Effect of cool brand features on brand distinctiveness and willingness to pay price premium: A study on generation Y

Although the concept of Cool has been in the marketing literature since early 1900s, it started to attract more attention with the consumption-based transformation that western societies experienced in the 1980s, and it has become a matter of importance by marketers. By the spread of transformation in consumption to different countries like many other factors, Cool, has also been transferred to other societies and turned into a phenomenon on a universal scale. Although Cool is considered as a universal phenomenon, it is fully understood and adopted by a certain community in terms of mental structure. This community often values the symbolic meaning of the products rather than their functionality. The incompatibility between actual and ideal self that individuals experience leads them to consume brands that have symbolic meanings in terms of distinctiveness. Nowadays, one of the symbolic meanings that present this distinctiveness to the brands most clearly is the Cool phenomenon. For this reason, it is thought that brands which want to be preferred by consumers will be perceived as distinctive when they add Cool features, which have a strong influence in symbolic meanings, to their personalities and the consumers will pay a price premium to own that brand. In addition, it can be thought that the willingness to pay a price premium for the brand that the individual perceives as distinctive may differ depending on the level of consumers' search for uniqueness. Individuals in need for uniqueness want to express themselves in different ways in order to be different from other individuals in the society. The purpose of this study is primarily to determine the features that make the brand cool and to explain how brands having Cool features affect the behaviour of consumers. Therefore, with the preliminary studies the characteristics (adjectives) that cause consumers to perceive a brand as Cool were determined. Then, within the framework of the created research model, the relationship between Cool brand features and brand distinctiveness, and the willingness to pay price premium was examined. In addition, it has been researched whether the need for uniqueness of the individual creates a moderator effect on the relationship between brand distinctiveness and willingness to pay price premium or not. In this context, the target group of the research was determined as Generation Y, taking into account the purchasing power and dominance of Cool elements. Data were collected from 327 people with the online survey method and the model was tested with structural equation model and regression analysis. According to the analysis results, a positive relationship has been found between some dimensions of Cool brand features and brand distinctiveness. Besides, brand distinctiveness increases the willingness of consumers to pay price premium. However, it has been observed that the individual's need for uniqueness does not have a moderator role in the relationship between brand distinctiveness and willingness to pay price premium.