Living brands: consumer reactions towards online-experienced-based marketing communication

Previous research has demonstrated the importance of attending to experiential aspects of consumption. These days, ‘consumers don’t buy a product; they buy value in the form of entertainment, experience, and identity’ (Esslinger, in Sweet 1999; see also Holbrook, 2000; Holbrook and Hirschman, 1981; Pine and Gilmore, 1999; Schmitt, 1999). In addition, new products appearing on the market are increasingly similar in terms of function or price, making it hard or simply irrelevant for consumers to differentiate products on such traditional criteria (Postrel, 2003). Hence, in order to meet experiential consumer needs and differentiate their products from competitors, product and brand managers increasingly look for new ways to communicate experiential consequences of brand usage and ownership (e.g., Novak et al., 2000).