarks may be more likely to be traded than are U.S. patents. Other trends and findings are discussed. Despite limitations, these data open new avenues for research, particularly with respect to trademark collateralization and the market for brands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Do people judge others based on the brands they use? Prior research finds evidence to this effect, yet we argue this phenomenon is far from universal. Drawing on research on implicit self‐theories, we find that only entity (but not incremental) theorists are prone to judging people based on their brand use (Studies 1 and 2). We show that entity theorists infer that people use brands to signal who they are to others, thereby forming perceptions of these people based on the personality of the brands they use, but incremental theorists are reluctant to make inferences about brand users’ signaling motives (Studies 3, 4, and 5). When tendencies to make signaling inferences are reduced, entity theorists no longer judge people based on their brand use (Studies 3 and 4). Furthermore, even incremental theorists judge people based on their brand use when given the information that their brand use is not driven by situational forces, but is potentially driven by a signaling motivation (Study 5). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stress can impact various aspects of a person's well-being. While some researchers have suggested that consumption-related activities may cause stress, no research has yet explored such stress among vulnerable, younger consumers. To better understand this phenomenon, the concept of adolescents' perceived brand deprivation stress (BDS) is introduced as a state of tension perceived negatively by a young consumer when he or she does not have specific brands from a particular product category. In a series of three studies with adolescents aged 11-17 years, a reliable and valid measure of BDS is developed and a framework encompassing antecedents and consequences of it is tested. This research demonstrates that an adolescent's peer group compared to the media exerts the strongest influence on BDS which is also affected by product involvement and age. In turn, stress influences both brand purchase intentions and psychosomatic illnesses, with the latter being reduced by consumer self-confidence. The studies show that BDS is real, but seemingly problematic for only a small portion of vulnerable adolescents. The findings suggest that marketers should be cautious when targeting young consumers and that educational programs aimed at developing consumer skills and confidence in adolescents are advisable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arrogant brands have a multifaceted influence on consumers: Although consumers appreciate arrogant brands as reflecting high status and quality, arrogance can also make consumers feel inferior. Consumers whose self is a priori threatened may consequently “say no to the glow” and avoid arrogant brands. Results from six experiments using fictitious or actual arrogant brands show that when consumers experience prior self-threat, they may avoid brands that convey arrogance in favor of a competing, less-arrogant alternative. Such avoidance helps self-threatened consumers restore their self-perceptions and feel better about themselves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

'Markets for brands' play an important economic role in today's global economy. Trademarks and brands can be purchased, franchised or licensed.The ability to use Markets for Brands allows companies to diversify their business, to access competences, and to generate new revenues. In recent years, firms in developed and emerging economies have been active users of these markets by licensing or acquiring established global brands. Yet, despite their apparent importance, little is known about the size of these markets. This article first defines and provides a taxonomy of different brand markets. Second, it analyzes the economic rationale of such markets. Finally, it provides evidence on their magnitude, also assessing their relative importance of the different brand-related transaction types in developed and emerging economies alike. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Word-of-mouth is thought to be an effective external recruitment information source that organizations are not generally able to do much about. While a number of previous studies have suggested the effectiveness of word-of-mouth recruitment, few have explored the specific factors enabling organizations to manage it effectively. This study addresses the cross-level influence of employer brand management (EBM) and organizational prestige on employees' word-of-mouth referrals. A total of 308 survey responses from senior managers and their employees were received from 33 firms in Taiwan. All hypotheses were supported, which suggests significant relationships between EBM, organizational prestige, and employees' word-of-mouth referrals. The study results also suggest that organizations are able to manage employee word-of-mouth referrals by enhancing EBM and reinforcing employees' perceived organizational prestige accordingly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims To investigate the association between having a favourite alcohol advertisement and binge drinking among European adolescents. Design Data were obtained from a longitudinal observational