Abstract
In a hidden environment, brand personality occupies a cardinal position in non-profit organisations. Thus, the non-human, inanimate entities seek ways of applying the element of anthropomorphism in their brand personality in relation to brand experience and brand relationship without diluting their essence. To achieve that, the present paper attempts to identify whether the brand personality construct is affected by brand experience (i.e., sensory, affective, behavioural, and intellectual) and brand relationship concepts of the “self” (i.e., self-concept, self-expression, and self-congruity). The data were collected using an online survey and the data analysis was conducted using the Structural Equations Modeling. The study consisted of 213 participants—families with three children—members of the “OPOTTE: Federation for Families with Three Children in Greece”. Results suggest that an activist and advocatory personality is being revealed to its members. Particularly, the study highlights that the elements of brand experience and brand relationship can affect brand personality nature.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aaker, J. L. (1997). Dimensions of brand personality. Journal of Marketing Research, 34(3), 347–356. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224379703400304
Aaker, J., Fournier, S., & Brasel, S. A. (2004). When good brands do bad. Journal of Consumer Research, 31(1), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1086/383419
Aguirre-Rodriguez, A., Bosnjak, M., & Sirgy, M. J. (2012). Moderators of the self-congruity effect on consumer decision-making: A meta-analysis. Journal of Business Research, 65(8), 1179–1188. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2011.07.031
Ahmad, A., & Thyagaraj, K. S. (2017). An empirical comparison of two brand personality scales: Evidence from India. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 36, 86–92. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2017.01.006
Aly, B. H., Elaref, N., & Yacout, O. M. (2017). A literature review and a conceptual framework of the brand personality in not-for-profit organizations. The Business and Management Review, 8(5), 201–213.
Allport, G. W. (1961). Pattern and growth in personality. Holt, Reinhart & Winston.
Avis, M., Forbes, S., & Ferguson, S. (2014). The brand personality of rocks: A critical evaluation of a brand personality scale. Marketing Theory, 14(4), 451–475. https://doi.org/10.1177/1470593113512323
Bang, H., Lee, S., & Swart, K. (2014). Predicting volunteers’ intention to return: An examination of brand personality, prestige, and identification of sporting events. Event Management, 18(2), 169–183. https://doi.org/10.3727/152599514X13947236947509
Belk, R. W. (2013). Extended self in a digital world. Journal of Consumer Research, 40(3), 477–500. https://doi.org/10.1086/671052
Bentler, P. M. (1995). EQS structural equations program manual. Multivariate Software.
Bollen, K. A. (1989). A new incremental fit index for general structural equation models. Sociological methods & research, 17(3), 303–316. https://doi.org/10.1177/0049124189017003004.
Brakus, J. J., Schmitt, B. H., & Zarantonello, L. (2009). Brand experience: What is it? How is it measured? Does it affect loyalty? Journal of Marketing, 73(3), 52–68. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkg.73.3.052
Brown, S. (2010). Where the wild brands are: Some thoughts on anthropomorphic marketing. The Marketing Review, 10(3), 209–224. https://doi.org/10.1362/146934710X523078
Browne, M. W., & Cudek, R. (1993). Alternative ways of assessing model fit. In K. A. Bollen & J. S. Long (Eds.), Testing structural equation models (pp. 136–162). Sage.
Brunel, F. F., & Nelson, M. R. (2000). Explaining gendered responses to “help-self” and “help-others” charity ad appeals: The mediating role of world-views. Journal of Advertising, 29(3), 15–28. https://doi.org/10.1080/00913367.2000.10673614
Capelli, S., & Jolibert, A. (2009). Metaphor’s validity in marketing research. Psychology and Marketing, 26(12), 1079–1090. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.20313
Caprara, G. V., Barbaranelli, C., & Guido, G. (2001). Brand personality: How to make the metaphor fit? Journal of Economic Psychology, 22(3), 377–395. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0167-4870(01)00039-3
Cardoso, I., Portela, S. L., & Dias, Á. (2013). Determinants of the perception of the personality of brand: An application to the Azores regional brand. International Journal of Academic Research, 5(2), 211–216.
