How Attitudes Toward Product Categories Drive Individual Brand Attitudes and Choice

ABSTRACT Three experiments examine the role of attitudes toward the category to which a brand belongs in consumers’ attitudes toward individual brands. The core findings indicate that what consumers think generally about a category affects their evaluations of singular brands belonging to the catego...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psychology & marketing 2014-10, Vol.31 (10), p.843-852
Main Authors: Posavac, Steven S., Sanbonmatsu, David M., Seo, Joon Young, Iacobucci, Dawn
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Attitudes
Brand preferences
Consumer attitudes
Marketing
Purchase intention
Studies
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Summary:ABSTRACT Three experiments examine the role of attitudes toward the category to which a brand belongs in consumers’ attitudes toward individual brands. The core findings indicate that what consumers think generally about a category affects their evaluations of singular brands belonging to the category. Study 1 demonstrates that both consumers’ attitudes toward a category as well as their relative attitudes toward a brand versus intracategory competitors drive overall attitudes toward individual brands. Study 2 shows that manipulating attitudes toward a product category affects attitudes toward, and purchase intention of, individual brands belonging to that category. Study 3 demonstrates that more versus less favorably evaluated categories are more likely to exhibit brand positivity effects in judgments of singular brands. The results suggest the practical importance of measuring attitudes toward product categories, as well as the utility of marketing interventions aimed at the category level.
ISSN:0742-6046
1520-6793
DOI:10.1002/mar.20738