Investigating brand romance, brand attitude and brand loyalty in the cellphone industry

Orientation: Fast growth and intense competition characterise the South African cellphone industry. Customers switch easily between cellphone brands and marketers are challenged to cultivate brand relationships with customers in order to ensure brand loyalty. Research purpose: This study investigated the brand romance, -attitude and -loyalty of customers toward their cellphone brands in the North West Province, South Africa. Motivation for the study: One way in which brand loyalty in the cellphone industry can be achieved is to influence attitudes and, ultimately, create brand loyalty by promoting brand romance between the customer and the brand. Research design, approach and method: Being quantitative in nature, the study followed a descriptive research design to collect 371 responses through self-administered questionnaires. Main findings: The results indicated that most respondents were contract customers who only use a brand of cellphone for between one and three years. Brand romance toward cellphone brands was positive although room for improvement exists. Brand attitude toward current cellphone brands was also positive, but brand loyalty was fairly low, indicating that marketers need to improve brand loyalty toward their cellphone brand. There were, furthermore, significant and positive relationships between brand romance, brand attitude and brand loyalty toward cellphone brands. Practical/managerial implications: Brand romance can be considered to be a viable way of improving attitude toward a cellphone brand, ultimately leading to brand loyalty. Contribution/value-add: Brand romance in brand relationships has significant and positive relationships with brand attitude and brand loyalty in the cellphone industry of South Africa.