Browsing by Author "Haak, Xanri"

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    The relationship between individuals’ personality and specific brand personalities
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2017-12) Haak, Xanri; Gerber, Charlene; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. Business Management.
    ENGLISH SUMMARY : The rapidly changing nature of businesses and the current competitive environment in which they operate require managers to focus on designing, developing and promoting new products and brands with creative and innovative features in order to distinguish them from other products and brands. Following the importance of brands in distinguishing them from the rest of the market, managers have also realised the power of brands and their influence on consumers’ perceptions, associations and preferences. Various strategies are used to distinguish brands, although little research has investigated strategies focusing on the link between brand personality and individual personalities. Against the background of the challenge marketers face in influencing consumers’ perceptions, associations and preferences, this study attempts to assess the relationship between individuals’ personalities and specific brand personalities. The secondary research objectives specifically assessed whether there is a relationship between each of the Big Five personality dimensions and specific brand personalities. This study is based on a review of existing literature, covering aspects within both the branding (i.e. brand equity, brand knowledge, brand associations and brand personality) and personality (i.e. conceptualisation, personality approaches and the personality trait theory) landscape. The empirical aspect of this study made use of an exploratory mixed methods approach conducted in two phases, namely a qualitative and a quantitative phase. The aim of the qualitative research phase was to identify and select four car brands with perceived brand personalities (reflecting the Big Five personality dimensions) that differ significantly from one another for the purpose of the follow-up quantitative research phase. Firstly, a focus group discussion was conducted to identify ten car brands perceived as familiar among consumers. These brands were then used in the second stage of the qualitative phase, in which participants were asked to match a number of brand personality traits to each car brand and model, using picture and word associations. The outcome of the qualitative research was used to build upon the quantitative research phase. The quantitative research phase was conducted by means of a structured online web-based questionnaire, measuring brand personality, personality and purchase intent. The questionnaire link was distributed via email and the social networking site Facebook. No screening criteria were set and the realised sample consisted of males and females of all races between the ages of 25 and 65, who fell into the LSM categories 8 to 10, have an understanding of the English language and live in South Africa. A Pearson’s correlation coefficient test statistic was performed to assess the research objectives of this study – the relationship between individuals’ personalities and specific brand personalities. The findings of this study indicate that personality variables are not strong enough to be reliable predictors of individuals’ brand preferences or intent to buy a specific brand personality; however, the significant findings on the relationship between specific personality dimensions and brand personalities offer useful insights for managers.