Analyzing the Self and Brand Personalities - Essay Example

Artistic representation Self-concept and analysis As a marketer, I am more interested in the use of latest technology such as computers and mobile phones. I find the technological advancement in these areas to provide an advantageous platform for marketing. Further, I am also concerned with my success in the marketing industry. This concerns how I can grow professionally as marketer and achieve a good understanding of my market and customer needs. In an article I read by Samama (2003), he explains that the saturation of markets, the congestion of the advertising landscape, and the maturity of the consumers towards the brands has urged companies to go beyond the image brand to the relation brand in order to preserve their market shares. They understand that keeping their shares in the markets is linked to the level of their customers’ faithfulness. Such information is key to my growth and in defining my marketing strategy for developing a strong brand into the market. There are two theories describing this conceptual concept of the brand image and self-concept and these have an influence on the consumers’ choice and the brand preferences. These are the congruity theory, which entails the product cues that are involved and they usually use images to activate a schema that involves similar images. The second theory also referred to as the self concept theory seeks to explain that consumer behaviour research findings explains to us that consumers who perceive the product image are perceived to be well and consistent with their actual self-concept. For example, before purchasing a laptop computer or a mobile phone, I would consider going for strong brands that meet the four Ps of marketing. Moreover, this provides sufficient explanation to show that there is a congruence between the self-image and the brand personality. In fact, this is what increases the consumer brand relationship and the consumer satisfaction. For cases where there is a high involvement with the products, the relationship of the consumer brand quality will mediate an effect of satisfaction on the consumer’s brand loyalties. A good example is However, for the low involvement products the satisfaction will directly influence the loyalty of the brand. One of the most important issues in the market is brand royalty; this is because there is always a tendency of the consumers to purchase decisions by the brand images that have already been formed in their minds instead of the characteristics of the product itself or the original attributes. Presence of a unique brand is the key to a brand equity management. A brand identity is represented by a brand personality and it is a growing perception that a brand personality can be in a position to differentiate a focal brand from those offered by competitors, simply done by having a unique brand association. A brand personality will influence the consumer’s usage, emotional attachment, trust, preference and loyalty. Therefore, the important factor is that the congruence between the brand image and the self-image that plays a role in improving the loyalty of the brand. Brand personality refers to the human characteristics that are associated with the brand. It is that category of the image of the brand that is made by the user and thus the usage of imagery attributes. The promotion message on the brand reminds consumers of their very own self-image and thus makes consumers to give positive evaluations of the brands that are congruent with their very own self-image. For example, if we use the Samsung mobile phone brand [in the picture collage], most people perceive it as a positive brand, which leads to high sales hence influencing the congruence between the brand image and the self-image of the consumers. The component in the brand image represents the character or the personality of the actual brand. Thus, brands are usually characterized by personality descriptions words like, youthful, unique, gentle, and colourful. The connection between the brand image and the personality of the brand is a component of the brand equity and this is what defines the brand personality. It is defined by a set of characteristics by humans that are associated with the brand (Samama, 2003). There are five major dimensions of brand personality, these are, sincerity, ruggedness, sophistication, excitement and competence. Therefore, consumers will use the brands as an actual symbol and many consumers will prefer the brands with images or even personalities that are congruent with the brand personality or the self-image (Dolich 2001). As stated earlier, consumers tend to show a favourable feeling towards a brand whenever the brand personality is congruent with their very own self-image. Research has also discovered that the congruence between the self-image and the brand personality will normally increase the positive attitude of the consumers who will have a hedonic attitude and who will emphasize the symbolic values. Thus, according to Dolich (2001), when the congruence between the self image and the brand personality increases then the consumer will increase their satisfaction on the product, this in actual sense shows that if the congruence between the beer brand personality and its self image increases then there will be many consumers as the level of consumer satisfaction will increase. In addition to this, the brand loyalty will also increase and the consumer brand relationship with the beer industry will increase. This in the long run will build a positive relationship even with the brand as they will regard the brand as valuable and beneficial to them. Vernette (2003) in his article explains that, associating the specific personality features to the brand will allow the consumer to express a certain conception of himself to acquire some value enhancing, symbolic benefits from a given consumption. Personality is a psychological notion and is usually presented as an individualized unity of a set of behaviours. Personality that the people will associate with products will add to the brand equity because it will create an emotional connection between what is bought and the consumers Positive brand personality analysis The success of the beer brands require a push and a pull in the actual market place. The push is mainly used to get the brand being placed on the retail shelf; this involves major complexities of distributor management and the distribution. Once the product has been put on the shelf, then it will have to sell, and this is what is referred to as a pull. Thus, it will be either a push or a pull but if the two are out of balance then one is not achieving optimum potential sales for that brand. If there is good distribution and many placements but there is no selling of the product, then the placements will be quickly substituted by the retailer for another brand and then the distributor will quickly become discouraged from placing the brand further. Brand building is thus creating a pull for the brand and putting a major focus on the “fourth tier” consumer. Consumers will tend to buy the beer brands that they know, and have been able to recognize and those that they are familiar with over time. Examples of successful beer brand images are Sierra Nevada whose brand message entails originality, consistency and quality. This is a benchmark in craft beer. Boulevard beer has a brand message that explains classic, quality and local. The new Belgium brand message explains outdoor, environmental, fun and enthusiast. Quality is a common determiner of the product’s consumers as well as the location the product originates, because, in the case of beer, each consumer knows where each of their best beers is brewed. The different messages will be used for different brands because they will work for the different brands each in