Perceived 'Hispanicness' versus 'Americanness': A study of brand ethnicity with Hispanic consumers

This article discusses how consumers differentiate competing brands of similar utilitarian values on the basis of a brand’s cultural association, namely brand ethnicity, and examines how the perceived brand ethnicity influences consumers’ brand preference and choice.

Perceived ‘Hispanicness’ versus ‘Americanness’: A study of brand ethnicity with Hispanic consumers

Cong Li, Sunny Tsai and Gonzalo Soruco

University of Miami

Introduction

The symbolic meanings of branded products have long been a focus of interest among consumer theorists (Aaker et al.2001; Arnould & Thompson 2005). Brands have been recognised as consumption symbols and cultural icons that not only reflect the image with which advertisers try to instil them, but also embody cultural meanings that individuals utilise to make sense of life situations, and to advance identity projects and lifestyle goals (McCracken 1986). Thus there...

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