Co-branding is defined as a marketing strategy in which “two brands are deliberately paired with one another in a marketing context such as in ads, products, products placements, and distribution outlets” (Grossman 1997, p. 191). Prior research suggests that the crucial key to the success of co-branding is perceived fit including both product category fit and brand image fit. The product category fit is the relevancy of product category between partner brands about co-branding product or brand. For example, “Apple” collaborated with “Nike” to make a smart watch for sports activates. The brand image fit is about how the images (such as luxury image, young and fun image) fit between the partner brands. Prior co-branding research shed light on the effects of perceived fit between co-branding partner brands. Nevertheless, the findings of prior research have been limited to the two types of perceived fit. This research introduced the new-type of perceived fit called “sensory fit” In the current study, the sensory fit is defined as the perceptual congruency between partner brands’ sensory factors such as color, shape, size, and so on. Still, the sensory fit in context of co-branding are yet to be fully investigated by academic research. To fill the gap in the literature, we designed two experimental studies to better understand how the sensory fit affects the evaluations of co-branding. In study 1, we manipulated the partner brands’ sensory attributes (i.e., pronunciation of brand name and shape of brand logo). The results showed that the sensory fit significantly influences consumers’ response to co-branding. That is, a significant interaction (sensory fit × product involvement) was observed, suggesting that participants showed more positive attitudes on the evaluation of co-branding in the low-involvement product (i.e., mug) condition. However, the same pattern was not observed in the high involvement product condition (i.e., laptop). In Study 2, we replicated the findings of Study 1 and used letter style of brand name to manipulated the sensory fit. Findings showed a significant main effect of sensory fit again. Interestingly, the sensory fit was found in the high-involvement and hedonic products condition only. In sum, our findings suggest that the sensory fit should be considered as it predicts the success of co-branding strategy.

As digital media empowers consumers to initiate and participate in the marketing communication process more than ever, the current study aimed to investigate whether consumer motivations to use media are associated with the concept of psychological distance. Using a general population sample (N = 291) in U.S., psychological distances of four media platforms (i.e., television, mobile, laptop, newspaper) are compared and the relationship between media usage motivations (perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, usage frequency, emotional attachment, and compatibility) and psychological distance are examined. Results indicate that psychological distance varies across media types and the relationship between psychological distance and media usage motivations is mostly positive.

As consumers take greater control over products and brands they consume, electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) and user-generated content (UGC) are now being considered as one of the most critical product sources for consumers. Most notable in recent years has been the widespread emergence of eWOM in social media. The proliferation of a variety of social networking sites (SNSs), propelled by the development of mobile technologies (e.g., smartphones), has allowed consumers to share, more quickly and easily than ever before, product information, reviews, and consumption experiences. Perhaps one of the newest and most effective ways to communicate brand information and experiences in digital environments is the ‘brand-selfie.’ Every day, millions of selfies (i.e., a photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically with a smartphone or webcam and shared via social media) are taken and then posted on a variety of SNSs all over the world, providing people the opportunity to show multiple facets of the self (Bazarova et al., 2013). Further, there are consumers who voluntarily post selfies with brands/products they possess (so called brand-selfies) and brand-related hashtags (e.g., your #brand). Through brand-selfies, consumers not only express themselves by connecting with and extending through brands, but also influence peer consumers’ brand attitudes and purchase decisions by sharing brand information. In order to better understand how the selfie can succeed on SNSs as a new form of eWOM, in the present study, we attempt to identify key predictive variables that may lead consumers to post brand-selfies and engage eWOM in social media. We do so by comparing how such variables differ between those who post brand-selfies and those who do not. Specifically, this study examines whether brand-selfie-posting behavior is influenced by two individual difference factors (i.e., narcissism and materialism), and whether it is associated with consumers’ beliefs that SNSs are brand/product information sources. Using a survey administered by an online panel, a total of 305 participants who had had the experience of taking and posting selfies on SNSs participated. Discriminant analysis identified the characteristics of consumers who post brand-selfies, and those who do not. Findings suggest that narcissism, materialism, and belief that SNSs are a brand/productinformation source are significant factors in stimulating SNS users’ brand-selfie posting behaviors, and that they could be used to differentiate between brand-selfie posters and no-brand-selfie posters. Of these factors, consumers’ perceptions of SNSs as a source of brand/product information best predicted brand-selfie posting behaviors, followed by materialism and narcissism. Areas for future research are discussed.