Sense and sensibility: consumers and technological brand experience

Abstract

In the brand management field, studies on brand experiences that consider cognitive and behavioural dimensions have sought to examine consumers’ relationships with brands. The current research analysed consumer brand experiences to determine whether technological brand consumption is different from non-technological brand consumption. Quantitative analysis of the data was conducted using confirmatory factor analysis and analysis of variance. Four dimensions of brand experiences were tested: sensorial, affective, behavioural and intellectual. The 10 selected brands included technological and nontechnological ones. The study population was 230 university business students attending a Brazilian university. The results indicate that consumers perceive a difference between their experiences with technological and non-technological brands. Distinctions are primarily based on brands’ performance in terms of sensorial, emotional and intellectual dimensions. The latter cover cognitive capacity, creativity and problem-solving performance, which are stronger in experiences with technological brands.

Keywords

• brand experience
• technological brands
• consumer behaviour