On Congruence between Brand and Human Personalities

Abstract

Purpose - The purpose of the current research paper is to uncover the relations between brand and human personality by identifying brand preferences of consumers with different personality types.

Design/methodology/approach - Based on the existing literature, we suggest fifteen propositions linking Ekelund’s (Ekelund, 1997; Ekelund and Langvik, 2008) DI types as parsimonious proxies of human personality and brand personality dimensions as suggested by Aaker (1997). Proposition were tested through statistical analysis of survey data collected in two stages.

Findings - We found that consumers prefer brands with personalities that match their own. For example, consumers with Blue DI type exhibit clear aversion of the excitement dimension of brand personality, whereas consumers with Red DI type exhibit clear preference for the sincerity dimension of brand personality. No clear findings emerged concerning the Green DI type, mostly likely linked to the individualistic, non-conformist and innovative orientations of such individuals. In addition data revealed a possible hierarchy of brand personality dimensions’ influence.

Practical implications - Findings provide guidelines for better tailoring of promotional materials based on target customer groups, as well as the ability of evaluating underperforming brands in terms of a brand-human personality mismatch.

Originality/value - The paper fills out a gap in the literature about the congruence between brand and human personalities, and demonstrates how brand personality dimensions impacts brand preference among different consumer types.

Keywords: Brand Personality, Brand Preference, Personality, Fashion, Furniture, Supermarkets, Norway

JEL Classification: M3