Brand as “rupa”: Buddhist psychology and brand experience

Does Buddhism affects the way consumers experience brands? First, in a Buddhist psychology view, a brand can be seen as rupa (form, appearance), that is any external stimulus that triggers an automatic reaction by the subject. Buddhist consumers may have both and increased attention and an increased detachment from brands-rupa. This double reaction can increase or decrease the consumer’s brand experience, respectively, depending on which effects is stronger. Second, Buddhism can enhance the level of mindfulness of the consumer, that is the state of deep and non-judgemental attention to the present moment. Mindfulness can intensify the brand experience by increasing the attention towards the brand-related stimuli; however the non-judgemental focus of mindfulness could detach the Buddhist consumer from brands. This study investigates whether Buddhism, rupa (measured as expertise of the subject with this concept), mindfulness, and religiosity affect brand experience. The preliminary findings show that Buddhism and rupa do not affect brand experience, while mindfulness and religiosity intensify it.