Riezebos, Rik, Brand- "the development and maintenance of sets of product attributes and values which are

added value. Theory coherent, appropriate, distinctive, protectable and appealing to consumers" (8) branding -
and empirical research branding focus on differenciation
about the value of
brands to consumers,
Eburon Publishers,
Delft, 1994.

1. Intrinsec = refer to physical elements, they are cues which, if changed, would produce a
resultant change in the physical product itself (e.g. flavor of a beer). 2. Extrinsec = refer to
other physical elements (like packaging), and to non-physical elements (like the brand-name
and the price of the brand). The extrinsec cues must be communicated to the consumer
(often the cannot be deduced directly from the brand).
brand cues
brand name it is the most salient cue of a brand (11)
brands in 1. Make a brand name known to consumer 2. Add value to the brand name these additional
consumers' minds values might result from advertising and/or from consumers' experiences with the brand
the importance of the brand as a whole // "s brand should not be regarded as simply the sum
of its individual parts; the whole is believed to be more than the sum of its individual parts"
gestalt (22) // Coca cola - not just another soft drink, but a major cultural symbol
1. Functional cues - benefits expected from the brand // 2. Structural cues - the way the
functional cues are realized (like size and shape) // 3. Aestetic cues - visually attractive and
intrinsic cues distinct brand
1. Cues that relate directly to the product (like name and packaging) and 2. Cues that relate
extrinsic cues to other marketing-mix variables (price, distribution and communication).
brand loyalty or repeted purchase behavior
brand-added
value value of a brand to a consummer

"in considering the ubiquity of brands, it is worth keeping in mind the semiotic nature of the
semiotics movemement through produsct-commodity to brand" (3)
Danesi, Marcel, La origine, termenul se referea la semnele lăsate de un fier încins pe pielea animalelor
Brands, Routledge, pentru a fi recunoscute. Încă din anii 2000 î. Ch. egiptenii işi marcau astfel animalele.
New York, 2006. Brandingul (în sensul lui istoric) a fost folosit pentru oameni, prizonieri, sclavi, dezertori,
păcătoşi, femei vrăjitoare, ca formă de pedeapsă. La origine folosită de greci şi romani,
practica a fost ulterior preluată de anglo-saxoni şi folosită până la jumătatea secolului al
XIX-lea. Iniţial, marca era o dovadă de apartenenţă, ulterior o probă a păstrării calităţii. //
Advertising – din latina medievală, advertere – a îndrepta atenţia cuiva înspre ceva. (8) //
date istorice: 1914 Audit Bureau of Circulation în SUA – o organizaţie independentă fondată
şi susţinută de proprietarii de ziare şi reviste care voiau să obţină statistici legate de
circulaţia ziarelor şi să standardizeze modul de prezentare a acestora. 1936 – Advertising
Research Foundation – cercetarea efectelor diferitelor tehnici publicitare (10) de adăugat:
anii interbelici – cercetarea persuasiunii, inclusiv publicitare. (The Fine Art of Propaganda,
istoric de căutat)
Marca = orice simbol vizual care identifică un produs sau un serviciu; a existat încă din
Antichitate, vechii greci şi romani atârnau semen în faţa “magazinelor” lor. ; scopul mărcilor
este ca oamenii să poată identifica uşor produse sau servicii specifice. În vechiul Egipt
negustorii angajau “crainici” sau vestitori care mergeau pe străzi anunţând sosirea corăbiilor
şi a încărcăturilor acestora. Existau şi inscripţii murale sub formă de mesaje publicitare,
totuşi erau rare. (10) // Lucrurile se schimbă o dată cu apariţia tiparului => mass advertising.
// London Gazette  primul ziar care are o secţiune exclusiv pentru publicitate. În timp 
obişnuinţă. La început: fără fotografii, doar text, mesaje cu o retorică persuasivă. (anii 1600-
marca 1700) (11)
Nu se ştie care produs a fost numit primul, dar se consideră: 1882: Harley Procter – de la
numele generic de “săpun alb” (white soap) la “săpun de fildeş” (ivory soap) + slogan
(100% pur)  s-a diferenţiat în mintea consumatorilor. Uneori marca s-a convertit în nume
de brand. În Marea Britanie primele nume de branduri apar în industria alimentară: Bovril,
Hovis, Nestlé, Cadbury, Kellogg. În anii 1920, brandurile au devenit punctual central al
brand name publicităţii. (13)
“Because of this semantic and cultural dimension of naming, it comes as little surprise to
find that the term “brand” is no longer used today just to refer to a special product line, but
also to the company that manufactures it and the social image that the company whishes to
brand definition impose of itself and of its products.” (14)
culture - names “the reason why branding had become such a pervasive force in culture is, arguably, the
naming process is a cultural act” (19)
 Like every name, brand is a sign. (20) – identification function ”denotative” function;
cultural function  “connotative” function // A signification system of a brand = the set of
culture-specific meanings and attendant mental constructs that are evoked by a brand. These
functions are established because a brand, being a sign, enters into relations with other signs
in a culture gaining its “value” from them. (29-30) [Orice semn publicitar asociat cu un
brand cunoscut evocă în mintea receptorului întregul set de semnificaţii pe care le atribuie
brand as a sign // brandului. + Valorile associate cu numele unui brand pot fi diferite în funcţie de specificul
functions cultural, datorită uneo “decodări” prime a numelui (ex: Acura  de la “accurate”
A logo is, legally speaking, a name, symbol, or trademark adopted by a manufacturer or
service that has been design for easy or definite recognition. // logos started as trademarks.
logo The shift of name probably came about for legal reasons: they had to be registered.

Batey, Mark, Brand Though brands derive meaning from the culture in which they originate and develop, they
Meaning, Routledge, also themselves become mediators of cultural and symbolic meaning. (XIV) // Brand
New York, 2008. comprises meaning from two different sources: (1) those codified and communicated by
brand originator, above all in the early stages of a brand’s development; and (2) the brand
meanings derived, created and attributed by consumers in their ongoing consumption
environment. (XV)//
Brand Equity – brand valuation
brand – consumer brand equity – brand image
meaning // culture brand loyalty
Primary functions of brands: guarantee of authenticity and trustworthy promise of
brand functions performance
product vs. brand you buy a product for what it does, you choose a brand for what it means. //
brand – cluster meaning. Nu toate înţelesurile din aceste seturi de semnificaţii se
cluster meaning actualizează în toate situaţiile, ci diferenţiat, în funcţie de context.
Primary brand meaning and implicit brand meaning are two distinct concepts, two separate
dimensions of total brand meaning, with a greater or lesser degree of interrelationships.
They are like two different lenses for looking at a brand. Each will bring the brand into
focus in a somewhat different manner. // primary brand meaning - it is largely determined
by brand's direct benefits and physical attributes // implicit brand meaning resides in the
extended emotional and psychological significance of brands attributes, benefits and other
primary brand associations - the profundity and robustness of a brand's implicict meaning will depend on
meaning / implicit the way it is understood, interpreted and embraced by consumer and the extent to which it is
brand meaning cultivated and perpetuated by the marketer (131)
Holt, Douglas B., How names, logos, and designs are the material markers of the brand. Because the product does
Brands Become Icons. not yet have a history, however, these markers are empty. They are devoid of meaning. The
The Principles of difference between a new product with a name, logo, design and a brand is that in the case
Cultural Branding, of the brand these markers have been filled with customer experiences. Over time, ideas
Harvard Business brand about the product accumulate and fill the brand markers with meaning. A brand is formed.
School Press, Boston, cultural branding is based on a myth, the brand is the performer and the container for an
2003. branding identity myth.

Arvidsson, Adam, "Brands are a form of immaterial capital; a form of "crystallized knowledge". […] As such,
Brands. Meaning and they embody the fusion of the attention and the production economy, of aesthetics and
value in media culture, economics more generally. […] As a sort of virtual real estate they occupy a valuable
Routledge, New York, position in the life-world (or to use marketing terminology, the "minds") of consumers. That
2006. position is valuable insofar as it enables a brand to subsume and appropriate what
consumers do with the brand in mind as source of surplus value and profits." (7) // Brands
are virtual goods (8), :"virtual" means "somtheing that does not have the tangibility of the
brand actual but clearly exists none the less"

Valentine, Virginia, consumers recognize that a brand belongs to the same "cultural class" if it encodes a shared
Opening up the Black worldview; if it, too, subscribes to a "doesn't everybody think like this" perception of the
Box: Switching the brand and class way things are
Paradigm of the socio-cultural level provides the consumer with the tools to start building the bridge
Qualitative Research, between material goods and the ideal self which ultimately is reflected in the product or
ESOMAR Seminar, brand. In the words of French sociologist, Pierre Bourdieu, they give us the "cultural
Paris, 6 - 8th Bourdieu capital" with which to consume.
December, 1995, pp. 25 brand image the ideal self is then a semiotic identity - a mirror image of the way consumers want to see
- 47. themselves, projected by brand communications. For the whole thing to work, the brand
image and the consumer image must fuse in a single semiotical artefact.
 culture – meaning We understand the world and its meanings through cultural assumptions, shared meaning
systems and taken-for-granted beliefs and values that are ideologically based and culturally
reinforced.
3. Reality is not a pre-existant idea that lies outside language. It is produced by and
inscribed in language. The words respondents use are not empty vehicles innocently
transporting concepts. All discourses—verbal, non-verbal, visual, musical, olfactory,
auditory, etc. etc.—structure the way we think about things, not the other way about. If a
train that should have left at 8. 30 leaves 15 minutes after schedule, it does not become the
8. 45. It becomes the ‘late’ 8. 30. The material reality of the departure time is subsumed in
the taken-for-granted concepts of late and early—with all their connotations of proper and
improper social behaviour—that are circumscribing the way we
think about this train. (In the UK this will also include British Rail, the rail unions, labour
relations). An entire socio-cultural value system—all wrapped up in that little word ‘late’.
(31)

