Consumer Brand Relationship in the Age of Instagram

In order to target ultra-connected consumers, and with the success of the fashion blogosphere, ready-to-wear brands are willing to be visible in C-to-C communication, such as Instagram and personal blogs. Brands encourage their clients to mention them and use hashtags on social networks, in the hope of answering shoppers’ need for identification by showing their clothes worn by ordinary consumers. Our research aims at better understanding the consumer’s perception of “fashion brands sharing.” More particularly, the goal is to contribute to past research on customer brand relationship and analyze the relational impact of associating oneself to a particular brand on social network. To answer these questions we conduct a qualitative study about motivations to share clothing style pictures mentioning brands and use hashtags as well as the relational impact of such practices. Results show that consumers feel like they are helping brands gain visibility but that they are not particularly interested in deepening the relationship. They want to be seen as “commercial” partners by brands and expect a return in terms of strengthening their online self-presentation and influence. To take advantage of fashion blogs and Instagram users’ influence, brands should thus develop a balanced relationship and help their customers to be seen as fashion experts and to enlarge their audience.