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You鈥檙e on your way to work and want to pick up a cup of coffee. Your favorite brew is Dunkin鈥� Donuts. You like the taste, the convenience of getting it on the go and the value for the price. The decision as to where to go is easy, right?

Now let鈥檚 look at an alternative scenario. You鈥檙e meeting a couple of friends and will be picking up coffee for them as well. Instead of heading for Dunkin鈥�, you find yourself drawn to Starbucks. Why?

How consumers evaluate brands intrigues Zachary Johnson, Ph.D., assistant professor of marketing. Previous research said consumers base their decisions on the quality and attributes of the product or service and how it meets their needs鈥攊n this case, a coffee鈥檚 taste, price or convenience. However, other studies show that a firm鈥檚 reputation for doing social good鈥攕uch as Starbucks supporting causes through its Starbucks Foundation鈥攊nfluences brand preference. This is an important factor for companies to consider, as companies invest vast sums in socially responsible activities.

To learn more, Dr. Johnson and Associate Professor Yun Jung Lee, Ph.D., both in the Department of Decision Sciences and Marketing in the Robert B. Willumstad School of Business, and Minoo Talebi Ashoori, Ph.D., of Purdue University Northwest, examined the relationship between consumer goals and product evaluations and how marketing communications, such as print ads, impact that relationship. The resulting research鈥�”“鈥攚as published in the Journal of Brand Management in January 2018.

Consumers generally categorize a brand as having what marketers call 鈥渁bility鈥濃�攕pecific attributes鈥攐r 鈥渟ocial responsibility,鈥� which refers to the company鈥檚 involvement in activities for social good.

鈥淢ost research has shown that product quality associations are more important than social responsibility associations when evaluating products and that higher product quality leads to stronger consumer evaluations of quality,鈥� Dr. Johnson said. 鈥淚n contrast, we looked at when a brand is more apt to do well regarding social responsibility.鈥�

Dr. Johnson and his colleagues recruited 366 participants. Some of them were asked to describe an excellent cup of coffee, while others were asked to describe a social experience in a coffee shop. Next, participants were shown one of two ads for a fictitious coffee brand. One ad focused on the coffee鈥檚 high quality and the other on the brand鈥檚 socially responsible activities. All participants were then surveyed on various aspects of the brand鈥檚 value.

When participants were told to think about product attributes and then were shown either the quality-focused ad or a social responsibility ad, the quality-focused ad was evaluated more favorably. However, when participants were told to think about social experiences, they evaluated the social responsibility ad more highly.

The results suggest that a product performs better in brand evaluations when marketing communications match consumer goals, and that consumers associate product abilities with competence and capabilities and social responsibility with warmth and friendliness, much as in social relations among people.

鈥淪ocial responsibility was shown to have a direct effect on subjective perceptions of quality,鈥� says Dr. Johnson. This indicates that social responsibility associations have greater value, as compared to ability associations, when consumers are focused on social connectedness and social consumption experiences鈥攊n this case, chatting with friends over a cup of coffee.

鈥淐orporate social responsibility can positively affect consumer evaluations of brand attributes in a way that product abilities cannot, because of consumers鈥� social goals regarding warmth and social cohesion,鈥� he said.

The implications for companies, Dr. Johnson said, are that brands can benefit from tailoring their advertising toward the goals of their customers within product-oriented or experience-oriented purchase contexts.

Dr. Johnson鈥檚 current research, being conducted with colleagues at Iowa State University, Rutgers University and Murray State University, involves further exploration of social responsibility and ability associations as they relate to brand value.