The personality approach

Understand the assumptions of the personality approach • The personality approach assumes that personality traits are important

drivers of emotional bonding between brand and consumer

Understand the theoretical building blocks of the personality approach • The personality approach has three supporting themes: personality,

consumer self and brand-self congruence • The personality approach draws on theory from psychology about the

categorization of human personality • The personality construct can, in interplay with consumer expression of

self, be a driver of strong consumer-brand relationships

Gain insights into the methods of the personality approach • Gain an overview of the mix of qualitative and quantitative methods

that can be used to uncover brand personality • Get an introduction to scaling techniques used in the personality

approach

Understand the managerial implications • Understand how a brand personality can be created and managed by

using direct and indirect sources of brand personality

In 2006 Apple launched the first of three new television advertisements for Mac

laptops. A young man dressed in casual clothes introduces himself as a Mac (‘Hi, I

am a Mac’). An older, more conservative-looking man enters the scene, intro-

ducing himself as PC. The two, clearly very different personalities, act out a brief

vignette in which the capabilities and attributes of ‘Mac’ and ‘PC’ are compared.