Certain brands bring to mind particular cultures, and consumers react more positively¹ to brand extensions when products match expectations about cultures, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research. That's why a Budweiser barbecue sauce might be a more successful product than a Sony cappuccino（热牛奶咖啡） maker². "Many well-known brands become symbols or icons³ of the cultures or countries with which they are associated," write authors Carlos J. Torelli and Rohini Ahluwalia (both University of Minnesota). Examples of culturally symbolic⁴ brands include Budweiser (American), Sony (Japanese), or Corona⁵ (Mexican). The authors look at what happens when a culturally symbolic brand extends its product line by creating new products.

The authors focus on a part of consumer deliberation that is based on cultural congruity⁶（适合，调和） -- the extent to which a brand and its product automatically bring to mind knowledge about a culture. "This process operates independently of consumers' perceptions of fit between the brand associations and the product attributes, or their inferences about the brand's manufacturing expertise⁷ due to its country-of-origin associations, and can influence extension evaluations⁸ independently of these factors," the authors explain.

In short, when a brand associated with a culture fits into personal understanding of the culture (cultural schema), consumers have an easier time processing and therefore accepting a new product.

The authors found that participants had positive feelings for culturally congruent extensions (like a Sony electric car), while they had less positive feelings about a Sony toaster oven; they found the idea of a Sony cappuccino-macchiato maker even less appealing. The authors say the effects emerged only when both the brand and the product were culturally symbolic.

"A brand's cultural symbolism can be a liability or an asset, and to harness it profitably, a manager needs to understand the cultural symbolism of the potential extension categories under consideration," the authors conclude.