The main objective of this study is to empirically measure the brand personality of four chosen brands, viz., Motorola, Raymonds, Samsung and 7 Up in the Indian context using a framework of brand personality scale, as developed by Aaker (1997). The study was carried out in Hyderabad. A questionnaire was designed for this purpose. It contained the entire set of personality traits from the Aaker's brand personality scale. In the questionnaire, the respondents were asked to answer 15 questions with the purpose of measuring different dimensions of brand personality. These questions were structured on the Likert scale model. The data, obtained when analyzed using factor analysis, gave different brand personality dimensions which contained separate variables for different brands, indicating that each brand should be treated separately and the scale cannot be generalized for different types of brands: 7 Up stood for sincerity, Samsung stood for innovativeness, Motorola for feisty and Raymonds for excitement.

As the number of brands has proliferated, competition has intensified across all industries globally, thus making it difficult for managers to differentiate between brands, particularly on the basis of functional attributes alone (Siguaw et al., 1999). Therefore, differentiation and positioning are increasingly based on symbolic or emotional or other meanings. Here comes the importance of providing a brand with a distinct and functional `Brand Personality'. Brand personality has been defined as a set of human characteristics or traits that consumers attribute to or associate with a brand (Aaker, 1997). This association may consist of demographic variables (i.e., age, gender, and social class), lifestyle (i.e., activities and beliefs), cultural (values, perceptions, preferences, etc.) and personality traits (i.e., excitement, sophistication, sincerity, etc.). In contrast to the `product related attributes', which tend to serve a utilitarian function for the consumers, brand personality tends to serve a symbolic or self-expressive function (Keller, 1993). It is argued that the symbolic use of brands is possible because consumers often instill a brand with personality traits (termed animism; e.g., Gilmore, 1919) and can easily think of brands as if they were celebrities or famous historical figures (Rook, 1985) and which may be due to the strategies used by advertisers to imbue a brand with personality traits, such as anthropomorphization (e.g., California raisins), personification (e.g., jolly green giant), and the creation of user imagery (e.g., Charlie girl). Through such techniques, the personality traits associated with a brand, tend to be fairly lasting and distinctive. By isolating the distinct dimensions, different types of brand personalities can be distinguished, and the manifold ways in which the brand personality construct may influence consumer behavior could be understood better which will help in decision making. Aaker (1997) developed a framework of brand personality dimensions in his research. Also, a scale was developed for providing the basis for theory building on the symbolic use of brands. This framework and scale were generalizable across product categories. This study uses the framework of brand personality dimensions and the scale developed by Jennifer Aaker, to check the brand personality of various brands associated with Swamy BBDO, as perceived by the consumers of these brands. Brand personality is one of the core dimensions of brand equity, since it refers to the emotional side of a brand image. It is created by the sum of experiences of consumers with a brand. Advertizing plays a dominant role in personality creation. Hence, this study may be of interest and useful to ad agencies in assessing the brand-image of its clients, which it creates/influences with its efforts.

Management Research Journal, Brand Personality, E-Brand Personalities, Theoretical Approach, Customer-Based Brand Equity, Brand Management, PCA Analysis, Component Matrix, Eigen Values, Correlation Matrix, Magnus Business School, Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin, KMO.