How Preferred Brands Relate to Different Types of Self-Concepts - Assignment Example

YOU ARE WHAT YOU BUY My preferred brands My favourite brands are TAG HEUER and HUGO BOSS. TAG HEUER range of products includes luxury wristwatches, chronographs, glasses, eyewear, fashion accessories and cell phones. I prefer the products because of the aesthetic that comes with them and my time consciousness behaviour. I am also a big fun of sporting activities where time is of great essence such as Formula One World Championship. HUGO BOSS is a fashion and lifestyle firm based in German with over 6,102 points of sale in 110 countries. The firm specializes in high-end menswear and women swear. The main brands of the firm are BOSS and HUGO. The firm holds various licensing agreements with firms like Samsung to produce cell phones, Procter and Gamble to produce fragrance and skincare, Safilo to produce sunglasses and eyewear. How my preferred brands relate to different types of self-concepts Self-concept is a multidimensional construct of a person’s perception of self in relation to different characteristics (Branaghan and Hildebrand, 2011). It is an internal model that entails self-assessment. It involves assessment of features such as personality, abilities and skills, hobbies and occupations and physical characteristics. Self-concept includes both past and future selves. Self-concept theory had main contribution from Carl Rodgers and Abraham Maslow. Rodgers argued that everyone works hard to become more like “ideal self”. He attributed the level of happiness of an individual to how close that individual is to his/her ideal self. He also argued that unconditional positive regard is another essential factor in an individual’s happiness. Studies have shown that individuals buy products related to their self-concept. Some studies have also enhanced this theory by finding out that consumers prefer brands they rate similar to themselves. According to marketing takeaways concept, the concept of actual self-states that purchases of consumers are influenced by their self-images. Thus, such consumers attain self-consistency by buying products they perceive as similar to their self-concept. It is argued that consumers seek products and brands, which improve or maintain their self-concept. As argued by Rogers the concept of ideal self relates to ones self esteem. It is argued that when the difference between the actual self and the ideal self is great, the individual’s self-esteem is lowered. This often leads to dissatisfaction with actual self, which often ends up in purchases of products, or brands that such individuals think can enhance their self-esteem. Thus, it is argued that advertising themes and images often strive to increase the difference between real and ideal selves. My preference for TAG HEUER and HUGO BOSS could be related to the fact that I would like to be more modern and to lead a luxurious life style. Thus, the luxury that comes with these products helps me to reduce the gap between my real (current) self and what I am striving to attain ideal self. I think I am influenced by adverts about these products, which often leave me with a sense of inadequacy based on a comparison of my real self and my idealized self. As a result, I often find my self-looking out for the products from these companies in order to reduce the inadequacy that I feel internally. This implies that my desire for both self-consistency and self-esteem are often conflicting (Branaghan and Hildebrand, 2011). Thus, my general preference for TAG HEUER and HUGO BOSS products are often influenced by my actual image. Unlike other people who may be swayed by appeals of fantasy that portray an idealized self because of their lower self image, I am influenced by my actual self image to buy these products (Miranda, 2009). It is argued that buying to attain an unrealizable self-image can result in compulsive purchasing behaviour. There are various dimensions of self-concept. They include actual self-concept, ideal self-concept, social self-concept and ideal social self. Actual self-concept refers to how one actually sees him/herself. Ideal self-concept refers to how one would like to see him/herself. Social self-concept refers to how others actually see an individual (Branaghan and Hildebrand, 2011). Finally, ideal social self refers to how one would like others to see him or her. It is argued that consumer behaviour is guided by different self-concepts in different contexts. Thus, it is assumed that daily use items such as consumer durables purchase are often guided by actual self-concept. On the other hand, socially conspicuous products or status products are often guided by social self-image. Fantasy products cosmetics, fashion items or accessories are often guided by ideal social self and ideal self-image. Since most products that I buy from TAG HEUER and HUGO BOSS are often cosmetics and fashion products, my preference for them is often guided by my ideal self-concept and ideal social concepts. Why and how I benefit from TAG HEUER and HUGO BOSS brands TAG HEUER Formula 1 series watches are inspired by the extreme performance styles of