Could Brand Absence Make the Heart Grow Fonder?
Surprising new global research from marketing agency Momentum Worldwide reveals that people in countries with long-established consumer spending power – Japan, the UK and the USA – feel less connected with brands than those in emerging markets.
The study asked over 6,504 respondents across nine markets to classify their feelings towards well- known brands by types of interpersonal relationship: specifically whether they see a particular brand as a family member, friend, acquaintance or enemy. Over half (54%) of those asked in Britain would not consider brands as any more than an acquaintance.
In Japan and the United States, 55% and 45% respectively, report a similar emotional distance from popular brands. Brands operating in more developed consumer economies are less likely to forge meaningful relationships with customers than those in emerging markets, as global research reveals that over half of British, Japanese and American people report indifference towards some of the best known brands in the market.
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Source
"Could Brand Absence Make the Heart Grow Fonder?" The Internationalist. Number 69, 2014.