Exploration of Brand Sacralization Among the Young Adult

Consumers in the Context of Emerging Asian Market

J u h i G a h l o t S a r k a r, A b h i g y a n S a r k a r & A b h i l a s h P o n n a m

Young Consumers, Vol. 16 No. 3 2015, Pp. 264-280, Emerald Group Publishing

Religiosity
- centrality of religion to ones life as reflected in his/her attitude and/or behavior
toward life.

Brand Sacredness

- An object is considered as sacred as religion when an individual perceives that

the object has certain extraordinary properties, and this perception of
sacredness of the object can elicit irrational feelings and behaviour
Brand Devotion

- The highest form of love felt towards a brand consisting of intimacy, passion and commitment

Brand Sacralization
- Represents the phenomenon of perceiving a
brand as sacred as religion which can provide
extraordinary experiences.
- Also termed as brand religiosity

Research Gap
Research

investigating

the

extent

to

which

consumerbrand

emotional

relationships can be equivalent to religiosity is rarely found.

Objectives of the Study

The objective of the study was to find answers to the key research question:
RQ1. To what extent does an individual perceive a brand as providing all those

experiences in life that religion can provide?

To investigate the acculturation process taking place among the young adult

consumers in an emerging Asian market.

Dimensions of Religiosity
Sense of Belongingness :- Religion provides an individual with a strong sense of
belongingness to the religious community.
Intellectual

or

Knowledge

Dimension:-

This

dimension

pertains

to

the

learnedness of a religious devotee regarding his/her religion.

Source of Inspiration:- Religion has the ability to inspire a movement.
Emotional Alignment:- The highest state in being human is when the individuals
inner world of spirituality and religiosity gets integrated with the outer world of
worldly activities.
Transcendence:- defined as a mystic experience leading to a self-transformational
shift in ones consciousness.
Narrative or mythic Dimension:-There are sacred stories that are used to
describe and understand a religions ideologies. These narratives may be oral or
written and are revered by the members of a particular faith.
Material dimension:-Pertains to those tangible places or objects which aid the
individual in his/her quest to connect with the divine

Dimensions of Religiosity
Hedonic or experiential:- Always an individuals affective or hedonic feelings
toward the thought of God get moderated by his/her perceived image of God
Ritual dimension:- Religions express themselves through certain practices
done publicly or in private, which vary widely across religions
Community Relations Dimension:- Communal involvement in the context of
religion takes place in the form of developing bonds with people affiliated to the
same religion, finding a common social identity and following similar practices in
group.
Ethical and Legal Dimension:- These are codes of conduct that the religious
devotees must adhere to.

Methodology

Research Technique: Qualitative Exploratory

Sample:- Young adult informants(106 no.s)were selected as the sample whose
age ranged from 18 to 24.
Data Collection Tool:- Semi Structured Depth Interview.
Data Analysis:- Grounded Theory Analysis

Findings

Sense of Belongingness Dimension of

Brand Sacralization
- Like religion, brands also provide sense of
belongingness

A HarleyDavidson devotee (gender: male; age: 21) quoted:

I wear my HarleyDavidson jacket to convey to the world where I belong. Being a
Harley owner is my identity. I extremely love Harley and I feel out of the world when I
ride it. Harley shows my close connection to the spirit of liberation. I also like it
because, it is from USA. USA is my dream country and I am normally little more
devoted to USA brands.

Brand knowledge dimension of brand

sacralization
- Like religion, brands also has its knowledge
dimension

An informant (gender: male; age: 21) quoted:

Being human truly stands for and stands by the underprivileged children. I intensely
love the entire concept and ideology of this brand that humanity starts at home, the
faith that every person is humane inside. We just have to explore and nurture that
side of ours. The activities conducted by the brand show that the brand is highly
ethical. I am highly devoted to this type of brand that works for true social causes.
(After smiling) There is also another reason why I adore this brand. I an ardent fan of
film star Salman Khan who is the founder of this organization. Mr Khan believes in
charity and child development despite of being an extremely good actor

Source of Inspiration Dimension of Brand

Sacralization
- Like religion, brands can inspire consumers life goals and
motivations
An informants (gender: male; age: 18)quoted:
Dialogue in the Dark (an awareness raising franchise and social business associated
with blind community) asks you to switch off your sight and switch on your insight.
They promise a life changing experience, and that is exactly what they deliver. I could
never understand the experience of living without a sight before coming to this place
(teary eyes). The least I can do now is pledge my eyes. I request my friends to donate
their eyes post-death. This brand has really inspired me to do something good for
blind people. I love this brand more, as it has made me feel deeply about a
disadvantaged part of our society..

