ABSTRACT
As consumers become more informed about brands and products, they are more demanding about the role these brands and products play, not only in the market but also in the world. They are more conscious of consumer empowerment and brand-talk: The “consumers-listen” model is no longer a way to achieve success in the market. New brand—consumer relationships are needed. Brand engagement emerges as a promising construct to develop and maintain these relationships. In this chapter, we first analyze the main changes in marketing during the new millennium and its main effects on consumer behavior, pointing out the need for a brand—consumer reconnection. Then we conceptualize brand engagement as a multidimensional construct and develop a conceptual framework for brand engagement research. A brand engagement research agenda is also proposed. Finally, managerial implications for the refinement of the brand engagement concept are discussed as well as the need for the development of a brand engagement scale.