O’Cass, Aron, Lim, brand image, Of the various issues that have emerged from globalisation, the desire for business entities
Kenny, The Influence brand to develop for themselves a brand image that is perceived favorably and seen as distinctive
of Brand Associations associations by consumers is one of the most important ones. As a distinctive brand image creates brand
on Brand Preference strengths and growth, much of the marketing activities of today’s largest corporations can be
and Purchase Intention: seen to revolve around developing the brand associations that provides distinctiveness to
An Asian Perspective their brands and thus brand preference and purchase intent by their target market(s).
on Brand Associations, brand image Brand image is considered to consist of associations that consumers attach to a brand, as
Journal of illustrated by Biel’s (1993, p. 71) interpretation of brand image as “that cluster of attributes
International and associations that consumers connect to the brand name.” This was reiterated by Keller
Consumer Marketing, (1993, p. 3) who defined brand image as “. . . perceptions about a brand as reflected by the
14(2/3), 2001, 41-71. brand associations held in consumer memory.” Brand associations contain the meanings of
brands for consumers, by linking information about the product to the brand nodes in
memory, therefore accounting for the product attributes, perceived benefits, and various
summary evaluations (Farquhar & Herr, 1993) of evoked brands. (42)
Developing strongly held, favourably evaluated brand associations that are unique to the
brand and imply superiority over other brands is often cited as the ultimate reason why
companies invest in advertising. (43)
 brand There are three types of brand associations, distinguished by the amount of information
associations summarized or subsumed in a particular association (Alba & Hutchinson, 1987;
Chattopadhyay & Alba, 1988; Johnson, 1984; Russo & Johnson, 1980). Benefits are the
personal value consumers attach to, and derive from, the product or service attributes
(Keller, 1993) being offered by the brand in functional, experiential and symbolic
dimensions. Brand attitudes describe consumers’ overall evaluations of a brand (Wilkie,
1986). Brand attributes are its descriptive features, and include what a consumer thinks a
product or service is, and what is perceived to be involved with its purchase and
consumption (Keller, 1993). Attributes have been categorised under product-related and
non-product-related (Myers & Shocker, 1981; Keller, 1993). Product-related attributes refer
to a product’s “core” physical composition, while non-product-related attributes are the
“non-core” and external aspects of the product or service that are involved in its purchase or
consumption. Because product-related attributes are essentially defined by the kinds of
features inherent in a product, they are tangible, easily accessed and easily manipulated by a
company in the areas of product design and manufacturing. In contrast, non-product-related
attributes do not directly affect product performance, but affects the purchase or
consumption process. (43)
Q – ideal self It has also been suggested that consumers have greater preference for brands with distinct
human characteristics that are congruent with the consumers’ actual or ideal self concept
(Malhotra, 1998; Sirgy, 1982), which is how they perceive their own selves or how they
would ideally like to be.
Q – brand’s user The objective of marketers then, is to maximise the congruency of the brand personality for
image their brands with the self-image of their target consumers. Consumers appear to develop
long-lasting relationships with brands on the basis of the degree of congruence between the
brand’s user-image and the consumers’ self-image (Fournier, 1998). Thus the more in-line a
brand personality is with the consumers and the greater the degree of congruency between
consumer-image and brand-user-image, stronger preference and higher purchase intention
should be found.
Q – students Students have also been used in prior studies on branding. Research has also indicated no
significant differences in studies using student and non-student samples in this area.

Hong, Ying-yi, Morris, culture – thoughts Many bicultural individuals report that the two internalized cultures take turns in guiding
Michael W., Chiu, Chi- and feelings their thoughts and feelings. This is interesting because it suggests that (a) internalized
yue, Benet-Martfnez, cultures are not necessarily blended and (b) absorbing a second culture does not always
Veronica, Multicultural involve replacing the original culture with the new one. (710)
Minds. A Dynamic culture – icons Icons have been called "magnets of meaning" in that they connect many diverse elements of
Constructivist cultural knowledge (Betsky, 1997). Like religious icons, cultural icons are images created or
Approach to Culture selected for their power to evoke in observers a particular frame of mind in a "powerful and
and Cognition, relatively undifferentiated way" (Ortner, 1973, p. 1339). (711)
American Psychologist, culture – carriers Aside from cultural icons, language could also be an effective means of activating cultural
55(7), 2000, 709-720. constructs. // Other carriers of culture, such as practices, have been identified by
psychological researchers using the sociocultural approach (see Rogoff, 1990) and by
sociologists studying relationship patterns and institutions (717)

Bosnjak, Michael, brand personality According to Aaker (1997), brand personality is defined as the set of human characteristics
Bochmann, Valerie, associated with a brand (p. 347). According to Aaker’s definition, brands are imbued by
Hufschmidt, Tanja, personality trait associations arising from person-related attributes (e.g. traits transferred
Dimensions Of Brand from persons associated with the brand) and product-related trait inferences (e.g., stemming
Personality from logo design, performance characteristics, etc.) (304) These dimensions were labeled as
Attributions: A Person- follows: Sincerity (encompassing traits such as domestic, honest, genuine, cheerful),
Centric Aproach In The Excitement (e.g., exciting, trendy, spirited, up-to-date), Competence (e.g., reliable,
German Cultural responsible, efficient), Sophistication (e.g., pretentious, glamorous, charming), and
Context, Social Ruggedness (e.g., tough, strong, outdoorsy, rugged).
Behavior And Azoulay and Kapferer (2003) propose a narrower and more precise definition: Brand
Personality, 35(3), personality is the set of human personality traits that are both applicable to and relevant for
2007, 303-316. brands (p. 151). (306)
Q – adjectives Aaker’s concept focuses on those (positive) aspects of brand personality associations which
are of most interest to marketers, disregarding negative brand-related associations held by
consumers. (306)
“as if they were a person” (brands in questionnaires) - 307

Richins, Marsha L., semiotics – in the terminology of semiotics, visible possessions are signs that are interpreted by
Valuing Things: The possessions observers in a given context by means of an interpretive code. "connotation" (see, e.g.,
Public and Private Barthes 1968). This sense of meaning is similar to "psychological meaning," which Szalay
Meanings of and Deese (1978, p. 2) characterize as "a person's subjective perception and affective
Possessions, The reactions" to an object (505)
Journal of Consumer public meanings Public meanings are the subjective meanings assigned to an object by outside observers
Research, 21(3), 1994, (nonowners) of the object, that is, by members of society at large. Although outside
504-521. observers are likely to differ in some of the meanings they ascribe to objects, members of
the general population or of social subgroups are likely to agree on some aspects of an
object's meaning. These agreed- upon elements of meaning constitute the object's shared
public meanings. The meanings of cultural symbols are shaped and reinforced in social
interchanges, and individuals with similar enculturation experiences tend to have
considerable similarity in the meanings they attach to these symbols. (506)
private meanings The private or personal meanings of an object are the sum of the subjective meanings that
object holds for a particular individual. Such meanings may include elements of the object's
public meanings, but the owner's personal history in relation to the object also plays an
important role. how meaning, and hence value, derives from repeated interaction (or
transactions) with a possession. In the case of the diamond earrings, the meaning of the
possession stems from far more than just its status as an important gift. Additional meaning
derives from the possessor's memories of the occasions on which the earrings were worn,
the compliments she received, and moments of intimacy over the years in which she may
have expressed her appreciation of the gift to her husband. However, because private
meanings are based in part on shared meanings, it is likely that some similarities will exist
among the private meanings ascribed to an object by different possessors. Some similarity is
also likely between private meanings and public meanings. Public and private meanings are
also likely to differ. (506)
culture – meaning Cultural norms are another potential influence on the cultivation of private meaning. In
Western cultures, certain objects are expected to be meaningful to their owners and the
(often unconscious) efforts to fulfill these expectations result in behaviors or interactions
with the objects -that may incidentally amplify or modify their private meanings. (517)

McCracken, Grant, culture – meaning Cultural meaning flows continually between its several locations in the social world, aided
Culture and by the collective and individual efforts of designers, producers, advertisers, and consumers.
Consumption: A There is a traditional trajectory to this movement. Usually, cultural meaning is drawn from a
Theoretical Account of culturally constituted world and transferred to a consumer good. Then the meaning is drawn
the Structure and from the object and transferred to an individual consumer. (71)
Movement of the culture – First, culture is the "lens" through which the individual views phenomena; as such, it
Cultural Meaning of interpreting the determines how the phenomena will be apprehended and assimilated. Second, culture is the
Consumer Goods, The world "blueprint" of human activity, determining the co-ordinates of social action and productive
Journal of Consumer activity, and specifying the behaviors and objects that issue from both. As a lens, culture
Research, 13(1), 1986, determines how the world is seen. As a blueprint, it determines how the world will be
71-84. fashioned by human effort. In short, culture constitutes the world by supplying it with
meaning. This meaning can be characterized in terms of two concepts: cultural categories
and cultural principles. (72)
cultural Cultural categories are the fundamental coordinates of meaning (McCracken 1985a),
categories representing the basic distinctions that a culture uses to divide up the phenomenal world.
For instance, all cultures specify categories of time. In our culture these categories include
an elaborate system that can discriminate units as fine as a "second" and as vast as a
"millennium." Our culture also makes less precise but no less significant distinctions
between leisure and work time, sacred and profane time, and so on. Cultures also specify
categories of space. In our culture these categories include measurement and "occasion."
Cultures also segment the flora, fauna, and landscape of natural and supernatural worlds into
categories. Perhaps the most important categories are those that cultures create in the human
community-the distinctions of class, status, gender, age, and occupation. Cultural categories
of time, space, nature, and person make up the vast body of categories, creating a system of
distinctions that organizes the phenomenal world. In sum, by investing the world with its
own particular meaning, culture "constitutes" the world. It is from a world so constituted
that the meaning destined for consumer goods is drawn. (72)
Cultural categories are the conceptual grid of a culturally constituted world. They determine
how this world will be segmented into discrete, intelligible parcels and how these parcels
will be organized into a larger coherent system. Acting in conformity with the blueprint of
culture, the members of a community are constantly realizing categories in the world.
Individuals continually play out categorical distinctions, so that the world they create is
made consistent with the world they imagine. In a sense, the members of a culture are
constantly engaged in the construction-the constitution-of the world they live in. (73)
 cultural It is worth noting that cultural categories in present day North America appear to have
categories – unique characteristics. First, they possess an indeterminacy that is not normally evident in
North America other ethnographic circumstances. For instance, cultural categories of person are marked by
a persistent and striking lack of clarity, as are cultural categories of age. Second, they
possess an apparent "elective" quality. Devoted as it is to the freedom of the individual,
contemporary North American society permits its members to declare at their own
discretion the cultural categories they presently occupy. We must note a third characteristic
of cultural categories in contemporary North America: they are subject to constant and rapid
change. The dynamic quality of present day North American cultural categories plainly adds
to their indeterminacy. (72)
goods – cultural goods allow individuals to discriminate visually among culturally specified categories by
categories encoding these categories in the form of a set of material distinctions. (73)
cultural principles Cultural meaning also consists of cultural principles. In the case of principles, meaning
resides in the ideas or values that determine how cultural phenomena are organized,
evaluated, and construed. If cultural categories are the result of a culture's segmentation of
the world into discrete parcels, cultural principles are the organizing ideas by which the
segmentation is performed. Cultural principles are the charter assumptions that allow all
cultural phenomena to be distinguished, ranked, and interrelated. (73)
goods – semiotics The world of goods, unlike that of language, never engages in a simple signaling of
difference. In fact, goods are always more forthcoming and more revealing. In the world of
goods, signs are always, in a sense, more motivated and less arbitrary than in the world of
language. (74)
cultural principles Cultural principles in contemporary North America have the same indeterminate,
– North America changeable, elective quality that cultural categories do. ex: disharmony, naturalism,
modern/traditional etc. (74)
goods – cultural That goods possess cultural meaning is sometimes evident to the consumer and sometimes
meaning hidden. Consumers may consciously see and manipulate such cultural meanings as the
status of a consumer item. Just as often, however, individual consumers recognize the
cultural meaning carried by consumer goods only in exceptional circumstances. (78)

