How do self-brand connections affect ad responses among South Korean consumers? The roles of reference groups and message construals

This research explored how self-brand connections (SBCs) influence consumers’ ad responses in South Korea where collectivistic cultures, especially in-group orientations, are highly valued. Synthesizing social identity and construal level theories, Study 1 found that individuals tended to feel proximal to the brand that is perceived to be highly consistent with their in-groups. Furthermore, individuals’ SBCs were found to mediate such a relationship between in-group orientations and psychological distance to the brand. Expanding to the advertising context, Study 2 investigated the interactive effect of SBCs and ad messages construals. The results demonstrated that ads featuring low-construal messages evoked more favorable attitudes toward and purchase intentions of brands with weak SBCs, whereas no such matching effect was found for brands with strong SBCs.