Brands to Consumers

IFRSA Business Review|Vol2|issue 1|March 2012 103

Brands to Consumers-An Insight into Consumer's Relationship with

Brands

Dr.Deepti Wadera

Associate Professor,IILM Institute Of Higher Education ,Gurgaon

ABSTRACT

This study has been undertaken with a specific focus on

understanding consumer‟s relationship with their

favourite brands.A brand is a true reflection of an

individual‟s personality, attitude, preferences, values

and beliefs. For some people a brand may be an

inseparable part of their lives, sharing their happiness

and sorrows; others may perceive a brand as a

functional tool that helps them to perform their daily

chores and lead a comfortable lifestyle and some may

believe it to be a precious material possession that

enhances their status symbol. The paper describes the

relationship attributes which consumers evaluate ,while

choosing different brands. Prior research on brands has

indicated brand as an active relationship partner . An

Indepth intensive interview was done using projective

techniques based on brand personification,brand

relationship typology and brand identity prism.

Opinions of ten brands were gathered from a set of 3

young responents.Data was organised using tabular

method followed by content analysis. Study develops a

relationship typology for these brands.Study will be

helpful to the industry looking at the fast changing

brand relationships and consumer preferences.

Keywords: Brand personality, brand identity, brand

relationship, symbolises, culture, self image.

1. INTRODUCTION

Brand Literature

A brand is a set of perceptions and images that

represent a company, product, or service (Arnould et.

al., 2004). Everyday we are exposed to an infinite

number of brands that we are driven to consume by our

needs or wants, which we develop relationships with

(Fournier 1998). Our possessions are made up of these

brands and they hold various meanings that give rise to

social identities (Klein and Klein, 1993). Belk‟s (1989)

theory extends to say that there is a connection between

possessions and one‟s extended self.The American

Marketing Association (AMA) also defines a brand as a,

“name, term, sign, symbol or design or a combination of

them, intended to identify the goods and services of one

seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from

those of competition” (Keller, 2009, p.24).

A brand is more than just a name, symbol or good and

service as positioning, identity, personality and loyalty

are other key elements that make a consumer aware

about the existence of a particular brand.

A number of factors have been proposed to influence

consumers‟ acceptance of brands, including brand

positioning, brand identity, brand personality, brand

loyalty. Much focus has been on how judgments might

be shaped by attitudes toward or other associations with

the brand that consumers hold.

Brand positioning can be defined as the “act of

designing the company‟s offer and image so that it

occupies a distinct and valued place in the target

customer‟s mind” (Keller, 2009, p.60).

Brand identity is on the sender‟s side. Purpose is to

specify the brand‟s meaning, aim and self image

(Kapferer, 2009, p.94).

Brand personality can be defined as “the human

characteristics or traits that consumers can attribute to a

brand” (Keller, 2009, p.391). Brand loyalty describes

the faith and commitment of the consumers towards the

brand through repeated purchase of the products of the

brand when other alternatives are available.

Perhaps the most useful conceptual frameworks that can

be used to explain brand relationships are Brand

personality scale, Brand Identity Prism, Brand

Relationship Quality Construct.

2. METHOD &APPROACH

A Descriptive qualitative research was taken to

understand the type of relationships consumers share

with their favourite brands.

In understanding consumers‟ relationships with their

brands. , an indepth interview was done using

projective techniques based on brand personification,

brand relationship typology and brand identity prism.

Opinions of ten brands were gathered from a set of 3

IBR Journal homepage: www.ifrsa.org

D Wadera | Brands to Consumers-An insight into consumer's relationship with brands


young respondents and consumers‟ individual life

histories and brand stories were generated.

Brand stories were generated to find out the impact of

following factors on consumers and their relationship

with brands:

Whether they relate with the brands

How do they personify the brands

Does the marketing strategies impact their

relationships

Whether origin of brand has an impact on the

relationship

Do consumers see themselves in the brand

What type of relationship do they share with the

brand

The above questions were asked and analysed around

the frameworks of brand personification,brand identity

and brand relationship quality

The approach involved three distinct interviewing

stages.The first stage comprised the „orientation and

overview‟ to understand salient attributes of the brand

relationship, while the second „focused exploration

related to brand personification,brand identity and brand

relationship quality constructs.‟ specifically examined

certain brands that were mentioned in the first interview.