Aaker, Jennifer L., brand personality the construct brand personality, which refers to the set of human characteristics associated
Dimensions of Brand with a brand. Researchers have focused on how the personality of a brand enables a
Personality, Journal of consumer to express his or her own self (Belk 1988), an ideal self (Malhotra 1988), or
Marketing Research, specific dimensions of the self (Kleine, Kleine, and Keman 1993) through the use of a
34(3), , 1997, 347-356. brand. Practitioners view it as a key way to differentiate a brand in a product category
(Halliday 1996), as a central driver of consumer preference and usage (Biel 1993), and as a
 common denominator that can be used to market a brand across cultures (Plummer 1985).
(347)
brands – human It is argued that the symbolic use of brands is possible because consumers often imbue
personality traits brands with human personality traits = animism (347)
Personality traits come to be associated with a brand in a direct way by the people
associated with the brand-such as the brand's user imagery, which is defined here as "the set
of human characteristics associated with the typical user of a brand"; the company's
employees or CEO; and the brand's product endorsers. In this way, the personality traits of
the people associated with the brand are transferred directly to the brand (McCracken 1989).
In addition, however, personality traits come to be associated with a brand in an indirect
way through product-related attributes, product category associations, brand name, symbol
or logo, advertising style, price, and distribution channel (Batra, Lehmann, and Singh 1993).
(348)
brand personality includes demographic characteristics such as gender ("Usually it is hard to
evade thinking of inanimate things as male or female"), age ("Just as most people usually
recognize whether something is addressed to them as a man or a woman, so are they
sensitive to symbols of age"), and class ("The possession of mink is hardly a matter of
winter warmth alone"). associations. For example, driven by distinct user imagery, Virginia
Slims tends to be thought of as feminine, whereas Marlboro (currently) tends to be
perceived as masculine. Partly due to the relative recency with which the two brands entered
the market, Apple is considered to be young, and IBM is considered to be older (348)
self – ideal self previous research has suggested that the greater the congruity between the human
characteristics that consistently and distinctively describe an individual's actual or ideal self
and those that describe a brand, the greater the preference for the brand (348)
culture – brand recent research in cultural psychology suggests that the symbolic use of brands differs
personality considerably across cultures (Aaker and Schmitt 1997). For example, in individualist
cultures, where independence, autonomy, and uniqueness are valued (Markus and Kitayama
1991), consumers are more likely to use brands to express how they are different from
members of their in-group. In contrast, in collectivist cultures, where interdependence,
conformity, and similarity are valued (Markus and Kitayama 1991), consumers are more
likely to use brands to express how they are similar to members of their in-group (355)
Big-Five model The names determined to represent best the types of concepts subsumed in each of the five
dimensions were Sincerity (e.g., typified by Hallmark cards), Excitement (e.g., MTV
channel), Competence (e.g., The Wall Street Journal newspapers), Sophistication (e.g.,
Guess jeans), and Ruggedness (e.g., Nike tennis shoes) (351)

(352)

brand personality researchers suggest that brand personality increases consumer preference and usage (Sirgy
– function 1982), evokes emotions in consumers (Biel 1993), and increases levels of trust and loyalty
(Foumier 1994). (354)
Aaker, Jennifer L., Hofstede // Individualism-collectivism is perhaps the most central dimension of cultural variability
Maheswaran, Durairaj, individualism – identified in cross-cultural research (see, e.g., Hofstede 1990) and has received considerable
The Effect of Cultural collectivism attention in the cultural psychology literature. Members of individualist cultures (e.g., the
Orientation on United States, Australia, and Canada) tend to hold an independent view of the self that
Persuasion, The emphasizes separateness, internal attributes, and the uniqueness of individuals. In contrast,
Journal of Consumer members of collectivist cultures (e.g., Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Japan) tend to hold an
Research, 24(3), 1997, interdependent view of the self that emphasizes connectedness, social context, and
315-328. relationships (cf. Cousins 1989; Singelis 1994; Triandis 1989). As a result, attitudinal and
behavioral differences between the two cultures exist. For example, the attitudes toward
differentiation and uniqueness tend to be more favorable for members of individualist (vs.
collectivist) cultures, while attitudes toward building relationships and maintaining
connections tend to be more favorable for members of collectivist (vs. individualist)
cultures. Further, behavior of members of individualist cultures tends (315) while behavior
of members of collectivist cultures tends to be more influenced by preferences and needs of
close others. (316)
American – Trafimow, Triandis, and Goto (1991) provide evidence that private and collective self-
Chinese cognitions are encoded separately in memory. They had subjects with an individualist versus
collectivist orientation (Americans vs. Chinese individuals) complete 20 sentences that
began, "I am." Responses were coded in terms of private cognitions (e.g., those that refer to
personal qualities, evaluations, and beliefs) versus collective cognitions (e.g., those that
refer to demographic categories or groups with which the subject experiences a common
fate). The authors found that cultural orientation significantly affects the type of cognition
produced: Chinese (vs. North American) subjects produced more collective cognitions,
while North American (vs. Chinese) subjects produced more private cognitions. (316)
culture – attitude These findings suggest that cultural orientation may influence how people process
formation information and subsequent attitude formation and change. (316)

Fournier, Susan, brands – human Theories of animism (Gilmore 1919; McDougall 1911; Nida and Smalley 1959; Tylor 1874)
Consumers and Their personality traits suggest that there exists a felt need to anthropomorphize objects in order to facilitate
Brands: Developing interactions with the nonmaterial world. Consumers show no difficulty in consistently
Relationship Theory in assigning personality qualities to inanimate brand objects (Aaker 1997), in thinking about
Consumer Research, brands as if they were human characters (Levy 1985; Plummer 1985), or in assuming the
The Journal of perspective of the brand in order to articulate their own relationship views (Blackston 1993).
Consumer Research, Consumers' acceptance of advertisers' attempts to humanize brands and their tendencies to
24(4), 1998, 343-373. animate products of their own accord suggest a willingness to entertain brands as vital
members of the relationship dyad. (344)
 brands – animism Theories of animism provide insight into the specific ways in which the vitality of the brand
– ex can be realized in the relationship. Three process mechanisms are implied in these earlier
writings, each varying in the degree to which the human condition is approximated. The first
animistic form involves instances in which the brand is somehow possessed by the spirit of
a past or present other. The use of spokespeople in advertising (e.g., Bill Cosby for Jell-O)
qualifies here as an example. Spokespersons may have personalities that so strongly fit
those of the brands they advertise that the brand, in a sense, becomes the spokesperson with
repeated association over time. McCracken's (1989) idea that spokespersons are effective
because they deliver the spirit of the endorser through product usage reflects this theory.
Brand-person associations of a more personal nature are also common. A brand of air
freshener that grandmother kept in her bathroom, a floor cleaner that an ex-husband always
used-these brands can become so strongly associated with the past- other that the person's
spirit comes to dwell in the brand and is evoked reliably with each use. Brands originally
received as gifts (McGrath and Sherry 1993) are likely infused with the spirit of the giver as
well, with these person associations again serving to animate the brand as a vital entity in
the consumer's mind. Another form of animism involves complete anthropomorphization of
the brand object itself, with transference of the human qualities of emotionality, thought, and
volition. Anthropomorphized brand characters serve as examples. (345)
brand loyalty The present analysis suggests an alternative to the construct of brand loyalty in the notion of
brand relationship quality. Brand relationship quality is similar in spirit to brand loyalty:
both constructs attempt to capture the strength of the connection formed between the
consumer and the brand to- ward a prediction of relationship stability over time. (367)
brand personality brand personality can be thought of as a set of trait inferences constructed by the consumer
based on repeated observation of behaviors enacted by the brand at the hand of its manager,
that cohere into a role perception of the brand as partner in the relationship dyad. (368)

Edell, Julie A., Burke, brand – feelings These studies demonstrate that feelings matter in as- sessing the effectiveness of advertising.
Marian Chapman, The They advance our knowledge about the role of feelings by showing the importance of the
Power of Feelings in negative feelings in determining ad effectiveness. Additionally, feelings were shown to
Understanding influence beliefs about the brand (430) feelings generated by the ad explained variance in
Advertising Effects, the brand beliefs that were formed after ac- counting for that explained by judgments of the
The Journal of ad's characteristics. (431)
Consumer Research,
14(3), 1987, 421-433.

Scolari, Carlos, Online brand – semiotics The brand — understood as a semiotic device able to produce a discourse, give it meaning,
brands: Branding, and communicate this to the addressees (170) A semiotic interpretation of brands that
possible worlds, and includes their narrative character means that we must go beyond the semiological readings
interactive grammars, that marked the first phase of research into myth in the 1960s (based on the concept of the
Semiotica, 169(1), sign and on the opposition denotation/connotation). If semiotics has shown anything in these
2008, 169-188. last four decades it is the complexity that hides behind the processes of constructing
meaning and interpretation. As an example of this complexity, we can mention the fact that
brands combine ‘distinctive values’ (which di¤erentiate them and separate them from other
brands) and ‘associative values’ (which construct and regroup families of products under a
single value system) (171)
From a semiotic perspective, the brand is presented as a vector of meaning that contains a
set of values and at the same time proposes a contract to its consumers/readers. We would
like to highlight two elements: brands surround the consumer/reader in a discursive universe
that gives shape to a possible world with its own values and rules. However, the narrative
nature that these possible worlds take on allows us to describe the production of meaning by
means of a journey that starts from the fundamental and abstract oppositions, crosses the
semio-narrative level, and manifests itself in the discursive level. (173)

Using Culture to Build brand – identity Building a brand is essentially a matter of shaping a distinctive identity and projecting a
Brand Equity, ASHE coherent and consistent set of images to the public (27)
Education Report, brand – definition Aaker (1991) defines brands as the names and symbols that identify the goods of one seller
2005, 31(2), 27-37. and differentiate them from those of another seller. Keller (2003) suggests that organizations
build brand and thus brand equity based on memorability, meaningfulness, transferability,
adaptability, and predictability. (28)
brand equity Brand equity—the value of a given brand—is the important concept for our purposes in
exploring the uses of institutional culture in higher education. It is the combination of assets
such as brand loyalty, brand awareness, perceived quality, and brand associations (30)
brand equity – brand loyalty, the first marker of brand equity, reduces marketing costs, provides leverage
brand loyalty with suppliers, attracts new customers by creating awareness and reassurance, and provides
time to respond to competitive threats. (32)
brand equity – Having a strong brand also helps to create brand awareness. Brand awareness provides an
brand awareness anchor to which other associations can be attached. These associations are a marker of
familiarity and suggest that people like the brand. (32)
brand equity – The third attribute associated with brand equity, perceived quality, provides consumers with
perceived quality a reason to buy a product. It allows for differentiation between and among products,
positioning them within markets and setting premium prices. (32)
 brand Brand associations, finally, help people process and retrieve information about the brand,
associations allowing them to differentiate between and among brands and understand the position of the
brand relative to others. (33)

