Brand Personality free essay sample

You now have to decide what image you want for your brand. Image means personality. Products, like people, have personalities, and they can make or break them in the market place. David Ogilvy A brand can very well be compared to a person. Just like people a brand has a personality. Starbucks’ is sociable, youthful, outgoing, and friendly. A refreshing freshness, warmth, and comfort is demonstrated through their service interactions, their packaging, their decor, their product offerings, and their corporate culture. Weather, trusting or caring (e. g. Johnson Johnson), fun and exciting (e. g. Mtv) the, brand as a person, deals with two aspects the personality of a brand, and the brand customer relationship. The Brand Personality Aspect Brand personality can be defied as the human personality traits associated with a brand (Aaker, J. 1997). This personality is extremely critical for a brand. Why because personality is extremely important in our society The situation is same for a brand. The Personality of a brand enables a consumer to express his or her own self/ his ideal self (Sweeny, 2006). A brand’s personality can not only increase consumer preference for and usage of that brand (Sirgy, 1982) but also help consumers differentiate among the innumerable products available in the marketplace (Biel, 1992; Keller, 2003). Aaker, J. (1997) devised a scale to measure the personality of a brand. The five dimensions of the brand personality scale are Sincerity, Excitement, Competence, Sophistication, and Ruggedness. The model deals on two levels – one where a consumer can identity with the personality on the brand like when it is sincere, exciting and competence. Whereas ruggedness and sophistication differ from the big five human personalities (Briggs 1992) hence they cater to the aspirational level of the brand. The Brand Customer Relationship Aspect When we talk about brands as being people, lets understand how people actually behave. People don’t just perceive each other (based on the physical features and personality) but also try building relationships- positive or negative. Similarly brand as a person goes beyond the dimension of just having a personality it’s about a consumer’s attitudes and behavior towards a brand and a brand’s attitude and behavior towards its consumer. (Aaker, D and Beil 1993) There are 2 components of Brand customer relationship first is the trust in the brand and customer satisfaction with the brand (Aaker,D. and Beil, 1993). They go on to explain that the trust in a brand is directly proportionate to the intimacy (creating a personal link with the consumer) and credibility of the brand and inversely proportionate to the risk factor. On the other hand the customer satisfaction is based on the proactive and supportive nature of the brand. While being proactive what’s crucial is the way in which you interact with the consumers. Just like how peoples don’t like interactive with someone who is pushy similarly a brand, being over confident and too pushy is seen as some doing aggressive salesmanship and not building relationship. A right attitude towards customers adds an element of supportiveness to the brand. According to Aaker, D. nd Beil(1993) there are two types of relationships created based on this identification or disrespect Incase of identification the brand is seen as someone the customer can relate to r even as someone whom the person aspires to be thus there is a high degree of trust and satisfaction When a customer disrespects the brand he feels a disconnection with the brand. He feels the brand has nothing to offer to him or doesn’t really listen to him. Brand as a Person – Real Brands Just like a person every brand has a personality some evoke feeling where as others fall flat. The critical difference is that some brands focus on it, understand it, and exploit it. To them, it is integral to their brand’s experience, service interactions, and customer relationships. Lets take a look at Harley Davidson has created a mark for itself using brand personality as a key strategy for competitive differentiation and loyalty building. The Harley Davidson story Harley Davidson is very good example of a brand with a personality, character and great value. Davidson has become an iconic brand. The brand is all about the customer. The bond between Davidson and its customers runs deep with emotion, pride and aspiration. What makes this brand personality so strong so impactful? According to Allen (2010) â€Å"Harley Davidson’s story is a story of many people. Harley-Davidson’s Story is about the rule breakers who choose to make their own paths. These strong-willed rule breakers are rebels who stand up for what they believe in. They challenge the world and They are individually motivated†. They represent a release of pent-up passions. The executive, who escapes his stressful job, to experience the freedom of an open road. A student, who wants to stand out in a crowd. Its something that a person would aspire to be – the sense of freedom is what its all about. The result of such strong customer relationship, personality, extraordinary customer experience a loyal customer base for over 100 years. To summarize†¦ Honestly, loyalties, Care etc. are the measures of a person (Aaker, J. 1997). A brand may not be all about the personality but personality and the relationship between the brand and the customers give life to a brand, to create likability, and to add an emotional value to a brand. An organization that is serious about embracing new metrics, and seriously growing their business, need to focus not only on the product attributes but also on the brand as a person. The persona of a brand influences consumers. A well-established brand personality has been shown to result in increased preference and patronage, higher emotional ties to the brand, and trust and loyalty (Siguaw, Mattila and Austin, 1999). Together the personality and customer relationship go a long way in forming a bond between the consumer and a brand.