In the third phase, the „member check‟, respondents

were given a draft copy of their inputs in order to verify

that the researcher had correctly captured the

information given by the respondent.

3. SAMPLE

The final sample size for this study was three young

respondents, the same number as in similar research

based on the case study approach (Fournier 1994, 1998;

Mick and Buhl 1992).

Respondents were selected based on their differences in

psychographics/lifestyle characteristics. In this instance,

it is important to note that the respondents were not a

“sample”, therefore their selection were not governed by

sampling rules (McCracken 1988). The method of

selection of the respondents ensured the diversity of

age, social status, education and occupation in order to

„manufacture distance‟ (McCracken 1988).

About an hour long orientation was given to these

interviewers regarding the purpose of the study. The

data were collected over approximately a two-week

period of time.

Since culture has been found to be a modifier of

consumer behaviour and in particular of behaviour with

respect to brands (e.g. Samli, 1995) all respondents

were of Asian origin to control for possible differences

in brand relationships across the sample, generated by

ethnicity.

4. DATA ANALYSIS

After reading the responses taken down as notes, a

theme among the partcipants was observed based on

their relationship with brands .

Stories of consumer-brand relationships that existed

within the context of the individual as a whole person

were considered.

Content Analysis was done by organising the data using

tabular method of analysis and data was interpreted to

determine the main themes around brand personality

scale,brand identity and brand relationship quality

construct.

Following brands were analysed :

1) Colgate

2) Nestle

3) Coca Cola

4) Loreal

5) Reebok

6) Longines

7) United Colours Of Benneton

8) Ed Hardy

9) Nokia

10) Mercedes Benz

Details as listed in Table1 -(appendix)

Table 1 details the brands ,their origin,products and

framework used for analysis.

First framework for analyis used is the Brand

personality scale by Jennifer Aaker.

It is a framework that defines five personality factors

like Sincerity, Excitement, Competence, Sophistication

and Ruggedness that distinguish one brand from the

other.

It also highlights the fact that how consumers perceive a

brand when an aspect of human personality trait is

attached to it and it becomes easy for a consumer to

associate himself/herself with that particular brand

resulting into a long lasting relationship with the brand.

The five core dimensions and their facets in Brand

Personality Scale are:

1. Sincerity

Down to earth : family oriented, small town, blue collar,

all American, conventional

Honest : sincere, real, ethical, thoughtful, caring

Wholesome : Original, ageless, classic, genuine, old-

fashioned

Cheerful : sentimental, friendly, warm, happy

2. Excitement

Daring : trendy, exciting, offbeat, flashy, provocative

Spirited : cool, young, lively, adventurous, outgoing

Imaginative: unique, humorous, surprising, artistic, fun.

Up-to-date : Independent, contemporary, innovative,

aggressive

3. Competence

Reliable : hardworking, secure, efficient, trustworthy,

careful

Intelligent : technical, corporate, serious

Successful : leader, confident, influential

4. Sophistication



Upper Class: Glamorous, good looking, pretentious,

sophisticated.

Charming : feminine, smooth, sexy, gentle

5. Ruggedness

Outdoorsy : masculine, Western, active, athletic

Tough: rugged, strong, no-nonsense”

Relationship with Nokia

Nokia belongs to Finland and is a leading player in

mobile devices.

Brand Personality scale was used to analyse the

relationship.

According to respondents,Nokia when imagined as a

human being, comes across as a person who is

hardworking, trustworthy and efficient who shoulders

the responsibility to design thoughtful products

according to the requirements of the consumer and it

helps them to stay connected with their families, friends

and colleagues and also serves as a tool for their

entertainment through the inbuilt music, gaming and

video applications provided in the phone. This justifies

Nokia‟s competence as a brand.

Another aspect relationship with Nokia is its relevance

to the personality theory as when they buy a Nokia hand

set their „ego‟ and „ super ego‟ comes into picture. It

satisfies the ego criterion which is related to the reality

principle because as a consumer I logically evaluate the

need for the product, cost, functional benefits,

maintenance and post purchase services before

purchasing the product and Nokia has always met their

expectations in all the above mentioned categories.