Lam, Desmond, brand loyalty These measures of consumer loyalty included consumer purchase sequence, frequency of
Cultural Influence on purchase, proportion of purchase, and probability of purchase (Jacoby and Chestnut, 1978).
Proneness to Brand In many of he behavioral studies, the researchers examined consumers’ repeat purchases
Loyalty, Journal of under various product consumption contexts. (8) Oliver (1999) defined loyalty as a
International commitment to repurchase a product consistently despite situational and marketing
Consumer Marketing, influences. Day (1969) viewed brand loyalty as comprising both repeated purchases and
19(3), 2007, 7-21. strong internal disposition. Jacoby and Chestnut (1978) concluded a composite definition of
brand loyalty that includes both attitudinal and behavioral components. (9) More recently,
Baloglu (2002) found that truly loyal customers had more emotional commitment to a brand
than any other groups of customers. (9) Apparently, emotive customers seem to be most
loyal (Fournier and Yao, 1997; Coyles and Gokey, 2002). (9)
Hofstede // Hofstede (1991) proposed that these same dimensions that were found to differentiate
individualism – among national cultures might also be applied to within-culture (i.e., individual-level or
collectivism subculture) studies in countries. […]Hofstede’s first dimension is Individualism, the degree
to which members within a society are integrated into groups. (10) One can identify
collectivism when group goals have priority, and individualism when personal goals have
priority (Triandis, 1995). In collectivism, there is greater burden on individuals to conform
to group and social norms (Matsumoto, 2000). (11)
Hofstede // Uncertainty Avoidance is the extent to which a culture programs its members to feel
uncertainty uncomfortable in unstructured situations such as novel, unknown, surprising, or unusual
avoidance situations (Hofstede, 1980). (11)
Hofstede // Masculinity is a preference for assertiveness, achievement, and material success. Femininity,
masculinity, on the other hand, stands for a preference for relationships, modesty, and caring for the weak
feminity (Hofstede, 1980). (11)
Hofstede // power Power Distance is the extent to which the members within a society accept and expect that
distance power in organizations, and in the society at large, is distributed unequally (James, 1995).
(12)

Kim, Chung K., Han, brand personality the human characteristics associated with the brand. (195) Sometimes, the human
Dongchul, Park, characteristic associated with the brand are used to express one’s own image or personality.
Seung-Bae, The effect (196) The development of brand identification affects the building of a relationship between
of brand personality brand and consumer. In other words, when brand personality seems attractive, brand
and brand identification identification is created. (204)
on brand loyalty:
Applying the theory of
social identification,
Japanese
Psychological
Research, 43(4), 2001,
195-206.

Pitts, Robert, brand – personal Personal values are generally accepted as a major influence on human behavior. Recent
Woodside, Arch G., values empirical studies provide some evidence that personal values may be useful in
Personal Value understanding behavior as complex as the selection of a particular brand within a class
Influences on category. (37)
Consumer Product automobile product stimuli (brands) perceived as similar by panel members. attributes. (43) For
Class and Brand brands automobiles, three dimensions explained 79% of the variation in the similarities data.
Preferences, The Dimension 1 appeared primarily to incorporate “performance” and “price” and, to a lesser
Journal of Social extent, include “dependability” and “prestige” characteristics. Dimension 2 was associated
Psychology, 119, 1983, primarily with interior space. Dimension 3 incorporated perceptions of both “economy” and
37-53. “ownership by friends” although neither attribute was as strongly related to the dimension as
characteristics of dimension 1 and 2. (43-44)
Dimensions: price, economy, exciting, style, luxurious, dependable, space, friends own.

Power, Dominic, brand – definition There is no common definition of “brands” or “branding”; however, most commentators
Hauge, Atle, No Man’s agree any definition should include both tangible and intangible attributes of a product: e.g.,
Brand – Brands, both functional and emotional characteristics (cf. Lury 2004; Olins 2003). Brands are the
Institutions, and result of a branding process whereby one attempts to charge a product (or set of products)
Fashion, Growth and with ethereal qualities: qualities that primarily function as marketing arguments. A brand’s
Change, 39(1), 2008, value is thus in the way people end up thinking and feeling about it and the product it is
123-143. linked with. The aim of branding is to make an almost indistinguishable link between the
character of an object from and its branded image or form. The power of a brand derives
from a curious mixture of how it performs and what it stands for. When a brand gets the mix
right it makes us, the people who buy it, feel that it adds something to the idea of ourselves.
(Olins 2003:16) (124)
 brand – history Brands first started emerging to the forefront of the economy around the start of the 1900s.
The spread of new technologies, and the political and trade realities brought about by the
apex of the age of industrialised imperialism, allowed Western firms greater and greater
economies of scale as well as new distribution possibilities. Firms started selling
their products across greater distances and to new markets. This geographic expansion and
the new technologies that allowed for it, brought a need for higher levels of product
standardisation and easily recognisable marks of quality and identity. Patenting and
branding became commonplace techniques in firms’ fight for distant and more quality and
status fixated consumers. Today brands are such an integral part of the economy that we are
almost unaware of the preponderance of Coca-Colas, Fords, IBMs, Levis, and Gillettes that
clothe, clean, feed, transport, inform, distract, and entertain us. Indeed we are surrounded by
brands to the extent that one could suggest our experience of landscape has become
increasingly an experience of “brandscape” (Belk, Wallendorf, and Sherry 1989; Sherry
1998). (124)
Many claims have been made about the role of brand in contemporary society. To one
extreme, brands are thought to represent powerful forces shaping the identity politics of our
age. Our tastes in brands are seen as social tools and indicators that work alongside a host of
other symbols, objects, and activities as weapons and reflections of our identities and
aspirations. In more circumspect accounts they represent a forest of logos, slogans, and
messages—a nebula of information—that carpet our everyday lives and landscapes. (125)
We suggest that brands can usefully be understood as institutions (125)
branding Branding is an attempt to strategically “personify” products, to give them a history and a
personality. However, these personalities have a tendency to have a life of their own, and in
business terms, a value of their own. (124)

