International Journal of Interdisciplinary Research
Table 1 Characteristics of explicit and subtle signals as defined in previous research
Study | Objective | Context | Variables used that are similar to or synonyms of explicit vs. subtle signals | Methodology and Manipulation/stimulus of explicit vs. subtle signals | Findings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Aw et al. (2021) | To examine the effect of brand prominence on the purchase intention of luxury goods, with the mediating role of self-congruence and value-for-money perception | Luxury products | Brand prominent: a brand mark that is visible and observable vs. less obstructive logos placed at the corners of the goods | Experimental design Manipulation/stimulus: Wallets with big and very visible logos vs. wallets with small and unnoticeable logos | No direct effect was found between brand prominence and purchase intentions. Rather an indirect effect was found, which was that the brand prominence increased purchase intention by evoking self-congruence and/or value-for-money perception |
Berger and Ward (2010) | To examine how signal explicitness influences consumer preference to communicate social identities, focusing on the moderating role of cultural knowledge | Luxury products | Signal explicitness: explicit signals include large logos or brand names that are more visible and loud patterns, vs. subtle signals include those that are less visible such as discreetly placed distinctive patterns | Experimental design Manipulation/stimulus: handbags with an explicit logo (e.g., visible Coach or Chanel pattern) vs. handbags without a logo (e.g., plain colors or brand-unrelated pattern) | Participants with more cultural capital in a particular domain prefer subtle signals because they provide differentiation from the mainstream |
Byun et al. (2020) | To investigate drivers (susceptibility to normative influence and conspicuous, social, and unique values of luxury consumption) and dynamics (age, gender, income, and time lived in the US) of preferences for brand prominence among the Chinese little emperors (LEs) residing in the US | Luxury products | Brand prominence: Products with high brand prominence that are noticeable by a wide customer base | Online survey | Conspicuous, social, and unique value perceptions were driven by the susceptibility to normative influence among the Chinese LE generation residing in the US; perceived conspicuous and social values of luxury consumption were the Chinese LEs’ primary drivers of preference for brand prominent luxury fashion bags |
Greenberg et al. (2020) | To explore the impact of personality traits and related motives on brand prominence and design extravagance | Luxury products | Brand prominence: large and visible brand logos vs. small logos or no logos | Within-subject experimental design Manipulation/stimulus: handbags, pullovers, and sneakers with vs. without brand logos | Extraversion was associated with the need for status, which increased preferences for brand prominence and design extravagance Openness to experience was associated with the need for uniqueness, which increased consumer preferences for design extravagance |
Han et al. (2010) | To examine consumers’ preferences for conspicuously or inconspicuously branded luxury goods corresponds with their desire to associate or dissociate with members of their own and other groups | Luxury products | Brand prominence: the extent to which a product has visible markings that aid in brand recognition among observers: loud (conspicuous branding) vs. quiet (discreet branding) products | Experimental design Manipulation/stimulus: Handbags with a big logo and signature pattern (e.g., classic green and red striped pattern from Gucci) vs. handbags without a logo | Wealthy consumers with low need for status want to associate with their own kind and pay a premium for quiet goods only they can recognize. Wealthy consumers with a high need for status use loud luxury goods to signal to the less affluent that they are not one of them |
Kauppinen-Räisänen et al. (2018) | To examine how the relationship between personality traits (need for uniqueness and self-monitoring) and social traits (self-expression and self-presentation) determines consumer preferences for high vs. low brand prominence and investigate the mediating effects of gender and culture | Luxury products | Brand prominence (extent of the visual conspicuousness of the brand): loud (more prominent brand logo) vs. quiet (discreet/inconspicuous) | Online survey | Individuals with a need for uniqueness prefer products with low brand prominence, whereas individuals concerned with self-monitoring negatively affect the preference for high brand prominence Social traits such as self-expression and self-presentation do not influence brand prominence |
Shao et al. (2019) | To examine consumer preference for explicit vs. subtle brand visibility as it is conditional upon consumer motivation and the exposure to different types of ad copy | Luxury products | Explicit brand visibility (products that feature brand-themed colors) vs. subtle brand visibility (products manufactured in plain material with no obvious brand markings) | Experimental design Manipulation/stimulus: Gucci watch with bold Gucci-themed colors (gold, green, and red) on the band vs. Gucci watch with plain stainless-steel band with no obvious Gucci markings | Extrinsically motivated respondents showed a greater preference for the luxury product, irrespective of signal type, than intrinsically motivated respondents, while intrinsically motivated respondents who were high in need for uniqueness and low in self-monitors preferred subtle brand visibility In a social-adjustive advertisement, consumers prefer a luxury product with an explicit brand mark |
