Abstract

     Co-branding is a popular brand leveraging strategy, widely regarded as beneficial to allied brands. Despite its popularity in practice, there is a paucity of research on co-branding strategies in masstige marketing and luxury branding. Employing a quantitative research design via two survey-based experiments we examine the viability of co-branding versus downward extension on luxury consumers’ attitudes and purchase intent. Underpinned by Categorization and Information Integration theories, we find co-branding to be the more desirable masstige strategy in eliciting favorable consumer responses. Further, we show that co-branding is not detrimental to the prestige and desirability of the luxury brand partner, thus countering the narrative that democratization of luxury dilutes luxury brands’ appeal. Our research advances knowledge on luxury consumers’ evaluations of competing masstige strategies, the mechanisms underlying such evaluations, and the spillover effect of co-branding on luxury brands. We offer actionable implications for luxury brand managers desiring to expand into mass prestige markets.

Introduction

     Mass Prestige or Masstige is one of the fastest growing product categories in today’s ultra-competitive marketplace (Business of Fashion, 2019, Forbes, 2020). The popular brand-positioning strategy which involves premium mass marketed goods sold at a mid-market price point (Kumar et al., 2020, Silverstein and Fiske, 2003) is fast finding favor with consumers who have aspirational tastes but are value-conscious. Masstige strategy is increasingly prevalent among luxury brands who, prompted by global downturns have sought alternative strategies to increase their brand presence among millennials who represent 32% of the luxury market now but will grow to command over 60% of the market by 2025 (Boston Consulting Group, 2021). Traditionally, the category grew from luxury brands extending their brands down market (e.g., Ralph Lauren’s diffusion brand Polo by Ralph Lauren), however, more recently luxury brands have opted to dabble in the mid-market space by introducing masstige products via collaborations with high street retailers. For example, Versace’s successful collaboration with H&M created buzz for both brands and saw long queues and website crashes from fans determined to purchase the products (Guardian, 2011). In fact, the collaboration was so fruitful that it was greenlighted for a second season in 2012 (Vogue, 2016). H&M has successfully partnered with other luxury brands such as Balmain in 2015, Kenzo in 2016, Moschino in 2018 and Simone Rocha more recently in 2021 (Wear Next, 2022). According to the luxury resale platform The RealReal (cited by Reuters, 2019), pieces from the collaborations with H&M sell 22% faster than the luxury brands’ main labels. Other notable co-branding masstige examples by luxury brands with high street retailers include Prada and LG, Balmain and Barbie, Hermès and Apple, Manolo Blahnik and Birkenstock among others. By partnering with high street retailers, luxury brands can expand their operations whilst reducing expenditure, minimizing risk, and driving brand awareness among a new segment of consumers (e.g., Oeppen and Jamal, 2014, Shan et al., 2022, Wang et al., 2012).

General discussion

     Is co-branding as a masstige strategy for luxury brands desirable or not? Results from Study 1 provides support for the viability of cobranding as an attractive strategy for luxury brands wishing to expand in the mass prestige market. The results further show that collaboration with a high street retail brand elicits more favorable consumer responses than introducing a less expensive product extension. Whilst co-branding is not without risks, our findings support Mroz-Gorgo ´ n (2016) ´ claim that masstige via co-branding is arguably one of the best strategies for luxury brands to attract new customers, strengthen brand identity and boost sales.

     Moreover, Study 2 provides further evidence to support the desirability of masstige via co-branding. Specifically, our findings counter widely accepted views that partnerships with mass market retail brands will damage the luxury brands’ reputation and status. One of the biggest challenges facing luxury brands and their willingness to explore masstige strategies is the luxury paradox, i.e., how to balance the once exclusive realm with mass consumption. As Kumar et al. (2020) note, the popularity of masstige marketing acts against the basic tenet of luxury branding. Consequently, brands fear it will damage their luxury brand image. Importantly, our results demonstrate that masstige via cobranding assumes relatively low risk in terms of harming the luxury brands desirability and prestige. Notably, we found no impact of masstige co-branding strategy on brand exclusivity. This non-significant relationship can be potentially explained by the fact that exclusivity is viewed from the prism of accessibility (Bachmann et al., 2019). Luxury brands are perceived as exclusive as their availability is restricted, which may not be the case for masstige co-branded offers which are developed for the wider market resulting in greater accessibility of luxury brands via mid-range price points. Thus, while luxury brands will retain their prestige and desirability post extension they may not be perceived as exclusive due to widening accessibility.