Aaker, Jennifer L., brands – carriers We argue that consumption symbols such as commercial brands (e.g., Marlboro cigarettes)
Benet-Martinez, of culture (brand can serve as
Veronica, Garolera, personality) carriers of culture. That is, the meaning embedded in brands can serve to represent and
Jordi, Consumption institutionalize the values and beliefs of a culture. to what degree do basic dimensions of
Symbols as Carriers of brand personality, defined as a set of human-like attributes associated with a particular brand
Culture: A Study of (Aaker, 1997), carry universal or specific cultural meaning? (492)
Japanese and Spanish culture Much of the research in cross-cultural psychology has conceptualized culture as a broad,
Brand Personality domain-general, and stable set of value (492) tendencies (e.g., individualism-collectivism,
Constructs, Journal of power distance; Hofstede, 1980). In this light, the portrayal of culture is of an abstract,
Personality and Social encompassing structure, one that is often indexed by nationality and examined in light of its
Psychology, 81(3), influence on individuals' behavior. Another perspective is that culture is more fragmented
2001, 492-508. and dynamic, a set of subjective contexts and situations that are constructed and experienced
by the individual (Cross & Markus, 1999; Hong et al., 2000). Two key issues within this
perspective are that (a) culture is best conceptualized in terms of the meaning derived from
and added to everyday experience and (b) individuals and culture are inseparable and
mutually constitute each other. (493)
brand – culture, Thus, the bidirectional relationship between culture and the individual is captured in both
individual the process of creating the commercial brands and the process by which brands are
communicated to and used by individuals. (493)
Big five – Aaker The attributes that structure the meaning of commercial brands in the United States (Aaker,
1997) seem to align themselves with several of Schwartz's cultural value types for which the
United States has moderate to high scores. For instance, a close inspection of the attributes
that define Sincerity (e.g., family-oriented, real ,small-town), suggests that this dimension
may capture brand perceptions associated to Conservatism needs (emphasis on family
security and safety, being stable and polite). Terms defining Excitement (e.g., unique,
exciting, young), on the other hand, suggest a link with Affective Autonomy needs (valuing
novelty and creativity, having an exciting life). Competence (e.g., reliable, successful,
intelligent) appears to be related to Mastery needs (emphasis on being capable and
successful, demonstrating competence), and Sophistication (e.g., upper class, glamorous,
smooth) to Hierarchy needs (value of social status and prestige, having wealth). Finally,
Ruggedness (e.g., masculine, tough, western) appears to be less directly related to a specific
value orientation, although some of the attributes may encompass elements from Mastery
(being independent, daring) and low Egalitarian Commitment (detachment from others).
This Ruggedness dimension is reflected in popular American movies (e.g., The Quiet Man,
Stagecoach, High Noon; Kim & Markus, 1999) as well as in popular American commercial
brands (e.g., Harley-Davidson, Marlboro, Levi's; Solomon, 1986), and appears to represent
institutionalized American values such as strength, masculinity, and ruggedness (494-495)
Asian culture Schwartz (1994) showed that Harmony is a value that is endorsed by East Asian cultures to
a greater degree than Western cultures such as the United States. Indeed, keeping balance or
maintaining harmony is respected as one of the highest virtues by Confucius (Kim &
Markus, 1999). Further, the interdependent goal of harmoniously fitting in with others, with
its emphasis on fulfilling various social roles and maintaining connections with others, plays
a larger role in determining overall life satisfaction in East Asian cultures relative to North
American cultures (495)
cross culture – The question of whether imported (i.e., translated) measurement tools overlook important
measurement domains of the local culture is the foundation of a classic debate in cross-cultural
psychology, the emicetic issue (Berry, Poortinga, Segall, & Dasen, 1992). On one hand, an
imposed-etic strategy is useful in that it makes cross-cultural comparisons feasible given
that quantitative judgments of similarity require stimuli that are equivalent, but its use may
distort the meaning of constructs in some cultures or overlook their culturespecific (emic)
aspects. On the other hand, an emic strategy is well suited to identify culture-specific
qualities of a construct, that is, it is ecologically valid. (496)
Q – choice of 12 scored relatively high on both symbolic and utilitarian dimensions (e.g., automobiles,
brands beverages, toys). Second, to enhance familiarity
of the sample of stimuli, we selected well-known commercial brands. Thus, a pretest was
conducted in which Japanese participants (n = 46, 50% female, M age = 30.2) were invited
to participate in a study on brands. Paid $7 for their participation, the participants were
asked, "What is the first brand that comes to mind when you think of this product
category?" The most frequently listed brands in each of the 24 categories were identified.
(496)
Q – choice of Personality attribute selection. The selection of brand-related attributes followed a three-step
attributes process similar to the one used in Aaker's
(1997) study. First, to ensure familiarity and relevance of the attributes, we conducted a
free-association task in which Japanese participants (n = 50, 40% female, mean age = 28.2)
were asked to write down the personality attributes that first come to mind when thinking
about well-known brands in 10 product categories (3 symbolic, 3 utilitarian, and 4
symbolic/utilitarian), a process that yielded 138 attributes. Second, to maximize the content
representation of personality attributes, we compiled 71 additional attributes from three
sources that rely on brand personality research in Japan (Japanese advertising agency, client
company, and research supplier) and 44 more that were representative of the Big Five
personality dimensions (e.g., Benet-Martinez & John, 1998), as in Aaker (1997). (496)
Triandis, Harry C., The self – definition For purposes of this article, the self consists of all statements made by a person, overtly or
Self and Social covertly, that include the words "I," "me," "mine," and "myself" (Cooley, 1902). This broad
Behavior in Differing definition indicates that all aspects of social motivation are linked to the self. Attitudes (e.g.,
Cultural Contexts, / like X), beliefs (e.g., / think that X results in Y), intentions (e.g., / plan to do X), norms
Psychological Review, (e.g., in my group, people should act this way), roles (e.g., in my family, fathers act this
96(3), 1989, 506-520. way), and values (e.g., /think equality is very important) are aspects of the self. (506)
subjective culture To the extent such aspects are shared by people who speak a common language and who are
able to interact because they live in adjacent locations during the same historical period, we
can refer to all of these elements as a cultural group's subjective culture (Triandis, 1972).
This implies that people who speak different languages (e.g., English and Chinese) or live in
nonadjacent locations (e.g., England and Australia) or who have lived in different time
periods (e.g., 19th and 20th centuries) may have different subjective cultures. (507) // Some
aspects of the self may be universal. "I am hungry" may well be an element with much the
same meaning worldwide, and across time. Other elements are extremely culture-specific.
For instance, they depend on the particular mythology-religion-world-view and language of
a culture. "My soul will be reincarnated" is culture-specific. Some elements of the self imply
action. For example, "I should be a high achiever" implies specific actions under conditions
in which standards of excellence are present. Other elements do not imply action (e.g., Iam
tall).
private, public One major distinction among aspects of the self is between the private, public, and
and collective self collective self (Baumeister, 1986b; Greenwald & Pratkanis, 1984). Thus, we have the
following: the private self—cognitions that involve traits, states, or behaviors of the person
(e.g., "I am introverted," "I am honest," "I will buy X"); the public self— cognitions
concerning the generalized other's view of the self, such as "People think I am introverted"
or "People think I will buy X"; and the collective self—cognitions concerning a view of the
self that is found in some collective (e.g., family, coworkers, tribe, scientific society); for
instance, "My family thinks I am introverted" or "My coworkers believe I travel too
much." // The private self is an assessment of the self by the self. The public self
corresponds to an assessment of the self by the generalized other. The collective self
corresponds to an assessment of the self by a specific reference group. (507)
measuring One of many methods that are available to study the self requires writing 20 sentence
private, public completions that begin with "I am . . ."(Kuhn&McPartland, 1954). The answers can be
and collective self contentanalyzed to determine whether they correspond to the private, public, or collective
self. If a social group is part of the answer (e.g., I am a son = family; I am a student =
educational institution; I am Roman Catholic = religion), one can classify the response
as part of the collective self. If the generalized other is mentioned (e.g., I am liked by most
people), it is part of the public self. If there is no reference to an entity outside the person
(e.g., I am bold), it can be considered a part of the private self. (508)
cultural A major difference across cultures is in cultural complexity. Consider the contrast between
complexity the human bands that existed on earth up to about 15,000 years ago and the life of a major
metropolitan city today. (508(Additional measures of complexity can be obtained by
examining various domains of culture. Culture includes language, technology, economic,
political, and educational systems, religious and aesthetic patterns, social structures, and so
on. One can analyze each of these domains by considering the number of distinct elements
that can be identified in it. For example, (a) language can be examined by noting the number
of terms that are available (e.g., 600 camel-related terms in Arabic; many terms about
automobiles in English), (b) economics by noting the number of occupations (509)
culture – Individualists give priority to personal goals over the goals of collectives; collectivists either
individualism- make no distinctions between personal and collective goals, or if they do make such
collectivism distinctions, they subordinate their personal goals to the collective goals. Although the terms
individualism and collectivism should be used to characterize cultures and societies, the
terms idiocentric and allocentric should be used to characterize individuals. (509)
In collectivist cultures, role relationships that include ingroup members are perceived as
more nurturant, respectful, and intimate than they are in individualistic cultures; those that
include outgroup members are perceived to be more manipulative and exploitative in
collectivist than in individualist cultures. The distribution of collectivism-individualism,
according to Hofstede's (1980) data, contrasts most of the Latin American, Asian, and
African cultures with most of the North American and Northern and Western European
cultures. However, many cultures are close to the middle of the dimension, and other
variables are also relevant. (509)
Although both collectivism and individualism have elements that are characteristic of all
collectivist and all individualist cultures (Triandis, 1978), there are also culture-specific
collectivistand culture-specific individualist elements.
tight versus loose Tight versus loose cultures. In collectivist cultures, ingroups demand that individuals
cultures conform to ingroup norms, role definitions, and values. When a society is relatively
homogeneous, the norms and values of ingroups are similar. But heterogeneous societies
have groups with dissimilar norms. (510) If an ingroup members may have to make the
painful decision of excluding that individual from the ingroup. Because rejection of ingroup
members is emotionally draining, cultures develop tolerance for deviation from group
norms. As a result, homogeneous cultures are often rigid in requiring that ingroup members
behave according to the ingroup norms. Such cultures are tight. Heterogeneous cultures and
cultures in marginal positions between two major cultural patterns are flexible in dealing
with ingroup members who deviate from ingroup norms. For example, Japan is considered
tight, and it is relatively homogeneous. Thailand is considered loose, and it is in a marginal
position between the major cultures of India and China; people are pulled in different
directions by sometimes contrasting norms, and hence they must be more flexible in
imposing their norms. In short, tight cultures (Pelto, 1968) have clear norms that are reliably
imposed. Little deviation from normative behavior is tolerated, and severe sanctions are
administered to those who deviate. Loose cultures either have unclear norms about most
social situations or tolerate deviance from the norms. (511)
culture – Culture is to society what memory is to the person. (511)
definition
self – situation In addition to culture, the situation determines how the self is sampled. Sampling of the
collective self is more likely and more detailed (Lobel, 1986) when the ingroup is distinctive
in the particular situation (McGuire, McGuire, Child, and Fujioka, 1978). In public
situations, such as when the person is identified by name or has to "perform" in public, the
public self is more likely to be sampled. In private situations, as when the individual is
anonymous or deindividuated (e.g., Zimbardo, 1969), the public self may not be sampled at
all. In situations in which future interaction between the person and others is
expected, the public self is more likely to be sampled. (516) Aspects of the self (private,
public, and collective) are differentially sampled in different cultures, depending on the
complexity, level of individualism, and looseness of the culture. The more complex,
individualistic, and loose the culture, the more likely it is that people will sample the private
self and the less likely it is that they will sample the collective self. When people sample the
collective self, they are more likely to be influenced by the norms, role definitions, and
values of the particular collective, than when they do not sample the collective self. When
they are so influenced by a collective, they are likely to behave in ways considered
appropriate by members of that collective. In short, a major determinant of social behavior
is the kind of self that operates in the particular culture. (517)
Markus, Hazel Rose, self – construals We defined self-construals as patterns of past behavior, as well as patterns for one’s current
Kitayama, Shinobu, and future behavior, and described two broad modes of being—an independent self-
Culture, Self, and the construal and an interdependent self-construal. (280)
Reality of the Social, self – North self-esteem. In many American contexts being a culturally appropriate person requires
Psychological Inquiry, American feeling good about oneself. However, this is not solely a function of positive self-relevant
14(3), 2003, 277-283. attitudes; high self-esteem requires a North American social world practiced in a particular
way.
culture Within independent and interdependent cultural contexts, there is great diversity in
independent / individual self-definition, and there can also be strong similarities across cultures. It is likely
interdependent that most Americans, depending on the situation, can and do enact both types of models,
(individualistic / hybrids of these models, as well as still other models, and the same is true for East Asians,
collectivistic) and this is why it is possible to prime one model of self or another (e.g., cross out every “I”
in a text or cross out every “We” in the text) and get an American to endorse some features
of interdependence in their behavior or a Korean to manifest some features of independence.
Yet these relevant European American and East Asian sociocultural contexts are likely to
differ in the prevalence and instantiation of these models, and this difference will be
reflected in some, if not all, psychological tendencies. (282)

Alden, Dana L., global consumer We label this strategy "global consumer culture positioning" (GCCP) and hypothesize that
Steenkamp, Jan- cultural position GCCP can be contrasted with two other types of consumer culture positioning: local
Benedict E. M., Batra, (GCCP) consumer culture positioning (LCCP), in which the brand is associated with the local
Rajeev, Brand consumer culture (e.g., Budweiser's association with small-town American culture in its
Positioning Through U.S. advertising), and foreign consumer culture positioning (FCCP), in which the brand is
Advertising in Asia, associated with a specific foreign culture (e.g., Singapore Airline's use of the "Singapore
North America, and Girl" in its global media advertising) (75)
Europe: The Role of brand meaning On the basis of the foregoing review, a GCCP strategy is de- fined as one that identifies the
Global Consumer brand as a symbol of a given global culture-for example, the post-WW II, cosmopolitan
Culture, The Journal of segment. It does so using meaning transfer (McCracken 1993), an advertising process
Marketing, 63(1), 75- through which the brand is associated with other signs that reflect this cultural orientation
87. (e.g., language, aesthetics, themes) (77)
globalization Globalization has been defined by Robertson as the "crystallization of the world as a single
place" (1987a, p. 38) and "the emergence of the global human condition" (1987b, p. 23). By
implication, advertising featuring the idea that consumers all over the world consume a
particular brand or appealing to certain human universals might invest the brand with the
cultural meaning of being a conduit to feeling at one with global culture (77)
McCracken, Grant, brand meaning – The effectiveness of the endorser depends, in part,-- upon the meanings he or she brings to
Who is the Celebrity endorsements the endorsement process. The number and variety of the meanings contained in celebrities
Endorser? Cultural are very large. Distinctions of status, class, gender, and age, as well as personality and
Foundations of the lifestyle types, are represented in the pool of available celebrities, putting an extraordinarily
Endorsement Process, various and subtle pallet of meanings at the disposal of the marketing system. (312)
The Journal of meaning – set of Even the most heavily stereotyped celebrity represents not a single meaning, but an
Consumer Research, interconnected set of meanings (313)
16(3), 1989, 310-321. brands – For example, James Garner's endorsement of Mazda succeeds when a transfer takes place
automobiles between his persona and the Mazda line. It succeeds when the qualities of maturity,
Americanness, confidence, good humor, and a certain kind of maleness are made the
qualities of the Mazda vehicle. The endorsement succeeds, in other words, when the
properties of the man are made the properties of the car. (313) 1 step 2 step = transfer from
the car to the person. this is why it works “Meaning then moves to consumer goods and
finally to the life of the consumer.”
meaning transfer Certainly, goods lend themselves to particular meanings (e.g., chocolates and social
from goods to the sentiment), but advertising is such a powerful mechanism of meaning transfer that virtually
brand any product can be made to take virtually any meaning. This property of meaning transfer is
still another reason for taking special care in the selection of certain meanings. The transfer
process must be carefully controlled. (314) EU: this is why the brand is a quasi-empty sign
that must be filled with meaning (see the deixis) // Once meanings have been moved into
goods, they must also be moved into consumers. Consumers must take possession of these
meanings and put them to work in the construction of their notions of the self and the world
(315)

