The concept of Internet brand, which views business website as a kind of brand, is occurred along the extension of Internet business industry and its structure. Internet brand together with the term brand contains the value of website evaluated in ...
The concept of Internet brand, which views business website as a kind of brand, is occurred along the extension of Internet business industry and its structure. Internet brand together with the term brand contains the value of website evaluated in the aspect of brand equity from the aspect of return and investment. Brand personality as one of the important elements of brand equity is a core factor to have differentiated brand strategies through emotional communications with consumers, thereof, to influence brand loyalty.
In the view of brand equity, although it is obvious that to draw factors of Internet brand personality is demanding, only a few studies have been conducted in this light. In a sense, this study tried to apply the offline BPS, Brand Personality Scale, formulated by Jennifer Aaker (1997) - which has four steps; from consumer based research, to existing scale based research, to panel based research and again to consumer based research - to figure out dominant factors of brand personality based on feelings and impressions answered by Internet users. Moreover, to find out impacts of brand personality on brand preference the researcher used the Hybrid Scale formulated by Tae-Yong Kim (2001). The data gathered were analyzed in two dimensions - by general and by user related factors like gender, term of use, time of use, etc.
According to findings, Internet users' feelings and impressions on factors of brand personality were defined largely by dynamics, competence and innovativeness. This result implies that factors of Internet brand personality heavily influenced by the fact that Internet brand is online based. That is the number one factor, dynamics is a reflection of the tendency of activity and liveliness by users due to media attributes; the number two factor, confidence is a reflection of expected functional benefits by users, again, due to media attributes; lastly, the number three factor, innovativeness is a reflection of brand value and user understanding on changes in related technologies and circumstances. These factors were appeared overall in detailed analyses. Furthermore, interestingly, the findings showed that all of those defined personality factors influenced brand preference. Meanwhile, competence which is one of the factors of brand personality appeared most strongly related to brand preference and this implies that Internet brand has strong characteristics of its effectiveness and usefulness.
At any rate, this study would appreciate to try a preceding study on Internet brand in the aspect of brand equity. Especially, it should be noted that to approach and draw factors of brand personality in scientific and reliable process is a significant study since brand personality is one of the most important elements in brand communication. Above all, this study is worthwhile that it presents empirical findings to positioning differentiated brand by using and emphasizing brand personality. In conclusion, this understanding should provide a more reliable guide to the information age than just forecasting prognostications regarding the new communication technologies