Nokia fulfils the super ego criterion which is related to

the morality principle as it is ethical and caring and has

undertaken the role of a responsible citizen through its

commendable efforts to save the environment as a part

of its corporate social responsibility and this indeed

justifies Nokia‟s sincerity as a brand.

Relationship with Longines

Longines belongs to Switzerland and is a leading swiss

player in watches.


relationship.

When respondents imagine Longines as a human

being ,the swiss brand is perceived to be feminine,

elegant, sophisticated, an independent and a confident

working woman of the twenty first century but at the

same time she is warm and caring and devoted to her

family.

Respondent identify themself with this brand because

of the actress Aiswarya Rai Bachchan who is the brand

ambassador of Longines and is admired for her

excellence, determination and commitment that have

helped her to achieve great heights in the field of

performing arts.

Relationship with Colgate

Colgate originates from United States and is a leading

player in oral care,personal care and home care

products.


relationship.

Colgate being a fast moving consumer good brand i.e.

is one brand which is used by families from all income

groups all over the world. It has been amongst the top

three brands for the past 10 years. Colgate is perceived

to be a sincere and competent brand with its array of

products such as toothpastes, toothbrushes of,

mouthwash etc. Colgate toothpaste is used by mostly by

all age groups.Colgate has also held many free dental

camps like the very famous “Oral health month” and

has always maintained the products quality and given

tough competition to their competitors.

Relationship with Mercedes Benz

Mercedes Benz belongs to Germany and is a niche

player in Automoblies,buses,coaches and trucks.


relationship.

Mercedes Benz symbolizes to them Competence and

Sophistication. When they sit in Mercedes Benz they

feel surrounded by pure luxury and elegance. The high-

class interiors and the sound system of Harman Kardon

just leave one word- Superb.They use this brand

because it sets a status symbol for family and them and

more over the class of Mercedes Benz is of its own.

They feel that Mercedes Benz is unique be it any of its

segments, the amount of richness you feel when you

drive it, that feeling cannot be expressed and when it

comes to luxury and expensive cars both, its Mercedes

Benz because it has both the performance as well as

luxury which very few cars have in this world. The

servicing and showroom people also build a small

relationship with their customers, that is really

admirable, and every year they parcel a Mercedes Benz

calendar, which has all its upcoming models in that year

and a merchandise of Mercedes, all this creates trust

within its customer and in the end they are satisfied with

their investment.

Relationship with Reebok

Reebok is based at United states and is a leading

player in sportswear,apparels,eyewear,bags and

watches.


relationship.

Reebok as its tagline says “I am what I am” gives them

a feeling of individuality. They relate this brand to

Competence,Excitement,Sincerity,Ruggedness. The

color black used in the logo of Reebok represents

someone who is powerful, authoritative and

sophisticated The word Reebok is derived from an

African word “rhebok” which is an African Antelope

and itself signifies freedom and individuality which



perfectly defines the personality of Reebok as a brand. It

symbolises a fitness freak who likes to run and keeps

fit,representing ruggedness and excitement. Reebok as a

sports and fitness brand offers high quality products at

affordable prices and hence represnts sincerety and

competence. The brand appeals to REEthink and

motivates them to have fun and enjoy the activities

Thus above were the types of relationships the

respondents share with the brands

Nokia, Colgate,Longines,Reebok,Mercedes Benz

which were analysed using brand personality scale.

Brand Identity Prism by Kapferer is a hexagonal

structure that includes components like personality,

physique, culture, relationship, self image and reflected

consumer.

Personality, culture and self image are the internal

aspects of the brand whereas physique, relationship and

reflected consumer are external aspects of the brand that

formulate the consumers‟ perception regarding the

brand.

Diagrammatic representation of brand identity prism is

as follows:

Source:http://www.12manage.com/methods_kapferer_b

rand_identity_prism.html

Figure1

In the model of Kapferer‟s Brand identity, there are two

parts i.e. Externalization and Internalization.

Externalization contains Physique, Relationship and

Reflection whereas; Internalization contains Personality,

Culture and Self-image (as shown in the diagram

above).

As is clearly visible, the model has 6 dimensions on

which a brand is to be evaluated.