Chang, P. L., & Chieng, M. H. (2006). Building consumer–brand relationship: A cross-cultural experiential view. Psychology and Marketing, 23(11), 927–959. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.20140
Cheah, J. H., Sarstedt, M., Ringle, C. M., Ramayah, T., & Ting, H. (2018). Convergent validity assessment of formatively measured constructs in PLS-SEM: On using single-item versus multi-item measures in redundancy analyses. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 30(11), 3192–3210. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-10-2017-0649
Cheng, S. Y., White, T. B., & Chaplin, L. N. (2012). The effects of self-brand connections on responses to brand failure: A new look at the consumer-brand relationship. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 22(2), 280–288. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcps.2011.05.005
Colmenares, O., & Saavedra Torres, J. L. (2008). Dimension of the Brand personality. Case study: Pharmacy chains. Revista Venezolana de Gerencia, 13(42), 220–232.
Dart, R. (2004). The legitimacy of social enterprise. Nonprofit Management and Leadership, 14(4), 411–424. https://doi.org/10.1002/nml.43
Dawes, J. (2008). Do data characteristics change according to the number of scale points used? An experiment using 5-point, 7-point and 10-point scales. International Journal of Market Research, 50(1), 61–104. https://doi.org/10.1177/147078530805000106
Eisend, M., & Stokburger-Sauer, N. E. (2013). Brand personality: A meta-analytic review of antecedents and consequences. Marketing Letters, 24(3), 205–216. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11002-013-9232-7
Epley, N., Waytz, A., & Cacioppo, J. T. (2007). On seeing human: A three-factor theory of anthropomorphism. Psychological Review, 114(4), 864. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.114.4.864
Escalas, J. E., & Bettman, J. R. (2005). Self-construal, reference groups, and brand meaning. Journal of Consumer Research, 32(3), 378–389. https://doi.org/10.1086/497549
Esch, F. R., Langner, T., Schmitt, B. H., & Geus, P. (2006). Are brands forever? How brand knowledge and relationships affect current and future purchases. Journal of Product and Brand Management. https://doi.org/10.1108/10610420610658938
Faircloth, J. B. (2005). Factors influencing nonprofit resource provider support decisions: Applying the brand equity concept to nonprofits. Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 13(3), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/10696679.2005.11658546
Freling, T. H., Crosno, J. L., & Henard, D. H. (2011). Brand personality appeal: Conceptualization and empirical validation. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 39(3), 392–406. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-010-0208-3
Geuens, M., Weijters, B., & De Wulf, K. (2009). A new measure of brand personality. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 26(2), 97–107. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijresmar.2008.12.002
Gordon, R., Zainuddin, N., & Magee, C. (2016a). Unlocking the potential of branding in social marketing services: Utilizing brand personality and brand personality appeal. Journal of Services Marketing, 30(1), 48–62. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSM-02-2015-0105
Gordon, R., Zainuddin, N., & Magee, C. (2016b). Unlocking the potential of branding in social marketing services: Utilising brand personality and brand personality appeal. Journal of Services Marketing. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSM-02-2015-0105
Govers, P. C., & Schoormans, J. P. (2005). Product personality and its influence on consumer preference. Journal of Consumer Marketing. https://doi.org/10.1108/07363760510605308
Grohmann, B. (2009). Gender dimensions of brand personality. Journal of Marketing Research, 46(1), 105–119. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkr.46.1.105
Groza, M. P., & Gordon, G. L. (2016). The effects of nonprofit brand personality and self-brand congruity on brand relationships. Marketing Management Journal, 26(2), 117–129.
Hair, J. F., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., & Anderson, R. E. (2010). Multivariate data analysis. Prentice-Hall.
Hair, J. F., Hult, G. T. M., Ringle, C., & Sarstedt, M. (2017). A primer on partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS SEM) (2nd ed.). Sage Publications Limited Inc.
Hankinson, P. (2001). Brand orientation in the charity sector: A framework for discussion and research. International Journal of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Marketing, 6(3), 231–242.
Heikkinen, A., Kujala, J., & Inha, M. (2019). Stakeholder engagement in a non-profit organisation: an issue-based perspective. International Journal of Human Resources Development and Management, 19(1), 5–20.