Sirgy, M. Joseph, Self- self-concept Most scholars seem to agree that the term "self-concept" denotes the "totality of the
Concept in Consumer individual's thoughts and feelings having reference to himself as an object" (Rosenberg
Behavior: A Critical 1979, p. 7). However, self-concept has been treated from various points of view. For
Review, The Journal of example, psychoanalytic theory views the self-concept as a self-sys- tem inflicted with
Consumer Research, conflict. Behavioral theory construes the self as a bundle of conditioned responses. Other
9(3), 287-300. views, such as organismic theory, treat the self in functional and developmental terms;
phenomenology treats the self in a wholistic form; and cognitive theory represents the self
as a conceptual system processing information about the self. Symbolic interactionism, on
the other hand, views the self as a function of interpersonal interactions. (287)
 product image Q The measurement of the product image in direct association with the self-concept has
methodology employed a product-anchored Q-methodology. The respondent is asked to indicate the
extent to which a specific product is associated with her actual self-concept, ideal self-
concept, and so forth (e.g., Belch and Landon 1977; Greeno, Sommers, and Kernan 1973;
Landon 1974; Martin 1973; Sommers 1964). (288)
self-image More recently, Sirgy (1982a, 1982b) has employed the constructs of self-image value-the
degree of value attached to a specific actual self-concept (a concept parallel to ideal self-
concept), and self-image belief-the degree of belief or perception strength associated with a
self-image (a concept equivalent to the actual self-concept). Further- more, Schenk and
Holman (1980) have argued for the consideration of the situational self-image, defined as
the result of the individual's repertoire of self-image and the perception of others in a
specific situation. (289)

Han, Sang-Pil, Shavitt, individualistic- In individualistic cultures, individuals tend to prefer independent relationships to others and
Sharon, Persuasion and collectivistic to subordinate ingroup goals to their personal goals. In collectivistic cultures, on the other
Culture: Advertising cultures hand, individuals are more likely to have interdependent relationships to their ingroups and
Appeals in to subordinate their personal goals to their ingroup goals. Individualistic cultures are
Individualistic and associated with emphases on independence, achievement, freedom, high level of
Collectivistic Societies, competition, and pleasure. Collectivistic cultures are associated with emphases on
Journal of interdependence, harmony, family security, social hierarchies, cooperation, and low levels of
Experimental Social competition. (328)
Psychology, 30, 1994, values of cultures In collectivistic cultures, members are less likely to emphasize hedonism and more likely to
326-350. (individualistic- emphasize ingroup obligations than in individualistic societies. // perceived social norms,
collectivistic) roles, and values are major determinants of behavioral intentions in collectivistic cultures,
whereas individual likes and dislikes as well as perceived costs and benefits are weighted
more heavily by individualists. (329) (comparison USA-Korea)
Briley, Donnel A., cultures – Asian, Principles enjoining compromise are more salient in East Asian cultures than in North
Morris, Michael W., American (reason American culture, and accordingly, we predict that cultural differences in the tendency to
Simonson, Itamar, for the open choose compromise options will be greater when the decision task re- quires that
Reasons as Carriers of ended question) participants provide reasons. (157)
Culture: Dynamic To investigate this dynamic view of cultural influence on decision making, we examine a
versus Dispositional type of choice problem for which the decision principles of North American and East Asian
Models of Cultural (e.g., Chinese, Japanese) cultures pull in opposing directions.' In particular, we focus on
Influence on Decision choices among three products differing on two attributes (e.g., price and quality), such that
Making, The Journal of the middle option represents a compromise solution (e.g., Simonson 1989). Proverbs and
Consumer Research, other normative rules in the East Asian cultural heritage valorize moderation and harmony
27(2), 2000, 157-178. in a conflict, whereas the North American cultural heritage endorses decisions between the
conflicting interests that sacrifice one for the other. Hence, we propose that when American
and East Asian consumers face a product choice problem that requires them to provide
reasons, they will differ in their tendency toward compromise options, even if they do not
differ at all in response to the same problem when no reasons are required. (158)
A dispositional perspective of cultural influence might predict that, regardless of the
situational context, individuals from some cultures should be more predisposed than those
from some others to choose compromise options. (161)
culture as a lens Cultural influences on consumer cognition have been understood in terms of an underlying
metaphor that cultural knowledge is a lens that colors people's perception of objects and
messages in the environment (e.g., McCracken 1986). (157)
individualistic- The cultural knowledge that drives these tendencies has been envisioned in terms of highly
collectivistic general attitude- or value- clusters, such as individualism-collectivism (e.g., Han and Shavitt
cultures 1994; Triandis 1989). In the current research, we propose a more dynamic picture of culture
in mind. Cultural knowledge comprises many specific knowledge structures-categories,
beliefs, decision principles-that exert an influence only when they have been activated or
brought to the fore of the mind. In terms of the lens metaphor, cultural knowledge is like a
prism or telescope-an interpretive tool that shapes the individual's perception of and,
ultimately, navigation of the world, but that only exerts influence when it has been brought
into use. This dynamic interpretation predicts different patterns of cultural differences;
rather than main effects of individuals' cultural backgrounds, one would look for
interactions of these backgrounds with conditions that bring cultural knowledge into
activation. (158)
 approaches to Two basic arguments regarding cultural influence on consumer decision making have been
cultural decoding advanced.2 First, many researchers have taken the universalist position (either implicitly or
explicitly) that decision biases are not influenced by culture. For instance, researchers have
emphasized that risk aversion tendencies may have psychophysical mechanisms, and
researchers have replicated the patterns of evidence in many countries (Kahneman, Slovic,
and Tversky 1982) and even in animal behavior (Shafir er al. 1999). (158-159)
Second, some researchers have taken the dispositionalist stance that cultural influence takes
the form of domain- general, stable traits, such as individualistic versus collectivistic value
orientations (Hoftstede 1980). It would be a triumph of parsimony if many diverse cultural
differences in decision making could be explained in terms of a single cultural disposition,
such as individualism- collectivism. Moreover, the validity of highly abstract, general
measures of cultural knowledge have been questioned on both methodological and
conceptual grounds (Peng, Nisbett, and Wong 1997). In this article we describe a third basic
stance concerning the influence of culture on decision making. Roughly, this stance lies
between the universalist stance that culture never matters and the dispositionalist stance that
culture always matters. More specifically, we propose that culture is influential when some
aspect of the decision task requires that decision makers draw on knowledge structures that
differ cross-culturally. Our approach concurs that the consequences of cultural knowledge
will be circumscribed to those domains to which the knowledge applies, yet it goes further
in emphasizing the dynamic rather than stable role of this cultural knowledge. The
knowledge exerts an influence, we suggest, only if it has been brought to the fore of the
mind or "activated" (Higgins 1996). (159)
reasons for Nisbett and Wilson (1977), who demonstrated that people asked to report reasons or
purchasing explanations after their decisions do not have access to the cognitive processes lead- ing to
choices the decision. Hence, reasons are generated by accessing implicit theories or decision rules,
many of which are conferred by their culture or subculture (Nisbett and Wilson 1977, p.
248). (160)

Markus, Hazel Rose, culture – Western Despite the growing body of psychological and anthropological evidence that people hold
Kitayama, Shinobu, divergent views about the self, most of what psychologists currently know about human
Culture and the Self: nature is based on one particular view—the so-called Western view of the individual as an
Implications for independent, self-contained, autonomous entity who (a) comprises a unique configuration of
Cognition, Emotion, internal attributes (e.g., traits, abilities, motives, and values) and (b) behaves primarily as a
and Motivation, consequence of these internal attributes (Geertz, 1975; Sampson, 1988,1989; Shweder &
LeVine, 1984). (224)
Psychological Review, self construals In this article, we suggest that construals of the self, of others, and of the relationship
98(2), 1991, 224-253. between the self and others may be even more powerful than previously suggested and that
their influence is clearly reflected in differences among cultures. In particular, we compare
an independent view of the self with one other, very different view, an interdependent view.
The independent view is most clearly exemplified in some sizable segment of American
culture, as well as in many Western European cultures. The interdependent view is
exemplified in Japanese culture as well as in other Asian cultures. But it is also
characteristic of African cultures, Latin-American cultures, and many southern European
cultures. (224-225)
We suggest that for many cultures of the world, the Western notion of the self as an entity
containing significant dispositional attributes, and as detached from context, is simply not
an adequate description of selfhood. Rather, in many construals, the self is viewed
as /'nterdependent with the surrounding context, and it is the "other" or the "self-in-relation-
to-other" that is focal in individual experience. (225)
self – definition Allport (1937) suggested that there must exist an aspect of personality that allows one, when
awakening each morning, to be sure that he or she is the same person who went to sleep the
night before. Most recently, Neisser (1988) referred to this aspect of self as the ecological
self which he defined as "the self as perceived with respect to the physical environment: T
am the person here in this place, engaged in this particular activity" (p. 3). (225)
self – public, The exact content and structure of the inner self may differ considerably by culture.
private Furthermore, the nature of the outer or public self that derives from one's relations with
other people and social institutions may also vary markedly by culture. And, as suggested by
Triandis (1989), the significance assigned to the private, inner aspects versus the public,
relational aspects in regulating behavior will vary accordingly. (226)
interdependent In contrast, many non-Western cultures insist, in Kondo's (1982) terms, on the fundamental
self connectedness of human beings to each other. A normative imperative of these cultures is to
maintain this interdependence among individuals (De Vos, 1985; Hsu,1985; Miller,1988;
Shweder&Bourne,1984). Experiencing interdependence entails seeing oneself as part of an
encompassing social relationship and recognizing that one's behavior is determined,
contingent on, and, to a large extent organized by what the actor perceives to be the
thoughts, feelings, and actions of others in the relationship. // Unlike the independent self,
the significant features of the self according to this construal are to be found in the
interdependent and thus, in the more public components of the self. We therefore call this
view the interdependent construal of the self The same notion has been variously referred to,
with somewhat different connotations, as sociocentric, holistic, collective, allocentric,
ensembled, constitutive, contextualist, connected, and relational. (227) // An interdependent
self cannot be properly characterized as a bounded whole, for it changes structure with the
nature of the particular social context. Within each particular social situation, the self can be
differently instantiated.
China Examples of the interdependent self. An interdependent view of the self is common to many
of the otherwise highly diverse cultures of the world. Studies of the mainland Chinese, for
example, summarized in a recent book by Bond (1986), show that even among the most
rapidly modernizing segments of the Chinese population, there is a tendency for people to
act primarily in accordance with the anticipated expectations of others and social norms
rather than with internal wishes or personal attributes (Yang, 198 Ib). According to Hsu
(1985), the supreme Chinese virtue, jen, implies the person's capability to interact with
fellow human beings in a sincere, polite, and decent fashion (see also Elvin, 1985). (227-
228)
interdependent Although people everywhere must maintain some relatedness with others, an appreciation
self – the role of and a need for people will be more important for those with an interdependent self than for
the other those with an independent self. Second, maintaining a connection to others will mean being
constantly aware of others and focusing on their needs, desires, and goals. In some cases,
the goals of others may become so focal in consciousness that the goals of others may be
experienced as personal goals.
Clearly, interdependent selves do not attend to the needs, desires, and goals of all others.
Attention to others is not indiscriminate; it is highly selective and will be most characteristic
of relationships with "in-group" members. // Given the importance of others in constructing
reality and regulating behavior, the in-group-out-group distinction is a vital one for
interdependent selves, and the subjective boundary of one's "in-group" may tend to be
narrower for the interdependent selves than for the independent selves (Triandis, 1989).
(229)
Trafimow, David, self – private, Triandis (1989) theory is the starting point for the present conceptualization. This theory
Triandis, Harry C., collective, public incorporates Greenwald and Pratkanis's (1984) distinction between private, collective, and
Goto, Sharon G., Some public aspects of the self. The private self includes cognitions that involve traits, states, or
Tests of the Distinction behaviors (e.g., "I am honest"). The collective self consists of cognitions about group
Between the Private membership (e.g., "I am a son," this concerns membership in the family). Finally, the public
Self and the Collective self includes cognitions about how some generalized other views the person (e.g., "People
Self, Journal of think I am honest."). (649) Triandis (1989) commented on the possible effect of cultural
Personality and Social background on the number of cognitions contained in the private self and the collective self.
Psychology, 60(5), Using suggestions by Hofstede (1980) and Hsu (1981,1983,1985), he argued that the private
1991, 649-655. self is emphasized more in individualistic cultures such as North America or Europe than in
collectivistic cultures such as those of East Asia. However, the collective self is emphasized
more in collectivistic cultures than in individualistic cultures.(649)

