If This Brand Were a Person, or Anthropomorphism of Brands Through Packaging Stories

Abstract

The anthropomorphism of brands, defined as seeing human beings in brands (Puzak:ova, Kwak, and Rosereto, 2008) is the focus of this study. Specifically, the research objective is to understand the ways in which brands are rendered humanlike. By analyzing consumer readings of stories found on food product packages we intend to show how marketers and consumers humanize a spectrum of brands and create meanings. our research question considers the possibility that a single brand may host multiple or single meanings, associations, and personalities for different consumers. We start by highli밟lting the theoretical and practical significance of our research, explain why we turn our attention to packages as vehicles of brand meaning transfer, then describe our qualitative methodology, discuss findings, and conclude with a discussion of managerial implications and directions for future studiesThe study was designed to directly expose consumers to potential vehiclεs of brand meaning transfiε:r and then engage these consumε:rs in free verbal reflections on their perceived me없ungs. Specifically, we asked participants to read non-nutritional stories on selected branded food packages, in order to elicit data about received meanings. Packaging has yet to receive due attention in consumer research 떠ine， 1995). Until now, attention has focused solely on i않 utilitarian function and has generated a body of research fuat has εxplored fue inlpact of nutritional information and clairns on consumer per， α낀ptions of products (e.g., Loureiro, McCluskey and Mittεlharnmer， An exception is a recent study that turns i않 attεntion to non-nutritional packaging narrativεs and treats them as cultural productions and vehicles for mythologizing the brand κniazeva and Belk, 2007). The next step in tllls stream of research is to explore how such mythologizing activity affεcts brand personality perception and how these perceptions relate to consumers. πlese are fue questions iliat our study aimed to address.We used in-depth interviews to help overcome the lirnitations of quantitativε studies. our convenience sample was 1) * , @ 2010 KAMS. AII rights reserved forrned wifu the 0에 ective of providing demographic and psychographic diversity in order to elicit variations in consumer reflections to food packaging stories. Our inforrnants represent nliddle-class residents of the US and do not exhibit extreme altemative lifiεstyl얹 described by Thompson as " cultural creatives" (2004). Nine people were individually interviewεd on their food consumption preferen않s and behavior. Participants were askεd to have a look at the twelve displayed food product packages and read all the textual inforrnation on fue pac뼈ge， after which we continued with questions that focused on fue consumer interpret없ions of the reading material (Scott and Batra, 2003). On average, each paπicipant rεflected on 4-5 packages. our in-depfu interviews lasted one to one and a half hours each. The interviews were tape recorded and transcribed, providing 140 pages of text. The products came f...

Consumer theory’s narcissism epidemic: Towards a theoretical framework that differentiates the self and other

“…Thus, the type of attachment and relationships that individuals develop with particular objects and brands are unique to individuals and vary across objects. In support of Fournier's (1998) work, Kniazeva and Belk (2010) conclude, Our work illustrates that within the same cultural setting, the perception of brand personality is hardly universal, as if, metaphorically speaking, one brand's body eagerly hosts several souls. Thus, we reveal multiple brand personalities peacefully cohabiting in the same brand as seen by different consumers, despite marketer attempts to create more singular brand personalities.…”

“…Fournier never moves beyond a superficial application of her human relationship model in order to discuss the 'deep and significant psychological and socio-cultural meanings' of brands and products. For their part, Kniazeva and Belk (2010) never analyse how a single product can 'host several souls' or how consumers' perceptions of products could evade marketer attempts to create singular meanings.…”

“…While Fournier (1998) describes the projection of human attributes onto objects as ego centred and Kniazeva and Belk (2010) argue that even when consumers understand and are able to articulate the marketer's intended meaning of a brand, consumers 'subconsciously fit' the brand to their actual and ideal selves (p. 236), these theorists never develop any theoretical or methodological framework that would allow for a clear understanding of how this is possible. The terms ego and subconscious go undefined.…”

Identity‐Based Motivation and the Logic of Conversations Obfuscate Loss of Online Privacy and What Policy‐Makers Can Do About It

“…Experimental research indicates that the perceived trustworthiness and competence of nonhuman agents increases with their anthropomorphization and the more people anthropomorphize nonhuman agents, the more they accept the agents’ choices and requests (Gong, 2008; Kim & Sundar, 2012; Nass & Brave, 2005; Pak, Fink, Price, Bass, & Sturre, 2012). Companies are aware that people are more willing to reveal extra information in anthropomorphized interchanges (Thomaz, Salge, Karahanna, & Hulland, 2020) and make efforts to anthropomorphize themselves, their brands, and specific products (Aggarwal & McGill, 2007; Chandler & Schwarz, 2010; Kniazeva & Belk, 2010; Podnar & Melewar, 2010; Stinnett, Hardy, & Waters, 2013).…”

Bow to Stern

“…CCT-compliant studies of consumer-brand relationships repeatedly reveal that mixing, melding, mingling and multiplicity are increasingly evident in marketing. Thus, Kniazeva and Belk (2010) show that successful brands possess multiple personalities; Thompson and Tian (2008) report a syncretic blend of marketplace myths in their study of the New South; Muñiz and Schau (2005) unearth five hybridized narratives in the abandoned Apple Newton's brand community; Cayla and Eckhardt (2008) contend that brand meanings creolize across national and international boundaries, as do Kates and Goh (2003); and Diamond et al (2009: 130) demonstrate how powerful brands are the products of 'multiple sources authoring multiple narrative representations in multiple venues'.…”