Exploring the Relationship Between Millennials’ Perception of  Preferential Treatment and Brand Intimacy: Empirical Study on Hotel  and Tourism Industry

Riba K John; Mathew Joseph

Riba K John Research Scholar, Dept. of Business Administration, St. Berchmans College, Changanacherry, Kerala
Mathew Joseph Professor, Dept. of Business Administration, St. Berchmans College, Changanacherry, Kerala

Keywords: Preferential Treatment, Relationship Marketing, Brand Intimacy, Millennials, Generation Y.

Abstract

From generation to generation, it is evident that on and off changes are observed in individuals'
characteristics, values, and consumption patterns. These changes invariably occur for various reasons,
including; global transformations, technological advancement, changes in views and attitudes of people,
progress in education and so on. The age cohorts, being exposed to these changes, develop a momentous
difference in attitudes, perceptions, likes and dislikes, consumption patterns, loyalty factors, etc.
Millennials are considered as emotional and least loyal, yet they are economically robust, technology savvy
and heavy online shoppers, which makes them engaged with brands. This paper aims to study preferential
treatment’s impact on millennials’ brand intimacy factors. Data were collected from individuals in the age
group of 26 to 41. The result showed that the right type of preferential treatment significantly impacts the
development of customer-brand intimate relations