Aaker, David A., brand equity 7: Brand equity is a set of assets (and liabilities) linked to a brand’s name and symbol that
Building Strong adds to (or subtracts from) the value provided by a product or service to a firm and/or that
Brands, The Free Press, firm’s customers.
New York, 1996. 8: The major assets categories: brand name awareness, brand loyalty, perceived quality,
brand associations.
brand 25: the associations might include product attributes, a celebrity spokesperson, or a
associations particular symbol. Brand associations are driven by brand identity.
brand identity 68: A brand identity, similarly to a person’s identity, provides direction, purpose and
meaning to a brand.
Brand identity is a unique set of brand associations that the brand strategist aspires to create
and maintain. These associations represent what the brand stands for and imply a promise to
customers from the organization members.
Brand identity consists of twelve dimensions organized around four perspectives – the
brand-as-product )product scope, product attributes, quality/value, uses, users, country of
origin), brand-as-organization (organizational attributes, local versus global), brand-as-
person (brand personality, brand consumer relationships), and brand-as-symbol (visual
imagery/metaphors and brand heritage).
brand image 71: Brand image = how the brand is now perceived // brand identity = how strategists want
the brand to be perceived
 brand personality 83: The brand-as-person perspective suggest a brand identity that is richer and more
interesting than one based on product attributes.
141: A brand personality can be defined as the set of human characteristics associated with a
given brand. Thus it includes such characteristics as gender, age, and socioeconomic class,
as well as such classic human personality as warmth, concern, and sentimentality.
150: The brand personality construct can help strategists by enriching their understanding of
people’s perceptions of and attitudes toward a brand, contributing to a differentiating brand
identity, guiding the communication effort, and creating brand equity.

Olins, Wally, On brands, branding 14: Today we mostly take a product’s functional characteristics for granted and while brands
Brand, Thames and are still all about image, it is no longer just their image – it is also our image.
Hudson, New York, Branding has moved so far beyond its commercial origins that its impact is virtually
2003. immeasurable in social and cultural terms. It has spread into education, sport, fashion,
travel, art, theatre, literature, the region, the nationality and virtually anywhere else you can
think of.
automobile 138: Automobiles have always been traditional national icons. They are symbols of speed,
brands independence, status and style, and they are often objects of great beauty, craftsmanship and
ingenuity.
end We love brands because they make life more attractive and easier and because we define
ourselves through them. We like their complex mix of function and emotion. We like the
way they complement and manifest our personality. We like brands that help us to say
something about ourselves. We have the power to shape brands to be what we want and to
shape the society in which we live. All we have to do is use that power, and use it for mutual
benefit.
(avem deci puterea de a crea sens)

Keller, Kevin, Lane, brand 2: According to the American Marketing Association, a brand is a “name, term, symbol, or
Strategic Brand design, or a combination of them intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or
Management. Building, group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competition”.
Measuring, and brand image 93: Brand image can be defined as perceptions about a brand as reflected by the brand
Managing Brand brand associations held in consumer memory. Brand associations are the other informational nodes
Equity, Prentice Hall, associations linked to the brand node in memory and contain the meaning of the brand for consumers.
New Jersey, 1998. Product related attributes are defined as the ingredients necessary for performing the
product or service performance function sought by consumers, and non-product related
attributes are defined as external aspects of the product or service that often relate to its
purchase or consumption in some way.

94
brand personality 97: Brand personality reflects how people feel about a brand rather than what they think the
brand is or does.
global brands 588: Building global customer-based brand equity means creating brand awareness and a
positive brand image in each country in which the brand is sold. A number of issues in
creating a standardized (as opposed to customized) marketing programs were noted. It is
difficult to identify any one company applying the global marketing concept in the strictest
sense. Increasingly, marketers are blending global objectives with local or regional
concerns. The means by which brand equity is build may differ from country to country or
the actual sources of brand equity themselves may vary across countries in terms of specific
attributes of benefit associations. Nevertheless, there must be sufficient levels of brand
awareness and strong, favorable, and unique brand associations in each country in which the
brand is sold to provide sources of brand equity.

Burmann, Christoph, brand image 158: One of the fundamental tenets of marketing is that brand images are an important
Schaefer, Katharina, determinant of buying behavior. The construct of brand image can be understood as the
Maloney, Philip. associations external
Industry image: Its target groups have in their minds about brands. These associations can be further divided
impact on the brand into those concerning the functional attributes of a brand and those concerning the symbolic
image of potential attributes of a
employees, Journal of brand.
Brand Management,
15(3), 2008, 157-176.