study on relationships between smoking and drinking and film tobacco and alcohol exposures. Setting State-funded schools. Participants Baseline survey of 12 464 German, Italian, Polish and Scottish adolescents (mean age 13.5 years), of whom 10 259 (82%) were followed-up 12 months later. Measurements Pupils were asked the brand of their favourite alcohol advertisement at baseline. Multi-level mixed-effects logistic regressions assessed relationships between having a favourite alcohol advertisement ('alcohol marketing receptivity') and (i) binge drinking at baseline; and (ii) initiating binge drinking during follow-up among a subsample of 7438 baseline never binge drinkers. Findings Life-time binge drinking prevalence at baseline was 29.9% and 25.9% initiated binge drinking during follow-up. Almost one-third of the baseline sample (32.1%) and 22.6% of the follow-up sample of never-bingers named a branded favourite alcohol advertisement, with high between-country variation in brand named. After controlling for age, gender, family affluence, school performance, TV screen time, personality characteristics and drinking behaviour of peers, parents and siblings, alcohol marketing receptivity was related significantly to both binge drinking at baseline [adjusted odds ratio ( AOR) = 2.13, 95% confidence interval ( CI) = 1.92, 2.36] and binge drinking initiation in longitudinal analysis ( AOR = 1.45, 95% CI = 1.26, 1.66). There was no evidence for effect heterogeneity across countries. Conclusions Among European adolescents naming a favourite alcohol advertisement was associated with increased likelihood of initiating binge drinking during 1-year follow-up, suggesting a relationship between alcohol marketing receptivity and adolescent binge drinking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transparency is an essential part of the effort to build a socially responsible brand. Communicating with stakeholders about labor violations in manufacturing is an important aspect of this transparency. Previous research has suggested that consumer perception of transparency is related to brand trust, which in turn increases aspects of the consumer–brand relationship such as loyalty. In this study, items measuring consumer attitudes toward the transparency of social responsibility were developed, and multistep analysis was used to demonstrate that the resulting measure called Transparency is reliable and valid. The measure developed in this study can be used to explore consumer perceptions of the social responsibility efforts of brands and other organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT This paper investigates how UK newsprint media represent corporate environmental sustainable development activities, and whether they focus on particular sectors or companies with greater market visibility. This builds on, and looks to explain, previous findings that such companies are more active environmental reporters than their counterparts. It presents a novel approach, using content analysis of news media reporting, to implicitly measure consumer opinion - an alternative to the more usual directed-survey techniques. The implications of this research are substantial, providing an alternative method for academics and corporations to assess the extent to which the market is informed of, and interested in - in this case - environmental performance, without the need for, or to supplement, costly and often inconsistent attitudinal surveys. Use of this approach could bring substantial benefits to corporate and public policy research approaches, providing a means of measuring enduring societal attitudes - whether for particular segments, target markets or nations. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In two surveys of adult consumers, we find that attachment styles predict consumers'' reactions after brand relationships end. Specifically, ‘fearful’ consumers—those high in both attachment anxiety and avoidance—are most likely to complain to third parties, to obsess about harming the brand, and to report seeking payback against brands. Two factors mediate the effect of attachment on reactions: threats to consumers'' self-image and the loss of benefits from their relationship. This is consistent with the explanation we propose: specifically, fearful individuals invest in and depend more on consumption relationships and, therefore, lose more when such relationships end. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Although a substantial amount of research has examined the constructs of warmth and competence, far less has examined how these constructs develop and what benefits may accrue when warmth and competence are cultivated. Yet there are positive consequences, both emotional and behavioral, that are likely to occur when brands hold perceptions of both. In this paper, we shed light on when and how warmth and competence are jointly promoted in brands, and why these reputations matter. