The Importance of Consumer Engagement In Brand Heritage Advertising: How Feeling Close to a Brand Can Increase Willingness to Pay More.

Consumers mentally construe the world around themselves by adopting either low or high construal levels. The construal level they adopt affects how psychologically close (low) or far (high) they perceive objects to be, ultimately affecting how they evaluate what they see, including brands and products. Practitioners should be aware that advertising can induce the adoption of a specific construal level, as through the use of abstract or concrete language. The current research showed that brand heritage advertising affects the construal level, influencing consumers’ sense of psychological closeness to the brand. By triggering high construal levels (distancing the consumer from the brand), heritage advertising can reduce brand uniqueness and willingness to pay more, unless the brand actively engages with the consumer.