The mind of the beholder: congruence effects in luxury product placements

Abstract

This research demonstrates that viewers increase purchase intentions when they view luxury product placements in movie scenes, particularly when luxury associations are activated and when background scenes are congruent with the product’s luxury image. In Study 1, participants view a luxury handbag appearing against upscale congruent or downscale incongruent backgrounds. In Study 2, participants are primed to associate with high or low social classes before they view a luxury product placed in upscale or downscale movie scenes. In Study 3, participants read a news article that describes the placed luxury product as a genuine high-end product or as a discount brand.

Keywords:

• Word
• luxury
• persuasion
• product placement
• purchase intention

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Patricia Rossi is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at IESEG School of Management. Her research interests include consumer behavior, sustainable consumption, artificial intelligence, and decision-making. She has published in leading academic journals and served on editorial boards. She currently serves as Vice President for Engagement at Academy of Marketing Science

Felipe Pantoja is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at IESEG School of Management. His research concentrates mainly on how customer’s senses influence cognition and decision making. He has published articles in journals like Journal of Advertising, Journal of the Association for Consumer Research and Journal of Retailing and Consumer services.

Suki Yoon is a Professor of Marketing at Bryant University and Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Current Issues and Research in Advertising. Previously he taught at Cleveland State University. He was a visiting scholar and professor at Grey New York, Harvard University, Southern Methodist University, University of Florence, Sungkyunkwan University, and a consultant at U.S. and Korean firms and government agencies. He has published articles in many international journals and has served on editorial boards. He has also written columns for newspapers and magazines.

Kacy Kim is an Associate Professor of Marketing at Bryant University. Previously she taught at Elon University and was a visiting scholar at Harvard University, Virginia Tech University, and McCann New York. She has focused on the fields of marketing and social science research, including economics and psychology. Her recent research interest includes marketing analytics, consumer behavior, and marketing communication on digital platforms. Her research activities include many publications in leading academic journals, and she has served on editorial boards.

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Notes

1 This measure has been extensively validated by previous research (Kraus et al. 2012). For a recent review of social class research using this measure, see Kraus et al. (2012).