Helgeson, J. G., & Supphellen, M. (2004). A conceptual and measurement comparison of self-congruity and brand personality: The impact of socially desirable responding. International Journal of Market Research, 46(2), 205–233. https://doi.org/10.1177/147078530404600201
Hou, J., Du, L., & Tian, Z. (2009). The effects of nonprofit brand equity on individual giving intention: Mediating by the self-concept of individual donor. International Journal of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Marketing, 14(3), 215–229. https://doi.org/10.1002/nvsm.356
Hu, L.-T., & Bentler, P. M. (1995). Evaluating model fit. In R. H. Hoyle (Ed.), Structural equation modeling: Concepts, issues and applications (pp. 76–99). Sage.
Hultman, M., Skarmeas, D., Oghazi, P., & Beheshti, H. M. (2015). Achieving tourist loyalty through destination personality, satisfaction, and identification. Journal of Business Research, 68(11), 2227–2231. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2015.06.002
Jan, M. T., & Shafiq, A. (2021). Islamic banks’ brand personality and customer satisfaction: An empirical investigation through SEM. Journal of Islamic Accounting and Business Research, 12(4), 488–508. https://doi.org/10.1108/JIABR-05-2020-0149
Japutra, A., & Molinillo, S. (2019). Responsible and active brand personality: On the relationships with brand experience and key relationship constructs. Journal of Business Research, 99, 464–471. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2017.08.027
Jung, L. H., & Soo, K. M. (2012). The effect of brand experience on brand relationship quality. Academy of Marketing Studies Journal, 16(1), 87.
Karlsson, F. (2012). Anthropomorphism and mechanomorphism. Humanimalia-A Journal of Human/animal Interface Studies, 3(2), 107–122.
Keng, C. J., Tran, V. D., & Le Thi, T. M. (2013). Relationships among brand experience, brand personality, and customer experiential value. Contemporary Management Research. https://doi.org/10.7903/cmr.11086
Keni, K., & Esmeralda, V. S. (2021). Brand Personality as a Predictor of Consumer Brand Relationship. Jurnal Manajemen, 25(2), 206–221.
Kline, R. B. (2011). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling (3rd ed.). Guilford Publication.
Lara-Rodríguez, J. S., Rojas-Contreras, C., & Oliva, E. J. D. (2019). Discovering emerging research topics for brand personality: A bibliometric analysis. Australasian Marketing Journal (AMJ), 27(4), 261–272. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ausmj.2019.06.002
Lazzari, R., Fioravanti, M., & Gough, H. G. (1978). A new scale for the adjective check list based on self vs. ideal‐self discrepancies. Journal of Clinical Psychology. 34(2), 361–365. https://doi.org/10.1002/1097-4679(197804)34:2<361::AID-JCLP2270340218>3.0.CO;2-6
Lee, H. J., & Kang, M. S. (2013). The effect of brand personality on brand relationship, attitude and purchase intention with a focus on brand community. Academy of Marketing Studies Journal, 17(2), 85.
López-Rodríguez, C. E., Cristancho-Triana, G. J., & Amaya-Téllez, J. L. (2020). Perception and desired brand personality in organizations that internationalize services: the case of the Colombian business environment. European Research Studies, 23(3), 581–597. Retrieve from https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ers:journl:v:xxiii:y:2020:i:3:p:581-597. Accessed 15 Mar 2020.
Malär, L., Krohmer, H., Hoyer, W. D., & Nyffenegger, B. (2011). Emotional brand attachment and brand personality: The relative importance of the actual and the ideal self. Journal of Marketing, 75(4), 35–52. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkg.75.4.35
Miller, K. L. (2021). The nonprofit marketing guide: High-impact, low-cost ways to build support for your good cause. John Wiley and Sons.
