HIGH POINT, N.C., Feb. 28, 2012 – Courtney Boerstler, associate professor of marketing in the Phillips School of Business at High Point University, recently wrote a chapter for the book, “Consumer-Brand Relationships: Theory and Practice,” to be published in March.
Boerstler’s chapter, titled “Brands Can Be Like Friends: Goals and Interpersonal Motives Influence Attitudes toward Preferred Brands,” is about how brands act in a similar manner to friends in an individual’s pursuit of personal goals. Boerstler and co-authors Chris Long, Phillip Gable and Christina Albee researched social tendencies such as belongingness and attachment, and how they relate to brand closeness.
Boerstler and her co-authors submitted the paper to the First International Consumer Brand Relationship Colloquium in April, 2010, where it won Best Paper Award. The paper was submitted for inclusion into the book.
Boerstler uses her experience with the book as learning material in the classroom, she says. She notes that students seem particularly amazed at how consumers unconsciously think of brands similar to friends.
“I teach consumer behavior, and when we talk about goal achievement and the importance of brands, I talk about this paper in particular,” says Boerstler.
Boerstler has also published an article, titled “Benefits and Challenges of Conducting Multiple Methods Research in Marketing,” in the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science.
At High Point University, every student receives an extraordinary education in an inspiring environment with caring people.℠ HPU, located in the Piedmont Triad region of North Carolina, is a liberal arts institution with over 4,200 undergraduate and graduate students at campuses in High Point and Winston-Salem. It is ranked by US News and World Report at No. 3 among Regional Colleges in the South. Parade Magazine lists HPU in the top 25 private schools in the nation. HPU was selected in the 2010-2011 list of “Colleges of Distinction,” as well as one of the top green schools in the country by the Sierra Club. The university offers 44 undergraduate majors, 40 undergraduate minors and 10 graduate degree programs. It is a member of the NCAA, Division I and the Big South Conference. Visit High Point University on the Web at highpoint.edu.
# # #
Pam Haynes
Communication Specialist
336-841-9055
phaynes@highpoint.edu