Masstige Marketing: A Review, Synthesis, and Research Agenda

This article reviews the literature on Mass Prestige (Masstige) based marketing and analyzes the evolution of the 'masstige strategy' with a focus on how this phenomenon evolved from conventional way of marketing premium brands. We synthesise the findings of prior studies, analyse different dimensions, identify research gaps, call for using existing measures like Masstige Mean Score Scale (MMSS) and develop new measures which would facilitate further research in this niche area as well as help the practitioners in developing marketing strategies for luxury/premium brands. It was found that masstige research hitherto has focused on product-based brands and not taken into account the brands from service sector. This review aims to critically examine the previous studies on masstige marketing and identify potential research opportunities. We propose the Mass-Luxury continuum to place product or service brands in terms of mass prestige. Moreover, we develop ideas for future researchers based on the identified research gaps.

Ajay Kumar, Justin Paul, Anandakuttan B. Unnithan