Editorial

Citation

Leventhal, R.C. (2011), "Editorial", Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 28 No. 6. https://doi.org/10.1108/jcm.2011.07728faa.001

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: Journal of Consumer Marketing, Volume 28, Issue 6

The concept of consumer lifestyle has to be carefully considered in terms of getting a better understanding of what affects a consumer’s reaction towards various products and services that comprise the marketplace. Given the nature of a global marketplace, this may be difficult to ascertain. Not all consumer goods producers seek the same type of information, yet many seek success in terms of both market share and profitability. The challenge is to gain insight in to what really matters to those consumers that comprise a specific market. But of course, with the ever-changing marketplace, we cannot always expect to be accurate. However, the more attentive a marketer is to what concerns their consumers, the returns on their investment will be more positive.

Craton and Lantos examine the causes and implications of potential negative consumer response to music in broadcast commercials. They introduce a new consumer response variable, attitude toward the advertising music, and relate said attitude components to advertising goals. The authors found that favorable advertising music is necessary but an insufficient condition for favorable attitude toward the ad. Furthermore, negative advertising music might cause a negative attitude toward the ad. Achieving a favorable attitude toward the advertising music among most target audience members is very challenging, especially when music-message fit is lacking.

Lee and Lee examine the country-of-origin’s impact on consumer purchase behavior post-acquisition, especially when the acquirer-dominant business is afflicted by a low country-of-origin image and the acquired business enjoys a high-country-of-origin image. A company that wants to use a merger and acquisition strategy to increase their market share must seriously consider general country attributes, general product attributes, and brand redeployment strategy, because these three constructs affect purchase intentions, and consequently maintain consumer loyalty and attract new customers.

Darian and Tucci investigate the relative importance to consumers of different health benefits of food. The authors reveal that the single most important health benefit influencing purchase intentions is high nutritional value. In this study, if two health benefits were to be promoted, the most effective combination would be high nutritional value and potential to reduce cancer, followed by high nutritional value and proven to reduce the risk of heart attack. The authors found that if a consumer has less than a college education, the most effective combination would be high nutritional value and the potential to reduce arthritis.

Kemp and Bui examine variables crucial in the brand-building process for brands that consumers perceived as “healthy”. Results indicate that brand credibility, commitment and connection are essential in developing branding strategies for “healthy brands”. A credible brand minimizes risk and increases consumer confidence. When consumers believe that a brand is credible and repeatedly purchase it, a commitment to the brand can develop. The authors also found that a brand can imbue such meaning that the consumer uses the brand to help construct and cultivate a desired self-image or self-concept.

Walsh, Winterich and Mittal explore how consumer responses to logo redesign (from angular to rounded) are contingent on brand commitment and self-construal. The authors explore two issues: what is the role of brand commitment on response to logo redesign and underlying brand attitude, and how does situational accessible self construal influence brand commitment in such situations. The author’s findings suggest that consumers’ responses to atypical brand information may be dependent on their level of brand commitment. These findings can help companies entering international markets or dealing with global brands. Beyond advertising, this research has applications to other forms of brand aesthetics, including packaging and web site design.

Bao, Sheng, Bao and Stewart examine the moderating effects of two important consumer characteristics (product familiarity and risk aversion) on the relationships between two intransient cues (store image and product signatures) and consumer quality perception of private label, as well as the interaction between the cues themselves. The authors found at a sufficiently high level of store image, the signature ness cue does not make much difference, but may determine success or failure of consumer attitude toward private labels for stores at low image levels. In addition, the authors also offer insights about how to target market segments for private labels.

In these issues you will also find our Book reviews section and our section on Internet currency.

Richard C. Leventhal