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The purpose of this study is to investigate the development of brand hate based on the case of Italian luxury fashion house Dolce & Gabbana in China.

The strategy adopted in this study is a single in-depth case study. Qualitative methods are applied in both the data collection and analysis.

The findings identified six distinct stages through which brand hate can develop: awareness, anger, amplification, antagonism, action and apathy.

The case is specific to a luxury brand and the Chinese cultural context.

Practitioners need to consider how business strategies can be adapted to manage the six stages of the manifestation of brand hate. A “proactive” approach is needed to avoid arousing brand hate, while a “reactive” approach is needed to manage its potential ramifications.

There has been a paucity of anti-consumption research within the business strategy literature. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the focus on China makes this the first study to investigate brand hate within a Chinese cultural context.

The purpose of this study is to identify how craft spirits distilleries use elements of the storytelling narrative as part of a storytelling marketing strategy.

A case study approach was undertaken based on seven craft distilleries in and around Chicago, IL. Data were collected from various sources including direct observation and secondary data based on online press coverage company websites and social media.

In the sample of firms, the authors identified the following seven categories of storytelling themes: craft, innovation, origins, myth, celebrity, provenance and collectability. These categories comprise both functional and emotional components which are strongly associated with the concept of authenticity.

This research is the first of its kind to investigate storytelling within the craft spirits sector. The results are relevant to develop strategies for marketing craft spirits brands. Findings are relevant for spirits distilleries in Chicago, IL but have transferable learnings for beverage categories who desire to stage meaningful, valued customer experiences.

The purpose of this paper is to consider the design of experiential marketing strategies within the luxury beer category.

The research is exploratory in order to provide a broad, grounded starting point within the context of a changing luxury landscape.

Consumer responses to the craft beer consumption experience can be applied to the four dimensions of experiential value as defined by Mathwick et al. (2001): consumer return on investment; perceived excellence value; perceived playfulness; and perceived aesthetic value.

This analysis suggests that the degree to which a luxury beer brand is able to deliver experiential value will largely determine its market success.

This paper is the first to study experiential marketing within the context of the luxury beer category.

The purpose of this exploratory study is to identify the antecedents of brand hate in respect to luxury brand gamification marketing activities.

Five gamified product placements characterized by the ad hoc design of luxury co-branded virtual and/or physical products were selected for the research study. Content analysis was used to identify patterns and classify negative comments shared online into categories.

A content analysis of the negative comments (n. 2,321) related to the perception toward gamification of luxury fashion in videogames revealed the following seven domains: monetization of the game; promotion of inappropriate behavior; unethical placement; games commodified by brands; predatory monetization; perceived incongruence; poor product performance.

The exploratory research study revealed how the perception of gamification activities trigger negative emotions toward luxury fashion brands. It was significant that many of these emotions fall within the antecedents of brand hate.

Luxury companies and game developers need to be aware and manage the antecedents of brand hate in respect to luxury brand gamification activities in videogames. Moreover, luxury brands need to consider customers’ influencing behavior via online word-of-mouth and the potential to impact attitudes and behaviors of other consumers toward brands.

The ethics of gamification within a marketing context have largely escaped inquiry. The study provides evidence that luxury brands need to align the fundamentals of luxury brand management in the digital world of gaming.

The conceptualization of the Base of Pyramid (BOP) proposes that low-income markets can lead to profitable opportunities for businesses. The purpose of this study is to identify key success factors of a BOP business strategy based on a case study of the discount retailer, Dollar General, in the USA.

The research design used in this research is an in-depth case study of Dollar General in the USA. Qualitative methods are applied in both the primary and secondary data collection and during the follow-on data analysis of Dollar General.

Dollar General’s strategic profile is achieved through the combination of the following four actions which are tailored to compete effectively at the BOP in the USA: creating the neighborhood discounter, raising aspirational appeal, reducing service and eliminating internationalization.

The case is specific to Dollar General in a US cultural context.

The case of Dollar General demonstrates how a discounter retailer should not only follow a low-cost strategy to compete at the BOP. Its ability to craft a distinctive strategy is coherent with meeting the logistical, rational and emotional needs of the low-income consumer in the USA.

Many businesses have neglected rural areas of the USA as being unprofitable. The ability for businesses such as Dollar General to serve the BOP segment can foster the socio-economic well-being of communities.

The overwhelming body of the BOP literature is based on emerging markets. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the few studies to investigate BOP business strategy in the USA.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the motives for posting or sharing food photos using social media, focussed within the context of fine dining (FD) restaurants.

