Appealing to Divergent Brand Community Members - Adjusting Advertisements to Reflect Competing Construals (Starbucks Social Distance Experimental Study)

While brand communities bring to mind commonalities like shared interests and values, it is important to note that the way consumers construe information can be different depending on the situation and their level of integration with the brand community itself. Therefore, this research proposes that construal level impacts how brand community members process information, and specifically looks at how two dimensions of psychological distance—social and temporal distance—affect the persuasiveness of different types of advertising appeals. Furthermore, consideration is given to the consequences that occur when both dimensions are simultaneously activated, but the valence of the construal levels move in opposite directions. As such, these studies contribute to both theory and practice by extending knowledge to include which types of construals are more salient when competing construals are triggered, and by helping marketing managers to identify the most effective advertising appeals for brand community members under these different conditions.