Marketing, Through the Eyes of the Stigmatized

A consumer’s personal attribute (e.g., disease, body weight) can assume the qualities of a stigma (i.e., become a source of devaluation by others) in the presence of certain audiences, which can affect consumption and represent a major hurdle to marketers in many industries (e.g., health care). Two field experiments manipulating the marketing communications sent to 1,453 consumers diagnosed with 87 diseases of varying stigma potential, as well...