What is the role of the ‘self’ within the consumer-brand relationship? “We are what we have” Belk (1988, p. 160). This statement summarises how one presents themselves to the world based upon what one purchases and consumes. This highlights a broken consumer culture where people are perceived and judged not by their morals or vitality but physical possessions and attributes. This essay will explore the relationship between the ‘self’ and how this is applied to branding and a products image to successfully raise the consumer-brand relationship and ensure success over its competitors. This leads one to form the hypothesis that if a brand evokes an emotional connection with a consumer then it will become more successful than those that don't because it will create desirable consumer traits appealing to the perceptions of ones self. There is a limited scale of measure to this hypothesis due to the subjectivity of the term ‘success’ and the fact an ‘emotional connection’ will create an unconditioned response and therefore will differ with each individual. One could standardise this conclusion using case studies of brands with assertive emotional connections and analyse how they have been embedded into consumer culture to position the brand more favourably. This will aid the objectivity of the hypothesis and allow one to draw more succinct and standardised conclusions of the research topic. One could dress this hypothesis by firstly identifying the concept of the ‘self’ this would be established using key theories from notable psychologists such as Freud, Belk and Kleine. This could then be used to further understand the concept of the self and how this is relevant within todays society and more importantly consumer behaviours. With the concept of the self established one could then look further into the consumer-brand relationship analysing how brands use the concept of the self to engage and audience and market their product. To determine if this marketing strategy is successful one would test the hypothesis analysing a case study of a well established successful brand and determine if and how the role of the self has attributed to the success of said brand. With this research one could conclude to what extent the role of the self has within the consumer-brand relationship and ultimately if this affects the success of the brand. This idea of the self is defined by Baumeister (1999) as "the individual's belief about himself or herself, including the person's attributes and who and what the self is”. If Belk’s theory of consumer behaviour is correct then our fragile sense of self is comforted by possessing things. This presents a distorted perception of the self to the world with brands and possessions distinguishing the individual as opposed to their character. This self is targeted by brands creating emotional connections to make consumers feel the need to possess, therefore attributing the object to their own self increasing their sense of worth and prestige. The self is a complex term used within psychology Rhys Jones
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that debates the internal processing of ones being. There are several approaches to this concept for example, Carl Rogers (1959 in McLeod, S. A. (2008) states that the self concept is split into three components; The view one has of oneself, How much value one places upon oneself and what one wishes one was really like. This can be simplified to 3 distinct aspects; self image, self esteem and the ideal self, which form the basis of his approach to identify the self. Self Image questions how one sees oneself, this does not have to be literal, more a construct of the mind and how an individual perceives themselves to be. This was tested by Kuhn (1960 in McLeod, S. A. (2008) in his investigation into the self image devising an experiment to measure self concept. The Twenty Statements Test asked participants to give twenty responses to the prompts, "Who am I?”. Results of the experiment found that responses could be grouped into two main categories; social roles and personality traits. Self esteem acknowledges the extent to which one approves of oneself which comprises of an evaluative process that imposes a level of satisfaction with oneself. This effect of self esteem has been copiously tested by Morse and Gergen, Miller and Ross amongst others however Argyle (2008 in McLeod, S. A. (2008) argues a refined conclusion of four major factors that influence self esteem; • Reaction of others - If admired, sought after and praised one will develop positive self-esteem however if ignored or rejected one would develop a negative self-esteem. • Comparison with others - If others one compares oneself too are more successful, richer, happier than oneself, one will develop a negative self esteem however one is more successful etc a positive self esteem will be developed. • Social roles - The prestige and stigma of particular social roles e.g. doctors and prisoners will effect self-esteem. • Identification - social roles become part of ones personality, one identifies with the role and conforms to its standards and ideals. The Ideal self identifies differentiates between the self image and ideal self which in turn has an effect on the self esteem, this sets an intimate relationship that makes up the self as an entity. Rogers (1959 in McLeod, S. A. (2008) used the Q-sort method to study this relationship. If there is a large difference between the subjects ideal self and self image incongruence occurs whereas if a subjects ideal self and self image are consistent or similar a state of congruence exists. Rogers describes congruence as lack of conflict between these components allowing the subject to self-actualise / reach ones full potential. Rhys Jones
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This comprehension of the self aids its application to the research topic as it can be identified that the role of the self can be linked to the consumer brand relationship as it uses a reference of social status therefore if a subject belongs to a social role they feel they have to comply with these standards to achieve fulfilment. Basing the concept of the self on the reaction of others demonstrates how appealing to social standards i.e. buying popular brands will increase ones sense of self. Similarly a comparison with others could lead to brand advocacy ‘I look up to (role model), they owns (brand), buys brand, I own the same as (role model)’ this ultimately increases the subjects sense of self. Research into the self defined the topic of self-referencing, this is based upon cognitive generalisations about the self that are stored in memory. These generalisations then apply meaning to the incoming information within the self-schemata (Markus et al in Posavac 2012.). A meta-analysis on self referencing by Symons and Johnson (1997) concluded that self-referencing promoted better recall because it was easier to remember and attracted more attention. Therefore if brands that create an emotional connection and could be considered part of the self would be favoured by the individual because they would be recalled more efficiently than brands that have not created such connections. Therefore seemingly unconscious decisions behind brand choices could be developed unconsciously through the self-schemata using the theory of self-referencing. It has become widely recognised that brands have the capability to embody and communicate these desired consumer identities to the world. This research regarding the personality of a brand