The Reciprocal Effects of Brand Equity and Trivial Attributes

Abstract

Brands increasingly introduce products with attributes that fail to provide consumers with meaningful benefits (i.e., trivial attributes). The authors present two experiments that examine the effect of brand equity on consumer valuation of such trivial attributes and the reciprocal effect that such a strategy may have on brand equity. The results show that both high and low equity brands benefit from offering an attractive trivial attribute in the absence of a disclosure of its true value. However, prechoice disclosure of an attribute's triviality heightens the role of the brand and context cues. Competing low equity brands benefit by sharing the trivial attribute with a higher equity brand, whereas competing high equity brands benefit from uniquely offering a trivial attribute. Postchoice revelation that an attribute is trivial hurts the subsequent ability of a low but not a high equity brand to differentiate in a new product category, particularly among subjects who had previously chosen the target brand. For insights on brand dilution, the authors also examine consumer attributions regarding marketer intent for offering a trivial attribute.