characteristics and are used for solving life themes, life projectsand current
concerns (as well as matching the other characteristics of a relationship).
The characteristics of the human relationships and the way these are connected with
the identity of the participants’ lives are hence transferred to the consumer–brand
Box 8.2 Background of the brand relationship theory
The study behind the brand relationship theory involves three female
informants; Jean, Karen and Vicki.
Jean is fifty-nine years old, has been married to Henry for most of her life,
and tends a bar in her small blue-collar home town. She is the mother of three
grown-up daughters and of Italian descent. Her Catholic faith and family tradi-
tions are important to her. When it comes to life themes, affiliation and
stability are important in Jean’s life. Jean displays brand relationship depicting
these life themes as she enjoys using a portfolio of brands for many years.
Having been a housekeeper, a mother and a waitress all her adult life, Jean sees
herself as a consumer expert, knowing exactly which brands are ‘the best’.
Karen’s life situation is very different. She is a recently divorced thirty-
nine year-old mother of two girls and works full-time as an office manager.
She finds herself in a dilemma, on the one hand wanting to pursue new paths
in her life, and on the other to create a stable home for her two young
children. Karen’s life themes are influenced by the transition phase she is
experiencing. Karen does not display emotional attachment to brands to the
same degree as the other two women. Due to the financial reality of being a
single parent she has adopted a very practical approach to brand purchases,
going for coupons and other promotions. However, she displays emotional
attachment to a few selected brands that are central for upholding her sense
of identity in her transitional phase. Karen also displays an experiential
approach to brand consumption, reflecting her life situation, where she feels
an urge to start over again.
Vicki is the youngest of the three respondents. She is twenty-three years old
and in her final year of studying for her master’s degree. Vicki is in a transition
period between being a dependent child and an independent adult. She uses
brands as means in a meaning-based communication system, trying out the
potential identities and possible selves typical of the transition phase she is in.
The way the different life situations and life themes of the three women
interact with the way they consume is the background of the brand rela-
tionship theory. Despite the different nature of their brand consumption,
they all relate to brands in a way that is comparable to the way we relate to
each other in human relationships. Examples of the three women’s brand
relationships can be found in table 8.1.
SourceFournier (1998)The relational approach 159