Brand (In)fidelity: When Flirting with the Competition Strengthens Brand Relationships

The consequences of infidelity are detrimental to the continuity of romantic relationships. In order to shield themselves against temptations, individuals who are committed to a relationship devalue the attractiveness of alternatives or pay less attention to them (Johnson and Rusbult 1989; Lydon, Fitzsimons, and Naidoo 2003). Such defensive tactics are more difficult to implement in the context of marketing relationships. In the marketing world, numerous brands are available and actively try to lure consumers away from their competitors by means of commercials, promotions, free samples, and other attempts to win consumers’ preferences. Even the most loyal consumers are exposed to positive information about attractive alternatives, and may even find themselves appreciating other products and brands that compete with their favored brands. What happens when loyal consumers are tempted by other brands? In five studies, we demonstrate that a temporary interest spurred by a competitor positively impacts committed brand relationships. We propose that flirting with a competing brand induces arousal, and this arousal increases consumers’ commitment with their favorite brands through a misattribution process: consumers who flirt with a competitive brand feel more aroused than participants who do not flirt, and they misattribute this arousal to their favorite brand. We test the positive effect of being unfaithful to brands in a series of studies using a diverse array of paradigms. In study 1, we show that appreciating a competitive brand’s favorable characteristics induces loyal participants to consume greater amounts of their favorite brand in the near future. We presented participants with four favorable features of a soft drink and asked them to evaluate each of them. As predicted, participants loyal to Coca-Cola (Pepsi) who rated favorable features of Pepsi (Coca-Cola) intended to consume more of their favorite soft drink in the upcoming week, compared to loyal participants who rated the same favorable features of Coca-Cola (Pepsi).