Physical Facet talks about what the product is, what

does it do, how does it add value to customers, how

does it fill up the gap in the market.

Brand personality is measured using those traits/features

of consumer personality that are directly related to

brands. Proper care should be taken not to confuse it

with consumer‟s reflection.Brand personality is closely

linked with self image and image of the consumer.

Brand Culture: As the name signifies, it talks about the

culture of the brand. The values and the principles will

follow from the culture and it is these values, which will

bind the customers.

Brand Relationships: Every brand has to maintain

healthy relationships with customers. All marketing

collaterals are intended to do that.

Customer Reflection: Every product is designed to

satisfy some need of the intended customer base. A

consumer has to be reflected in a way, which would

show how he or she could image himself consuming a

particular good.

Customer Self Image: Consumers get attracted to those

brands in which they see their own traits, for example, a

man who is muscular and strong would smoke

Marlboro. This goes hand in hand with brand

personality.

All the dimensions on the left side are external factors

whereas the right side represents internalization.

Relationship with UCB

United Colours of Benneton is an Italian brand and is a

leading player in women wear, men wear, children wear

,toiletries and baby products.

Inputs from consumers about their relationship with

United Colors of Benetton was analysed using Brand

Identity Prism and can be explained as:-

The internal personality of United Colors of Benetton

represents a stylish youth. He is lively, cheerful,

carefree, fun loving, confident and adventurous. This

highlights Benetton‟s sincerity, competence and

excitement as a brand. Corresponding to these

personality traits, United Colors of Benetton has an

external physique that defines its product, pricing,

promotion and place distribution strategies.

The product strategies of United Colors of Benetton,

mainly focus on creating a quality garment according to

the latest fashion trends inspired by the requirements of

its target market that is the „youth‟ but at the same time

it also focuses on producing an expansive product line

broadly categorized into casual wear, formal wear and

evening wear and other merchandizes including bags,

watches, shoes, belts etc.

Benetton follows the niche pricing strategy that is it sets

affordable prices for its casual wear product line but it

sets high prices for its formal and evening wear product

ranges.

Benetton‟s promotional strategies include creating

awareness about the brand through print media. Its

various advertisement campaigns like „An Expression of

Our Time‟; „Colourful Globalisation‟; and „Uniqueness

in the Difference‟ featuring youth from different cultural

backgrounds across the globe have a universal appeal

and have been successful in attracting public attention

on issues like racism, discrimination, world hunger and

cruelty to animals etc.

http://www.12manage.com/methods_kapferer_brand_identity_prism.html

http://www.12manage.com/methods_kapferer_brand_identity_prism.html



United Colors of Benetton‟s distribution strategy

focuses on global expansion of the brand. Its plan of

action is to open retail stores with a trendy ambience

and a systematic layout in the prime retail locations or it

distributes its products at global departmental stores that

experience high levels of customer foot fall.

United Colors of Benetton being an italian brand ,its

foundation is laid on the principles of commitment,

perfection, warmth and prosperity. Benetton has formed

its culture by incorporating these basic fundamental

values in the company‟s framework. Accordingly the

company formulates its product, pricing, promotional

and place distribution strategies to establish long lasting

relationships with the customers. Benetton‟s objective to

create a quality product at affordable prices and offering

commendable customer support services highlights the

brand‟s commitment and devotion towards the

customers.

Another initiative by Benetton to strengthen the bonds

with its consumers is the introduction of loyalty cards

that include discount offers on garments and

accessories, and gift vouchers for the festive season or

to celebrate special occasions like birthdays and

anniversaries. These initiatives enable the brand to gain

faithful consumers that allow the brand to be a part of

their lives.

The self image of United Colors of Benetton that is, it

perceives itself to be youthful, outgoing, trendy and

artistic. Parallel to the self image is the reflected

consumer i.e. the actual consumer of the brand. When

respondents wear a United Colors of Benetton garment

they feel happy, free spirited, young and ready to paint

the canvas of their life with vibrant shades of

enthusiasm, ambition and warmth.

Relationship with Ed Hardy

Ed Hardy is based at United states and is a leading

designer clothing player .

Brand Identity Prism was used to analyse the

relationship.

