Enhancing perceived product value through peripheral product anecdotes

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to introduce a new strategic marketing tool: a peripheral product anecdote (PPA), or a brief, interesting story that is loosely connected to a product but not connected to its history, quality or usage. A PPA is contrasted with similar tools, such as product/brand heritage claims. This study investigates when PPAs are most effective at increasing willingness to pay. Design/methodology/approach Five experiments examine the effect of different PPAs on willingness to pay. This study examines product-use situation as a moderator (Studies 3 and 4) and conversational value as a mediator (Studies 2 and 4). Findings Customers will pay a premium for products with PPAs, but only when they intend to use the products in social situations where they could share the anecdote with others. Mediation analyses reveal these anecdotes are valuable because they provide purchasers with a conversation topic (a source of social currency). Practical implications In contrast to brand heritage stories, nearly any firm can associate a PPA with their product. These anecdotes are a low-cost way for firms to increase willingness to pay for products. PPAs are innovative and varied, unlike brand heritage stories which tend to be static. Originality/value This paper shows that customers sometimes want packaged goods, such as beer and snacks, to help them have conversations and will pay more for products that do so. It introduces the PPA as one way marketers can help customers achieve this goal of conversation.

Sustainable development and the aspirational male consumer: Tengri, making the case for sustainable luxury

Luxury is an industry that defines its value through the quality of its raw materials, which fosters creativity, elevates artisanship and relies on brand heritage and local production to underpin the provenance of its products and justify its pricing strategy and, as such, can be considered as embodying many of the practices of sustainability. Yet, despite public commitments and pledges for better business, both financial and cultural factors have contributed to a lack of progress in implementing the necessary system changes implied by slow fashion, sustainable development and the circular economy. Social enterprises use business to address social and environmental issues. In Tengri’s case, founder Nancy Johnston was inspired by her experiences travelling with Mongolia’s yak herders where she was confronted with the harshness of the nomadic way of life and threats to its continuing existence. She was driven to action when she juxtaposed these conditions with the promoted glamour of the luxury fashion industry, which relies on supplies of ingredients from just such workers. This article explores how Tengri combines social and environmental awareness with luxury product development incorporating the UN SDGs into a sustainable luxury menswear brand in a virtuous cycle of ethical fashion consumption and production.

Visually communicating brand heritage on social media: champagne on Instagram

Purpose This paper aims to investigate how the abstract marketing concept of brand heritage is operationalized through visual elements on social media. Design/methodology/approach A mixed-methods approach combines interviews with marketing experts, a focus group with specialized academics, an open coding of Instagram images and the systematic coding of 800 images of eight champagne brands (company-generated content). Findings The study identifies 20 brand heritage codes (e.g. groupings of brand heritage visual cues with homogenous meanings). These codes are combined in three different factors (brand symbols, product legacy and consumption rituals) that discriminate between brands. Research limitations/implications The paper offers a description of what brand heritage looks like in practice. This visual operationalization of brand heritage is based on a single category, a limitation that further research can address. The results also contribute to research on visual brand identity and provide practical insights for the management of brand heritage at the product brand level. Originality/value This paper bridges the gap between the strategic management of brand heritage as a resource and the way it is concretely made available to the consumers.

Heritage marketing e valorizzazione del territorio: il percorso verso l'innovazione sostenibile nel settore tessile e moda

Le imprese sono chiamate ad innovare i loro processi e prodotti in chiave sostenibile per differenziarsi e raggiungere un vantaggio competitivo. Conciliare gli investimenti in innovazione sostenibile con la redditività aziendale potrebbe rappresentare un problema per molte imprese, ancora incerte su quali ne siano i pro e i contro, ma soprattutto su quali scelte strategiche debbano essere adottate al fine di sviluppare un'innovazione che sia sostenibile, in grado di creare valore per il mercato e per l'impresa. L'obiettivo di questo paper è contribuire al crescente corpus di letteratura che si interroga su cosa realmente sia l'innovazione sostenibile e sui driver che ne consentono l'ideazione e lo sviluppo. Nello specifico, vengono indagate le potenzialità strategiche dell'heritage marketing quale strumento per valorizzare la storia aziendale e i suoi valori, tra cui la sostenibilità e il territorio. Focus della ricerca è il settore tessile e moda a ragione della sua più volte denunciata insostenibilità – a livello ambientale, sociale ed economico – e scarsa apertura verso l'innovazione – nei processi, prodotti e modelli di business. Le evidenze empiriche derivanti dalla presentazione di un caso studio di un'azienda di moda italiana internazionalizzata suggeriscono che la gestione strategica del corporate heritage e del brand heritage (o del patrimonio storico e culturale dell'impresa e dei suoi valori) può consentire alle imprese di promuovere l'innovazione sostenibile. Ciò grazie alla valorizzazione della storia aziendale e ai valori che hanno contraddistinto lo sviluppo dell'impresa: sostenibilità ambientale e sostenibilità sociale. Le due forme di sostenibilità spingono a considerare non solo la riduzione dell'impatto della produzione sull'ambiente, ma anche le azioni propositive che un'impresa può compiere nei confronti del territorio e della comunità locale. Emerge anche con forza la necessità per la filiera tessile di orientarsi ad una maggiore, se non totale, circolarità.