Professional Documents
Culture Documents
About us Newsletter advertise Home Home News & Analysis News Top & Analysis Categories Carbon Trading Green Teams Investment & Markets Policy & Government Stakeholder Engagement Global Reporting Initiative Water Top Categories Issues Energy Issues Sustainability Impact Entrepreneurs Sustainable MarketingEngagement Agriculture & Food Reporting Video Interviews CSR Carbon Trading GreenSocial Teams Investment & Markets Policy & Government Stakeholder Global Initiative Water Issues Report Reviews Triple Bottom Line Sustainability Reporting Agriculture & Food Video Interviews CSR Report Reviews Triple Bottom Line Sustainability Impact Entrepreneurs Sustainable Marketing Mar Mar 2013 2013 Feb Feb 2013 2013 Jan Jan 2013 2013 Dec Dec 2012 2012 Nov Nov 2012 2012 Oct Oct 2012 2012 Sep Sep 2012 2012 Top Channels Top Channels Green Green Buildings Buildings & & Efficiency Efficiency Topics in in Corporate Corporate Responsibility Responsibility Topics The The Refrigerant Refrigerant Revolution Revolution The The Future Future of of Fair Fair Trade Trade Social Responsibility Social Responsibility of of Business Business GRI GRI Training Training Podium Podium Events Events
DC: DC: Apr Apr 17-18 17-18 NAEM NAEM Corporate Corporate Sustainability Sustainability Management Management Conference Conference San Diego: Apr 25-28 SVN Spring Conference San Diego: Apr 25-28 SVN Spring Conference San San Diego: Diego: Jun Jun 3-6 3-6 Sustainable Sustainable Brands Brands 13 13
Jobs Jobs
popular now: Impact Entrepreneurs | Future of Fair Trade | Intelligent Buildings | CSRHUB Weekly Series | Refrigerant Revolution By Akhila Vijayaraghavan | August 19th, 2011
A forthcoming Journal of Consumer Research study claims that when brands exhibit inconsistencies, consumers find it hard to swallow proclamations of social responsibility. According to coauthor Carlos Torelli, Marketers use messages of CSR under the expectation that consumers reward brands with a favorable CSR image. A McKinsey global survey stated that 76 % of executives said CSR efforts add to long-term shareholder value. Brand Characteristic Suggests CSR Image Torelli, who is a marketing professor at the University of Minnesota, worked with University of South Carolinas Alokparna Basu Monga, and University of Georgias Andrew Kaikati for the study. They conducted four experiments and they tested the concepts or characteristics brands evoke against messages of CSR. They then measured their effects on participants brand evaluations and ability to process information. The study revealed that CSR messages from brands associated with excitement and openness like Apple or tradition and conservation like Aunt Jemima were readily understood. On the other hand, when brands that suggest luxury, power or status for example, Rolex, talk
www.triplepundit.com/2011/08/cognitive-dissonance-luxury-brand-csr/
1/3
13/04/2013
about their CSR efforts, it wasnt well-received.
Torelli explains: When people see an ad with two opposing motivations, as when a brand known for self-enhancement promotes a CSR message, something doesnt feel right. Consumers sense a disfluency or a motivational conflict between the brands self-aggrandizing ethos and its selfless CSR message that results in distrust and less favorable appraisals. This experience occurs rather spontaneously without any conscious deliberation on the merits of the CSR argument. However it is naive to think that luxury brands do not indulge in CSR activities. For one thing, they would be missing out on a huge market share if they did not promote their CSR initiatives. Optimists might say they want to be truly altruistic. Torelli says that prestige brands can avoid pitfalls by using phrases in their messages like although what you are about to read might seem contradictory, to prompt effective consumer reflection about the brand. Alternatively he suggests the use of a sub-brand. According to him, the introduction of a CSR image through a sub-brand will encourage anticipating the inconsistent CSR action and to shield the mother brand from negative effects. Paris Hilton Vs. Angelina Jolie Golden Gate University marketing professor Michal Ann Strahilevitz says that all CSR messages must be consistent. It is the case of Paris Hilton versus Angelina Jolie. In her first post-jail interview with Larry King, Paris stated that she was done being cute and wanted to devote time towards philanthropic work and also that she has become a practicing Roman Catholic. Since then however, she has proceeded to work on a music album and debuted a reality program and has supposedly converted to Islam! As a consequence, nobody really knows who she is and this has reflected in the number of viewers her new program has attracted (400,000 viewers, or 3% of her The Simple Life audience). Contrasting this with Angelina Jolie who Strahilevitz says has persisted with her image a decade ago she was not taken seriously when she began helping people, presumably because it conflicted with her sexy, reckless image. Since then Jolie has persisted with philanthropy and has been the UN Goodwill Ambassador and visited several conflict areas and campaigned for human rights among other efforts. As a result, her brand has revamped over time and perhaps even improved. Is CSR branding really as simple as Hilton Vs. Jolie? Perhaps not, but there are definite parallels that can be drawn from this example. IMage Source: Hans Villarica, The Atlantic
1 Com m ent Scroll dow n to see com m ents. Previous post:
Wello WaterWheel Helps Ensure Safe Potable Water for Rural Indians
CATE G O RI ZE D: Corporate Social Responsibility |
www.triplepundit.com/2011/08/cognitive-dissonance-luxury-brand-csr/
2/3
13/04/2013
1 comment
Leave a message...
Best
Com m unity
Share
Ma tt Sch n a cke n b e rg
0
2 years ago
whats wrong with converting to islam? its teachings are similar to Judaism.
Reply
Share
What's this?
New Report Shows Almost All Kids Meals Fail to Meet Nutritional Standards
3 comments 3 days ago
HELLO my name is Calories (slash serving size?) must be the reason why Chipotle doesn't pass the test. According to the restaurant's
Russell Williams I get tired of people claiming the regulatory framework used to approve gm products is flawed, out of date, fraught with
David Schatsky Lots of good folks left off. I would include Gil Friend, a practical visionary who provides thought leadership, hardcore
Michael S What if we looked at weight based on age? I always think it is absurd that a two-year old child costs as much as an adult. I love the
C o m m e n t fe e d
Su b s cri b e vi a e m a i l
3 P GENERAL INFO Advertise with Us TriplePundit.com is published under a creative commons license. You are free to republish only headlines and excerpts of 3p articles except where explicitly permitted by agreement with 3p. We reserve the right to ask any publication to cease syndication. Please Contact Us for details. TriplePundit is proudly hosted at Pair.com. Contact Us Sponsored Content Policy Write for 3P Privacy Policy Sitemap
SEARCH 3 P
Search
Privacy Policy
www.triplepundit.com/2011/08/cognitive-dissonance-luxury-brand-csr/
3/3