A single-trait approach to Brand Personality: the example of brand innovativeness
(A2026-133734)

AUTHORS

Claire-Lise Ackermann, Audencia/LEGO (Laboratoire d'Economie Gestion de l'Ouest); Blandine Hetet, IDRAC

ABSTRACT

Brand research usually adopts a psycho-lexical perspective to identify several dimensions subsuming brand personality. We explore whether a context-specific, single-trait approach, similar to that found in research on human personality, can be considered to understand brand personality, and we use brand innovativeness as our field of investigation. First, this research presents a framework for understanding brand innovativeness in terms of two core underlying dimensions: Creativeness and Zeitgeist (Studies 1 to 3). Second, we propose a hierarchical model in which brand personality traits - Activity, Responsibility, and Simplicity - are cardinal traits within the model, Creativity and Zeitgeist are the central traits, and brand innovativeness is a surface trait. Study 4 provides empirical support for this model. To our knowledge, no research had adopted a hierarchical approach to brand personality, explaining how underlying personality traits relate to context-specific surface traits.