Brand experimental value versus brand functional value: which matters more for the brand?

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to analyze the relative higher impact of brand experiential value over brand functional value in generating brand equity, consumer–brand identification and positive word-of-mouth (WOM). It also analyzes whether the impact of these brand values in building brand outcomes depends on consumers’ age. Design/methodology/approach – Information was collected from a sample of 332 consumers by personal interviews. Respondents provide information about their consumption experiences with a specific brand from a stated list of 14 experiential and non-experiential brands. Findings – Results suggest that the effect of brand experiential value on brand equity and consumer-brand identification was higher than that of brand functional value. By contrast, positive WOM was more influenced by brand functional value. Furthermore, the results also confirm that as consumers age, brand experiential value exhibits a significant higher effect than brand functional value on brand outcomes. Research limitations/implications – A potential shortcoming is the common method bias. As far as one questionnaire was used to measure all study constructs, the strength of the causal relationships among constructs may have been inflated. Practical implications – For brand managers, the key implications concern on how to effectively allocate brand investment to build stronger brand equity and consumer-brand identification and stimulated positive WOM. Originality/value – Despite the greater importance that the experiential perspective is gaining in the brand literature and the voices proclaiming that experiential value will matter most, this is the first empirical research paper that analyzes that the relative superiority of experiential value over functional value depends on the brand outcomes pursued and consumers’ age.