The influence of brand personality on consumer brand preference

Abstract

Purpose- The purpose of this study was to find out the relevance of Brand Personality on Consumer brand preference in the local car market. Does the brand personality of a car influence the car type being purchased? Design / Methodology / approach – Both primary data and secondary data took place. A field observation in the prominent university car parks, an online questionnaire took place and the car manufacturer websites and brochures were analysed. Findings – The results revealed that Brand Name was relevant for the female audience, which then implicated that Brand Personality was relevant. This was not the case for the male sample. VW Polo was the most popular car amongst the both samples. From the findings of the field observation, VW Polo was one of the most popular cars in the car parks. The wordings found in the VW Polo brochure featured Competence. Research Limitations/ Implications – There were more female respondents than males, which may have affected the outcome of the results. Clear instructions needed to be listed for particular questions to avoid misunderstandings. Practical implications – By giving more attention to Brand Personality, marketers can further target their audience by giving the product a personality that the audience can relate to. Originality/ value – This research study looks deeper into branding and takes on the brand personality aspect in the car industry. There may be a change in the attitude of the audience when faced with different situations.