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Building on the Stereotype Content Model, this paper introduces and tests the Brands as Intentional Agents Framework. A growing body of research suggests that consumers have relationships with brands that resemble relations between people. We propose that consumers perceive brands in the same way they perceive people. This approach allows us to explore how social perception theories and processes can predict brand purchase interest and loyalty. Brands as Intentional Agents Framework is based on a well-established social perception approach: the Stereotype Content Model. Two studies support the Brands as Intentional Agents Framework prediction that consumers assess a brand''s perceived intentions and ability and that these perceptions elicit distinct emotions and drive differential brand behaviors. The research shows that human social interaction relationships translate to consumer–brand interactions in ways that are useful to inform brand positioning and brand communications. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A core goal for marketers is effective segmentation: partitioning a brand''s or product''s consumer base into distinct and meaningful groups with differing needs. Traditional segmentation data include factors like geographic location, demographics, and shopping history. Yet, research into the cognitive and affective processes underlying consumption decisions shows that these variables can improve the matching of consumers with products beyond traditional demographic and benefit approaches. We propose, using managing a brand as an example, that neuroscience provides a novel way to establish mappings between cognitive processes and traditional marketing data. An improved understanding of the neural mechanisms of decision making will enhance the ability of marketers to effectively market their products. Just as neuroscience can model potential influences on the decision process—including pricing, choice strategy, context, experience, and memory—it can also provide new insights into individual differences in consumption behavior and brand preferences. We outline such a research agenda for incorporating neuroscience data into future attempts to match consumers to brands. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Despite their apparently pervasive reach and relevance, the geographies of branded commodities and their branding have been unevenly recognised and under-researched. This paper presents a way of conceptualising and analysing brand and branding geographies. Focusing upon goods and services, the notion of geographical entanglements is developed to understand the spatial associations and connotations that unavoidably ensnare brands and branding. Second, it examines how such attachments shape and are shaped by brand and branding agents, including producers, circulators, consumers and regulators. Last, the placing of the geographical entanglements of brands and branding is developed as a means of lifting their 'mystical veils' and prompting reflections upon their politics and relationships to uneven development. Situating branding genealogies in geographical context, the empirical analysis comprises a socio-spatial biography of Newcastle Brown Ale (NBA). It explains how NBA's geographical entanglements have been (re)constructed in its contrasting survival in the UK and growth in the US. As a way of thinking about brand and branding geographies, the paper seeks to broaden the reach of economic geographies at their intersections with cultural economy approaches and to stimulate debate about their politics and alternatives to uneven development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assuming that brands contribute to quality risk reduction, prestige, and design, we derive and test hypothesis on the willingness to pay (WTP) for brands across different product categories (electronics, clothing, packaged food, and fresh produce). Using the random effect tobit model on the stated point value of WTP and the ordered probit model on the stated range of WTP, we find that WTP for brands of fresh produce is least among the four product categories controlling for relevant demographic variations. Simulations show that fresh produce has a higher optimal price premium for brands but with a much smaller market share. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine how increasingly volatile global flows and tenuous networks rearrange local spaces and are inhabited by local people by looking at the strategies adopted by stallholders on a Mauritian market who acquire and sell locally manufactured branded clothes. Continuously (re)negotiating their connections to power-holders within networks of clothing production, we highlight how these traders achieve momentarily stable arrangements within a context where their entrepreneurial strategies are constrained. Further, in exploring how traders distinguish their wares, we investigate how multiple meanings and values circulate around these branded clothes as global objects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, consumers' choice of brand constellations (eg Big Mac and Coke at McDonald's) are investigated by examining the roles of individual brands. The author proposes that marketers need to look beyond perceived fit between brands within a brand constellation. Therefore, this paper explores empirically how individual brand evaluations at product level and at brand level affect brand constellation choice. It is shown that brands do not have to be equally attractive in order to be included in brand constellations. For instance, a weak brand may complement a strong brand. Theoretical and marketing implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Attitudes towards fashion brands (trainers/athletic shoes) and their symbolic meanings are explored among a sample of 30 children aged 8-12 years from poor homes in the UK, in an interpretive study using projective methods. The children form stereotypes about the owners of trainers: if the trainers are obviously branded and expensive the children believe the owner to be rich and young, if the trainer is unbranded and inexpensive looking the children believe the owner to be poor and old. If a child is wearing branded trainers they are seen as popular and able to fit in with their peers. These opinions are so strongly held that the children would prefer to talk to someone wearing branded trainers than unbranded trainers. The children also feel pressure to wear the trainers that their friends wear, partly to make friends and fit in and partly because of the teasing experienced if they are wearing unbranded clothes or are clearly from a poor home. