Amor e respeito à marca: um estudo em destino turístico brasileiro à luz da Teoria Lovemarks

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the application of the Lovemarks Theory in the context of the tourist destination Natal (RN) - Brazil. The theoretical basis states that brands must elicit love and respect from their customers to be considered a lovemark. To verify this issue in Natal, the study, which is of a descriptive-quantitative nature, proposed to test a theoretical model based on the dimensions of the Lovemarks Theory, namely: mystery, sensuality and intimacy (brand love); and trust, reputation and performance (brand respect). The data were collected through an online survey created on the Google Forms platform, which obtained 285 valid responses from people who have visited Natal at least once. Participants expressed their degree of agreement with each of the thirtyeight items in the questionnaire through a 5-point metric scale based on the Likert model. Descriptive and factorial analyses of the obtained material were performed using the IBM SPSS Statistics software, version 22. To examine the six hypotheses that support the theoretical model of the study, the SmartPLS 3 software was used, executing the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) technique. The results showed that all research hypotheses were supported, which validated the application of the Lovemarks Theory in tourist destinations. The "brand love" construct was found to have a more significant relationship with the "intimacy" dimension (structural coefficient = 0,558). This allows us to infer that, for the tourists in Natal, the elements present in this dimension are the most important for the creation of love for the place’s brand, such as commitment, empathy, and passion. Moreover, it was observed that the three latent variables (mystery, sensuality, and intimacy) explain 79% of brand love in the tourist destination context. Regarding the "brand respect" construct, the study’s findings indicated a greater relationship with the "trust" dimension (structural coefficient = 0,481). Thus, aspects such as tourists’ safety when visiting Natal-RN, which is part of this dimension, strongly influence the perception of respect for the place’s brand. The latent variables “trust, reputation and performance” explain 60,10% of brand respect in the context of tourist destinations. From a theoretical point of view, the study contributes by providing subsidies so that the proposed model may be replicated in other destinations, which promotes the consolidation of the Lovemarks Theory in this context. Regarding managerial aspects, this research suggests actions to develop destination brand management based on offering elements that strengthen emotional bonds with the traveler.