The personality Ed Hardy depicts in its clothing and

footwear is that of an independent person who is young

with an attitude. He loves Fashion which is depicted by

sparkly, special and stylish tattoo designs. He also

enjoys being simple yet different and informal.The

respondents see Ed Hardy‟s physique as a designer

clothing brand which is very informal and meant for

youth who are trendy, like to live on the edge and love

extreme moments in life. The Swarovski crystals stuck

as part of its designs make me feel rich and worthy. It

offers good fitting and high quality which they feel is a

status symbol. It has a new and jazzy logo which

reflects the youth within them.

Don Ed hardy the designer of Ed hardy clothing is

known all over the world as he incorporates Japanese

tattoo style (as he learnt at college in Japan) into

American style and produces stylish clothing. Ed hardy

portrays pop culture art, relationships as his designs say

“love kills slowly” and open minded American culture

which he depicts by his famous tiger designs. Apart

from this individuality is something that always reflects

in his designs. Ed hardy has a social discerning and

distinct identity as compared to other brands. The

respondents share a strong relationship with Ed hardy

because they believe that they possess almost all

characteristics of the brand‟s personality in them. They

much like the idea of making innovative designs out of

meaningful Japanese tattoos and giving it an American

touch.

Self image - Ed hardy is famous for his artwork and is

renowned worldwide. His apparel brand reflects

artistry, innovation and creativity. The brand has a

timeless charm about it that honors the traditional

American tattoo art. It is constantly evolving itself to

meet its customer needs and satisfy them by bringing in

new trends in fashion. Respondents gets a reflection of

people who love to socialize, meet new people, and love

pop music. They have great respect for creativity,

originality and innovation.

Brand Relationship Quality Construct (BRQC), is a

multifaceted framework that highlights, that there is

more to keeping a relationship alive than a pull of

positive feelings: affective and socio emotive

attachments (love/passion and self connection);

behavioural ties (interdependence and commitment);

and supportive cognitive beliefs (intimacy and brand

partner quality) combine to yield strength and durability

(Fournier, 1998).

Source: Susan Fournier(1998) “Consumers and their



brands:Developing relationship theory in consumer

research”,Journal Of Consumer Research,366.

Figure.2

1. Love and Passion: this type of relationship

depicts strong affection with the

brand.Respondents feel like something is missing

if the brand is not in their life.

2. Self Connection: this type of relationship reflects

the degree to which the brand delivers on

important identity concerns ,tasks or

themes,thereby expressing a significant aspect of

self.

3. Inter dependence: this aspect reflects high degree

of interdependence between consumer and brand,

involving frequent brand interactions.

4. Commitment: this reflects the level of longevity

of relationship and commitment with the brand.

5. Intimacy: this reflects the brand relationship

memory of personal associations and experiences.

6. Brand Partner quality: is consumer's evaluation of

brand performance in its partnership role.

Also Fournier mentioned fifteen different types of

relationships between consumers and brands like

“Arranged marriages”, “casual friends”, “marriages of

convenience”, “committed partnerships”, “Best

Friendships”, “Compartmentalized friendships”, ,

“kinship”, “avoidance driven relationships”, “childhood

friendships”, “courtships”, “dependencies”, “flings”,

“enmities”, “secret affairs” and “enslavements”

Relationship with Coca Cola

Coca Cola is based at United states and is a leading

player in soft drinks,energy drinks,juices, tea, coffee and

water.

Brand Relationship Quality Construct was used to

analyse the relationship.

Respondents share a relationship of "Best Friends" and

has a love /passion equation with the brand.. When they

drink Coke they feel it gives them company like a true

friend would do. It also cheers them up when they are

feeling low which is the kind of positive reward that

they always get and it never lets them down.

Relationship with Nestle

Nestle is based at Switzerland and is a leading player

in Milk products,beverages,chocolates,cooking aids.



Respondents share a relation with Nestle Maggi is that

of “childhood friendship” as since they were a child

they have been taking Maggi as a snack. They are very

emotionally attached towards it as it always reminds

them of their childhood memories and makes them

nostalgic. They have it when they want to give themself

a little treat. It has been able to maintain the same taste

for several years now and that helps them to relate with

it even more. They share a love/passion equation with

maggi as their favorite snack.They also find It easily

available wherever they go so they feel that it is always

there for them as a friend.

