Executive summary and implications for managers and executives
This summary has been provided to allow managers and executives a rapid appreciation of the content of this article. Those with a particular interest in the topic covered may then read the article in toto to take advantage of the more comprehensive description of the research undertaken and its results to get the full benefits of the material present.It is common to find many people crafting relationships with brands and bestowing them with various human traits. Brands are perceived as helping to create and sustain identity and consumers will often select brands they perceive to best match the concept they have of themselves. Choice of brand will often also carry social relevance in the sense that it can shape how we are perceived by others in terms of such as status, intelligence or character. Various studies have shown that congruity between human personality and brand image can be significant. A recurrent theme of many studies is that material possessions can operate as extensions of the self as well as being functional objects.