Does cuteness enhance luxury brand equity? Exploring the effect of perceived uniqueness

Does cuteness enhance luxury brand equity? Exploring the effect of perceived uniqueness

Cuteness is a feature of a variety of products and is common in marketing communications. Despite its popularity among mainstream brands, there is limited academic attention to cuteness in the context of luxury brands. While cuteness and luxury may appeal to different customers, luxury brands sometimes incorporate cuteness in their product design or brand communication. The potential impact of cuteness on luxury brand equity warrants investigation. Across four experiments with 662 participants, this research examines the effect of cuteness on luxury brand equity. Results show that cuteness enhances luxury brand equity through perceived uniqueness, as cuteness is less commonly associated with luxury brands. However, this positive effect only exists for traditional luxury brands, not for masstige or mass consumer brands. This research advances the literature on cuteness, particularly regarding its implications for luxury brands, and offers insights for luxury brand managers.

可爱是多种产品的一个特征，在营销传播中很常见。尽管它在主流品牌中很受欢迎，但在奢侈品牌的背景下，学术界对可爱的关注有限。虽然可爱和奢华可能吸引不同的顾客，但奢侈品牌有时会在其产品设计或品牌传播中融入可爱元素。可爱对奢侈品牌资产的潜在影响值得研究。通过对662名参与者进行的四项实验，本研究考察了可爱对奢侈品牌资产的影响。结果表明，可爱通过感知独特性提升奢侈品牌资产，因为可爱与奢侈品牌的关联较少。然而，这种积极影响只存在于传统奢侈品牌，而不适用于轻奢或大众消费品牌。这项研究推进了关于可爱的文献，特别是关于其对奢侈品牌的影响，并为奢侈品牌管理者提供了见解。