Molinillo, S., Japutra, A., Nguyen, B., & Chen, C. H. S. (2017). Responsible brands vs active brands? An examination of brand personality on brand awareness, brand trust, and brand loyalty. Marketing Intelligence and Planning. https://doi.org/10.1108/MIP-04-2016-0064
Möller, J., & Herm, S. (2013). Shaping retail brand personality perceptions by bodily experiences. Journal of Retailing, 89(4), 438–446. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretai.2013.05.004
Morgan-Thomas, A., & Veloutsou, C. (2013). Beyond technology acceptance: Brand relationships and online brand experience. Journal of Business Research, 66(1), 21–27. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2011.07.019
Nysveen, H., Pedersen, P. E., & Skard, S. (2013). Brand experiences in service organizations: Exploring the individual effects of brand experience dimensions. Journal of Brand Management, 20(5), 404–423. https://doi.org/10.1057/bm.2012.31
O’Laughlin, D., Szmigin, I., & Turnbull, P. (2004). From relationships to experiences in retail financial services. International Journal of Bank Marketing, 22(7), 522–540. https://doi.org/10.1108/02652320410567935
Pham, M. T. (2004). The logic of feeling. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 14(4), 360–369. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327663jcp1404_5
Phau, I., & Lau, K. C. (2000). Conceptualising brand personality: A review and research propositions. Journal of Targeting, Measurement and Analysis for Marketing, 9(1), 52–69. https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.jt.5740005
Puzakova, M., Kwak, H., & Rocereto, J. (2009). Pushing the envelope of brand and personality: Antecedents and moderators of anthropomorphized brands. ACR North American Advances. Retrieved from http://www.acrwebsite.org/volumes/14399/volumes/v36/NA-36. Accessed 15 Mar 2020.
Ramaseshan, B., & Stein, A. (2014). Connecting the dots between brand experience and brand loyalty: The mediating role of brand personality and brand relationships. Journal of Brand Management, 21(7), 664–683. https://doi.org/10.1057/bm.2014.23
Rauschnabel, P. A., & Ahuvia, A. C. (2014). You’re so lovable: Anthropomorphism and brand love. Journal of Brand Management, 21(5), 372–395. https://doi.org/10.1057/bm.2014.14
Rauschnabel, P. A., Krey, N., Babin, B. J., & Ivens, B. S. (2016). Brand management in higher education: The university brand personality scale. Journal of Business Research, 69(8), 3077–3086. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2016.01.023
Rup, B. K., Gochhayat, J., & Samanta, S. (2021). Revisiting brand personality attributes: Mediating role of brand attitude. International Journal of Asian Business and Information Management (IJABIM), 12(2), 124–136.
Rutter, R. N., Hanretty, C., & Lettice, F. (2018). Political brands: can parties be distinguished by their online brand personality? Journal of Political Marketing, 17(3), 193–212.
Saavedra, J. L. P., San Martín, H. A. V., & Torres, J. L. S. (2004). Dimensiones de personalidad de marca. Estudio exploratorio en Venezuela. Revista de Ciencias Sociales (Ve), 10(3), 430-440. Retrieve from http://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=28010305. Accessed 15 Mar 2020.
Sargeant, A., Ford, J. B., & Hudson, J. (2008). Charity brand personality: The relationship with giving behaviour. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 37(3), 468–491. https://doi.org/10.1177/0899764007310732
Schembri, S. (2009). Reframing brand experience: The experiential meaning of Harley-Davidson. Journal of Business Research, 62(12), 1299–1310. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2008.11.004
Schmitt, B., Brakus, J. J., & Zarantonello, L. (2015). From experiential psychology to consumer experience. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 25(1), 166–171. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcps.2014.09.001
Seimiene, E. (2012). Emotional connection of consumer personality traits with brand personality traits: Theoretical considerations. Economics and Management, 17(4), 1472–1478. https://doi.org/10.5755/j01.em.17.4.3016
Shehu, E., Becker, J. U., Langmaack, A. C., & Clement, M. (2016). The brand personality of nonprofit organizations and the influence of monetary incentives. Journal of Business Ethics, 138(3), 589–600. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-015-2595-3
Sreejesh, S., & Anusree, M. R. (2017). Effects of cognition demand, mode of interactivity and brand anthropomorphism on gamers’ brand attention and memory in advergames. Computers in Human Behaviour, 70, 575–588. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2017.01.033
Srivastava, K., & Sharma, N. K. (2016). Consumer perception of brand personality: An empirical evidence from India. Global Business Review, 17(2), 375–388. https://doi.org/10.1177/0972150915619814
Stinnett, R. C., Hardy, E. E., & Waters, R. D. (2013). Who are we? The impacts of anthropomorphism and the humanization of nonprofits on brand personality. International Review on Public and Nonprofit Marketing, 10(1), 31–48. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12208-012-0087-z
Stride, H. (2006). An investigation into the values dimensions of branding: Implications for the charity sector. International Journal of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Marketing, 11(2), 115–124. https://doi.org/10.1002/nvsm.44
Su, J., & Tong, X. (2015). Brand personality and brand equity: Evidence from the sportswear industry. Journal of Product and Brand Management, 24(2), 124–133. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-01-2014-0482
Swaminathan, V., Stilley, K. M., & Ahluwalia, R. (2009). When brand personality matters: The moderating role of attachment styles. Journal of Consumer Research, 35(6), 985–1002. https://doi.org/10.1086/593948
Tangsritrakul, N., & Anantachart, S. (2019). Relating brand personality with customers’ brand experience: A case of apple brand in Thailand. Communication and Media in Asia Pacific (CMAP), 2(2), 27–54.