Formula 1 racing teams. They are highly functional, extreme stylish timepiece that guarantees exact time measurement. I prefer watches from TAG HEUER because of the firm’s advanced technology and ability to accurately measure time. The amazing blend of style and functionality of TAG HEUER’s watches is one of the features that make me prefer buying their watches. The watches stopwatch feature is often beneficial to me when I am practicing for athletics sports. I prefer HUGO BOSS brands because of their high-level product competence (Lee, Klobas, Tezinde and Murphy, 2010). Their products are of high quality with a value for money ratio. Thus, the firm’s products are trustworthy and credible. Since I value quality for each product that I buy, HUGO BOSS brands are some of my best brands. Their fashions are created for a variety of target groups and they meet the most exacting demands and for any occasion. Thus, I am able to choose a variety of fashions for various occasions. The brand is beneficial because it has a variety of fashions such as leisure fashions, functional sportswear and complementary accessories. Given that the firm also produces licensed products such as fragrance and cosmetics in addition to watches and eyewear, the fashions of HUGO BOSS brands are complemented by these products. When do I use TAG HEUER and HUGO BOSS? I often use TAG HEUER watches when jogging and practicing in sports such as athletics. I am a great fun of formula 1 games and the watch from TAG HEUER comes handy while watching my favourite heroes to time them while they are racing. The stylish blend of the watch allows me to use it during other functions since the watch matches with various fashions. Most of fashion wear comes from HUGO BOSS. This is because of their high quality and variety that fits my various occasions. I have acquired brands from the firm for various occasions including sportswear, casual wear and official wear. I also order these fashions with various complementary products from the company that make me look outstanding among my peers and more comfortable during various occasions (Veloutsou and Moutinho, 2009). History of my brand person relationship I first developed interest in formula 1 championship. As a result, I wanted to associate myself with my heroes in these championships. The easiest way was to find out their likes and dislikes. As I found out all these heroes of mine put on a TAG HEUER watch. Prior to acquisition of one of my own watch, I sort to find out what was so special about these watches. To my amazement I found out that the manufacturer was a leader in chronograph technology. Since I love quality and the game I went in to acquire my first watch from the company. Since my first watch never disappointed me, I have been a loyal buyer of trendy watches from TAG HEUER for both sporting purposes and various occasions. As I mentioned earlier, I prefer quality products which are worthy what I spend on them (Branaghan and Hildebrand, 2011). Since childhood my parents have instilled in me the virtue of acquiring quality products and this has become part of me. Though in my childhood I used to acquire my clothing from other companies, my preference changed when I first tried HUGO BOSS brand. I felt satisfied with the brand and my friends told me I looked fantastic in the outfit (Albert, Merunka, and Valette-Florence, 2009). Since then, HUGO BOSS brands have come to define my preference in fashion wear. My experiences and their relationships to theories of self-concept In agreement with research on self-concept theory which found out that consumers prefer brands they rate similar to themselves, I believe these two brands define me appropriately (Branaghan and Hildebrand, 2011). First, I prefer quality and the products from the two brands are of high-end quality. In accordance to ideal self and ideal social concept I believe that the two concepts have influenced my preference for the two brands (Maehle and Shneor, 2010). This is because the comments from my peers and my self-liking for the two brands influenced my consistency use of the products. References Albert, N., Merunka, D., and Valette-Florence, P. 2009. When consumers love their brands: Exploring the concept and its dimensions. Journal of Business Research, vol. 61, no. 10, pp. 1062-1075 Branaghan, R., and Hildebrand, E. 2011. Brand personality, self-congruity, and preference: A knowledge structures approach. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, vol. 10, no. 5, pp. 304-312 Lee, R., Klobas, J., Tezinde, K., and Murphy, J. 2010. The underlying social identities of a nation's brand. International Marketing Review, vol. 27, no. 4, pp.450 – 465 Maehle, N., and Shneor, R. 2010. On congruence between brand and human personalities. Journal of Product & Brand Management, vol. 19, no. 1, pp.44 - 53 Miranda, M. 2009. Engaging the purchase motivations to charm shoppers. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, vol. 27, no. 1, pp.127 – 145 Veloutsou, C., and Moutinho, L. 2009. Brand relationships through brand reputation and brand tribalism. Journal of Business Research, vol. 62, no. 3, pp. 314-322 Read More