Dr Mohamadreza Namazi - AI‑Driven Brand Mania / Brand Madness:

AI‑Driven Brand Mania / Brand Madness:

A Conceptual Model of Extreme Brand Attachment, Compulsive Buying, and Advocacy in the Age of Artificial Intelligence​

Abstract

The diffusion of artificial intelligence (AI) in marketing has created new conditions for the emergence of extreme forms of brand attachment, often described as Brand Mania or Brand Madness. This paper develops a conceptual model of AI‑driven Brand Mania / Brand Madness by integrating research on self‑expressive brands, obsessive brand passion, brand addiction, and brand advocacy. The model proposes that self‑expressive brand perceptions and susceptibility to interpersonal influence jointly foster obsessive brand passion, which in turn leads to Brand Mania / Brand Madness and its behavioral outcomes, namely compulsive buying and brand advocacy. AI‑driven personalization and predictive analytics are introduced as contextual moderators that can intensify or regulate the transition from passion to mania by continuously tailoring brand experiences to individual psychological profiles. Implications for theory development, ethical AI design, and managerial practice in branding and customer experience management are discussed, along with directions for empirical testing using structural equation modeling.​

1. Introduction

Contemporary brands function not only as identifiers of products and organizations but also as symbolic resources for identity construction and social signaling. At the same time, an emerging stream of research documents the dark side of consumer–brand relationships, including brand addiction, compulsive buying, and various forms of obsessive brand passion. In popular and practitioner discourse, extreme brand attachment is often labeled as Brand Mania or Brand Madness, pointing to a state in which consumers become emotionally and behaviorally over‑invested in particular brands, sometimes irrespective of functional benefits or objective value.​

Parallel to these developments, the rapid deployment of AI‑driven personalization, recommendation systems, and predictive analytics in digital marketing has drastically expanded firms’ ability to shape consumer affect and behavior at scale. AI systems continuously learn from clickstreams, purchase histories, and social interactions to tailor brand content and offers with unprecedented precision, potentially amplifying tendencies toward extreme attachment to specific brands. Despite this convergence, limited academic work has explicitly modeled how AI‑intensive environments may foster Brand Mania / Brand Madness and how such states translate into both desirable (advocacy) and undesirable (compulsive buying) outcomes.​

This paper addresses this gap by proposing a conceptual model of AI‑driven Brand Mania / Brand Madness that explains the transition from self‑expressive brand perceptions to obsessive passion, manic attachment, compulsive buying, and advocacy, and by outlining an empirical strategy for testing this model.

2. Literature review

2.1. Self‑expressive brands and self–brand connection

Self‑expressive brands allow consumers to express their actual or ideal selves, thereby strengthening self–brand connections and perceived personality congruence. Prior research shows that such connections are associated with higher emotional attachment, stronger loyalty, and willingness to pay price premiums, particularly when brands align with salient identity goals. Within the proposed framework, self‑expressive brands constitute the symbolic foundation upon which more intense and potentially problematic relationships such as Brand Mania / Brand Madness can develop.​

2.2. Dualistic passion model and obsessive brand passion

The dualistic model of passion distinguishes harmonious passion, characterized by autonomous internalization and flexible engagement, from obsessive passion, characterized by controlled internalization, rigidity, and conflict with other life domains. Applied to branding, harmonious brand passion reflects strong but balanced enthusiasm for a brand, whereas obsessive brand passion involves rumination, loss of control, and vulnerability to negative outcomes such as regret and financial stress. In this paper, Brand Mania / Brand Madness is conceptualized as an extreme manifestation of obsessive brand passion, marked by cognitive preoccupation with the brand, emotional dependence, and heightened sensitivity to brand‑related cues and criticism.​

2.3. Brand addiction, compulsive buying, and brand advocacy

The construct of brand addiction describes a psychological state in which consumers experience constant urges to acquire a brand’s products, coupled with positive affect and gratification derived from ownership, yet accompanied by reduced self‑control and difficulty resisting purchases. Compulsive buying research similarly documents repetitive, uncontrolled purchasing used to regulate mood or cope with stress, often with harmful financial and psychological consequences. At the same time, highly attached consumers often become active brand advocates, creating user‑generated content, defending their preferred brands in online communities, and influencing peers’ decisions. The conceptualization of Brand Mania / Brand Madness in this paper integrates both sides: an internal state of addictive, obsessive attachment and external behaviors of over‑consumption and intense advocacy.​

2.4. AI‑driven personalization and the dark side of customer experience

AI‑driven personalization uses machine learning and predictive analytics to tailor content, offers, and experiences to individual consumers in real time. While this can enhance relevance and satisfaction, scholars highlight ethical concerns around manipulation, privacy, and the amplification of vulnerable consumers’ tendencies toward over‑consumption. Algorithmic curation on social media and e‑commerce platforms can create self‑reinforcing loops in which consumers are repeatedly exposed to the same focal brands, strengthening affective ties and potentially pushing susceptible individuals toward Brand Mania / Brand Madness.​

