Direct Experience and Emotional Attachment to Brands: Protecting Brands From the Negative Word of Mouth Opinion of Japanese Consumers

Abstract

Today, the need to build “strong” brands seems increasingly important for companies, since consumers read many negative, as well as positive, word-of-mouth (WOM) messages about brands on the Internet. A “strong” brand in this study refers to a trademark that is resistant to adverse events, such as negative WOM communications and product defects. Consumers with strong brand attitudes will not abandon their positive assessments easily and will continue to buy a product, even if they hear adverse opinions about it. How can companies build such strong brand attitudes? This study empirically verifies that an attitude based on emotional attachment with direct product experience (e.g., product trials) plays a more important role in creating a strong brand than those based on pride or product functionality.