Although the relationship metaphor dominates contemporary marketing thought and practice, surprisingly little empirical work has been conducted on relational phenomena in the consumer products domain, particularly at the level of the brand. In this article, the author: (1) argues for the...

This four-part multi-method investigation into the under-researched yet increasingly prevalent phenomenon of consumer-generated advertising (CGA) confirms a performance advantage over traditional advertising and suggests a rationale for this differential. CGAs benefit from heightened consumer...

Consumer self-presentation is considered a major driver of word-of-mouth (WOM) communication. In particular, the manner in which consumers self-present using brand mentions is likely to impact impressions of the WOM senders as well as the mentioned brands. In some cases, however, mentioning...

Branding is widely recognized as an important marketing activity, yet marketing executives are challenged to prove the value of branding in clear financial terms. The objective of this chapter is to integrate emerging insights from the literature on branding and shareholder value into a process...

This paper reports results from a two-month longitudinal field experiment examining influences on relationships that formed between consumers and an on-line photography brand. Brand personality systematically impacted relationship strength patterns, whereby brands with sincere versus exciting...