Share these talks and lectures with your colleagues
Invite colleaguesResearch paper
An exploration of comfort brands and the theory of brand comfort
Journal of Brand Strategy,
11
(4),
344-357
(2023)
Abstract
This paper advances a new theory of brand comfort that arises from physical comfort, combined with cognitive components (driven by rational trust judgements of quality and reliability) and emotional components (driven by perceptions of affective trust, authenticity, nostalgia and brand love). Two exploratory studies reveal that consumers frequently crave, seek out and attain comfort through branded comfort foods as well as non-food comfort brands. Further, the studies each uncover that attaining comfort through brand consumption yields feelings of emotional support, safety, nostalgia and social connectedness. Findings suggest that consuming comfort brands is an extremely widespread practice, especially in the current era of fear, isolation and social distancing.
Keywords: brand comfort; comfort foods; comfort brands; nostalgia; social communion; brand relationships
The full article is available to subscribers to the journal.
Author's Biography
K. Damon Aiken Damon Aiken is the Thomas Family Fellow in Business at California State University, Chico. His industry background includes work in telecommunications and petrochemicals. Since receiving his PhD from the University of Oregon, he has won six teaching awards, including the Marketing Management Association’s Teaching Excellence Award. His wide-ranging research interests include geographic branding, compulsive consumption of sport, unusual fan behaviours, ‘old school’ values in sport, effects of music on education and Internet trust transference. He has published in the Journal of Business Research, Journal of Product and Brand Management, Sport Marketing Quarterly and Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science.
Matthew L. Meuter Matthew Meuter received his PhD in Marketing from Arizona State University. He is currently a full professor of Marketing at California State University, Chico, and is a member of the Research Faculty through the Arizona State University Center for Service Leadership. Dr Meuter’s research focuses on the intersection of marketing and technology. His research has specifically focused on customer use and adoption of self-service technologies, satisfaction with technology use and the strategic implications of integrating technology within a firm. His research interests also include the role of social media in the marketplace and its impact on firms and customers. He has published in the Journal of Marketing, Journal of Service Research, the Journal of Business Research, Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, Psychology & Marketing, Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Services Marketing, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science and many others.
Ajay Sukhdial is an Associate Professor of Marketing and International Business and the Director of International Business Degree Programs in the School of Marketing and International Business at Oklahoma State University. He did his doctoral work at the University of Oregon. His research interests relate to the role of values and emotions in consumer decision making, luxury goods marketing, sports marketing and public policy and marketing. His research has been published in the Journal of Advertising, Journal of Advertising Research, Marketing Letters, Journal of Public Policy and Marketing and Sport Marketing Quarterly. He is the recipient of several teaching awards, including the highest teaching award given by Oklahoma State University, the Regents Distinguished Teaching Award.
