MASSTIGE MARKETING: AN ANALYSIS ON BRAND

DEMOCRATIZATION AND CUSTOMER BRAND ENGAGEMENT

VENKATESH. N
Research Scholar, Annamalai University, Assistant Professor for Commerce & Management, Dr. NSAM First
Grade College, Bengaluru-89. Email: [email protected]
Dr. T. SENTHIL MURUGAN
Assistant Professor, Arignar Anna Government Arts College for Women, Walaja Ranipet District.
Email: [email protected]

Abstract
The process of Brand Democratization (BD) is primarily responsible for the increased marketing of luxury brands
that were formerly only available to the upper echelons of society. Nonetheless, there is a dearth of scholarly
investigation into the effects of democratization and how they affect consumer brand involvement. Advocates for
a deeper knowledge of brand democratization point to the literature and the preliminary conceptual model as
means of exploring the emphasized assumptions of brand democratization and customer-brand engagement. This
research, which concurrently conducted three studies, uses primarily quantitative techniques for gathering data to
look at the fundamental ideas of a more democratic brand. In the first study, brand democratization was
investigated through a methodical literature analysis, and many dimensions that contribute to a deeper
comprehension of the concept were found. In order to help luxury businesses create a cogent long-term strategy
to handle particular issues, this academic empirical investigation on brand democratization offers various
theoretical advances. The online survey form was made on the Google podium and sent to urban Bengaluru
residents using the snowball sampling technique. In the end, we had 130 insightful responses. Further research
on the mediating effect of customer-brand interactions is warranted, as the results demonstrated a beneficial
influence of brand democratization on customer brand engagement. When looking for a moderating effect on the
link between BD and CBE, the control and empowerment that consumers and customers of luxury brands want
to have over brands were taken into account.
Keywords: Brand Democratization, Customer Brand Engagement, Customer Brand Power.

INTRODUCTION
This study was conducted in the luxury fashion sector of the Bengaluru metropolitan area at
Yelahanka in order to better understand brand democratization and customer-brand
engagement from the customer's perspective. Because it is mainly focused on luxury fashion
brands within the luxury fashion setting, this research focuses on the identification of brand
democratization, defining its criteria through systematic literature reviews and scale
development. (Aaker, Fournier, & Brasel, 2004)
The study further created a theoretical framework that looked at and addressed brand
democratization as well as its relationships to other relevant variables like customer-brand
interactions and the moderating role of power (control and consumer empowerment). (Agarwal
& Rao, 1996)

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This research thesis not only demonstrated brand democratization and its composition within
the overall luxury context, but it also examined the relationships between luxury fashion brands
and customer self-congruence with ideal self, as well as the underlying premise that mass-
prestige (Masstige) focused luxury fashion brands also have an impact on brand
democratization.
In essence, brand relationships benefit customers and individuals in deeper ways. They provide
solace, security, and purpose to people's lives. (Ajitha & Sivakumar, 2019)This offering of
meanings has the power to alter one's perspective of oneself and to broaden into other areas
like brand loyalty and brand trust, which were previously impacted by one's perception of the
brand itself. Various theories, like brand personality and brand connection theory, contend that
the type of brand-consumer collaboration is what ultimately makes associations stand out.
When a brand offers personalized goods and services, it can base them on significant personal
traits that the individual possesses, allowing the person's spirit to reside in the brand and giving
the inanimate, lifeless object a personality and association of its own. Furthermore, past
branding research provides a thorough anthropomorphizing of the brand itself, emphasizing a
total absorption of humanistic qualities so that the items being discussed would function as a
frame of reference. As the population grows, a significant number of consumers with distinct
personal traits have also been drawn in, and they now correlate various human-like attributes
with consumer goods.
According to literature, one of a brand's ultimate goals is to achieve brand commitment.
Authors have also noted that when a brand is passionate, consumers don't care about its ethical
standards, which removes any potential for power struggles or distance between the brand and
the consumer. Similar to this, in the apparel sector, negative perceptions of a brand are
frequently countered by growing brand value in consumers' eyes, which lowers disengagement.
Similarly, the key to understanding various shopping behaviors is cognitive dissonance. Since
brand loyalty has a positive influence on brand attachment and trust, it can be assumed that it
has no effect on consumers' perceptions of power distance. In terms of competing customer
and brand interests, brands frequently project a societal image that eliminates disputes inside
the apparel sector. Additionally, improvements in brand equity have a significant impact on
preserving brand salience.

