Influence of Brand Personality on Consumer’s Attractiveness and Attitude towards the Brand: An Empirical Analysis

 

 

ABSTRACT:

In the modern competitive world of business, Brand Personality has been seen to play a significant role in depicting a consumer’s behaviour towards the brand. A Brand’s Personality is formed by giving it distinguishing human like characteristics which in turn help the brand to connect with the consumers at a personal level. However, not many studies have been found on the subject, particularly in India. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship of Brand Personality with Consumer’s Attractiveness and Attitude towards the brand. The brand selected for this particular study is Amul, which is exercising the brand personification strategy of using a mascot to attain the desired brand personality from so many years. An empirical analysis was conducted after collecting data from 150 respondents from Chandigarh, Panchkula and Mohali. The findings suggested that Brand Personality has a significant impact on both consumer’s attractiveness and attitude towards the brand. However, the Personality attributes were found to have a stronger impact on consumer’s attitude as compared to their attractiveness towards the brand. It was concluded that a brand’s human like personality plays a very important role in helping the brand to connect with the consumers in an emotional way which affects the overall image that the brand holds in their mind. In the end, the paper also discusses key managerial implications of the study conducted.

 

 

 

INTRODUCTION:

Traditionally, print and television advertisements were used as a medium of communication between the brand and consumers. But in today’s competitive times, unique advertisements which help giving the brand a human like personality have changed the whole marketing mindset. The concept of using the brand’s personality to differentiate the brand from its competitors helps the company by effectively positioning the brand name in the consumer’s mind.

 

If the consumer can relate to the personality depicted by the brand, they feel a sense of attachment and familiarity with that particular brand. A familiar brand becomes a sign of faith and trust, one does not need to crucially examine, analyze or test a product from a familiar brand. Brand Personality can be defines as the set of human like characteristics given to a particular brand. A brand’s personality embodies all of the qualities it has to offer over and above its primary characteristics and its functional purpose [1]. The process of giving this human like personality to the brand is called Brand Personification. Brand personification, in general sense, can be explained as a technique in which a brand uses a character with human like attributes to give an exclusive identification to its products through various means of marketing or packaging and promotion. There are diverse brand personification strategies which are used as a marketing tool by a lot of companies, especially in the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector.  The personified character is supposed to portray itself to the public in the same way as a brand would do if it was a living person. This personified character can be a mascot or even a real person in case of a spokesperson, owner, consumer himself or a celebrity promoting the brand. Marketing academicians and practitioners attempt to differentiate their brands from others and to make their brands desirable for consumers based on functional (e.g. price, quality and warranty) and emotional approaches (e.g. brand personality perceptions) [2]. The more the consumer relates to the brand, the more his attraction and loyalty towards the brand increases. Thus we can say that, a brand’s personality adds value to the brand in a way that it improves its overall image in the market. These added values play a vital role in many consumers buying decisions, as brands are purchased from emotional motivation as well as functional motivation [3]. Brands appear in different ways in different situations as a result of these personalities they hold. In the Indian market, there is a demand for varying attributes in every brand based on the consumer’s choice, culture and taste. This has led to a rapid increase in competition and the explosion of numerous brands in various industries. The companies are being forced to face the challenge of adapting to such demands and branding needs to stay efficient. One of the ways being used to make a successful brand these days is by inducing the sense of attractiveness with a brand’s personality which helps in creating a long term relationship with the consumers. A company establishes a better bond with its customers by using personality directed brand management. Hence, it becomes vital to study the significance of brand personality in attracting consumers and in framing their attitude towards the brand to measure the brand’s overall success.

 

Based on the "Big Five" human personality dimensions, [4] Aaker developed a detailed theoretical structure of brand personality dimensions which is now used as a reliable measurement tool for brand personality. This framework is called Aaker's five dimensions (sincerity, excitement, competence, sophistication and ruggedness) with 42 traits under the five dimensions. Three of these five dimensions are closely related to the "Big Five" human personality dimensions: sincerity to agreeableness, excitement to extroversion, and competence to conscientiousness. Even though brand personality aims to reflect human associations and characteristics, it is reported that not all these dimensions represent characteristics of the actual self but also of the ideal self, sophistication and ruggedness represent characteristics that humans may not possess but aspire to [5].