a unique way. Boulevard works greatest in the Midwest as it portrays a regional beer but this would not probably do nearly as well on the coast side. Brand messages like Rogue’s, be different, break, will seem to work well in any of these regions. The two brands I have chose are; Sierra Nevada and Rogue Ales. Sierra Nevada is one of the most influential and the top craft breweries in America and is mainly located in Chico in California. This brand also continues to innovate, despite being among the second largest craft brewery in America as it produces beers such as the Ovila Abbey Dubbel, Hoptimum and the Sierra Nevada Estate Ales. Two home brewers, Ken Grossman and Paul Camusi, established the brewery in 1980. This brewery is brilliant and is golden in colour, which is layered with notes of summery pear and apple like fruit and a peppery spice due to the use of the traditional Belgian yeast strain. With the first glance, the Golden Ale presents itself as a delicate beer, but can also be seen as warm and full of flavour. From this attributes, one can see that its drinkable and its dry characteristic is what comes into focus on the first encounter. The company has endured market and competitor challenges to become one of the largest breweries in the United States and is mainly noted for its complexity and character. Sierra Nevada also shows the components of the 4Ps of marketing. This is because with its price, one can get a discounted price as a seasonal brew. It has a rich flavour with an outstanding Ale taste and a strong carbonation. Rogue ales is also an American craft brewery that was founded in 1988 and whose headquarters is in Newport in Oregon, with its brands having become internationally recognized. Over the years, it has been described as full flavoured and invariably fun. It also maintains the company whose manifesto expands on its values. Rogue Ales gives back to the community in many ways. Rogue Ales’ practice of designing involves, being regular and seasonal and this is due to their philosophy that variety in the spice of life. The brand has been communicated as a luxurious revolution, and this entails the glory and the strength of the workers. It has favoured its 22 ounce bottle, which is silk screened. The silk screening has a special treatment and in addition it sends messages explaining its rare treatment and being a nice souvenir. In addition it has priced their beer above many other brands and this is a symbol of the beer’s status and also its rare luxury. Rogue’s revolution is mainly aimed at being a cheap beer; the element of the brand is a great idea of the nation of the Rogue. It has also given its brand a movement which is a component with its citizenship. The customers are also offered a variety of the insider benefits, which will not underscore the brand. The citizens are royal and the customers are fickle. Negative analysis Low quality brands are mainly intended to have a lot of alcohol and they are usually cheap to attract more customers. Natural light is mainly brewed with a blend of imported hops and premium American and a combination of corn and malt. It has a lighter density, a longer brewing process and an easy character when it comes to drinking. It was the first reduced calorie light beer with an average carbonation and texture. Many consumers feel it has the worst smelling macro despite its sweet grainy flavour that has a slight hint of zest. To many other consumers it has been greatly watered down with a taste of mineral water and this has made the consumers feel the brand has no longer been their favourite. Thus, in addition the expensive breweries, which are not easily available by the common person, are also not a major favourite for the consumers because most of the people will want something that they can afford. The branding type for Natural light is also not as appealing and attractive for the common person. Summary and marketer application Brand equity is mainly an intangible value that is added to a product by the effective use of marketing tools and promotion. On dimensions like distribution, physical design and image has provided stronger competitive advantages in the product categories and this is where most of the alternatives provides benefits that are the same. One of the major disadvantages of the building brand equity is mainly the costs involved. Temporal (2002) carried out a study on the subject and found that the brand is the foundation of the business and a weak brand can tear up the foundation of any business. When a company has a desire to establish itself in the market place, it will mainly look at branding for help. Thus, the concept of identity and branding is mainly to feel and to look identifiable and easily recognized in the market. A good branding is able to increase the product’s value and the company. Aaker (2004) in his book mentioned that in his works those companies have to make substantial efforts to make sure that customers perceive the company in desired way. A well built image works for the company, bringing an individual, memorable identity, which fits perfectly with the company’s aims and strategies. One of the advantages is awareness, thus when a company works on its identity and its branding it creates its awareness. Another advantage is its consistency in the specific market place; this is because the more regularly the customer will see the brand in the marketplace, then the more often it will be considered for purchase. The product must however maintain a consistency that will be able to reflect the image well. The disadvantage is that it can become commonplace, this is because there is always a major competition for the top position because many of the companies strive to be the best in the consumer’s minds. In addition to this, there is also a likelihood of having a negative attributes towards the brand. This mainly entails a product that has a negative event and this will be attached to the brand. This is because an unintentional offensive advertisement or campaign can also tarnish the brand of the company and the image. Other disadvantages are the higher costs that are involved; this is because the brand loyalty is associated with very expensive brands and in addition to this, the less expensive brands aim mainly at the budget conscious buyers. Another disadvantage is that it is less convenient because the customers with the specific brand loyalties will not accept the substitutes for the brand items thus making it difficult for the markets to also be led by the strong brands. From this concept, one can realise that in future, there is a likelihood of the marketing strategies to improve and in essence, the consumers and the manufacturers will have a greater and improved market, because, of the advancement in the technological advancements in the world. In addition to this, there is a predictable positive market trend with the number of companies that are on the rise. Despite this, there is also an increased competitiveness among different brands and the notable companies, for example, Coca-Cola and the other brands of soft drinks in the world. However as explained in the paper, we can conclude that the selected brands have done a great job in advertising companies and thus boosting the different companies in the world. `REFERENCES Aaker, J. P. (2003). Brand imaging and self-concepts in companies. New York: Cengage publishers. Dolich, I. J. (2001). Congruence relationships between self-images and product brands. Journal of marketing research 80-84 Samama, O.L & Oliver Hood (2002). Saturation of markets and concepts of consumers. French marketing Journal, 73-88 Temporal (2002).Personality developments in branding and rebranding. Journal of brand images research, 114-121 Vernette (2003). Personality development a psychological impact. Journal of personality psychology. 2-11 Read More