OBJECTIVE
I. To investigate and pinpoint elements of engagement that impede luxury brand experiences
for customers.
II. To determine whether democratization of premium brands affects consumer involvement
with the brand.

LITERATURE REVIEW
Prior research on "masstige" (also known as "prestige for the masses") or "affordable luxury"
can be categorized into three areas: (1) masstige conceptualization (2) consumer perception of

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masstige brands and (3) ties between consumers and brands in masstige. (Baber, Kaurav,
Upadhyay, & Baber, 2020)In the first study stream, which focuses on the definition of
"masstige," "affordable luxury," or "luxury for masses," academics have developed scales to
operationalize and quantify the value of masstige companies, as well as to define "affordable
luxuries."
(Christodoulides, Cadogan, & Veloutsou, 2015)The motivation and value that consumers gain
from masstige brands are examined in the second research stream. The corpus indicates that
consumers' propensity to engage in masstige consumption is influenced differently by several
aspects of the perceived value of masstige brands. For example, it was discovered that masstige
consumption is significantly influenced by the values of utilitarian, experiential, and symbolic
consumption in the context of fashion companies. According to (Das & Jebarajakirthy,
2022)vanity value and functional value are important factors in consumer electronics masstige
brand consumption. The consumer-brand connection hypothesis serves as the foundation for
the third study stream, which explores topics including brand evangelism, brand love, brand
happiness, and brand loyalty.
When the word "brand equity" was first used in the 1980s, it had a strong connection to
financial matters. A brand's equity is determined by the incremental cash flows and asset values
that it has amassed. But in the 1990s, brand equity becomes an even more valuable intangible
asset for a business, one that managers should continue to focus on optimizing and improving.
(Eastman & Liu, 2012)in light of these presumptions, brand equity is a multifaceted, customer-
centered idea. " The assets and liabilities associated with a particular brand, such as its identity,
knowledge, and associations " is how one would define consumer-based brand equity. (Fornell
& Larcker, 1981)We chose to use Yoo's one-dimensional definition of consumer-based brand
equity in this study, despite the fact that it is frequently thought of as a multidimensional
phenomenon. All things considered, Yoo and define consumers' varying total." A study by
preferred the one-dimensional to the multidimensional conception of consumer-based brand
equity because of issues with Aaker's brand equity model's discriminant validity.
System in Masstige
A group of related entities working together to resolve a crisis and achieve shared objectives.
A new idea can only be beneficial if it becomes a part of the societal structure. When people
fail to acknowledge it, an innovation fades from existence. The ability to force someone to do
something that is important for one or more reasons. Engagement is therefore distinct from
exchange-based engagement. Goals are related to the types of motivation and attitudes that
influence behavior, even in the absence of intrinsic motivation or a positive outlook. Desire-
based add-ons to the organization are referred to as affective add-ons (Employees are drawn to
the company because they feel compelled to) Employees believe they should hold cost-based
relationships with the association in order to be employed; this is known as going concern (i.e.,
Workers remain with companies because they need them.). Finally, bonds based on duties
organization are referred to as normative liability.

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Conceptual Model

Theory of Planned Behavior

The idea of set conduct is an extension of the idea of intended action, which was established
crucially by the early models and limits the range of behaviors over which people have little
volitional control. The goal of the person is to play away assured behavior, according to the
first theory of imagined doings, which is a key element in the hypothesis of arranged manner.
Expectations are made in order to identify the persuasive factors that compel people to behave
in a certain way. These factors demonstrate the amount of effort people are willing to put forth
and the amount of labor they can do to carry out the desired behavior. Undoubtedly, the more
ingrained the expectation of engaging in a particular behavior, the more likely it is to be
presented in that way. It is imperative to clarify that even while a behavior goal can follow a
style of expression, it can only do so if the method in question is voluntary.
Theory of Recent Behaviour
Human behavior is determined by a variety of considerations, including convictions regarding
the reasonableness of the behavior, convictions regarding the governing presumptions for other
individuals (regularizing convictions), and convictions regarding the existence of elements that
have the ability to support or obstruct the behavior (control convictions).
Convictions related to behavior result in a positive or menacing mindset that is similar to how
one should behave; convictions related to standardizing lead to an apparent pervasive The
perspective of conduct control directs the influence of attitude toward the manner in which one
behaves as well as emotional standards on expectations.

