Consumer-Brand Relationships: A Contrast of Nostalgic and Non-Nostalgic Brands

This research examined how consumer-brand relationships change when one contrasts brands perceived as nostalgic with brands perceived as non-nostalgic. Paired comparisons of brands in six product categories revealed that brand attachment, self-brand connections, and storytelling, as well as, the propensity to offer the brand as a gift and collect brand-derived products, depend on the nostalgic status of the brand. On a sample of 606 consumers, the results showed that a brand's nostalgic status has a positive effect on attachment, self-brand connections, and storytelling. These effects had not previously been considered in nostalgia research. Furthermore, the nostalgic status of a brand has positive effects in terms of intention to purchase the brand as a gift and collect brand-derived products. Moreover, ANOVA results illustrate that consumer relationships with nostalgic brands are systematically stronger than with non-nostalgic brands. Finally, results indicated that product category moderates all of the dimensions of brand relationships while gender does not. (C) 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.