The Underdog Effect: The Marketing of Disadvantage and Determination Through Brand Biography

Neeru  Paharia; Anat   Keinan; Jill  Avery; Juliet B. Schor

Article | Journal of Consumer Research | February 2011

The Underdog Effect: The Marketing of Disadvantage and Determination Through Brand Biography

by Neeru Paharia, Anat Keinan, Jill Avery and Juliet B. Schor

Abstract

We introduce the concept of an underdog brand biography (UBB) to describe an emerging trend in branding in which firms author an historical account of their humble origins, lack of resources, and determined struggle against the odds. We identify two essential dimensions of an underdog biography: external disadvantage, and passion and determination. We demonstrate that a UBB can increase purchase intentions, real choice, and brand loyalty. We argue that UBBs are effective because consumers react positively when they see the underdog aspects of their own lives being reflected in branded products. Four studies demonstrate that the UBB effect is driven by identity mechanisms: we show that the effect is 1) mediated by consumers' identification with the brand, 2) greater for consumers who strongly self-identify as underdogs, 3) stronger when consumers are purchasing for themselves vs. others, and 4) stronger in cultures in which underdog narratives are part of the national identity.

Keywords: marketing; brand management; Brands; brand building; brand positioning; competitive positioning; advertising; marketing communication; Biography; Brands and Branding; Product Marketing; Emerging Markets; Network Effects; Demand and Consumers; Marketing Communications; Cost vs Benefits; Perspective; Advertising Campaigns; Marketing Strategy; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Advertising Industry; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Fashion Industry; Food and Beverage Industry;

Format: Print

16 pages

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Citation:

Paharia, Neeru, Anat Keinan, Jill Avery, and Juliet B. Schor. "The Underdog Effect: The Marketing of Disadvantage and Determination Through Brand Biography." Journal of Consumer Research 37, no. 5 (February 2011): 775–790. (Finalist, 2014 Best Article Award for a paper published in JCR in 2011.)

As its Series A extension round approaches, the founders of Hubble, a subscription-based, social media fueled, direct-to-consumer (DTC) brand of contact lenses, are reflecting on the marketing strategies that have taken them to a valuation of $200 million and debating changes to them that will allow them to grow their Business. Ensuring that their marketing dollars were being spent efficiently was critical to the data-driven management team and proving to be complicated as the company moved spending from digital marketing to offline media, which made attribution modeling more difficult. Decisions pertaining to product extensions, channel expansion beyond DTC e-commerce, and geographic expansion were also on the table to prove that Hubble's customer value proposition and operations could profitably scale.

Brand valuation, the art and science of calculating the economic value accruing to a firm from its use on an intangible brand asset, yields frustratingly inconsistent, discrepant, and therefore, controversial results. While it is widely accepted that brands are long-lived assets that can contribute significant value to firms over time, there is no consensus on how to value them. This note outlines several different methods for valuing brands and exposes readers to the commercial methods most used by firms. It discusses the opportunities associated with valuing brands as well as the challenges.

Case | HBS Case Collection | January 2018 (Revised June 2018)

Christie's and Leonardo da Vinci's Salvator Mundi: The Value of a Brand

Jill Avery

A 16th century Renaissance masterpiece, missing for 137 years, believed by many to have been destroyed and then rediscovered less than a decade ago, becomes the most expensive painting ever sold, all the while surrounded by controversy. Did the buyer of Leonardo da Vinci's painting pay too much? Was it real? Did it matter? The sale of Leonardo's painting allows students to reengineer brand equity to understand from what it is derived and how marketing actions influence changes in it. Methods for brand valuation can be discussed and issues related to branding in contemporary times, such as authenticity, legitimacy, authorship, craftsmanship, and storytelling can be used to show how brand value is built and destroyed. Brand partnerships, particularly between and among Leonardo, Christie's auction house, the sellers, the experts who attributed the painting to Leonardo, and the celebrities used to market it, are dissected to understand how brand meaning and value transfer from one partner to another.

Keywords: marketing; Brands; brands and branding; marketing strategy; brand valuation; art collector; arts marketing; value; auction house; auctions; luxury brand; luxury consumers; Luxury Goods; Marketing; Valuation; Marketing Strategy; Arts; Luxury; Value; Brands and Branding; Fine Arts Industry; Italy; United Kingdom; Europe; United States; United Arab Emirates;

Citation:

Avery, Jill. "Christie's and Leonardo da Vinci's Salvator Mundi: The Value of a Brand." Harvard Business School Case 518-066, January 2018. (Revised June 2018.) View Details

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The Underdog Effect: The Marketing of Disadvantage and Determination Through Brand Biography

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