Brand Loyalty and Consumer Attachment

This assignment delves into the factors that contribute to consumer brand attachment. It examines the impact of brand innovativeness on brand loyalty, the role of 'sense of place' in creating retail service firm attachment, and the influence of emotional brand connection in customer-bank relationships. Further exploration includes the concept of brand authenticity and its measurement, as well as the motivational drivers of brand attachment through competence enhancement and anticipated emotions. Lastly, the assignment analyzes how social media communication shapes consumer perceptions of brands.

Running Head: BRAND LOYALTY AND ATTACHMENT
BRAND LOYALTY AND ATTACHMENT
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Author Note

1BRAND LOYALTY AND ATTACHMENT
Introduction
It can be said that a consumer has a special relationship with a brand. Many consumers
are loyal to particular brand while others experiment with different brands instead of sticking to
one. It is to be mentioned that there exists many dimensions of brand relationship with the
customers. According to Pappu and Quester (2016), the key themes that have been associated
with brand relationship are: Brand Attachment, Self identity concept and Social Media.
Discussion
It is to be stated that every popular brand has a group of customers who will tend choose
and buy products and commodities produced by that specific brand. This special group of
customers is generally termed as brand devotees. Brand Devotees have an extreme emotional
attachment with a specific brand and have a high level of commitment to it. Brand devotees are
the greatest assets of a brand. According to Levy and Hino (2016), the level of exclusive
attachment with a brand originates from excessive Brand Loyalty. The Brand Devotees have a
strong biasness for their chosen brand and therefore their judgment about the products and
commodities produced by the brand are clouded. They can evaluate the true value of the value of
the Brand as they have too deep and emotional connection with it.
According to the Attachment theory it can be said that people who have strong level of
attachment with their loved ones are generally the ones who are willing enough to make
sacrifices for the ones they are attached to. However, the sacrifice to them is justified as they
perceive their sacrifice as an investment in life for their emotional attachment. It is to be
mentioned similar is the case with brands. As opined by Brocato, Baker and Voorhees 2015

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People perceive emotional attachments with brands just as they experience the same with people.
It can be said that if people have repeated and frequent interactions with brands their emotional
attachment increases over time. It can be said that the idea of being devoted to a brand reflects in
proper relationship as well. Just as people feel attached to a person in a relationship they feel the
same about a brand.
The other factor that closely associates an individual with a brand is the idea of preferring
a specific brand as the same suits their personality self identity. As opined by Levy and Hino
(2016), people can often relate the products and commodities of specific brands with their self
identity and personality and therefore have biasness towards that brand. It can be said that
consumers have a tendency of using possessions and brands to create self identity. It can be said
therefore the idea of self identity and consumer behaviour are closely related. It can be noted that
people while choosing a specific brand explores his needs, then verifies it and finally affirms it.
However important mention should be made of the fact that consumers engage in restorative
behaviour to investigate whether the specific brand relates to their self identity.
According to Schivinski and Dabrowski (2016), social media also plays an influential
role in creating and promoting brand loyalty among people as it gives people an insightful view
about the customer base of the brand and understanding norms and preferences of people in local
as well as global markets. It can be said that social media affects consumer behavior and often
produces better results in promoting a brand than generic messaging. It has been found that
consumers and customers often respond positively to the brands which try to connect with people
and create a dialogue with them (Proksch, Orth and Cornwell, 2015). The brands which share the
views of the people are more likely to have a positive effect on them. Promotion of brands by
celebrities, who are patronized by people on the social media, has also been found to be effective

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in connecting with people. People generally equate their love and devotion for the people they
idealize with the brands promoted by them.
However, it is to be mentioned that just as people fall in love and prefer to settle down
with their loved ones, they also fall out of love and their commitment to their loved ones end.
The same can be related to consumer behaviour. It has been noted that consumers who have had
strong attachment with a specific brand also change their preference in some instances. The
reason of changing the preference of a specific brand can be due to several reasons. It can be
stated that change in a person’s lifestyle can lead to a change in his brand preference. The
lifestyle of the consumer in the modern era includes not only his living standard but his attitude
to the world. It can be stated that lifestyle of person generally is determined by his background,
his upbringing and financial stability.
However as opined by Schivinski and Dabrowski (2016), the advent of new technology
in the globalizing world has also caused the consumers to alter their lifestyles. People have been
exposed to new lifestyle techniques. They have also been exposed to the different brands
associated with such lifestyle techniques. It can be said that customers are more likely change
their preference of a particular brand if such brand cannot adapt to the changing market demand
and behaviour patterns of the customers. People tend to explore other options after they get bored
and feel unsatisfied. The same can be said about brand preference of people. It can be said that
life transition is a critical phase in a person’s life and the same has huge impact on the behavior
of people and their preference of brands. It can be said that due to life transition, people perform
new roles and relinquish the old ones. According to Morhart et al. (2015), it can be said since
possessions are integral part of a person’s self identity, any change in their roles and
responsibilities will also impact their preference of brands.

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Conclusion
Thus to conclude, it can be said that just as people feel attachment to other people in life
due to the presence of an emotional connection , they feel the same about specific brands. People
feel attached to specific brands as they can relate the same with their self identity. However,
behavior pattern of consumers and their loyalty to specific brands change over time due to
several factors just as the commitment of people to their loved ones end in real life.

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