Attracting Lifestyles

Abstract: Companies who invest in marketing activities in order to create a competitive advantage are said to have a value-expressive product or brand. To be persuasive and gain a positive brand attitude advertisements of these brands must appeal to consumers Ideal Self-Identity. This is referred to as an advertisement being self-congruent. However, studies have merely focused on communicating the theorized stereotype and not the individual's motivations for self-expression: assimilation or differentiation. For this reason the study of this thesis focus on 134 individuals divided into two segments, Differentiators and Assimilators, based on their motivation for self-expression in the social context of sport. They were exposed to two Nike commercials, one communicating a sense of community and the other individualism, in order to study their liking of the ads. Further analyses were made on the brand attitude and purchase intention of the advertised brand, Nike, in comparison with its most prominent competitor, adidas. Even though the segments liked the ads they did not show significant preference for one over the other. However, they did have a more positive brand attitude and higher purchase intention for Nike than adidas. These findings suggest that Nike has succeeded in creating positive brand awareness, which causes positive associations with the individual when exposed to the brand.