Cisk : brand personality analysis

Abstract

There are hundreds of brands available in the market and they are made accessible to the public in various forms. Out of all the characteristics a brand holds, brand personality can actually determine the choice of an individual in purchasing a particular item. The process of personality formation of a brand and shaping people's perceptions of the brand is an exercise which marketers constantly practice and try to expand. This dissertation includes a literature review divided in four chapters. The first chapter provides a clear definition of the term brand personality and other brand characteristics that the term derives from. The second chapter discusses 'Dimensions of Brand Personality', the brand personality scale developed by Jennifer Aaker in 1997. Aaker developed a 44 item scale, made up of five dimensions which is the one mostly known and used to date in market research. Despite this, the scale has received various criticisms which are discussed in detail in the third chapter. The following chapter discusses alternative measures for brand personality with particular reference to the 'New Measure of Brand Personality', the scale developed by Gruens, Weijters and De Wulf in 2009, which is the scale chosen for this study. It is a 12 item scale, also made up of five dimensions. The main aim of this research is to test the brand personality perception of CISK, which is a local brand of beer, through a particular sample of people. A questionnaire using Gruens et al.' s scale, was distributed to a number of people who are familiar with the brand. The same questionnaire was also filled up by seven employees working at the brand department of CISK. The results give an overview of the brand personality perception of the people and that of the employees together with the differences and similarities between the two. This dissertation also includes an analysis of the results, limitations encountered during the study and suggestions for further research.