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METHODOLOGY
In order to evaluate brand democratization within the luxury apparel sector, a questionnaire
was created and evaluated for this research study. The online survey questionnaire was created
on the Google platform and distributed to urban dwellers of Bengaluru. The inquiry began with
an invitation for the respondent to select a luxury fashion or apparel brand from a selection of
popular companies. IBM SPSS AMOS was used to further verify that the data collection had
no missing values.
Table 1: Outline of the respondents

The demographics statistics shows that 55% of the sample population were males and 45%
were females. 29% of the respondents were between the ages of 31-35 years.
Table 2: KMO and Bartlett's test

Bartlett's test of sphericity was used to confirm the factorability of the data and, moreover, to
assess the sample's adequacy. The KMO and Bartlett's test of sphericity results are displayed
in the table above. The scale's MSA score of 0.879 indicates that the data are suitable for
exploratory factor analysis, and the test of sphericity's results revealed statistically significant
results with a p-value of less than 0.001.

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Limitations
There are obstacles to every investigation. The survey was conducted with customers in
Bengaluru, an Indian urban area. If a comprehensive overview had been led, there would have
been diversity in the results. The evidence set is limited to a single, well known masstige brand,
to start. The second issue has to do with the dimensionality of the important variables that were
employed in this research to determine whether consumers intended to buy a masstige brand.
Future research that catches various aspects It is good to see luxury value perceptions and
masstige brand equity together. are multifaceted structures. Because of the previously
mentioned explanation, conjecture regarding the Indian Bengaluru urban market is a little bit
inadequate.
Further Research
Three study avenues were identified for future investigation under the heading of "Brand
Democratization":
1. Brands face difficulties and opportunities from technology. It is necessary to identify (non)
standardized implementation mechanisms in order to properly comprehend and expedite
the implementation of democratization initiatives. While this might entail improving and
altering the luxury companies' current tactics, a deeper understanding of the processes
involved might also direct the creation of new brands that expand their target markets.
2. Stakeholder participation in co-creation is reflected in the brand democratization construct,
which also supports the processes of overall brand development and administration. A
change may be affected by this setting because of the democratization-related influence
and control stakeholders may have over brands. Further investigation is necessary to
completely comprehend the role and influence of customers in brand democratization
management procedures, specifically in the context of premium businesses.
3. As luxury brands continue to expand into new areas and reach large audiences, further
research should analyze consumer opinions in great detail. There are still issues with some
cultural contexts (such as European versus Asian) when it comes to the development of
democratizing brands. This may be the result of a fear of losing authenticity and control
over the brand. Such dynamics should be studied.

CONCLUSION
The main focus of this study was how prevalent the idea of "Brand Democratization" was in
the literature. Over time, reappeared in a number of research. Early mass production
possibilities democratized brands and made luxury labels accessible to a wider audience.
Though the primary drivers of democratization are globalization, technical advancements, and
competition, consumers also have considerable influence over consumption patterns. Brand
democratization thus plays a significant role in the literature that deals with the study of
customers and their perceptions and pleasure.

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Stakeholder(s) orientation with regard to goods and services has long been incorporated into
brand management; this is demonstrated by how ubiquitous brand democratization has become.
In addition to recognizing brand democratization in relation to the strategic perspective of the
global/local brand, writers have also observed and recognized methods for quickening this
process. Systems, technology integrations, and ongoing governance have received a lot of
attention. Luxurious products project a calm exterior and strong financial standing. The luxury
sector has prospered in developing attractions to broaden the target market as a result of
ongoing technical advancements. Managers have triumphed over complex obstacles including
cultural and economic contexts over the years. In such a setting, there are new obstacles to
overcome and customers to please. Customers that strive to fit things with their unique
identities as a result of social influence are known as socially inaccurate consumers, and they
aim to link luxury goods with necessities.

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