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Blunts are hollowed-out cigars used to smoke marijuana (and perhaps other substances) in the United States. We investigated rates of blunt use; whether cigar use reported in surveys may actually be blunt use; the relationship of blunt to cigar use; characteristics of blunt users; brands of cigars used to make blunts; and drugs added to blunts. A school-based survey of youth, the Cigar Use Reasons Evaluation (CURE). Eleven schools across Massachusetts. A total of 5016 students in grades 7–12. CURE items assessing blunt, cigar and cigarette use, brands used to make blunts, drugs added to blunts and demographics were used. Life-time blunt use was reported by 20.0% of the sample, with use greater among high school (25.6%) than middle school (11.4%) students, and among males (23.7%) than females (16.6%). Self-reported cigar use rates were not influenced strongly by blunt use being misreported as cigar use. In a multivariate model, blunt use was associated with male gender, higher grade in school, lower GPA, truancy, lower school attachment, not living in a two-parent family, being of ‘other’ race/ethnicity and current use of both cigarettes and cigars. ‘Phillies’ was the most popular brand of cigar for making blunts, used by 59.$% of users. ‘Garcia y Vega’ (18.0%) was the second most popular. Twenty-eight per cent of blunt users had added drugs other than marijuana to blunts. The use of blunts as a drug delivery device is a serious problem. Efforts to address it will require the cooperation of the tobacco control and substance abuse prevention systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the fact that most Indonesian brand-owners continue to emphasize their marketing activities in the domestic market, several brand-owners have started to export clothing under their own label. This has been particularly the result of the economic crisis in the late 1990s, which affected companies serving the domestic market. Companies were trying to compensate for the loss of sales on the domestic market by redirecting their marketing activities to foreign countries. This export strategy has been driven largely by the sole aim to survive. However, in addition to these export activities, some companies have rather sophisticated, long-standing business relations to their distributors in overseas markets. This paper explores these export activities in the context of the global commodity chain framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wearing clothes with prestigious brand names seems to be very important for adolescents. This phenomenon was studied in the context of consumer socialization by examining the influence of three socialization agents, namely parents, peers and TV, on the development of French Canadian adolescents’ brand sensitivity and their relative importance. Controlling for socio-economic variables, multiple regression analyses were conducted separately for boys and for girls. For both genders, brand sensitivity is related to peer influence. Girls’ brand sensitivity is related to the importance fathers give to clothing brands. TV exposure is not related to adolescents’ brand sensitivity. For boys and girls, peers represent the most important predictor of this consumer socialization. The results are discussed in the light of social and economic pressures and family relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We are grateful for the stimulating and hospitable welcome to us as guests in consumer psychology. As sojourners, we share a keen interest, but know that we come to visit without knowing the territory intimately. Granted, Chris Malone is an experienced, senior marketing practitioner who now owns a research-based consulting firm with a particular interest and specialization in this area. In addition, Nicolas Kervyn, trained as an experimental social psychologist, has worked and consulted in marketing. Susan Fiske, trained as an experimental social psychologist, had kibitzed in consumer psychology since she first served on the JCP board as an assistant professor. However, none of us has imperialist ambitions in consumer psychology. We are happy nonetheless to offer our framework as what seems to us a potentially useful complement to prior and ongoing related work. These exceptionally thoughtful commentaries broaden and inform our framework (). In return, we offer some responses regarding our own view of the Brands as Intentional Agents Framework (BIAF), its parent, the Stereotype Content Model (SCM), and relationships with the commentators’ own contributions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]