Antonio KolakovicDownload CV

Last projects Purpose.

Bachelor's thesis · Brand perception · 2026

Purpose.When the promise breaks.

My thesis tested how Gen-Z consumers judge a brand when its actions contradict its stated purpose.

Editorial illustration of a printed label peeling back from a navy package, suggesting a gap between outward promise and what lies beneath
My work
Bachelor's thesis · Online experiment
Context
Marketing & Communication Management · FH Kufstein Tirol
Sample
222 Gen-Z consumers
Grade
100/100

01 / Research design

One brand. Two different presentations.

Does exposed hypocrisy change perceptions of a brand's intentions and ability?

Experimental design / 222 Gen-Z consumers

The same brand

Presented to separate participant groups

Authenticity condition

Authentic

The brand was presented as authentic.

Hypocrisy condition

Hypocritical

The brand's actions contradicted its stated purpose.

The same two dimensions were measured in both groups

Perceived intentions
What do consumers believe the brand wants to do?
Perceived ability
What do consumers believe the brand can do?
Conceptual summary of the experiment. The original stimulus materials are not reproduced here.

02 / What the experiment found

Both dimensions were rated less positively.

Participants rated both dimensions less positively in the hypocrisy condition. The reported effect size was larger for perceived intentions than for perceived ability.

  1. Perceived intentions
  2. Perceived ability
  3. 0Cohen's d · 3
Both dimensions scored lower in the hypocrisy condition. Cohen's d shows the standardized difference between groups, not a percentage loss.
Intentions
The larger reported standardized difference concerned the brand's perceived intentions: d = 2.49.
Ability
Perceived ability was also rated lower in the hypocrisy condition: d = 1.70.

Scope of the finding

These findings describe the tested scenario and Gen-Z sample. The effect sizes alone cannot show whether one effect is statistically larger.

03 / Implications for brand work

Connect purpose with evidence in behaviour.

For brand communication, the implication is practical: connect purpose promises with evidence in the brand's behavior.

What the work demonstrates

  • Framing a question about brand perception
  • Testing it in an online experiment
  • Interpreting the findings and their limits for brand communication