Consumers want to express their original unique personality, and even are willing to endure high expenses in order to do this. One noticeable strategy in the market, used by companies to suit for this consumer sentiment, is that of employing limited edition marketing and limited free gifts. This study investigated the effects of limited free gifts on consumer response. Specifically, the present study examined how the need for uniqueness moderated the effects of limited free gifts on brand commitment and attitudes. The online survey method was used to gather the data and a total of 224 data were used to analyze data. The results of the research were as follows. The findings revealed four dimensions of limited free gifts: scarcity/specialty, not for sale, complementarity, and risk. Complementarity positively affected brand commitment, while all four dimensions of limited free gifts positively influenced brand attitude. In addition, the need for uniqueness was proven to be the strongest variable which positively influenced brand commitment and attitudes. Also, when the need for uniqueness was applied as a moderating variable, depending on the levels of the need for uniqueness, the effects of riskiness on the consumer’s response were shown to be different. The findings of this study infer various academic and practical applications.

In the context of the consumption of luxury goods, WOM generation seems to be an important way for individuals to express their identity. It has long been implied that luxury goods should be “conspicuous” because, generally, individuals are motivated to consume particular goods to communicate their social identity (cf. Belk, 1988; Berger & Health 2007). However, once individuals send positive messages about a luxury good, that item may be adopted by others whom they dislike. Thus, individuals may use moderation in generating positive WOM and prevent use of their favorite luxury brands from trickling down (Berger & Ward, 2010). In this regard, recent research has examined the effects of need-for-uniqueness (NFU) on consumers’ intention to generate word-of-mouth (WOM) and suggested that high-NFU consumers are unwilling to generate (positive) WOM because WOM results in the adoption of the product and would harm the consumers’ unique image (Cheema & Kaikati, 2010). However, they have focused on only one (avoidance-of-similarity) of the three types of NFU: avoidance of similarity (AS), unpopular choice counter-conformity (UCC), and creative choice counter-conformity (CCC) (Tian, Bearden, & Hunter, 2001). The purpose of this study is to examine how different types of NFU affect consumers’ willingness to generate WOM, considering the moderating role of product domain in the relationship between NFU and WOM. We examined the effects of types of NFU and product domain on positive WOM generation using a 3 (WOM sender type: high-AS/high-UCC/high-CCC consumers) × 2 (product domain: more identity-relevant, luxury vs. less identity-relevant, ordinary goods) between-subjects experimental design. The participants were 80 university students. We selected a high-quality coat as a luxury item and a high-end flash drive as an ordinary product. The former was represented as more identity-related than the latter. The results of ANOVA showed that three types of NFU have different effects on consumer’ willingness to generate positive WOM. High-AS consumers, as well as high-UCC consumers, are more unwilling to generate positive WOM, whereas high-CCC consumers are more willing to generate WOM; moreover, these effects are more pronounced when the consumers were referencing a more identity-relevant, luxury good. The implications of this study may help firms understand the factors that elicit or prevent WOM generation.

People tend to maintain and express their individuality in unique ways. Consumer’s need for uniqueness is defined as an individual's pursuit that differentiates themselves from others, thereby developing and enhancing their personal identities. This study examined the effect of consumers’ need for uniqueness on fashion orientation and consumption values. Data were collected through a questionnaire survey distributed to people visiting the fashion show center during Seoul Fashion Week. The survey questions were designed using the 5-point Likert scale and Cronbach’s α value of questions was reliable as .628-.862. The study’s results indicate that people with high need for uniqueness are very interested in fashion and think that is important to be well-dressed. In addition, the results suggest that people with high needs for unusual choices who enjoy challenging the prevailing taste of people want to be fashion leaders and are attracted to products that express their personality well. And people with high needs for creative choices and incompliant choices value their own satisfaction and happiness with the products. On the other hand, consumer’s needs for incompliant choices have a negative effect on social value. As a result, people with high needs for incompliant choices would break social norms rather than consider social status and reputation when they purchase fashion products. The concluding section of the paper discusses the implications of this research for fashion companies.

본 연구는 최근에 각광받고 있는 브랜디드 콘텐츠 광고 중에 스토리텔링을 기반으로 하는 웹드라마형과 일반 감성광고가 몰입에 차이점이 있는지 알아보고 독특성 욕구의 조절효과와 즐거움의 매개효과를 검증하고자 하였다. 이를 위해 2(브랜디드 콘텐츠vs. 감성광고) x2(독특성 욕구 낮음 vs. 독특성 욕구 높음)의 집단 간 디자인으로 연구를 설계하여 진행하였다. 연구결과 첫째, 브랜디드 콘텐츠와 감성광고는 몰입에 유의미한 차이가 없는 것으로 나타났다. 둘째, 브랜디드 콘텐츠와 감성광고가 독특성 욕구에 따라 몰입에 미치는 영향을 검증한 결과 독특성 욕구가 높은 집단의 경우 브랜디드 콘텐츠가 높게 나타났고, 독특성 욕구가 낮은 집단에서는 브랜디드 콘텐츠와 감성광고는 차이가 없는 것으로 나타났다. 셋째 몰입의 경우 구매의도에 영향을 미치지 못했고, 즐거움에 유의한 영향을 미치는 것으로 나타났다. 이러한 즐거움은 구매의도에 유의한 영향을 미치는 것으로 나타났다. 이와 같이 브랜디드 콘텐츠와 감성광고는 독특성 욕구에 따라 몰입이 다르게 나타날 수 있다는 점과 몰입이 즐거움을 통해 구매의도를 높일 수 있다는 결과들은 이론과 실무에 유용한 지침을 제공할 것이다.

본 연구는 전주한옥마을 관광객을 대상으로 독특성욕구에 따른 선호도와 구매의도에 미치는 구매 행동에 관한 연구를 토대로 전주한옥마을 음식관광의 방향을 제시하는데 목적이 있다. 표본의 인구통 계학적 특성 중 전주한옥마을은 30대가 가장 많이 방문하며, 한 달 수입이 201만 원 이상인 관광객이 가장 많은 소비를 하는 것으로 나타났다. 가설 검증을 위해 회귀분석을 실시하였으며 유사성회피는 전통비빔밥의 선호도에 부정적인 영향관계를 보였으나 독특한 비빔밥의 선호도는 독창적선택과 비대 중적선택에 긍정적인 영향관계가 있음을 검증하였고, 독창적선택과 유사성회피는 독특한 비빔밥의 구매의도에 긍정적인 영향관계가 있음을 검증하였다. 전통비빔밥의 선호도는 전통비빔밥의 구매의도에 긍정적인 영향관계를 보였으며, 전통비빔밥의 선호도와 독특한 비빔밥의 선호도는 독특한 비빔밥의 구매의도에 긍정적인 영향관계가 있음을 검증하였다.