Emotional alignment dimension of brand

sacralization

An informant (gender: male; age: 21) quoted:

I become religious after digging in to the heavenly taste of Dominos cheese burst
pizza. I even feel charitable, and want to provide a slice of it to those who do not
have much happiness in life. The way they describe heaven in Bible you know, I think
they must be distributing hell lot of (laughs) Dominos cheesy pizzas there, with Coke
of course.

Transcendental Dimension of Brand Sacralization

An informant (gender: female; age: 22)quoted:
When I was doing my internship as a part of my bachelor degree course in biotechnology in Cancer Research Institute of Tata Memorial Center in Mumbai city, I
encountered really life changing experiences. Among the patients, most loved to
enjoy in whatever possible ways. Many of those patients developed strong bonding
with doctors, nurses and other hospital staff. The hospital also was trying to make
them forget about dying and creating ecstatic experiences for them. For instance, a
small patient girl wished to meet movie star Salman Khan, and the hospital made it a
reality for her. Another small boy always wanted to own a dog, and the institute
arranged a dog for him, and takes all necessary care and precautions so that the boy
can enjoy happily with the dog. I strongly admire this institute for its beautiful
approach to deal with the patients. I can never forget this experience throughout my
life. In my future career I want
to work Story
in suchor
a novel
organization
Brand
Mythic
Dimension of brand

sacralization

An informant (gender: male; age: 20) quoted:

I became more passionate about Apple when I heard the stories about Steve. Steves
quest for innovation fascinates me. I feel different when I use Apple. I dont get such
feelings when I use any other brand.

Material Dimension of Brand Sacralization

An informant (gender: female; age: 23)quoted:
I completed my bachelor degree in engineering from IIT Delhi. I wear this T-shirt
which carries the logo of IIT Delhi. I enjoy showing others my association with this
highly reputed organization. I really enjoy when others value me because of this.

Hedonic or Experiential Dimension of

Brand
Sacralization
An informant
(gender: female; age: 21) explained after visiting Dialogue in
The Dark (an international restaurant chain employing blind people):
When tasting food served by blind attendants, while sitting in absolute darkness, I
feel like introspecting into my joys and sorrows. I can feel the pain that these blind
people go through in their daily lives and at the same time I get overwhelmed by the
serenity of the darkness.

Brand Ritual Dimension of Brand

Sacralization
A young informant (gender: male; age: 21) explained:
I am a diehard fan of the cricket team of my country Team India. During any one
day or test match series, I worship the big wall picture containing all the players in
the team with garlands and enchanting mantras. I always stand and watch IndiaPakistan match, because I feel it makes India win!

Brand Community Relations Dimension of Brand

Sacralization

An informant (gender: female; age: 23)quoted:

IIT has not only shaped my career, it has changed my world view. Brand IIT strongly
binds its alumni members. I feel a strong sense of kinship with other IIT-ans.
Whenever we meet in any conferences and seminars, we cherish those golden days
spent in IIT campuses. The influential power of IIT community is so dominating that
our religious, personal, political ideologies and philosophies are all shaped by the
community perspective.

Legal and Ethical Dimension of Brand

Sacralization
An informant (gender: female; age: 22):
I always fervently admire and support those brands which exercise social
responsibilities and community welfare activities. I admire Tata group, as it gives a
significant percentage of revenue earned from its various businesses for community
welfare. This type of socially responsible brand also spreads consciousness among us
that we should also take part in this type of social welfare activities like, donating a
part of our income towards betterment of the society. If we all become conscious
about our responsibilities towards the society, we can make a far better society. The
brand like Tata spreads this message.

erging Market Context Specific Findings

- in emerging Asian markets, acculturation of youth to global consumer

culture has taken place substantially following the liberalization of the
economy
- majority of the emerging market young adult population is preferring
foreign brands, especially developed country originated brands

rounded Theory Framework

Thank You