Page 228 - Design for Six Sigma for Service (Six SIGMA Operational Methods)

Brand Development and Brand Strategy 197

casual, youthful, and so on. The most important concept here is the brand
personality. A brand personality can be defined as the set of human charac-
teristics associated with a given brand. Thus it includes such characteristics
as gender, age, and socioeconomic class, as well as such classic human per-
sonality traits as warmth, concern, and sentimentality.

A brand personality can create a strong brand in several ways. First, it can
help to create a self-expressive benefit that becomes a vehicle for the
customer to express his or her own personality. For example, a rich man
may want to drive a Mercedes Benz to show his affluence and pride. Second,
brand personality can be the basis of a relationship between the customer
and the brand. For example, the Harley Davidson brand has the personality
of a rugged, free-wheeling, outdoors guy. It helps the buyer use the product
as an identifier for his or her own personality. Third, a brand personality
may help communicate product attributes.

A customer’s perceived brand personality is created by many factors. Some of
the factors are product-related, and some are non product related. Table 8.2
summarizes these factors:

Product-related characteristics could be the primary drivers of a brand per-
sonality. Even the product class can affect the personality. For example, a bank

Table 8.2 Brand Personality Drivers

Product-Related Characteristics Nonproduct-Related Characteristics
Product class User image

Package Sponsorship
Price Symbol

Attributes Age
Ad style
Country of origin

Company image
CEO

Celebrity endorsers
Source: Aaker (1996).