Brand Personalities with Real Personality: Strategies for Individual Brands and

Branded Individuals in the Entertainment Industry

Dr Stephen DannAustralian National University

Bird JensenCentral Queensland University

The Brand Personality

anthropomorphisation of the brand as a quasi-human entity as perceived by the

customer (Keller, 1998; Aaker, 1996; Freling and Forbes, 2005)

What if the brand is a human?

One way to find out!

SCIENCE!

Which was sadly unavailable, so the next best option was theoretical development and a qualitative exploratory study

Recipe for a paper

1 cup of original idea2 cups of literature2tbsp of methodology500g of qualitative data analysis1 theoretical model, lightly greased and floured

Place the literature into a bowl, sifting carefully to remove excess theoretical frameworks. Dice the original idea finely to remove the rough edges and unmeasurable variables. Combine with the literature, mixing well until fully referenced. Add the methodology slowly, being sure to embed the theoretical constructs evenly. Pour the mixture into a theoretical model. Place on the backburner for 2 months before adding in the qualitative data analysis. Return to the heat, garnish with reviewer feedback and serve before conference audience.

2 cups of literature

Lit.ReviewBrands are sets of differentiating promises that link a product to the consumer through a bundle of identifiable attributes, physical marks, emotional markers and triggers to memories of prior product experience or the assumed experience based on the reputation of the product, provider or service (Ahmed and Zairi, 1999; Agres and Dubitsky, 1997, de Chernatony and Dall’Olmo Riley, 1997). Plummer (2000) identified three core uses for brands - identifiers for attributes, functional characteristics and portrayal of brand personality. Brand personality represents the anthropomorphisation of the brand as a quasi-human entity as perceived by the customer (Keller, 1998; Aaker, 1997; Freling and Forbes, 2005). Much of the contemporary development of brand personality as a marketing concept is attributed to the seminal work of Aaker (1997) who defined brand personality as a set of human characteristics associated with the brand, and refined a scale measurement of brand against five dimensions of sincerity, excitement, competence, sophistication and ruggedness. Okazaki (2006) further defined the brand personality concept into functional (factual information) and expressive (emotional) elements. Brand personality is predominantly orientated towards emotive/expressive elements and less linked to the functional components (Low and Lamb, 2000).

Brand personality also ties into the consumption of products to conjure meanings (Seetharaman, Nadzir and Gunalan, 2001; Levy, 1959). This also ties into the congruency of brand association, product preference, brand loyalty and the consumption of products which are congruent with the consumer’s self image, and (Escalas and Bettman, 2005; Kumar, Luthra and Datta, 2006; Seetharaman, Nadzir and Gunalan, 2001). In short, when consumers assign a series of personality traits to a brand they consume, the brand is congruent with the type of person with whom the consumer would want to associate. Aaker (1997) identified over 300 hundred candidate traits, which were further refined into a series, and subseries of clustered brand characteristics. Subsequent research and testing by Okazaki (2006) using the Aaker (1997) scale items has resulted in a shared cluster of three underlying brand characteristics of competence, excitement and sophistication. Okazaki (2006) identifying two further elements of affection and popularity whereas Aaker (1997) includes sincerity and ruggedness. Table 1 outlines the combined component elements of brand personality.

Aaker, J (1997) Dimensions of Brand Personality, Journal of Marketing Research, 34 (3) pp 347-356Agres, S.J. and Dubitsky, T.M. (1996), “Changing needs for brands”, Journal of Advertising Research, January/ February, pp. 21-30.

Ahmed, P K and Zairi, M (1999) Benchmarketing for brand innovation European Journal of Innovation Management 2 (1) 36-48.Beverland, M (2005) Brand Mangement and the challenge of authenticity, Journal of Product and Brand Mangement, 14(7) 460-461

de Chernatony and Dall’Olmo Riley, F. (1997), “Branding in the service sector”, FT Mastering Management, September, No. 4, pp. 18-22.de Chernatony, L., and Segal-Horn, S. (2003). The criteria for successful services brands. European Journal of Marketing, 37(7/8), 1095-1118.

Escalas J E and Bettman, J R (2005) Self-construal, reference groups and brand meaning, Journal of Consumer Research, 32 (3) 378-389Freling, T. H and Forbes, L (2005) An empirical analysis of the brand personality effect, The Journal of Product and Brand Management 14 (7) 404-413

Keller, K. (1998), Strategic Brand Management: Building, Meaning, and Managing Brand Equity, Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJKumar, R, Luthra, A, and Datta, G. (2006) Linkages between Brand Personality and Brand Loyalty: A qualitative study in an emerging marketing in the Indian context, South Asian Journal of Management, 13 (2) pp11-35

Levy, S J (1959) "Symbols for sale", Harvard Business Review, 34 94) 117-24Low, G. S. and Lamb, C.W. (2000) The measurement and dimensionality of brand associations, Journal of Product and Brand Management, 9 (6) pp 350-368.

