Article C -Seo, Y., Septianto, F., & Ko, E. (2022)

Question 1

Implications

Answer 1

1) Cultural congruence enhances brand luxury perception: for brands without a heritage or stereotypically luxurious country-of-origin, using culturally congruent artwork (even if less luxurious in stereotype) enhances perceived authenticity and has positive downstream consequences.
2) Cultural incongruence may backfire: Using artworks from a different culture may hurt authenticity perceptions, especially for non-European brands trying to leverage European art, potentially negating the desired luxury effect.
3) Authenticity can mitigate incongruence: Brands with an established authentic image can afford to use culturally incongruent art, but should reinforce authenticity through other campaign elements to maintain the luxury perception.