Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic increases consumers’ worries and makes them experience a loss of control over their lives. We investigate how these factors affect the roles that brands play in consumers’ lives. Results of a longitudinal survey (N = 5,393) and an online experiment (N = 387) show that brands gain relevance and are more firmly included in consumers’ self-concepts if consumers experience more worries about Covid-19 and a lack of control. Brands can benefit from this by addressing worries associated with the crisis in their advertisements. This is particularly effective for consumers who express greater worry about the Covid-19 pandemic.

摘要

Covid-19 大流行增加了消费者的担忧，使他们无法控制自己的生活。我们调查这些因素如何影响品牌在消费者生活中所扮演的角色。纵向调查 ( N  = 5,393) 和在线实验 ( N  = 387) 的结果表明，如果消费者对 Covid-19 感到更多的担忧和缺乏控制，品牌就会获得相关性并更牢固地包含在消费者的自我概念中。品牌可以通过解决与广告中的危机相关的担忧来从中受益。这对于对 Covid-19 大流行表示更大担忧的消费者尤其有效。