A new ground-breaking study by The Relational Capital Group, in collaboration with researchers at Princeton University, has revealed that the instinctive thought process that governs our perceptions and interactions with other people also drives our purchase decisions and loyalty towards commercial brands.   The Warmth & Competence Model has been well researched and documented as the universal thought process that governs how all humans perceive and build relationships with one another.   However, this new research shows that warmth and competence perceptions also heavily influence consumer behavior, shedding new light on why we’ve become so cynical about brands and corporations.

What are Warmth & Competence?

Over the past few decades, social psychologists have deduced that as humans evolved they had to develop an ability to make two kinds of judgments of others very accurately for survival purposes.  In a nutshell, warmth = what are the intentions of this group or individual toward me (i.e. friend or foe, etc.); while competence = what is their ability to act on those intentions (i.e. strong or weak, etc).  By making these judgments accurately and behaving accordingly, relationships that preserved human survival and group membership were created.

Through studies across 36 countries, academic researchers have determined the dimensions of warmth to include an array of traits such as friendliness, helpfulness, sincerity, trustworthiness and honesty; whereas competence is reflected by traits such as intelligence, skill, creativity, efficiency and effectiveness.   For simplicity, the terms Warmth & Competence are now commonly used to refer to these two distinctive categories of human perception, within which there are typically many dimensions.

Conventional Wisdom on Brands

Since the advent of national distribution, broadcast communication and mass market brands, the production, sale and marketing of products and services has been defined by the concept of features and benefits.   “Features” meaning the observable traits and characteristics of a particular product or service, while “benefits” refers to the tangible or emotional outcome consumers receive from those features.  The profession of brand management, and in large measure the entire advertising industry, has been built on the delivery, measurement and communication of brand features and benefits.

However, findings of this new research suggest that features and benefits are simply an incomplete subset of the broader warmth and competence expectations that consumers judge brands against.  As a result, brands and companies have failed to recognize and deliver on several critical warmth-related dimensions required to develop trust and brand loyalty.  In this regard, warmth and competence insights and strategies offer brands and companies the opportunity to evolve from cynical short-term transactions to lasting consumer relationships.

About this Study

In collaboration with Dr. Susan T. Fiske, a leading academic researcher on The Warmth & Competence Model at Princeton University, The Relational Capital Group retained an independent research firm to conduct online interviews of 1,042 U.S. adults in early July 2010.  Respondents were asked about their warmth and competence expectations, perceptions, purchase intent and brand loyalty towards eight well-known, national brands.  The brands studied included Tropicana, Minute Maid, McDonalds, Burger King, BP, Shell, Tylenol and Advil.   An additional 20 national brands will be evaluated in the second phase of the study later this year.

Key Findings and Implications from the Study

Key findings from this study will be released to news media in late August 2010.   In the mean time, for more information on this research, it’s findings and key implications for brands, contact Chris Malone at chris@relcapgroup.com