Can You Feel It? - the Effect of Brand Experience on Brand Equity

Abstract

Brand consists of sensory, affective, cognitive, behavioral and relational stimuli that provide consumers with a pleasurable and memorable experience. In contrast to traditional marketing, with its emphasis on rational decision making based on functional benefits, it adds an emotional element to marketing. It is therefore assumed to have a positive impact on creating brand equity, i.e., brand awareness and brand image. This study measures the influence of five different types of experiences-sensory (SENSE), affective (FEEL), cognitive (THINK), behavioral (ACT), and relational (RELATE)-on brand equity through an empirical study of Starbucks in Taiwan. The results confirm a large positive impact of brand on brand image (i.e., brand attribute, brand benefit, brand attitude), and a somewhat slighter on brand awareness (i.e., brand recall and recognition). Sensory and affective dimensions have an especially large effect-with cognitive, behavioral and relational to a lesser degree. The study proves the significance of experiential marketing for creating brand equity and identifies the most important dimensions of brand experience.IntroductionExperiential marketing has been praised as a new, revolutionary concept compared to traditional marketing (Holbrook and Hirschman, 1982). Providing a pleasurable full of sensory stimulation is expected to differentiate a brand from its numerous competitors better than traditional marketing. Traditional marketing-with its analytical approach to stressing the tangible features and benefits of a product for its rational consumers-does not seem to create the attention needed to build a 21st century brand. Although the conceptualization and scale of brand have been largely analyzed, as well as its impact on consumer perception and behavior, its effect on brand equity has not been analyzed yet. This is the aim of this paper.Literature ReviewThe Brand Experience ConceptHolbrook and Hirschman (1982) identified new aspects of consumption which seeks fun, amusement, fantasy (p. 135). They first introduced the powerful idea that consumption also has-besides a rational component-an experiential dimension. In contrast to traditional marketing, which views consumers as rational decision makers who base their purchasing choice on functional features, experiential marketing acknowledges that consumers are also emotionally driven and aim to achieve pleasurable experiences. Experiences provide sensory, emotional, cognitive, behavioral, and relational that replace the functional values (Schmitt, 1999, p. 57). Experiential marketing also has a strong effect on branding. Since a brand does not only consist of functional benefits, creating brand can influence the brand's essence. Brakus et al. (2009, p. 53) define brand as subjective, internal consumer responses (sensations, feelings, and cognitions) and behavioral responses evoked by brand-related stimuli that are part of a brand's design and identity, packaging, communications, and environments.With consumers looking for fantasies, feelings and fun through consumption (Holbrook and Hirschman, 1982, p. 132), companies are forced to entertain, stimulate and emotionally affect consumers through experiences (Schmitt, 1999). Pine and Gilmore (1998) speak of the experience economy where companies transition from selling services to selling experiences. They claim that this transition is an equally great economic shift as from the industrial to the service economy.The transition towards experiential marketing has occurred as a result of three major developments over the last years (Chu et al., 2013): Firstly, advertising overexposure by traditional communication channels forces marketers to change their ways to gain consumers' attention and reach them with their messages (Mortimer, 2009). Secondly, saturation of markets has led to fierce global competition-driven by the phenomenon that functional product benefits are becoming exchangeable. …