The Effect Of Brand Anthropomorphism And Brand Distinctiveness On Consumers’ Brand Attitude

Anthropomorphism,which is widely used in product design and marketing strategy,refers to consumers,perception of brands as real individuals with emotions,minds,souls and conscious behaviors.Previous researches revealed that anthropomorphism(vs.nonanthropomorphism)enhances consumers’,attitude toward a brand.However,anthropomorphism can also be a detrimental marketing strategy under certain conditions.In current study,based on the Mind Perception Theory and Stereotype Content Model,three experiments were carried out to explore the interaction effect of anthropomorphism and brand distinctiveness,as well as to examine the mediating effect of warmth and competence,and the moderating effect of self-construal.Based on the results of three experiments,we draw the following conclusions:(1)Compared with non-anthropomorphism,brand anthropomorphism positively affects consumers’ brand attitude.(2)Brand distinctiveness moderates the effect of anthropomorphism and brand attitude,anthropomorphizing a brand positioned to be popular can achieve more favorable attitude(vs.nonanthropomorphized),but this effect disappears in distinctive brands.(3)Warmth and competence mediated the effect of anthropomorphism and brand attitude.(4)Warmth mediates the influence of the interaction between anthropomorphism and brand distinctiveness on brand attitude.(5)Self-construal moderates the moderating effect of brand distinctiveness on anthropomorphism and brand attitude.This study enriches the theory of brand anthropomorphism,Mind Perception Theory,Stereotype Content Model and self-construal.What’s more,the results above provide some suggestions for enterprises to use anthropomorphism strategies more effectively.