Relationship between Consumer Identity and Brand Personality as a Factor of Brand Commitment

The article analyzes the relationship between consumer identity and brand personality as a factor of consumer commitment to the brand. We hypothesized that: a) there is a link between consumer identity and preferred brand’s personality; b) the higher the similarity between the consumer identity and preferred brand’s personality, the higher the brand commitment. The sample included 150 subjects aged 18—25. Methods: the method of J. Aaker was used to study brand personality, and its modification was used to study consumer identity. The questionnaire of J. Brovkina was used to study brand loyalty. Results: high correlations between consumer identity and brand personality were obtained on the scales Ruggedness, Sophistication, Excitement, and high correlations between brand loyalty and deltas of the values of consumer identity and brand personality on the same scales were also discovered. On the scales of Competence and Sincerity the correlations were lower, although important as well. Thus, the hypotheses were confirmed: a) it is shown that there is a correlation between consumer identity and brand personality; b) the higher this correlation is, the higher is the commitment to the preferred brand. The article was prepared within the framework of the Academic Fund Program at the National Research University Higher School of Economics (HSE) in 2015 (grant №(№15-05-0052) and supported within the framework of a subsidy granted to the HSE by the Government of the Russian Federation for the implementation of the Global Competitiveness Program.