 

Examining the consumer’s behaviour becomes an imperative to analyze the true achievement of the brand. Consumer behaviour can be tested by studying the different variables of consumer behaviour like consumer’s perception, consumer’s identification, consumer’s attractiveness, consumer’s attitude and consumer’s loyalty towards the brand. The concept of brand personification in particular is expected to play an important role in framing the consumer’s attitude and defining their attractiveness with the brand depending upon how relatable do they feel with the personality depicted by the brand. Due to this, these two variables have been shortlisted for the conciseness of this specific research.

 

REVIEW OF LITERATURE:

Brand Personality: Brand personality is the psychological nature of a particular brand as intended by its sellers, though persons in the marketplace may see the brand otherwise (called brand image). These two perspectives compare to the personalities of individual humans: what we intend or desire, and what others see or believe [6]. The brand is treated as an active, contributing partner in the dyadic relationship that exists between the person and the brand, a partner whose behaviours and actions generate trait inferences that collectively summarize the consumer's perception of the brand's personality [7]. In contrast to "product-related attributes," which tend to serve a utilitarian function for consumers, brand personality tends to serve a symbolic or self-expressive function [8]. The attributes and functional benefits derived from the brand can be promoted with the help of brand personality; it can also help in reflecting the actual identity or the favoured self that the consumer desires for and in setting up a relationship between the consumers and the brand with similar or differing personality as their own [9]. Brand personality helps the marketers in important decision making which further lead to the overall success of the brand. The marketers can strengthen their strategies by highlighting the most attractive traits of their brand to improve the brand image and communication [10]. The inherent beliefs of a consumer about his own personality influence the way he uses a brand with a charming personality to self enhance. The consumers who believe in the entity theory attempt to self enhance by using such brands as a signal where as the consumers who believe in growth or incremental theory attempt to self enhance by using these brands directly to improve their own personality traits [11]. Earlier, consumers bought goods for the fulfilment of their basic needs but now other needs like social, self esteem and self actualization play an important role in affecting their purchase decision. Seeing this, more and more brands are trying to connect with their consumers on an emotional and experiential level by giving emblematic meanings to their product attributes [12]. The notions that brands have personality and that the relationship between consumers and brand personality is very significant for success are regarded as the most important concepts in the fields of marketing and advertising [13]. Effective brand personification tactics lead consumers to associate brands with desirable human-like qualities that become part of the brand’s image in consumers’ minds [14].

 

Brand Attractiveness:  The brand will be perceived as attractive when it helps a person to express him / her, and when the person identifies with the brand [15]. A brand is used for self expression and to reflect self-concept [16]. Attractiveness of brand personality is evaluated on the basis of the self expressive value of brand personality and the distinctiveness of brand personality. The more the self expressive value and distinctiveness, the more it will appeal to the consumers. Brand Attractiveness has a clear impact on the success of the brand. It can build a close relationship with a potential customer’s decision. Consumer’s closeness with the brand is affected by the perception of the brand appeal to a certain extent [17]. Consumers form a positive attitude towards advertising and purchase intention as a result of a favourable impact on the brand appeal [18]. From the perspective of business, the perceived attractiveness of the brand may affect relationships between consumers and brands in manners that are meaningful and predictable [19]. Attractiveness of brand personality is evaluated on the basis of the self expressive value of brand personality and the distinctiveness of brand personality. The more the self expressive value and distinctiveness, the more it will appeal to the consumers.

 

Brand Attitude: An attitude can be considered to be a relative, enduring, context-specific overall evaluation of some aspects of a consumer’s environment, be it a product, service or brand [20]. Therefore, brand attitude can be described as being a consumer’s overall evaluation of the ability of the brand to satisfy needs [21]. Brand attitude is a favourable or unfavourable emotional feeling, personal evaluation, and behaviour tendency that an individual keeps [22]. Both direct experiences and indirect experiences, such as advertising, are equally influential in changing the accessibility of attitudes [23]. Consumer satisfaction is an evaluation of the totality of the purchase situation relative to expectation, whereas brand attitude is a liking for the product that lacks this element of comparison [24]. Past experience, ads, and corporate image are determinants of brand attitude, which in turn influences brand loyalty (repurchase intentions). According to the theory of reasoned action, brand attitudes are a function of beliefs that a brand has desirable or undesirable attributes and evaluations of these attributes [25]. From the different definitions and reviewed literature, brand attitude was measured in terms of brand trust and brand affection for the purpose of this study.