Tuškej, U., & Podnar, K. (2018). Consumers’ identification with corporate brands: Brand prestige, anthropomorphism and engagement in social media. Journal of Product and Brand Management. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-05-2016-1199
Tuten, T. L., & Bosnjak, M. (2001). Understanding differences in web usage: The role of need for cognition and the five factor model of personality. Social Behaviour and Personality: An International Journal, 29(4), 391–398. https://doi.org/10.2224/sbp.2001.29.4.391
Valta, K. S. (2013). Do relational norms matter in consumer-brand relationships? Journal of Business Research, 66(1), 98–104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2011.07.028
Vanphavong, M. (2014). Measuring brand personality in charitable giving in a Laos context (Master’s thesis). Retrieve from https://hdl.handle.net/10652/3586. Accessed 15 Mar 2020.
Venable, B. T., Rose, G. M., & Gilbert, F. W. (2003). Measuring the brand personality of non-profit organizations. ACR North American Advances, 30, eds. Keller, P.A., & Rook, D.W., Valdosta, GA : Association for Consumer Research, 379–380.
Venable, B. T., Rose, G. M., Bush, V. D., & Gilbert, F. W. (2005). The role of brand personality in charitable giving: An assessment and validation. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 33(3), 295–312. https://doi.org/10.1177/0092070305276147
Venkateswaran, P. S., Binith, M. K., Geetha, U., & Ananthi, N. (2011). A study on brand personality dimensions and brand loyalty towards Raymond brand. Journal of Marketing and Communication, 7(2).
Villadsen, K. (2009). The ‘Human’Touch: Voluntary organizations as rescuers of social policy? Public Management Review, 11(2), 217–234. https://doi.org/10.1080/14719030802685289
Voeth, M., & Herbst, U. (2008). The concept of brand personality as an instrument for advanced non-profit branding–an empirical analysis. Journal of Nonprofit and Public Sector Marketing, 19(1), 71–97. https://doi.org/10.1300/J054v19n01_04
Waytz, A., Cacioppo, J., & Epley, N. (2010). Who sees human? The stability and importance of individual differences in anthropomorphism. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 5(3), 219–232. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691610369336
Wee, T. T. T. (2004). Extending human personality to brands: The stability factor. Journal of Brand Management, 11(4), 317–330. https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.bm.2540176
Wylie, R. C. (1989). Measures of self-concept. University of Nebraska Press.
Yousaf, S., & Xiucheng, F. (2018). Humanizing stigmatized places: Inter-group contact and attitude change toward Pakistan and Iran in the ‘Humans of New York’ Facebook space. Journal of Business Research. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.04.015
Zainol, Z., Omar, N. A., Osman, J., & Habidin, N. F. (2016). The effect of customer–brand relationship investments’ dimensions on customer engagement in emerging markets. Journal of Relationship Marketing, 15(3), 172–199. https://doi.org/10.1080/15332667.2016.1209051
Zogaj, A., Tscheulin, D. K., & Olk, S. (2021). Benefits of matching consumers’ personality: Creating perceived trustworthiness via actual self-congruence and perceived competence via ideal self-congruence. Psychology and Marketing, 38(3), 416–430. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.21439
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to acknowledge the Federation for families with three children in Greece (OPOTTE) as well as every NPO individually for generously supporting this research.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Additional information
Publisher's note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Supplementary Information
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Chrissos Anestis, M., Karantza, I., Assimakopoulos, C. et al. Revitalizing the non-profit brand personality through brand experience and brand relationship dimensions. Int Rev Public Nonprofit Mark 19, 555–574 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12208-021-00314-2
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12208-021-00314-2