Brand Management: Research, theory and practice

Brands contribute to the construction of self in various ways. They can help
consumers achieve goals motivated by the desired self, meet needs for self-
expression either socially or individually (the ideal self), or serve as a tool for
connecting with the past; they can be symbols of personal achievement, an
expression of individuality, or they can help people through life transitions. The
self-expressive value and the distinctiveness of the brand personality have a
significant effect on how attractive the brand personality is, as perceived by the
consumer. But the self-expressive value is far more important than the distinc-
tiveness. The self-expressive value of a brand personality depends on the level of
consistency between the brand personality and the self-image of the consumer –
the brand–self congruence. The third supporting theme of the personality
approach is hence the construct of social identification between brand and
consumer. In the academic literature this concept is often referred to as the
brand–self congruence.

Brand–self congruence

When consuming a brand with a brand personality, consumers engage in a
matching process to identify brands that are congruent with their own self images.
This process is here referred to as brand–self congruence. The brand–self
congruence construct has its origin in the concept of social identification from the
field of psychology. This construct proposes that consumer behaviour is deter-
mined partly by the consumer’s comparison of their own perception of self (either
individual actual, ideal, or desired self, or their social out-group or in-group self as
illustrated in figure 7.5) and the personality of the brand (because consumers tend
to choose brands with a brand personality close to that of their own self). Self does
not necessarily refer to the actual self; the brand personality can also be congruent
with the ideal or desired self of the consumer. Depending on the function of the
brand for either construction or expression of self, consumers use brand personal-
ities in relation to self in two ways on an individual level. They either try to preserve

Desired

self

Ideal

self

Actual

self

Outgroup Ingroup

Independent/individual Interdependent social

Consumer self

Figure 7.5Consumer self construct

The personality approach 125