Relationship with L'Oreal

L'Oreal is based at France and is a leading player in

beauty products.



The aspect of interdependence in brand relationship

quality construct framework highlights respondent's

relationship with L‟Oreal. As using the brand‟s products

is a part of their daily beauty routine and after being

loyal to this product it makes them further more

dependent on this brand because it delivers the promise

of taking care of their beauty without damaging it.They

share an equation of dependencies with the brand.

5. CONCLUSION

The findings support the notion of the brands and

consumers as partners in a relationship dyad. By

applying the conceptual frameworks, a general

explanation for the phenomenon of consumer-brand

bonds has been provided. This perspective has allowed

to explain and describe the meaningful operations of the

consumer- brand bonds at the level of consumers‟ lived

experiences. This research has also contributed to an

improved understanding of the relationship paradigm in

marketing and serves as a base for further research on

consumer-brand relationship theory building.

This consumer-brand relationship perspective along

with the research on interpersonal relationships

discussed above seems to provide an implication for

brand preference. However, if consumers have

established good relationships with the brand and thus

feel strongly committed to their relationships, as a

consequence, their purchase intension might increase.

In sum, the brand relationships might directly influence

the preference and purchase intensions.

This research makes a contribution to the current

literature. On one hand, it increases our understanding

of the brand personality scale,brand identity prism and

brand relationship quality construct and on the other

hand it contributes to their application in brand

relationship research.

A managerial implication of this seems straightforward.

Brand managers are better off when they manage their

brands from the perspective of relationships with

consumers, not just based on consumers‟ cognitive

evaluations of the brands.

Several limitations of the present study should be noted

for future research directions. First,in this research

,measures of brand relationships are rather few ,with

brand personality scale,brand identity prism and brand

relationship quality construct.Future research needs to

investigate if the results obtained here will be replicated



when a more refined measurement scheme is employed

for the consumer-brand relationship construct. In this

regard, Fournier‟s (1994) measurement scheme seems to

be a good starting point. Second, the explanations

provided concerning the pattern of the relationship

quality effects observed in this study are rather

speculative in nature. More precise mechanisms need to

be outlined and put on empirical tests. Finally, the

present research did not address how to develop and

strengthen a relationship with brand. Undoubtedly,

future research addressing these issues would be of

great importance.

REFERENCES

[1] Aaker, J.L. (1997). “Dimensions of Brand

Personality”, Journal of Marketing Research,

August, pp 347-356

[2] Fournier, Susan (1998), "Consumers and Their

Brands: Developing Relationship Theory in

Consumer Research," Journal of Consumer

Research, 34 (March), 343-373.

[3] Upshow, Lynn B. (1995). Building Brand

Identity, A Strategy for success in hostile

marketplace, John Wiley & Sons, Inc

[4] Dick, Alan S. And Kunal Basu(1994). "Customer

Loyalty: Toward an Integrated Conceptual

Framework," Journal of the Academy of

Marketing Science, 22 (2), pp 99-113

[5] Laurent G and Kapferer J.N. (1985) “Measuring

Consumer Involvement Profiles”, Journal of

marketing research, 22, pp. 41-53

[6] Bersheid, Ellen and Harry T. Reis (1998),

"Attraction and Close Relationships," in The

Handbook of Social Psychology, 4ed, ed. Daniel

T. Gilbert, Susan T. Fiske, and Gardner Lindzey,

Boston, MA: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.,

193-281.

[7] Bodenhausen, Galen and Robert S. Wyer (1985),

"Effects of Stereotypes in Decision and

Information-Processing Strategies," Journal of

Personality and Social Psychology, 48 (2), 267-

282.

[8] Fournier, Susan (1994), A Consumer-Brand

Relationship Framework for Strategic Brand

Management, unpublished doctoral dissertation,

University of Florida.

[9] Sujan, Mita (1985), "Consumer Knowledge:

Effect on Evaluation Processes Mediating

Consumer Judgments," Journal of Consumer

Research, 12 (June), 31-46.

