Consumers have grown increasingly skeptical of brands, leaving managers in a dire search for novel ways to connect. The authors suggest that focusing on one’s relationships with competitors is a valuable, albeit unexpected, way for brands to do so. More specifically, the present research demonstrates that praising one’s competitor—via “brand-to-brand praise”— often heightens preference for the praiser more so than other common forms of communication, such as self-promotion or benevolent information. This is because brand-to-brand praise increases perceptions of brand warmth, which leads to enhanced brand evaluations and choice. The authors support this theory with seven studies conducted in the lab, online, and in the field that feature multiple managerially-relevant outcomes, including brand attitudes, social media and advertising engagement, brand choice, and purchase behavior, in a variety of product and service contexts. The authors also identify key boundary conditions and rule alternative explanations, further elucidating the underlying mechanism and important implementation insights. This work contributes to our understanding of brand perception and warmth, providing a novel way for brands to connect to consumers by connecting with each other.

消费者对品牌的怀疑越来越多，这让经理们苦苦寻找新的联系方式。作者认为，关注自己与竞争对手的关系对于品牌来说是一种有价值的、尽管出乎意料的方式。更具体地说，目前的研究表明，通过“品牌对品牌的赞美”来赞美竞争对手通常比其他常见的交流形式（例如自我推销或善意信息）更能提高对赞美者的偏好。这是因为品牌对品牌的赞美增加了对品牌温暖的感知，从而增强了品牌评价和选择。作者通过在实验室、在线和现场进行的七项研究支持这一理论，这些研究具有多种与管理相关的结果，包括品牌态度、社交媒体和广告参与度，在各种产品和服务环境中的品牌选择和购买行为。作者还确定了关键边界条件和规则替代解释，进一步阐明了潜在机制和重要的实施见解。这项工作有助于我们理解品牌感知和温暖，为品牌通过相互联系与消费者建立联系提供了一种新的方式。