Bridging the Gap Between Brand Communication and Consumer Perception: An Experimental Study Using Signal Detection Theory in Colombia and Thailand

ABSTRACT This study examines the gap between brand communication and consumer perception, focusing on two increasingly important attributes in contemporary markets, namely sustainability and healthiness. While brands invest heavily in communicating these attributes, it remains unclear whether consumers accurately perceive them, raising concerns about the effectiveness of current branding strategies. To address this problem, the study applies Signal Detection Theory (SDT) as an experimental approach to assess perceptual discrimination while avoiding self‐report biases commonly found in brand research. A total of 140 consumers from Thailand and Colombia evaluated 40 familiar fast‐moving consumer goods brands through a forced‐choice task. The findings show that Thai consumers exhibit very weak discrimination across attributes, while Colombian consumers demonstrate only moderate discrimination, with unhealthy attributes being the most easily recognized. Across both markets, sustainability and health signals are weakly perceived, indicating a misalignment between brand positioning and consumer cognition. These results suggest that communicating desirable brand attributes does not guarantee their perception and that positive attributes are more difficult for consumers to identify than negative ones. The study highlights the need for stronger perceptual cues and more coherent brand communication strategies, particularly through consistent visual and experiential signals. The findings offer practical insights for brand managers operating in Thai and Latin American markets and demonstrate the value of experimental approaches such as SDT for improving the effectiveness of brand strategy.