Introduction

This chapter reviews recent work in psychology and marketing to explore how, and why anthropomorphizing brands affects the relationships that consumers form with brands. It proposes a theoretical model that links anthropomorphism and brand relationships. The chapter examines why people anthropomorphize inanimate entities, and how this tendency can affect the way consumers evaluate and engage with products and brands. It outlines future lines of research, and offers predictions about how anthropomorphism can influence the types of relationships that consumers form with brands. The chapter uses the interesting phenomenon of brand anthropomorphism to better understand the process by which consumer-brand relationships are first formed and then nurtured over time. It examines the potential role of three anteceding variables of anthropomorphism, knowledge accessibility, sociality motivation, and effectance motivation, and other individual and contextual factors in affecting the formation of consumer-brand relationships.