CCMS/CERMA Seminar by Anaïs Gretry (PhD student at Ulg-HEC and Radboud Univ.) and Maartje Mulders (Phd Student at ULB)

 At 14:30

« ‘That’s embarrassing!’ Effects of brand anthropomorphism on intimate disclosure » by Anaïs Gretry

co-authored with Horváth Csilla and Belei Nina (Institute for Management Research, Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands)

Abstract:
We investigate how brand anthropomorphism impacts consumers’ propensity to disclose intimate information to brands. The results of three experiments provide converging evidence that anthropomorphizing a brand has a detrimental effect on consumer disclosure of intimate information. This negative effect stems from the perception that an anthropomorphized brand is mindful and capable of evaluating others, which increases the level of embarrassment that consumers experience when revealing intimate information. However, we show that indirect questioning mitigates the detrimental effect of brand anthropomorphization on intimate self-disclosure by reducing the embarrassment felt by consumers. Our results have important implications for marketers pursuing anthropomorphization as a tool to foster consumer-brand relationships.

Bio:
Anaïs Gretry is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Marketing at both (1) University of Liege – HEC Management School and (2) Radboud University - Nijmegen School of Management. She holds a M. Sc. degree in Management Sciences from HEC Management School. In Winter 2014, she was a visiting scholar in the marketing department at the Sauder School of Business, University of British Columbia. Anaïs investigates the impact of brand communication on consumer-brand relationships in a digital context. She has presented her research at several international conferences, including the Brands and Brand Relationships Conference 2013, 2016 (Boston; Toronto), EMAC 2013, 2015 (Istanbul; Leuven), Academy of Marketing Science 2014 (Indianapolis), and at the Doctoral Colloquium of the Association for Consumer Research 2014 (Baltimore). During the Brands and Brand Relationships Conference 2016 (Toronto), she received the Best Paper Award delivered by GFK and the Brands and Brand Relationships Institute for outstanding research.

At 15:45

« How do nutrition claims influence consumers' perception and attraction for food products » by Maartje Mulders

co-authored with Horváth Csilla and Belei Nina (Institute for Management Research, Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands)

Abstract:
Nutrition claims have been used in order to highlight the particular benefits of a food product. However, such claims are most common on processed products. Two studies investigated how consumers respond towards nutrition claims on fresh and processed vegetables, and if different claims have different effects. Study 1 (n= 305) investigated whether consumers would be more likely to choose a bag of fresh vegetables that was marked by the claim of ‘fiber’ vs. that of ‘colic nutriments’. Study 2 (n=200) investigated the claims ‘fiber’ vs. ‘inulin’ on choice for fresh (i.e., tomato) and processed (i.e., tomato-based pasta sauce) food products. Three research questions were addressed: 1. Are consumers more likely to choose a product with a claim vs. one with no claim? 2. Are they more likely to choose a product with a familiar claim vs. a novel claim? and 3. Do the first two types of choices differ for fresh vs. processed products? Results of these 2 studies will be discussed, as well as the implication for consumer research.

Bio:
Maartje did her Bachelor and Master degree in the Netherlands, at the University of Maastricht. She completed her bachelor degree at University College Maastricht, where she first got interested in psychology, and after 3 years graduated with a focus on Microbiology and Psychology. After her bachelor, she did a Research Master in Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience, in the psychopathology track. During this master, she did her internship in Oregon (USA), where she researched how the brain's reward system responds to food cues (fMRI research), as well as possible hormonal influences for women on food consumption. Her interest for food, and food research, led her to Belgium, where she now does a Ph.D. at the Université Libre de Bruxelles, with the Food4Gut team. The Food4Gut project is an innovative and interdisciplinary research group, aiming to find means to help combat the obesity crisis. They investigate how the old and forgotten vegetables that contain a specific type of fibers, affect humans' digestion and well-being. In this group, Maartje researches the food marketing side of things, and how people understand nutrition claims and how this impacts their food choice, from a psychological perspective. More information on the Food4Gut group can be found here: https://www.uclouvain.be/467674.html.