70
M. De Angelis et al.
galleries. This is achieved by leveraging interior design, effective lighting, artisanal
merchandising and suggestive product display, all managed together with curatorial attention. Advertising is another element of the marketing mix of luxury brands
which is deeply involved in the process of artification. The effect that the introduction of artistic elements in product advertisement has on product perception and
evaluation—named the art infusion effect—has been extensively explored by several
scholars. This subject, which is at the core of the present study, is discussed in the
next section.
7 The “Art Infusion Effect”
Despite the general awareness that marketers and scholars have shown regarding
the positive effect that the introduction of artistic elements can have on consumer
evaluations [51], neither empirical evidence nor theoretical conceptualization existed
until Hagtvedt and Patrick’s studies [52]. They proved the existence of the art infusion
effect, which is the general and positive “influence of the presence of art on consumer
perceptions and evaluations of products with which it is associated” (p. 379). Authors
theorize that it represents a special kind of spillover effect, since the “perceptions
of luxury associated with visual art spill over from the artwork onto products with
which it is associated, leading to more favourable evaluations of these products”
(p. 379). The spillover effect—namely, the transfer of properties from one object to
another, linked to the previous one [53]—is the impact that information provided in
product-related messages has on beliefs about attributes that are not mentioned in
the messages [54] and has proved to be more influential in terms of attitude changes
than the message itself [55]. The effect is explained by consumers’ tendency to
infer missing attribute information relying on their intuitive notions of inter-attribute
correlations and on the correlational information gathered from the message [54].
Hagtvedt and Patrick’s [52] findings have been later challenged by further studies,
which expanded the above-mentioned theoretical framework by bringing in the mediating role of emotions [56]. In particular, authors supported prior findings regarding
the mediating role of luxury perception and also demonstrated across three studies
the mediating role of brand affect—namely the positive emotional response to the
brand [57], arguing that emotion represents “the lower-level mechanism driving the
higher-level effect of perceived luxury on product evaluations” (p. 403). Results fully
supported assumptions: when introduced as additional mediator, brand affect significantly and fully mediated the art infusion effect, while perceived luxury became
nonsignificant.
M. De Angelis et al.
galleries. This is achieved by leveraging interior design, effective lighting, artisanal
merchandising and suggestive product display, all managed together with curatorial attention. Advertising is another element of the marketing mix of luxury brands
which is deeply involved in the process of artification. The effect that the introduction of artistic elements in product advertisement has on product perception and
evaluation—named the art infusion effect—has been extensively explored by several
scholars. This subject, which is at the core of the present study, is discussed in the
next section.
7 The “Art Infusion Effect”
Despite the general awareness that marketers and scholars have shown regarding
the positive effect that the introduction of artistic elements can have on consumer
evaluations [51], neither empirical evidence nor theoretical conceptualization existed
until Hagtvedt and Patrick’s studies [52]. They proved the existence of the art infusion
effect, which is the general and positive “influence of the presence of art on consumer
perceptions and evaluations of products with which it is associated” (p. 379). Authors
theorize that it represents a special kind of spillover effect, since the “perceptions
of luxury associated with visual art spill over from the artwork onto products with
which it is associated, leading to more favourable evaluations of these products”
(p. 379). The spillover effect—namely, the transfer of properties from one object to
another, linked to the previous one [53]—is the impact that information provided in
product-related messages has on beliefs about attributes that are not mentioned in
the messages [54] and has proved to be more influential in terms of attitude changes
than the message itself [55]. The effect is explained by consumers’ tendency to
infer missing attribute information relying on their intuitive notions of inter-attribute
correlations and on the correlational information gathered from the message [54].
Hagtvedt and Patrick’s [52] findings have been later challenged by further studies,
which expanded the above-mentioned theoretical framework by bringing in the mediating role of emotions [56]. In particular, authors supported prior findings regarding
the mediating role of luxury perception and also demonstrated across three studies
the mediating role of brand affect—namely the positive emotional response to the
brand [57], arguing that emotion represents “the lower-level mechanism driving the
higher-level effect of perceived luxury on product evaluations” (p. 403). Results fully
supported assumptions: when introduced as additional mediator, brand affect significantly and fully mediated the art infusion effect, while perceived luxury became
nonsignificant.