Authenticity and exclusivity appeals in luxury advertising: the role of promotion and prevention pride
ISSN: 0309-0566
Article publication date: 5 May 2020
Issue publication date: 10 June 2020
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate how the effectiveness of luxury advertising can be improved by matching the emotional (promotion pride vs prevention pride) and luxury value (authenticity vs exclusivity) appeals within advertising messages.
Design/methodology/approach
Three experiments were conducted. Studies 1A and 1B establish the influence of incidental emotions and regulatory focus on consumer preferences for divergent luxury value appeals (exclusivity vs authenticity) within advertisements. Study 2 shows the match-up effects of congruent emotional and luxury value appeals on advertising effectiveness.
Findings
The authors offer causal evidence that promotion pride increases the preference for exclusivity appeals, whereas prevention pride increases the preference for authenticity appeals in luxury advertising.
Research limitations/implications
The study offers a novel perspective into the ways consumers evaluate different value appeals in luxury advertising and establishes the important role played by emotions within such evaluations.
Practical implications
Marketers of luxury products can increase the effectiveness of their advertising campaigns by considering the fit between emotional and luxury value appeals. Specifically, the authors show that the congruent matching of promotion pride with exclusivity appeals and of prevention pride with authenticity appeals within advertising messages can elicit more favorable consumer responses.
Originality/value
The study is the first to illustrate novel “match-up” effects: it shows when and how different luxury value appeals (exclusivity vs authenticity) and emotions (promotion pride vs prevention pride) influence the effectiveness of luxury advertising.
Keywords
Citation
Septianto, F., Seo, Y., Sung, B. and Zhao, F. (2020), "Authenticity and exclusivity appeals in luxury advertising: the role of promotion and prevention pride", European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 54 No. 6, pp. 1305-1323. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJM-10-2018-0690
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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