 

RESEARCH OBJECTIVE:

To understand the relationship between Brand Personality and Consumer’s Attractiveness and Attitude towards the Brand, using one of the most popular FMCG brands- Amul and to present a valuable insight for future research on the aforementioned subject. This study empirically tests the association and impact between the three variables, viz-a-viz Brand Personality, Brand Attractiveness and Brand Attitude.  Consequently, it clarifies whether brand personality has a positive or negative or no impact on the selected two dimensions of consumer behaviour towards the brand. Based on the objectives and the reviewed literature, the following hypotheses have been framed:

 

H1: There is a significant relationship of Brand Personality with the Self expressive value of the brand.

H2:    There is a significant impact of Brand Personality on the Self expressive value of the brand.

H3: There is a significant relationship of Brand Personality with the Distinctiveness of the brand.

H4:    There is a significant impact of Brand Personality with the Distinctiveness of the brand.

H5: There is a significant relationship of Brand Personality with Brand Trust.

H6:    There is a significant impact of Brand Personality on Brand Trust.

H7: There is a significant relationship of Brand Personality with Brand Affection.

H8:    There is a significant impact of Brand Personality on Brand Affection.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY:

The research conducted was descriptive in nature. It aimed at investigating the relationship and impact of brand personality on consumer’s attractiveness and attitude towards the brand, using one of the most popular FMCG brands-

Amul.

 

VARIABLES UNDER STUDY:

The concept of brand personification is being widely used in the fast moving consumer goods sector due to the rising competition and ever increasing demand of brand differentiation. Keeping this in mind, a popular FMCG brand - Amul was chosen for this study. The brand Amul has been using the technique of brand personification through its popular mascot from years now. The brand personality scale given by Aaker was used to determine the brand’s personality. Brand attractiveness was measured using the self expressive value and distinctiveness of the brand. Brand attitude was evaluated through brand trust and brand affection depicted towards the brand by the consumer.

 

SAMPLING DESIGN:

A total of 150 respondents were contacted for carrying out the research out of which those that were completely filled and usable were 136. Purposive sampling was used for collecting primary data in order to arrive at the findings of the research. The duration of data collection spanned over about 60 days during March- May 2017. To collect data, prospective consumers were approached at various malls, departmental stores and supermarket outlets in and around the tricity: Chandigarh, Panchkula, Mohali.

 

A self administered questionnaire containing 5 sections was developed for the purpose of data collection to arrive at empirically tested results. The questionnaire contained 54 items to record responses in order to study the relationship and impact of brand personality on brand attractiveness and brand attitude. Therefore, brand personality acted as independent variable, whereas, consumer’s brand attractiveness and brand attitude were treated as the dependent variables in this research. The tools used for the statistical data analysis were Correlation and Regression. These tools were applied using the SPSS 22 Software. On the basis of this analysis, useful findings and conclusions were drawn to arrive at some practically helpful managerial implications for the fast growing marketing world of business.

 

FINDINGS AND RESULTS:

H1: There is a significant relationship of Brand Personality with the Self expressive value of the brand.

 

 

From the table above, we can see that there is a positive correlation between Brand Personality and Self expressive value of the brand with r=0.692. Hence, H1 is accepted.

 

H3: There is a significant relationship of Brand Personality with the Distinctiveness of the brand.

 

 

From the table above, we can see that there is a positive correlation between Brand Personality and Distinctiveness of the brand with r=0.669. Hence, H3 is accepted.

 

H5: There is a significant relationship of Brand Personality with Brand Trust.

 

From the table above, we can see that there is a positive correlation between Brand Personality and Brand Trust with r=0.773. Hence, H5 is accepted.