highlights traits of human personality that can be attributed to the brand (Aaker, 1997, p. 347) ultimately giving the product influence within the persons social construct. This authority of a brand and its ability to characterise a person based purely on their possessions creates an interesting debate regarding how one sees the world and themselves within it. The consumer brand relationship is an attempt to understand the relationship consumers have with brands. This personification of a brands personality which is defined as ‘the set of human characteristics associated with a brand’ (Keller in Aaker 1997). This is marketed to the consumer as a lifestyle building an emotive connection with the consumer to make the product more appealing. Fournier’s seminal research into the consumer brand relationship uncovered that it is a complex theory constituting of 16 ranging relationships from flings to arranged marriages that metaphorically explain different experiences consumers have with brands (Source 1) (Haugtvedt, Herr and Kardes, 2008). This research highlights the vast psychological depth of the consumer brand relationship and demonstrates how mediating factors other than performance and price can affect the consumers product choice such as ‘brand love’. This is explored by Fournier stating ‘At the core of all strong Rhys Jones
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brand relationships was a rich affective grounding reminiscent of concepts of love’ (1998, p. 363). This concept of brand love has been explored further by Carroll and Ahuvia (2006) who state Brand love is an emotional and passionate relationship between a satisfied consumer and a brand. Bagozzi et al (2014) developed and presented the brand love factor model (Source 2). This model aids the articulation and understanding of brand love and how this in turn affects the delicate balance of the consumer brand relationship. Keh et al (2007) define brand love to include passion, intimacy and commitment. If such commitment is present within this form of brand love it then becomes difficult to distinguish brand love from brand loyalty. This demonstrates how brands aim to form emotional connections with the consumer to create a deeper emotional bond that in turn makes the consumer loyal to the brand and increases its success as a product. This concept of brand love is attributed to Kevin Roberts, CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi, theory of “Lovemarks". Roberts states that the main focus of a brand should be its relationship with the consumer. Roberts suggests nowadays for a brand to be successful it needs to evolve into a ‘lovemark’, this focuses on strengthening the emotional bond between the consumer and the brand (Loureiro 2013). This theory of love marks is evident within notable brands such as Coca Cola who have capitalised on the concept of emotional branding to create a strong emotional connection between the brand and consumer. Roberts website lovemarks.com is a social experiment creating a community space for individuals to share their stories and perceptions of brands that create significant emotional connections. This gives real insight into how Coca Cola, as one example, have established a strong consumer brand relationship and transformed their product to symbolise more to the individual than just a soft drink. An entry to lovemarks.com by Gina Alvarez Gómez talks about how coke represents family to her which has impacted on her sense of self almost adopting the brand as not only part of her but a key part of her family (Source 3). During it’s advertising prime between 1950 and 1980 Coca Cola established significant emotional ties with the american audience that are still being used to market the product to present. Coca Cola shipped the product to the front lines during World War II which became a taste of home for the soldiers and represented a national pride, transforming coke from a drink to an iconic brand that connoted american pride. As the war ended so did cokes emotional marketing strategies, Coca Cola used their established branding to define a sense of american nationalism and present itself as the american ideal, appealing to patriotic americans and defining a sense of family as loved ones returned home. Wally Olins (2004, p50) describes Coca Cola as ‘a product of its time, place and culture’ he elaborates on this stating Coca-Cola was a ‘semi-respectable concoction launched with enthusiasm and exaggerated into a noisy and competitive world. He further attributes the success of Rhys Jones
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the brand with its high profile advertising at one point becoming the largest single advertiser in the US. By 1911 it’s advertising budget was $1 million per annum, a staggering amount for the time. This saw other larger corporations such as Kellogg’s and Quaker follow this adverting lead to boost public awareness and brand image. Through a case study analysing one of Coca Cola’s more emotionally charged adverts one can start to identify how this role of the self is positioned by the brand to ensure its impassioned consumerbrand relationship. The image (Source 4) depicts this sense of family ideals through an advertisement from LIFE magazine entitled ‘it’s a family affair’. The imagery establishes a family scene all sipping from ice cold Coca Cola’s, the father framed in a powerful pose establishes himself as the provider. This is subconsciously reinforced through the placement of the case of coke in the separate image however, linking the volume of coke with the father represents success, wealth and a sense of being able to provide for his family. This will resonate with the male audience and can be attributed to Argyle’s theory of self esteem. Using conventional social roles such as the male provider will attribute success and a need to provide for ones family with Coca Cola, encouraging the male audience to purchase the product for a sense of fulfilment to aid their self esteem. This epitomises how Coca Cola attribute the sense of self to its consumer brand relationship in order to market its product and produce significant demand and popularity. The image also appeals to the female audience depicting the woman staring lovingly at her son gleaming with happiness as he actively downs the cool refreshing drink, too excited to drink it to even consider using the provided glass. This sense of happiness from the child will evoke a maternal instinct from the female audience identifying with the mother, satisfied to see her child happy and enjoying the ice cold refreshment. Kuhn’s theory of self image could offer insight into this reading as the female audience desire to be perceived as good mothers with a happy family environment. This concept of self image would motivate the female audience to purchase Coca Cola to achieve fulfilment attributing coke to their maternal self. Attributing parts of the self strengthens the emotional bond with the consumer elevating the consumer brand relationship. Coca Cola’s success in tying emotions to their brand and defined it as a nostalgic brand reminiscent of americana family ideals, this is potentially the most notable of all Coca Cola’s campaigns due to its longevity. In recent years the company have brought back the classic design of its bottles and redesign the plastic bottles to mimic the retro coke glass bottles to reaffirm its consumer-brand relationship with a contemporary audience. This will re-engage with the brand as a sentimental link to family and their consumers childhood.