Suh et al. (2016) | To verify the moderating effects of self-construal and implicit theory in relation to preferences for brand signal explicitness | Luxury products | Brand signal explicitness: Explicit signal product vs. Subtle signal product | Experimental design Manipulation/stimulus: handbag with brand logo vs. handbag with indirect brand marker | Independent self-construal primed respondents preferred subtle than explicit signal products, while interdependent self-construal priming respondents and entity theorists preferred an explicit to a subtle signal product |
Ting et al. (2018) | To examine the influence of subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, and social-adjustive value-expressive, hedonic, and utilitarian function of attitude on purchase intention towards subtle luxury fashion goods | Luxury products | Products with subtle signals are discreetly marked. They either do not contain a visible logo or feature a monogram and signature print that is not easily recognizable | Survey | The social-adjustive and hedonic functions of attitudes positively affected consumers’ purchase intention towards subtle luxury fashion goods, as did subjective norm and perceived behavioral control, with perceived behavioral control being the strongest predictor influencing consumers’ purchase intention towards subtle luxury fashion goods |
Wilcox et al. (2009) | To investigate the moderating effect of brand conspicuousness on the relationship between consumers’ desire regarding social motivations and consumer preferences for counterfeit and real brands | Luxury and counterfeit products | Brand conspicuousness: visible vs. less discernible and visible logos | Experimental design Manipulation/stimulus:handbag with a large, prominent logo located at the center of product exterior vs. handbag with no discernable logo | When products had a luxury brand logo, purchase intention was greater among social adjustive consumers than value-expressive consumers. However, when products featured no logo, there was no difference in purchase intentions among social-adjustive and value-expressive consumers |
Affuso (2018) | To investigate implications of branded fan fashion objects targeted to female fans for fan practices | Fan-themed products | Fans subtly signal their fanship through fan-themed cosmetics, which are considered a wearable and less visible “form of fan merchandise” (p. 188) | Qualitative formal and textual analysis of branded makeup products related to advertising and social media discourse | Branded makeup products are sophisticated, adult, and fashion-forward and not designed to be recognized as fan-themed products. Thus, they are set apart from more explicit products associated with juvenilia. The lines allow consumers to participate in everyday cosplay in which only they are aware |
Affuso and Santo (2018) | To review previous literature focusing on the relationship between merchandise and the film industry | Fan-themed Products | Fan-themed products vary in explicitness | Review paper | Identified topics for future research, including the role merchandise plays in fan practices |
Cherry (2016) | To explore the ways fans incorporate their fan interests in their handicrafting and use handicrafting to construct fan identity, form online fan communities, and remediate cult media stories/texts | Fan-themed products | Emblematic elements that vary in the extent that they are obvious to nonfans: Extratextual material: logos, images of characters/iconic objects, color palettes, or patterns Interpretive items that do not directly represent specific objects or contain recognizable iconography | Qualitative case studies | The analysis led to the creation of A Taxonomy of Fan Handicrafting, in which fan handicrafted items were categorized as one of three types: mimetic, emblematic, and interpretive. Most relevant to the current research are emblematic and interpretive handicrafting |
Smith-Glaviana (2016) | To explore female fans’ motivations for wearing inconspicuous forms of fan dress (including fan-themed clothing) | Fan-themed products | Conspicuous signals: more visible (larger) graphics and graphics/content that was recognizable by a wide/mainstream audience (e.g., film series’ main logos or main characters) vs Inconspicuous signals: less visible (small) graphics such as small logos and graphics/content that was less recognizable (e.g., quotes from the films, images of lesser-known characters or objects, graphics that incorporated a unique or unusual artistic style, or mashups/crossovers that refer to more than one film series/brand) | An exploratory qualitative study utilizing semi-structured wardrobe interviews and photo analysis | Motivations for wearing fan dress included communicating expression of personal identity and social identity, facilitating interaction with other fans, and setting themselves apart from other fans, which varied depending on the conspicuousness or inconspicuousness of fan dress items |