Miller, Stephen, Berry, theory about how 77: The classical expression of the theory that advertising works by changing brand attitudes
Lisette, Brand Salience advertising work is the AIDA model (Joyce, 1967). This simple model says that awareness of a brand
versus Brand Image: brand precedes interest, which in turn precedes desire and action. The model assumes that as the
Two Theories of consumer moves from awareness of a brand to action, attitudes toward the brand shift.
Advertising While awareness plays a role in this theory, it is primarily a gatekeeper. The theory simply
Effectiveness, Journal states the obvious: that awareness of a brand is required before you can be interested in it.
of Advertising 78: While the majority of American researchers over the past few decades have held
Research, 38(5), 1998, strongly to the belief that advertising works by changing brand imagery, there is a minority
77-82. opinion. This minority opinion holds that in established categories, advertising works
primarily because it improves or maintains brand salience (Moral, 1990; Sutherland and
Galloway, 1981).
brand salience 78: "Brand salience" refers to the order in which brands come to mind. It refers not to what
consumers think about brands but to which one they think about. In market research, brand
salience is frequently measured by top-of-mind awareness (brand that first comes to mind)
and total unaided brand awareness. Brand imagery, on the other hand, is usually measured
by overall ratings and attribute ratings. Two theories have been advanced to explain why
brand salience may influence sales and ultimately market share. One is that brands which
come to mind on an unaided basis are likely to be the brands in a consumer's consideration
set and thus have a higher probability of being purchased (Miller and Georgiou, 1996;
Sutherland and Galloway, 1981). A second explanation is that advertising weight and brand
salience are cues to consumers indicating which brands are popular. According to this
theory, consumers have a tendency to buy popular brands. Thus there is a connection
between brand salience and sales (Sutherland, 1997; Sutherland and Galtoway, 1981).
81: The findings from this analysis support the brand salience theory of advertising
effectiveness rather than the brand imagery theory.
Batra, Rajeev, country of origin 83: Scores of studies have already documented the ways in which consumers use a brand'
Ramaswamy, in advertising country of origin (CO) as a cue in inferring its quality and acceptability and this research
Venkatram, Alden, ought to help us understand how consumers in developing countries make this choice
Dana L., Steenkamp, between local and nonlocal brands.
Jan-Benedict E. M., The CO literature has typically examined the role of the CO as a "halo" construct that
Ramachander, S., influences product attribute quality beliefs, or as a construct that summarizes beliefs about
Effects of Brand Local product quality, and only then influences attitudes or purchase intentions (Han, 1989;
and Nonlocal Origin on Heslop & Papadopoulos, 1993). Only recently has the literature begun to examine
Consumer Attitudes in nonquality-related, direct effects of a brand's CO on brand attitudes or purchase intentions.
Developing Countries, For example, Klein, Ettenson, and Morris (1998) found among Chinese consumers an effect
Journal of Consumer for country-specific animosity that reduces brand purchases from Japan, independent of
Psychology, 9(2), 2000, judgments about the quality of those brands.
83-95. 84: In this study, we hypothesized that CO effects in developing countries operate
differently than suggested in the literature, which is largely based on developed country
data. Specifically, we argue that, in developing countries, a brand's CO affects perceptions
of nonlocalness. Such nonlocalness can be very favorable, especially if the CO has a
Western or developed CO (e.g., the United States, Europe, or Japan). We believe that the
nonlocal effect operates in addition to consumer assessments of the brand's quality ratings
and is motivated primarily for the purpose of status enhancement. We also examined the
extent to which the impact of a nonlocal CO is moderated by a consumer's admiration of the
lifestyles in economically developed countries (EDCs). Another stream of the literature that
is more anthropological in nature, however, suggests that consumers in developing countries
also see the CO as determining a brand's desirability for symbolic, status-enhancing reasons
(status preference), in addition to suggesting overall quality. Such generalized status
preference for nonlocal (foreign) brands has been reported in developing countries, such as
The People's Re- public of China (Sklair, 1994)
developing 85: Given this greater salience of status markers in developing societies, several
countries – explanations for nonlocal products acquiring higher status than local products come to mind.
nonlocal products First, in developing countries, imports are usually more expensive and more scarce than
local products, making them more desirable from a reference group standpoint.
 Romania Finally, Venkatesh and Swamy (1994, p. 207) argued that consumers in developing
economies today want to be able to participate in the global consumer community, living in
this "imagined world" (cf. Appadurai, 1990), in part, through access to products from all
over the world. However, not all consumers have the power to do so, leading to an
aspirational yearning for many foreign-made brands. In Romania, for in- stance, only the
nomenclatura, individuals who could travel to the West, could acquire such goods. Hence,
possession of these goods (as well as knowledge of Western popular culture) was a source of
great status. The fact that governments and traditional institutions often criticize such
corrupting, hedonistic, alien values serves only to make them even more attractive to
younger consumers, who see these goods as symbols of status, affluence, modernity,
individuality, rebel- lion against traditional institutions, and freedom of choice (Bar-Haim,
1987)
preference of CO 93: In this study we found that among consumers in developing countries, for reasons that
(open ended Q) go beyond brand quality assessments, brands perceived as having a nonlocal CO are
attitudinally preferred to brands seen as local. Furthermore, the results indicate that such
attitudinal enhancement increases with the degree of perceived nonlocalness. This suggests
that a brand's CO not only serves as a quality halo or summary of product quality (cf. Han,
1989), but can also possess an additional dimension-that of the degree of foreignness or
nonlocalness. We found this attitudinal effect was stronger for consumers high in SNI for
product categories high in social signaling value, which is consistent with our status-
enhancement explanation.
A brand seen as generally nonlocal (our operationalization), instead of coming from one
specific country (as in prior CO research), may simply not evoke as much hostility from
ethnocentric consumers as has been found in prior CO research.
Lau, Kong Cheen, brand personality 424: There are two key reasons why consumers enjoy symbolic meanings that are associated
Phau, Ian, Extending with brands that portray distinct personalities. From a social ecology perspective, the
Symbolic Brands Using symbolic meaning associated with the personality of a brand provides the consumer with the
Their Personality: opportunity to portray the “self” that he or she wants to reveal. (Belk, 1988; Grubb & Hupp,
Examining Antecedents 1968; Grubb & Grathwohl, 1967; Solomon, 1983). This allows consumers to compensate
and Implications for their inadequacies or inconsistencies which they find in their actual self in comparison to
Towards Brand Image their desired self (Cushman, 1990; Elliot, 1997). From the psychological perspective,
Fit and Brand Dilution, consumers can develop relation dyads with brands that are “humanized” by advertisers
Psychology & (Fournier, 1998). This relationship allows consumers to establish a reflexive evaluation with
Marketing, 24(5), 2007, a product (Solomon, 1983). As a result, consumers exhibit a strong desire to build
421–444. relationships with brands that project personality that they are comfortable with as though
interacting with someone they like (Aaker, 1996; Phau & Lau, 2001).
Grohmann, Bianca, brand personality 106: Consumers associate human personality traits with brands because
Gender Dimensions of reasons they relate to brands as they would to partners or friends (Fournier
Brand Personality, 1998), because they perceive brands as extensions of their selves (Belk
Journal of Marketing 1988), or because marketers suggest that brands have certain
Research, 46(1), 2009, characteristics (e.g., “Built Ford Tough”). Therefore, it is likely that
105-119. consumers map a wide range of human personality traits, including those
associated with gender, onto brands.
feminine 112: A masculine spokesperson in a print advertisement increased
masculine consumers’ association of masculine personality traits with the brand,
whereas a feminine spokesperson increased consumers’ association of
feminine personality traits with the brand. These effects held for male
and female consumers. The pretest ruled out product category and brand
name effects; therefore, the results are due to the spokesperson featured
in the advertisement.
116: An objective of this research was the development of a scale to
measure the gender dimensions of brand personality. These dimensions
are captured by a two-dimensional, 12-item descriptive adjective scale
(MBP/FBP) that applies to utilitarian and symbolic brands. The MBP and
FBP concepts are distinct from Aaker’s (1997) ruggedness and
sophistication dimensions, respectively. This research demonstrates that
marketers can shape gender dimensions of brand personality through
their choice of masculine and feminine spokespeople featured in
advertisements. Second, gender dimensions of brand personality
influence affective, attitudinal, and behavioral consumer responses
positively when they are congruent with consumers’ sex role identity and
thus enable consumers to express an important dimension of their self-
concept. Finally, in a brand extension context, fit between gender
dimensions of parent brand personality and gender perceptions
associated with the extension category enhances extension evaluations
and purchase intentions. This effect emerged for functional products
extending into functional categories, for which research had not been
able to identify brand fit effects on extension evaluations.
Hsieh, Ming H., studies of brand – 47: In an attempt to understand how brands are different across nations, existing research
Identifying Brand culture has used firms' brand image strategy (Roth 1995a), advertising content (Duncan and
Image Dimensionality Ramaprasad 1995), or media usage (Kapferer 1991) to address the issue of brand
and Measuring the globalization. However, the question, "How global are global brands?" has remained
Degree of Brand unanswered (Kapferer 1991), because there has been no agreement regarding the way the
Globalization: A Cross- degree of brand globalization should be measured.
National Study, brand image 47: Brand image perception, which is built on the consumer's brand associations and
Journal of attitude, has been considered an integral component of brand equity and has been widely
International employed in brand equity frameworks.
Marketing, 10(2), national 49: From the perspective of international consumer research, consumer behavior in the
Special Issue on Global perspective for marketplace is critically reflective of patterns of persistent personality traits, described as
Branding, 2002, 46-67. marketing national characteristics, that are found among the populations of nations (Clark 1990; Roth
1995b); variation of consumers' behaviors that are driven by national characteristics may
limit the success of a marketer's global campaign. The national characteristics that could
influence consumers' brand image perceptions are discussed subsequently.
cultural 50: Finally, cultural factors are argued to be excellent grounds for segmenting global
perspective markets because they are the prime determinants of the consumers' attitude, behavior, and
lifestyle and the needs consumers satisfy through the use of goods and services (Jain 1989).
Belk (1996) suggests that cultures transform global meanings into unique local meanings;
accordingly, in each country, there are differences in the meaning invested in brands, and it
is likely that consumers consequently hold different brand beliefs (Cheng and Schweitzer
1996; Steenkamp, ter Hofstede, and Wedel 1999). Moreover, a culture's heterogeneity,
which is reviewed as a main barrier to the emergence of one global market, is much more
resilient and enduring than other environmental characteristics (Malhotra, Agarwal, and
Baalbaki 1998).
brand image 62: Building brand image based on the identified benefit-based image dimensions that
consist of a set of benefit brand associations helps consumers understand with clarity what a
brand can do for them symbolically, economically, sensorily, or as a utility.
Nandan, Shiva, An brand 264: Brands are intangible assets that can build shareholder value. Seetharaman et al.2
exploration of the brand (+ consumer define a brand as ‘an asset that does not have physical existence and the value of which
identity–brand image perspective) cannot be determined exactly unless it becomes the subject of a specific business transaction
linkage: A of sale and acquisition’ (p. 243). […] From the consumer’s perspective, a brand provides a
communications visible representation of difference between products.
perspective, Brand 265: Brands allow consumers to shop with confidence in an increasingly complex world. A
Management, 21(4), brand can signify product quality as well as aid consumers in differentiating the product
2005, 264-278. from competitive offerings.8 A brand that consumers trust will also serve to reduce
perceived risk and post-purchase cognitive dissonance.
brand identity 266: Brand identity originates from the company, ie a company is responsible for creating a
differentiated product with unique features. It is how a company seeks to identify itself.13 A
company will often use branding strategy as a means of communicating its identity and
value to consumers and other stakeholders.
brand image 266: Brand image relates to the consumer’s perception of the brand. Kotler defines brand
image as ‘the set of beliefs held about a particular brand’ (p. 197).
267: Later researchers like Ditcher regarded brand image as describing not individual traits
of the product, but the total impression in the minds of the consumers. Brand image is also
described as the way in which a particular brand is positioned in the market, ie how the
consumer perceives the product. brand image is a consumer-constructed notion of the brand.
Consumers ascribe a persona or an image to the brand based on subjective perceptions of a
set of associations that they have about the brand. Keller30 outlines three dimensions of
brand associations: attributes, benefits and attitudes. Attributes could be both specific and
abstract. Attributes such as size, color and weight are specific, whereas ‘brand personality’
attributes31 such as ‘youthful’, ‘durable’ and ‘rugged’ are abstract in nature. Attributes
could also be categorized as product-related and non-product related. While product related
attributes would be unique to the type of product and service, non-product-related attributes
would include packaging and user imagery as well as usage imagery. Benefits refer to
the consumer perception of the needs that are being satisfied. The third dimension of brand
associations is attitudes. According to Schiffman and Kanuk, ‘an attitude is a learned
predisposition to behave in a consistently favorable or unfavorable way with respect to a
given object’ (p. 200). Brand attitudes are consumers’ overall evaluations of a brand.
Grassl, Wolfgang, The brand idealism 317: All views that regard brands as rooted in the perception of consumers may be
Reality of Brands: collectively classified as idealist conceptions of branding, They repudiate any definition of
Towards an Ontology of products "in ontological terms" (Levitt, 1969: 11), i.e. by reference to properties of products,
Marketing, American since "the features that distinguish [brands] from those of competitors, are invariably held to
Journal of Economics be external to the generic products" (ibid.). Instead of looking for defining characteristics
and Sociology, 58(2),
within product space, idealists propose operational definitions so as to arrive at an
1999, 313-359.
"actionable" (ibid.) theory of brands-a theory with practical consequences for the marketing
strategist. According to a popular version, brands are created by applying marketing tools,
particularly advertising, in such a way as to influence consumer perception. The underlying
assumption is that consumer wants are generally not for the benefits of core products (such
as transport in the case of automobiles) but for the additional benefits of augmented
products (such as style, image or social recognition). They repudiate any definition of
products "in ontological terms" (Levitt, 1969: 11), i.e. by reference to properties of products,
since "the features that distinguish [brands] from those of competitors, are invariably held to
be external to the generic products" (ibid.). Instead of looking for defining characteristics
within product space, idealists propose operational definitions so as to arrive at an
"actionable" (ibid.) theory of brands-a theory with practical consequences for the marketing
strategist. According to a popular version, brands are created by applying marketing tools,
particularly advertising, in such a way as to influence consumer perception. The underlying
assumption is that consumer wants are generally not for the benefits of core products (such
as transport in the case of automobiles) but for the additional benefits of augmented
products (such as style, image or social recognition).
 brand realism 323: Emergent properties have been defined as such that "belong to a complex as a whole
and not to its parts" (Broad, 1925: 23). Brands are not properties of a mysterious entelechy
of products, i.e. of an immanent capacity of some products to become brands. What
constitute brands are properties of products themselves.12 Brands are determined by and are
dependent upon properties of product space, without being reducible to these. If products
permit differentiation in terms of properties such as shape, color, taste, solubility, divisibility
or packaging, this defines the possibilities of branding these products. In the language of
Gestalt theory, brands are founded on products and require special intellectual acts in order
to be grasped by consciousness. They have, in Christian von Ehrenfels' sense, a higher
degree of 'organic unity.' Brands, then, might be viewed as Gestalten that exist in reality.13
Brands have a value greater than the sum of their tangible assets, which explains the
phenomenon of brand equity
325: For the realist, consequently, brand equity is a function of the degree to which brands
succeed in occupying niches within product categories. A niche is that into which a brand
fits, much like a species occupies an eco- logical niche. The specific nature of such niches is
defined by a combination of properties of products and factors pertaining to the way these
are perceived and evaluated by consumers. The latter, subjective factors such as brand
image, do play an important role, but they do not constitute brands since they themselves are
founded on them: "A true brand is one whose image is embodied in the product
characteristics" (Kapferer, 1992: 139).
reality of brands 328: If brands have an ontological reality, the exact nature of this reality remains yet to be
clarified.

Okazaki, Shintaro, global brands 93: Global brands refer to “those with the same name, packaging, formulation, and
Searching the web for advertising in multiple countries” (Batra et al., 1996).
global brands: how European market 106: The findings of this study should make advertisers and agencies more aware of the
American brands cultural and socioeconomic differences, rather than similarities, within a single
standardise their web European market.
sites in Europe,
European Journal of
Marketing, 39(1/2),
2005, 87-109.