Ethnographic fieldwork was conducted in France by combining analysis of qualitative diary research and transcripts of focus group discussions.

The motivation to take food images can be broadly categorised according to experiential (hedonism, altruism and passion collecting) and symbolic (social status, uniqueness, self-esteem and self-presentation) benefits.

This research is limited by its relatively small sample size and the inability to consider the direct influences of demographic variables and attitudes to FD and social media. Moreover, the cultural context of the study needs to be considered as the study took place in France.

User-generated images are increasingly an integral aspect of the holistic dining experience. Luxury restaurants need to leverage the opportunities of user-generated content. The FD experience needs to be visually captured and expressed. This can include both tangible and intangible attributes.

Although the literature has provided a comprehensive overview of social media behaviour, the efficacy of a gastronomic perspective is limited. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to investigate consumer-generated postings of images of food within the luxury restaurant classification.

The purpose of this paper is to use the concept of brand hate as part of an exploratory study in order to investigate the antecedents and consequences of extreme negative affect within the food category.

The authors employed a mixed research design. A short survey of 324 French business school students identified Starbucks as the most hated food brand (measured in terms of frequency of mentions). In total, 14 semi-structured interviews were conducted with participants who had identified Starbucks as a hated brand.

The research study found that not all consumers feel brand hate at the same level and so-called haters expressed differing severity of hate towards Starbucks, i.e. cold, warm and hot brand hate. Findings revealed that the antecedents of extreme negative affect are to a certain extent dependent on the intensity of brand hate. Consumer reactions were discussed in terms of attachment–aversion relationships which were categorised according to soft and hard brand hate.

Future research is required to broaden the conceptual scope of brand hate as a construct and apply it in other domains of research, as well as further clarify antecedents and potential outcomes. The authors accept that the study is limited and specific to Starbucks in France. Further research should therefore broaden the scope of context in which brand hate occurs, for example, expanding the geographical scope of the work to other countries and to other food- and drink-related brands. The authors also accept that the study reflects a relatively homogeneous sample and is thus not representative of the general population.

Brand managers need to recognise the risk that brand hate will not only distance former customers, but also spread to existing and future customers. Food brand executives need to therefore consider approaches to address the causes and effects of brand hate.

Brand hate within the literature is a very recent phenomenon and studies remain rare. The rise of the so-called activist consumer is an emerging phenomenon within the food sector. The discussion of brand hate within a food context represents a new avenue of research.

The aim of this paper is to conceptualise the influences of extreme negative emotional response towards luxury brands as expressed in brand hate.

The paper uses examples obtained from a critical incidents approach to interviews with a small sample of German and British luxury consumers. Informants were asked to identify extremely positive and then extremely negative incidents which affected their perceptions of luxury brands. This critical incidents approach allowed for a clearer focus on the negative incidents and allowed identification of common themes that may be related to extreme negative affect.

The evaluation of negative incidents which the informants named suggest that country of origin, consumer dissatisfaction with service, and negative stereotypes of luxury brand users are potential antecedents of brand hate within the luxury sector. Some types of advertising might heighten the latter effect. Consumers' perceptions of corporate social performance did not seem to be a strong source of brand hate, yet the respondents stressed the significance of luxury brands to act responsibly. Thus, it is important for luxury brands to avoid potential dissonance in the way consumers perceive them.

This primarily conceptual paper uses examples from Germany and the UK. Therefore, it is recommended to continue with studies in other countries, including emerging economies, to identify potential cross‐cultural differences. Furthermore, it would be interesting to ascertain which factors are the most significant in evoking extreme negative brand affect.

The core reputation of the luxury brand is a common theme which is identified as a driving force of brand hate. Brand practitioners therefore need to consider how to build a strong positive reputation in order to withstand the immediate and long‐term consequences of brand hate.

The need to investigate antecedents of extreme negative affect as manifested in brand hate reflects a gap in extant literature on luxury brand management. Therefore, the authors contend that their conceptualization of antecedents of affect will have important theoretical and practical implications within the field of luxury brand management.

This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.

This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.

Firms operating in overseas markets must exercise care in their advertising campaigns. Lacking awareness of cultural sensitivities risks promotional content being perceived as offensive and trigger condemnation and boycotting of the brand. Relevant proactive and reactive actions then become highly important in order to begin rebuilding the tarnished brand name.

The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.