Faith-filled brands: The interplay of religious branding and brand engagement in the self-concept

While prior research has shown that religion influences consumption, research has yet to adequately examine how the branded-self influences response to religious brands. Consumer response to religious brands was examined in three experiments. In Study 1a, consumers had less trust and lower quality perceptions for religious brands, with this effect only emerging for participants with lower levels of brand engagement in the self-concept (BESC). In Study 1b, consumer reactions toward religious brands did not differ by degree of religious cue explicitness or product category. Studies 2 and 3 then explore the moderators of firm size and religiosity, revealing that high BESC consumers believed they would be valued by a religious brand regardless of size and that higher levels of religiosity could attenuate lower evaluations of religious brands for consumers low and high in BESC. Findings are discussed in light of the branding, religion, and self-concept literature.