Research On The Mechanism Of Brand Story Cross-cultural Elements Matching Strategy On Consumers’ Brand Attitude

However,due to geopolitical and ethnocentric factors,the issue of cultural integration and conflict between countries and the complex attitude of consumers towards foreign cultures in the process of brand internationalization has become a hot topic in international marketing.The brand story is not only the core element of a brand,but also an important cultural carrier in the process of brand globalization.When brands tell their brand stories to consumers in the host country,there is often a mix of cultures,in other words multiple cultural elements are presented at the same time.While many studies have demonstrated the impact of cultural mash-ups on consumers’ attitudes towards brands,existing research on cultural mash-ups has mainly focused on functional products(e.g.,mobile phones),and there is a serious lack of research on cultural mash-ups in non-functional products,while the phenomenon of cultural mash-ups in brand stories has rarely been mentioned.Based on the above-mentioned issues,this paper focuses on the cultural mash-ups in the brand stories of non-functional products.The study found that(1)brands adopting material elements for non-functional product brand stories had more positive brand attitudes than those adopting symbolic elements for non-functional product brand stories,with consumer cultural perception(perceived cultural integration vs.perceived cultural invasion)mediating this process.(2)When the stereotype of Chinese consumers in the host country is a strong source country and the specific attributes of the elements are consistent with the impression of the source country,the brand story of non-functional products using symbolic cultural elements brings about a more positive brand attitude and the host country consumers perceive a more positive cultural integration;when the specific attributes of the elements are not consistent with the impression of the source country,the brand story using material cultural elements brings about a more positive brand attitude and the host country consumers perceive a more positive cultural integration.(3)When the stereotype of Chinese consumers in the host country is a weak source country and the specific attributes of the elements are consistent with the impression of the source country,brand stories using material culture elements bring lower negative brand attitudes to consumers and host country consumers perceive less cultural invasion;when the specific attributes of the elements are not consistent with the impression of the source country,brand stories using symbolic culture elements bring lower negative brand attitudes to consumers and host country consumers perceive less cultural invasion.Based on the results of the empirical research,this study not only enriches the research results in the field of brand internationalization and cultural mixing,but also helps national brands to internationalize and promote Chinese culture in the marketing practice part by developing marketing strategies,for example,when facing a strong cultural power and consumers’ perception of China as a strong source country,non-functional product brands making more use of fashionable and modern Chinese cultural symbolic elements can significantly improve consumers’ brand attitudes.