Martin, B and McCracken, C (2001) Music marketing: Music consumption imagery in the UK and New Zealand, Journal of Consumer Marketing, 18 (5) 426-436.Okazaki, S. (2006) Excitement or sophistication? A preliminary exploration of online brand personality, International Marketing Review, 23 (3) 279-303

Plummer, J.T. (2000), “How personality makes a difference?”, Journal of Advertising Research, Vol. 40 No. 6, pp. 79-83.Seetharaman, A. Nadzir, Z A V M and Gunalan, S (2001) A conceptual study on brand valuation, Journal of Product and Brand Management, 10 (4) 243-256.

Shuker, R 2005, Popular music: the key concepts, Routledge, New York, NY Smith, G and Speed, R. (2005) The impact of brand extension on brand personality in differing country markets: A UK- Australia comparison, Australia and New Zealand Marketing Academy Conference, Perth, Dec 4-6

Wong, H. Y., & Merrilees, B. (2005). A brand orientation typology for SMEs: A case research approach. Journal of Product and Brand Management, 14(3), 155-162.Zeithaml V.A., Bitner M.J & Gremler D.D, Services Marketing : Integrating Customer Focus Across the Firm ,2006 (4th Edition) McGraw-Hill Internationa

Components of Brand Personality

Competence Secure, competitive, beneficial, Reliable, intelligence, successful

Excitement Sensual, assertive, humorous Daring, spirited, imaginative, up to date

Sophistication

Rational trustworthy, presitgiousupper class Charming

Popularity Popular, unique

Affection Likeable, glamorous

Sincerity Down to earth, honest, wholesome, cheerful

Ruggedness Outdoorsy, tough

Okazaki, (2006) only Aaker (1997) only

Living Brands

Complex combination of the

manufactured elements of the marketing

communications toolkit to create a set of

differentiating promises that

reside in the mind of the consumer

(Ahmed and Zairi, 1999; Okazaki, 2006).

Music Marketing

“authentic” brand experiences - Beverland, 2005

“authentic” is a low priority for

manufactured pop music, whereas experience driven lyrical genres such as emo, blues, country and western

and roots have a higher reliance on the authenticity of the musician and music product

Roots Music

genre-specific term, being most frequently used in

relation to styles such as folk, the blues, and various

world musics. It is also often a constituent of

populist notions of authenticity”

(Shuker 2005, p. 236).

(Roots is actually a form of crossover music)

2tbsp of methodology and500g of qualitative data

analysis

Qualitative Data

Series of personal interviews with musiciansStandard issue methodOpen-ended set of interview questions

What matters to the musician

Shared Brand Personality 1: Competence

When we come to touring overseas, we are

concerned about getting the right support people in each territory to

maintain our act's image and reputation.” (Guitarist, male, 29)

Shared Brand Personality 2: Excitement

dress up to the max, challenge authority and ‘the norm’ in a friendly and

funny way, and we use stage antics that get the audience involved in the

making of the music, and go far over the edge.” (Singer-songwriter, male, 25)

Shared Brand Personality 3: Sophistication

“Amongst the ‘A-list’ singers, you don’t associate

yourself with anyone else on the basis of reputation.”

(Singer, male, 50)

“I don’t reduce myself to the level of the public. They are

paying a lot of money to get entertained, and

being entertained isn’t the same thing

as talking to somebody over the back fence.” (Singer, male, 45)

Okazaki’s (2006) components

PopularityAffectionSincerity

Popularity

“I feel most comfortable performing where there is a

connection to the crowd, a slight ‘intimacy’.” (Singer, female, 29)

“Crowds like to see you’re human from time to time.” (Singer/songwriter, female, 31)

“[Audiences] need you talking with them almost non-stop to help them feel a part of the act.”

(Singer, male, 32)

Aaker (1997)

Sincerity Ruggedness

Ruggedness

“always being Australian, organic, honest,

warm, and empowering”.

(Singer/songwriter, male, 23)

“My ‘style’ or brand/image is one of easy-going,

relaxed ‘guy next door’ sort of thing (me), so the link is

a natural one for me.” (Singer, male, 32)

Where next?

Future areas

Brand Personality as a – Product development– means to develop a competitive positioning

strategy for music brands • Bustos and Burke (2007) Competitive Positioning