Page 58 - DMGT506_CONSUMER_BEHAVIOUR

Unit 4: Consumer Personality

4.3 Brand Personality Notes

We can divide or study the personality of a brand in five dimensions:
1. Sincerity of the brand: The image of the brand as being down to earth, very honest and
cheerful. Brands that are sincere always fulfill their promises. Consumers do get the
desired benefits out of them. Some brands like Raymond and Hero Honda Passion are
viewed as sincere brand as people trust these brands and they never disappoint the
consumers.
2. Excitement: There are some brands that show their image as being daring, imaginative
and spirited. These brands target adventurous people, people with hedonic motives and
people who want to experiment. Brands like Mountain Dew and Bajaj Pulsar are related to
this personality type where people are shown doing amazing stunts that pumps excitement
in consumers.
3. Competence: These are the types that are reliable, intelligent and successful. These brands
are most trusted and they have an association with the consumers. They are said to be very
consumer oriented and they know what their consumers want. They are promoted in such
a way that their core competencies and success story come out in between the consumers.

Example: Airtel and LIC of India are reliable and they are successful also.
4. Sophisticated: These brands have an upper class feeling attached to them. They are charming
and every one dreams of owning such brands. These brands have an image which is classy
and glamorous. Brands such as Mercedes and Tommy Hilfiger are considered as up market
and charming.
5. Rugged: These are the brand which have very western and masculine image. They are
considered to be tough and outdoorsy. They are connected with men or in some cases
women, with strong personality. Brands like Harley Davidson and Ceat have rugged
personality.

Notes What is Brand Image?
Brand image is the images evoked by exposure to a named brand. Like brand personality,
brand image is not something a brand has or it doesn't. A brand is unlikely to have one
brand image, but several, though one or two may predominate. The key in brand image
research is to identify or develop the most powerful images and reinforce them through
subsequent brand communications. It is based on the proposition that consumers buy not
only a product (commodity), but also the image associations of the product, such as power,
wealth, sophistication, and most importantly identification and association with other
users of the brand. Good brand images are instantly evoked, are positive, and are almost
always unique among competitive brands. Brand image can be reinforced by brand
communications such as packaging, advertising, promotion, customer service, word-of-
mouth and other aspects of the brand experience. Brand images are usually evoked by
asking consumers the first words/images that come to their mind when a certain brand is
mentioned (sometimes called "top of mind"). When responses are highly variable,
non-forthcoming, or refer to non-image attributes such as cost, it is an indicator of a weak
brand image.

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