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Design has stood at the forefront of the varying factors that define a successful brand, it encodes said emotional messages that are used to create sense of prestige and desire to the consumer. Neff (2005 in Haugtvedt, C.P. et al 2008) states ‘the hottest of the “hot topics” in the real world of brand building is Design. There are growing trends within champions of functional performance such as Procter & Gamble to promote the prestige of design (Salter, 2005 in Haugtvedt, C.P. et al 2008). To demonstrate its commitment to design, P&G hired over 500 designers to staff its cross functional brand teams utilising new design treatments to create exciting emotional connections with its consumers. When one considers the entity that design represents, it is difficult to disregard its applications to the success of a brand. This reinforces the application of graphic design within the consumer brand relationship and establishes graphic design as an effective tool in creating these emotional connections with a consumer that are being pro-actively implemented in corporate brand strategies. From this research into the self one can conclude that there is significant links within the application of ones self within the consumer-brand relationship. Self-referencing uncovered better recall of information that is attributed the self therefore, if brands successfully attribute their products with the individuals sense of self they will be able to recall these brands more effectively than brands that create no such connections, making them more favourable to the individual. This sense of self is a delicate system consisting of ranging psychological theories, the sense of self can be seen to aid the development of the consumer-brand relationship through such theories using self-esteem and self image. These theories attribute the qualities of a brand to ones own self, ultimately enhancing their sense of self through these marketed product qualities. This ultimately defines the role of the self to play an important part within the emotional relationship between the consumer and a brand. Through the case study of Coca Cola one can identify how corporations execute such emotional ties with the consumer to appeal to their sense of self and elevate their consumer-brand relationship to ensure the success of the product. With reference to the in text advertisement, Coca Cola positions the image to appeal to the audience’s sense of self and self image. It exploits social roles such as the father as the provider to appeal to the male consumer and evoking a sense of maternity to appeal to the females self image. These emotional connections will encourage the audience to purchase the product to achieve fulfilment and adhere to these social constructs elevating their individual sense of self. This construct of family ideals has been used by Coca Cola over decades to create an established brand identity that evokes a strong emotional connection with family for a product that has no actual family necessity. This is still evident within the design of the bottles referencing the old design to create a sentimental engagement with the consumer. This emphasis on the design and how this can communicate necessity of the self image with the consumer brand relationship makes Rhys Jones
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this discussion extremely relevant to the contemporary practise of Graphic Design. This research can applied to a host of varying applications as it can be determined that this role of the self is successful in creating emotional ties with a brand that sustain a strong consumer-brand relationship. Designers can begin encode these messages within the visual stimuli of the product to visually communicate ideology that will ensue a successful and reputable brand identity.
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Source 1
(Haugtvedt, Herr and Kardes, 2008)
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Source 2
(Bagozzi et al, 2014) Source 3
(Lovemarks.com, 2016) Rhys Jones
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Source 4
(The Coca Cola Company, 1937) Rhys Jones
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Loureiro, S. (2013). Consumer-Brand Relationship: Foundation and State-of-the-Art. CustomerCentric Marketing Strategies: Tools for Building Organizational Performance, [online] pp.414-434. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233924978_Consumerbrand_relationship_Foundation_and_state-of-the-art [Accessed 4 Jan. 2016]. Lovemarks.com, (2016). Coca-Cola. [online] Available at: http://www.lovemarks.com/lovemark/ coca-cola/ [Accessed 6 Jan. 2016]. McLeod, S. (2008). Self Concept. [online] Simplypsychology.org. Available at: http:// www.simplypsychology.org/self-concept.html [Accessed 4 Jan. 2016]. Olins, W. (2004). On brand. London: Thames & Hudson. Posavac, S. (2012). Cracking the code. Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe. Symons, C. and Johnson, B. (1997). The self-reference effect in memory: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, [online] 121(3), pp.371-394. Available at: http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/ chip_docs/9/ [Accessed 4 Jan. 2016]. The Coca Cola Company, (1937). It's a Family Affair. [image] Available at: http://tinyurl.com/ 6gvakko [Accessed 6 Jan. 2016].
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