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Brand Personality from Corporate Social Responsibility: A Critical Review .....
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loyal to it. If we apply the concept of
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, after the
basic want is satisfied the customer tends
to escalate a brand to a higher level to
satisfy his/her need for companionship,
emotional attachment and self-esteem.
When a customer forms a personal
relationship with a brand, he/she will not
easily give up on that brand even if the price
fluctuates or new substitute products are
available in the market. This behaviour
ensures a steady demand for the brand in
the market (Brand Personality Creation
through Advertising, Ouwersloot, H. and
Tudorica, A., 2001).
Similarly, there are some brands
which are symbols of high social status for
their owners. No matter how high the price
is there will always be customers willing
to buy them. For example, luxury pen
brand Mont Blanc is always desired
because it stands for luxury and exclusivity.
So, the people using it also like to make a
similar statement or aspire to be seen
possessing the same qualities. Such brands
are held at a very high pedestal by
customers.
Personality is unique: One of the reasons
we admire the famous personalities is
because each one of them is unique. If
anyone tries to impersonate a human
personality everyone will be very quick
to discover the fraudulent act. So, is the
case with a brand. When a brand
acquires the status of a personality,
customers will be quick to spot any form
of impersonation.
Due to brand personality, a brand
cannot be replaced easily. In fact over time
it helps a brand to have a stronger presence
in the market. It helps a company to
maintain its market share and sometimes
a brand can also be sold at a premium in
the market because of its personality. It
gives a company a relatively strong and
stable position in a market. This helps the
company to focus on other areas like
improving organisational efficiency and
expansion in other geographical regions.
There are many companies which started
off with one reliable and trusted brand and
became giant corporations later on.
Introduction of new products: When a
brand has a certain established personality,
it becomes easier for a company to
introduce new products. The company can
bring out new products, which complement
the existing brand personality, under the
same brand name. For example, Dove
started off with offering soaps. It later
introduced shampoos, conditioners and
recently hair oil; all under the same brand.
All these products complement each other,
rendering the brand as being essentially
feminine.
Sometimes companies adopt a
different approach. A company analyses
the personality of its existing brand in the
market. It may be observed that the
personality of the brand is such that it is
not able to reach out to all customers. So,
in this case the company can introduce a
brand with very different features to appeal
to a specific section. For example, Titan