Fashion Brand Personality and Advertisement Response: Incorporating a Symbolic Interactionist Perspective

The way in which brands embody symbolic meaning for consumers, as well as the way it is individually received and processed, offers a critical point of brand differentiation in today's competitive environment. One such method for communicating symbolic meaning is through brand personality. A strong recognizable brand personality is critical to establishing brand equity as personality traits offer assets that consumers value. Effective communication of brand personality in advertising allows marketers to grab consumers' attention, create market differentiation, build consumer attachment to brands, and foster brand loyalty. This is especially relevant for the fashion industry. In order to capture consumer attention and secure subsequent adoption, fashion brands use advertising to prompt an emotional response and garner a personal connection ultimately differentiating a brand from its competitors. This chapter examines fashion brand personality from a symbolic interactionist perspective. Fashion brand meaning originates from the marketing environment mainly through the vehicle of advertising. This meaning is then subject to negotiation, as is explained within the context of the symbolic interaction theory. The chapter begins with an overview of symbolic interaction within the context of fashion consumption, followed by a discussion of how symbolic meanings have been instilled in products by marketers to create brand personalities in fashion brands. Consumers' choice of brands based on brand personality are explored noting the importance of the evolving nature of fashion brand meaning. Propositions are offered as they apply to fashion branding and advertising.