 

H7: There is a significant relationship of Brand Personality with Brand Affection.

From the table above, we can see that there is a positive correlation between Brand Personality and Brand Affection with r=0.761. Hence, H7 is accepted.

 

H2: There is a significant impact of Brand Personality on the Self expressive value of the brand.

H4: There is a significant impact of Brand Personality with the Distinctiveness of the brand.

H6: There is a significant impact of Brand Personality on Brand Trust.

H8: There is a significant impact of Brand Personality on Brand Affection.

 

Regression Model	Variables	R	R Square	Adjusted R Square	F	Sig.
1	Brand Personality and Self expressive value	.692	.490	.482	47.497	.000
1	Brand Personality and Distinctiveness of brand	.669	.451	.444	61.178	.000
1	Brand Personality and Brand Trust	.773	.600	.595	58.347	.000
1	Brand Personality and Brand Affection	.761	.581	.515	57.941	.000

 

The regression analysis shows that Brand Personality has a significant impact on the Self Expressive value and Distinctiveness of the brand, which depict the Brand Attractiveness of the consumers, as well as on Brand Trust and Brand Affection, which have been used to measure Brand Attitude of the consumers. However, the impact of Brand’s Personality is observed to be more on the consumer’s Attitude towards the brand as compared to the consumer’s Attractiveness. The values of adjusted R² have come out to be .482, .444, .595 and .515 respectively. Thus we can say that 48.2% change in the Self expressive value of the brand, 44.4% change in the Distinctiveness of the brand, 59.5% change in Brand Trust and 51.5% change in Brand Affection can be explained by the Brand’s Personality.

 

CONCLUSIONS:

The research was directed to explore the relationship between Brand Personality and two important aspects of consumer behaviour, namely Consumer’s Attractiveness and Attitude towards the brand. To make the research more comprehensive, brand attractiveness was measured in terms of self expressive value and distinctiveness of the brand and brand attitude was depicted in terms of brand trust and brand affection. After the empirical analysis, it was concluded that brand personality has a positive impact on both brand attractiveness and brand attitude. However, the results indicated that it affects consumer’s attitude more positively as compared to their attractiveness towards the brand. This explains the long run advantage of giving the right kind of personality to a brand which helps in connecting with the consumers on a personal level. The brands that depict a personality which infuses a high self expressive value and distinctiveness with the consumers tend to appeal more to the consumers which eventually affects their purchase decision and loyalty. The more the consumers can identify with the brand the more positive perception they make about the brand. Consumers seem to prefer brands which are unique and close to their own personality as well. A brand’s personality also defines the consumer’s trust and affection towards the brand. This particular study illustrates that consumers show more affection and trust towards the brand Amul, as it reflects Sincerity, Sophistication and Competence as it’s over powering Brand Personality traits. Thus, we can say that a brand’s human like personality plays a very important role in helping the brand to connect with the consumers in an emotional way which affects the overall image that the brand holds in their mind. This emotional connection gives an edge to the brands as it fulfils an extra need over and above the functional requirements. In conclusion, a favourable and appropriate brand personality helps in attracting consumers and in framing a more positive attitude of the consumers towards the brand.

 

MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONS:

The results of the study substantially prove that Brand Personality affects both Brand Attractiveness and Brand Attitude. These results help us in giving insights on how the brands, especially in the FMCG sector can overcome the rising competition by taking advantage of this concept of brand personification in order to establish a positive attitude of the consumers towards the brand and to enhance the overall appeal and attractiveness of the brand in the market. The results contribute to the existing literature and make valuable suggestions for future research. They carry specific importance for marketing managers and content writers as they help in differentiating the personality profile of each brand. The usefulness of the Brand Personality Scale in determining how self expressive is the brand in the consumers view and how they consequently relate to them on an individual level, that further dictates their perception and attitude towards a particular brand, is established. The findings can be used to encourage brands and help them win over their competitors, according to their Brand Personality by relating it to the target audience. However, further research on the subject in terms of geographic difference and brand choice depending upon the use of a different brand personification strategy if highly recommended, considering the dynamic nature of the industry and the roaring competition.

 

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