Cultural Factors That Impact Brand Personification Strategy Effectiveness

A brand personification is a human-like portrayal of a product or brand that is designed to associate the brand with certain human characteristics. Brand personifications, such as fictional human characters (e.g., Mr. Clean), human-like brand characters (e.g., Pillsbury doughboy), and product animations (e.g., M&M's characters), portray human-like personality characteristics intended to shape consumers' brand images. However, a brand personification strategy that appeals to consumers in one cultural context will not necessarily appeal to consumers in another cultural context. To explore cultural factors impacting brand personification strategies, a literature review was conducted. Ten research propositions were developed for future research and managerial implications were discussed. (C) 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.