Research

Brands today are under increasing pressure to engage authentically with varied consumer identities—celebrating them, supporting them, and representing them in advertising. Yet the psychological dynamics underlying these efforts remain poorly understood, and brand actions can produce unintended or unexpected consequences. My research examines how identity shapes consumer–brand relationships. I investigate how brands connect with, support, and target a diverse range of identities. This research forms two main streams with a focus on stigmatized and vulnerable identities as well as multiple-identity frameworks, respectively. Where appropriate, I employ a mixed-methods approach to deepen my understanding of the phenomena and enhance the generalizability of my findings. This approach integrates online experiments, field experiments, web scrapping, and LLM-assisted text analysis. By bridging theory and empirical evidence, I demonstrate how identity influences consumer perceptions, evaluations, and behavior, and offer evidence based guidance for how brands can navigate these dynamics responsibly and effectively.

Publications, Papers Under Review, and Working Papers

Trillo, Megan A., Lingrui Zhou, and Keisha M. Cutright, “The Cost of Compassion: How Brand Support for Stigmatized Populations Can Undermine Perceived Product Quality,” under review at Journal of Marketing Research

Trillo, Megan A., Holly S. Howe, Demi Oba, and Keisha M. Cutright, “When Self-Expression Backfires: The Interpersonal Consequences of Product-Based Vulnerable Self-Disclosure,” preparing for submission to Journal of Consumer Research

Trillo, Megan A., Sarah E. Gaither, and Gavan J. Fitzsimons (2026), “The Buffering Effect of Identity Compartmentalization: Consumer Response to Brand Transgressions,” Handbook of Social Psychology and Consumer Behavior

John, Elicia, Lez Trujillo-Torres, Kevin Thomas, Megan A. Trillo, Bryel Kerkhoff-Parnell, Sonya Grier, Ezachia Z. Ngcobo, Natalie N. Clue, and Sonja Poole, “Race in the Global Marketplace: How Markets and Racial Logic Intersect Across Different National and Cultural Contexts,” conditionally accepted at Journal of Public Policy & Marketing

Selected Research in Progress

Trillo, Megan A., Gavan J. Fitzsimons, and Sarah E. Gaither, “Rethinking Representation: Why White Women Prefer Black Female Models in Advertisements,” data collection in progress

Trillo, Megan A. and Broderick L. Turner, “Fragile Heart, Fixed Ideas: How Emotional Value Limits Men's Creativity in Designing Male-Targeted Products,” data collection in progress