[10] Sujan, Mita and Christine Dekleva (1987),

"Product Categorization and Inference Making:

Some Implications for Comparative

Advertising," Journal of Consumer Research, 14

(December), 372-378.

[11] Van Lange, P. A. M., Caryl E. Rusbult, S. M.

Drigotas, X. B., Arriaga, B. S., Witcher, and C.

L. Cox (1997), "Willingness to Sacrifice in Close

Relationships," Journal of Personality and Social

Psychology, 72, 1373-1395.

[12] Wieselquist, Jennifer, Caryl E. Rusbult, Craig A.

Foster, and Christopher R. Agnew (1999),

"Commitment, Pro-Relationship Behavior, and

Trust in Close Relationships," Journal of

Personality and Social Psychology, 77 (5), 942-

966.

[13] Solomon, Michael R. (1985), "Deep-Seated

Materialism: The Case of Levi's 501 Jeans,"

Advances in Consumer Research, 13, 619-22.

[14] Kapferer, Jean-Noel. (2000) Strategic brand

management: second edition. New Delhi: Kogan

Page India Private Limited.

[15] Aaker, Jennifer (1997), “Dimensions of Brand

Personality”, Journal of marketing 34(august),

347-357

[16] Thompson, Craig, William B. Locander, and

Howard R. Pollio (1989), "Putting Consumer

Experience Back into Consumer Research:The

Philosophy and Method of Existential-

Phenomenology," Journal of Consumer

Research, 16 (September), 133- 146.

[17] Wells, William W. (1993), "Discovery-orientated

Consumer Research," Journal of Consumer

Research, 19 (March), 489- 504.

[18] Wellman, William D. (1990), "Integrating

Textual and Statistical Methods in the Social

Sciences," Cultural Anthropology Methods

Newsletter, 2 (May), 1-5. 1238

[19] Brand Personality Scale Available:

<http://www.valuebasedmanagement.net/method

s_aaker_brand_personality_framework.html>

Last Accessed: 21st March 2011.

[20] Brand Relationship Quality Construct Available:

<http://www.scribd.com/doc/3952135/Brand-

Relationship-Quality> Last Accessed: 14th

March 2011

[21] Brand Loyalty Available:

<http://www.essortment.com/all/brandloyalty_pq

k.htm> Last Accessed: 4th March 2011

[22] Brand Identity Available:

<http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/b

rand-identity.html> Last Accessed: 12th

March

2011.



APPENDICES:

BRANDS ORIGIN PRODUCTS FRAMEWORKS USED FOR

ANALYSIS

Colgate United States Oral care,Personal care,Home care Brand Personality scale

Nestle Switzerland Milk

products,beverages,chocolates,cooki

ng aids

Brand Relationship Quality

Construct

Coca Cola United States Soft drinks,energy

drinks,juices,tea,coffee,water

Brand Relationship Quality

Construct

L'Oreal France Beauty products Brand Relationship Quality

Construct

Reebok United States Sportswear,apparels,eyewear,

bags,watches

Brand Personality scale

Longines Switzerland Watches Brand Personality scale

United Colours

Of Benetton

Italy Womenwear,Menwear,

Childrenwear,Toiletries,baby

products

Brand Identity Prism

Ed hardy United States Designer Clothing Brand Identity Prism

Nokia Finland Mobile Devices Brand Personality scale

Mercedes Benz Germany Automobiles,buses,coaches,

trucks

Brand Personality scale

Table 1

BRIEF PROFILE OF THE AUTHOR Dr.Deepti Wadera is acting as an Associate Professor in Marketing at IILM Institute of Higher education,Gurgaon. Teaching various marketing subjects like Retail Marketing, Marketing Management, Marketing of Services and Strategic Management. She is a post graduate in Management with specialization in Marketing from Amity Business School, Noida. She did her M.Phil in Business Administration from Annamalai university and her PhD in Marketing field from Kota University . She has rich industry experience in Marketing and Sales & Promotions. She has been associated with PARLE group, MITSUBISHI and HERO HONDA. She has presented papers in various institutes and to name a few out of them are AIMA, Annamamalai University, IIM-Kozikode, Amity International Business School. She is also an AMT Accredited Management Teacher from AIMA.

Brands to Consumers

Documents

Transcript of Brands to Consumers