3. Conceptual model of AI‑driven Brand Mania / Brand Madness

3.1. Core constructs

The proposed conceptual model includes the following constructs:

• Self‑Expressive Brand (SEB): The degree to which a brand is perceived as expressing the consumer’s actual or ideal self.​
• Susceptibility to Interpersonal Influence (SII): The tendency to conform to others’ expectations and seek approval through consumption.​
• Obsessive Brand Passion (OBP): A rigid, uncontrollable passion for a brand that dominates thoughts and behaviors.​
• Brand Mania / Brand Madness (BM): An extreme state of brand attachment combining addictive psychological dependence and heightened emotional arousal, distinct from but related to brand addiction.​
• Compulsive Buying (CB): Repetitive, uncontrolled purchasing of the focal brand beyond functional needs.​
• Brand Advocacy (BA): Willingness to recommend, defend, and promote the brand actively.​
• AI‑Driven Personalization Intensity (AIP): The perceived level of algorithmic tailoring of brand content, offers, and interactions.​

3.2. Hypotheses

H1. Self‑expressive brand perceptions positively predict obsessive brand passion.
Self‑expressive brands provide identity‑relevant meaning that facilitates deep psychological investment and can escalate into obsessive passion when internalized rigidly.​

H2. Susceptibility to interpersonal influence positively predicts obsessive brand passion.
Individuals who are more sensitive to social approval and peer norms are more likely to develop obsessive concern with brands perceived as socially valued or visible.​

H3. Obsessive brand passion positively predicts Brand Mania / Brand Madness.
As passion becomes more rigid and uncontrollable, consumers are more likely to enter a state of Brand Mania / Brand Madness, characterized by emotional dependence, cognitive preoccupation, and heightened reactivity to brand‑related cues.​

H4. Brand Mania / Brand Madness positively predicts compulsive buying.
Consumers experiencing Brand Mania / Brand Madness are more likely to engage in impulsive, excessive purchasing of the focal brand, beyond rational needs and budgets.​

H5. Brand Mania / Brand Madness positively predicts brand advocacy.
Manic consumers are more inclined to defend the brand, create user‑generated content, and promote the brand actively within their social networks.​

H6. AI‑driven personalization intensity positively moderates the relationship between self‑expressive brand and obsessive brand passion.
When personalization is high, identity‑relevant brand messages are more frequently and precisely reinforced, strengthening the impact of self‑expressive brand perceptions on obsessive passion.​

H7. AI‑driven personalization intensity positively moderates the relationship between obsessive brand passion and Brand Mania / Brand Madness.
By continuously adapting content to the consumer’s emotional responses and engagement history, AI systems can accelerate the transition from obsessive passion to manic attachment.​

4. Method (APA‑style outline)

Participants.
An empirical test of the model would target consumers with strong involvement in categories such as fashion, smartphones, gaming, or luxury goods, where Brand Mania / Brand Madness is more likely to occur. A minimum sample of 300 respondents is recommended to enable confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modeling (SEM).​

Measures.

• SEB and SII measured with established self‑expressive brand and interpersonal influence scales.​
• Obsessive brand passion measured via adapted brand passion scales distinguishing harmonious and obsessive passion.​
• Brand Mania / Brand Madness measured by adapting items from brand addiction scales (e.g., acquisitiveness, thought occupancy, dependence) and explicitly framing the construct as manic/obsessive attachment to a specific brand.​
• Compulsive buying assessed using standard compulsive buying scales tailored to the focal brand.​
• Brand advocacy measured with items capturing willingness to recommend, defend, and promote the brand.​
• AI‑driven personalization intensity measured as perceived frequency and relevance of AI‑based tailored recommendations, offers, and content from the focal brand.​

Procedure and data analysis.
Data would be collected via an online survey in which participants first select a focal brand they are highly involved with, then respond to scale items referencing that brand. CFA would be used to assess reliability and validity, followed by SEM or PLS‑SEM to test the structural paths and moderation effects of AI‑driven personalization.​

5. Discussion and implications

The proposed model positions Brand Mania / Brand Madness as a theoretically distinct, AI‑amplified state of extreme brand attachment that links identity‑relevant brand perceptions and social influence to both positive (advocacy) and negative (compulsive buying) behavioral outcomes. For managers, the framework highlights the strategic value of nurturing highly engaged “superfans,” while emphasizing the need for ethical safeguards when deploying AI‑driven personalization that can intensify manic attachment among vulnerable segments.​

Practically, firms can use AI and advanced analytics to identify early indicators of Brand Mania / Brand Madness, design responsible loyalty programs, and create fan communities that channel extreme attachment into constructive engagement rather than uncontrolled consumption. At the same time, transparency, consumer choice, and protection against exploitative practices are essential to sustain long‑term brand equity in an era where algorithmic influence and the psychological impact of branding are increasingly scrutinized.

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