Natalia Maehle

In search of the sources of brand personality

Since Aakers (1997) seminal article, in which a general measurement scale of brand personality was developed and tested, research on brand personality has burgeoned. However, there are still important gaps in the literature. The primary focus of previous studies has been either on understanding the effects of brand personality or on measurement issues. There is little research on how brand personalities are formed, a fundamental issue for marketers. To fill this gap, we identify in two studies the potential sources of brand personality, and assess their relevance for forming different brand personality dimensions. The pattern of results across studies provides a general framework for selecting the most relevant sources for each of five dimensions of the Aakers brand personality concept: sincerity, competence, sophistication, excitement and ruggedness.

Exploring consumer preferences for hedonic and utilitarian food attributes

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify the relative importance of four main attributes of food products for consumer’s choice. These are price, taste, environmental friendliness and healthfulness, tested across hedonic and utilitarian food products (milk and ice-cream). The weighting of attributes involved in food choices is a complex phenomenon, as consumers must consider contradictory requirements when making their choices. Consumers’ decision-making processes might also be influenced by food category. Some food products are mostly consumed for pleasure, whereas others are consumed because of their nutritional value. Design/methodology/approach – The study employs a choice-based conjoint technique, which addresses how consumers make trade-offs across a set of product attributes. Findings – The results indicate that price and taste attributes are rated as the most important for both hedonic and utilitarian food products. However, when the authors group consumers according to their product pre...

Crowdsourcing innovation and product development: Gamification as a motivational driver

Abstract Crowdsourcing—outsourcing a job to external contributors through an open call—has become an important part of innovation process and product development. However, many crowdsourcing initiatives fail due to low engagement and participation. In the current paper, we aim to explore how companies can employ gamification—game elements and design techniques—to motivate contributions to a crowdsourcing project. Based on an exploratory case study of Threadless, a web-based apparel store, we propose implications that can assist companies in leveraging global capabilities for new product development. Threadless employs game thinking through a wide array of game elements and game mechanics including challenges, achievements, countdowns, discovery, points, reward schedules, and status. Our analysis shows that consumers are fun seekers. They will carry out activities without expecting anything in return, if they perceive it as being fun. Moreover, companies should openly acknowledge consumers’ contributions and give them recognition by using flexible reward system, statuses, and challenges. Despite the importance of extrinsic rewards, it is also essential to realize that intrinsic factors are crucial for maintaining consumers’ continued engagement and therefore we strongly recommend companies to build a strong virtual brand community around their crowdsourcing projects.

Advertising strategies for brand image repair: The effectiveness of advertising alliances

Advertising alliances are an effective shortcut to increase brand awareness and improve brand image. However, few studies have compared the effectiveness of advertising alliances with traditional (single-brand) advertising. Thus, this study focuses on a specific type of brand beliefs – namely, brand personality – and compares the ability of advertising alliances and traditional advertising to strengthen positive traits and downplay negative traits for a real brand in need of image repair. The results show that the advertising alliance is considerably more effective in upgrading positive brand personality traits than single-brand advertising. Importantly, this superior effect remained one week after exposure. The choice of advertising strategy had no effect on negative brand personality traits. Implications for advertising management are discussed.