The Marketing Book 5th Edition

Brand

choice

Actual

self

Aspirational

self

Situational

self

378 The Marketing Book

launch of the alcopop drink Hooch in Sweden.
One of the emotional values of this brand is a
distinctively independent attitude. In its early
days, staff from the Swedish importer went to
popular holiday skiing slopes and watched
young skiers. Those who had a more flamboy-
ant skiing style were approached and asked if
they would like to invite friends to a party that
evening at a local bar where Hooch was being
promoted. This proved to be a successful way
of getting the brand associated in its early days
with people whose emotional values echoed
those of the brand.
This interpretation of the brand has given
rise to a considerable amount of research into
brands as symbolic devices with personalities
that users welcome. When choosing between
competing brands, customers assess the fit
between the personalities of competing brands
and the personality they wish to project, as
shown in Figure 15.3.
According to the situation they are in, this
may be:

 the self they believe they are (for example, the
brands of clothing selected by a manager for
daily wear in the office);
 the self they desire to be (for example, the
brand of suit worn by a young graduate going
for interviews immediately after completing
their degree);
 the situational self (for example, the brands of
clothing worn by a young man who is to meet
for the first time the parents of his fianc ́ee).

When therefore seeking to communicate the
emotional values of the brand, it is important to
understand the emotional role potential cus-
tomers expect of the brand.

Brand as a cluster of values

In this interpretation, a brand is considered as a
cluster of values. For example, the Virgin brand
is a cluster of four values, i.e. quality innovation,
value for money, fun and a sense of challenge.
Conceiving a brand as a cluster of values

provides a basis for making the brand different

from others. Thus, while there are several

brands of off-road four-wheel drive vehicles,

Land Rover is distinctive because of its values of

individualism, authenticity and freedom.

One of the key reasons for the interest in

values is because they influence behaviour, as

can be appreciated from Figure 15.4.

As a result of the society and the peer

groups people come into regular contact with,

so they develop their individual values. These

lead to anticipations of particular types of

outcomes, albeit varying by situation. For

example, someone with the value of honesty

may leave their door unlocked because they

live in close proximity with neighbours who

share the same value, yet when staying in a

hotel the door is locked because of uncertainty

about the values of other guests. Ultimately

though, values affect brand choice.

The challenge managers face when inter-

preting brands as clusters of values is under-

standing what values are particularly important

Figure 15.3 Choosing a brand to match self