Consumers' identity signaling towards social groups: The effects of dissociative desire on brand prominence preferences

Abstract

The present research addresses an area of brand behavior that is under studied to date but has important implications for national and international brands. Brand prominence, that is, the extent to which a product reveals important visible brand identifiers, plays a fundamental role in determining consumer signaling behavior towards social groups and requires accurate brand management decisions. Integrating the literatures on brand prominence and social groups, this study proposes that the presence (vs. absence) of dissociative desire towards an out-group increases the preference for products featuring more prominent signs of a brand relevant for an in-group. Brand self-verification explains the relationship between dissociative desire and brand prominence preferences. Moreover, this effect disappears when the brand is used by the minority (vs. majority) of other in-group members and the identification with the in-group is lower. Results of two experiments and one survey support our conceptual framework and suggest that managers should use more prominent brand signs to attract consumers desiring to dissociate from relevant out-groups. Our research thus provides implications for defining branding strategies according to consumers' identity signaling goals towards social groups, which are becoming more important as brands assume global roles in tension with consumer identities and marketing strategy.