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Malär et al. (2011): Emotional Brand Attachment and Brand Personality: The Relative Importance of the Actual and the Ideal Self

Q: Why are companies always searching for ways to create strong emotional brand connections with consumers?

Becayse such connections lead to higher levels of consumer loyalty , which increases company financial performance

Q: Which concept is centered in the paper by Malär et al. (2011) and what does this concept entail?

Self-congruence : A fit between the consumers’ self and the brand’s personality or image

Q: How can actual self-congruence and ideal self-congruence be defined?

Actual self-congruence reflects the consumer’s perception of the fit between the actual self and the brand’s personality Ideal self-congruence is the perceived fit of the brand personality with the consumer’s ideal self

Q: How can self-concept be defined and which two forms has it?

Self-Concept is the cognitive and affective understanding of who and what we are . It can take two forms: The actual self (=who and what I think I am now) Ideal self (=shaped by imaginations of what you believe you would like to be)

Q: How can emotional brand attachment be defined?

Emotional brand attachment reflects the bond that connects a consumer with a specific brand and involves feelings toward the brand. These feelings include affection, passion, and connection.

Q: Which three moderators are examined and what do they entail?

Product involvement: The personal relevance of the product, which is determined by the extent to which the product is interesting and important to the consumer Self-esteem: A person’s overall evaluation of his or her worthiness as a human bein Public selfconsciousness: The awareness of the self as a social object or the awareness that others are aware of the self. People with high public self-consciousness are more aware of how others perceive them and try harder to create a favorable public image

15 important questions on Malär et al. (2011): Emotional Brand Attachment and Brand Personality: The Relative Importance of the Actual and the Ideal Self

Why are companies always searching for ways to create strong emotional brand connections with consumers?

Becayse such connections lead to higher levels of consumer loyalty, which increases company financial performance

What are the two objectives of the study by Malär et al. (2011)?

To understand the implications and the relative impact of consumers’ actual versus ideal self-congruence on emotional brand attachment
To gain insight into how the effect of actual versus ideal self-congruence on consumers’ emotional brand attachment varies across different contexts and consumers

Which concept is centered in the paper by Malär et al. (2011) and what does this concept entail?

Self-congruence: A fit between the consumers’ self and the brand’s personality or image

How can actual self-congruence and ideal self-congruence be defined?

Actual self-congruence reflects the consumer’s perception of the fit between the actual self and the brand’s personality
Ideal self-congruence is the perceived fit of the brand personality with the consumer’s ideal self

How can a consumer achieve self-congruence?

By consuming a brand with a personality that he or she regards as similar to either the actual or ideal self.

Explain the conceptual model of the study. Wich main effects and which moderators are examined?

Both perceived actual and ideal self-congruence affect the consumers’ emotional brand attachment.
However, this effecct may vary, depending on three moderators:

The consumer’s level of product involvement
Self-esteem
Public self-consciousness.

How can a consumer achieve self-congruence?

By consuming a brand with a personality that he or she regards as similar to either the actual or ideal self.

How can self-concept be defined and which two forms has it?

Self-Concept is the cognitive and affective understanding of who and what we are. It can take two forms:

The actual self (=who and what I think I am now)
Ideal self (=shaped by imaginations of what you believe you would like to be)

How can emotional brand attachment be defined?

Emotional brand attachment reflects the bond that connects a consumer with a specific brand and involves feelings toward the brand. These feelings include affection, passion, and connection.

Which three moderators are examined and what do they entail?

Product involvement: The personal relevance of the product, which is determined by the extent to which the product is interesting and important to the consumer
Self-esteem: A person’s overall evaluation of his or her worthiness as a human bein
Public selfconsciousness: The awareness of the self as a social object or the awareness that others are aware of the self.

People with high public self-consciousness are more aware of how others perceive them and try harder to create a favorable public image

Which 3 hypothesis are formulated with regard to the direct effect of the conceptual model? And are they supported or not?

H1: Actual self-congruence has a positive effect on emotional brand attachment
H2: Ideal self-congruence has a positive effect on emotional brand attachment
H3: Actual self-congruence has a stronger effect on emotional brand attachment than ideal selfcongruence

H1 en H3 were supported, H2 was not supported (no sig effect)

Which 6 hypothesis are formulated with regard to the moderating effect of the conceptual model? And are they supported or not?

H4a: Product involvement strengthens the relationship between actual self-congruence and emotional brand attachment.
H4b: Product involvement weakens the relationship between ideal self-congruence and emotional brand attachment.

H5a: Self-esteem strengthens the relationship between actual self-congruence with a brand and emotional attachment.
H5b: Self-esteem weakens the relationship between ideal self-congruence and emotional brand attachment

H6a: Public self-conscious strengthens the relationship between actual self-congruence and emotional brand attachment.
H6b: Public self-consciousness weakens the relationship between ideal self-congruence and emotional brand attachment

All these hypotheses are supported.

What are the 5 academic and managerial implications of the paper by Malär et al. (2011)?

To provide knowledge regarding the issue of whether to focus on the actual or ideal self in generating emotional brand attachment
Four important issues for managers to consider when trying to increase consumers’ emotional brand attachment:

(1) incorporating consumers’ selves into branding considerations
(2) focusing on authentic branding
(3) reconsidering aspirational branding
(4) individualizing their branding efforts

On a general level, the actual self is more important for consumers’ emotional brand attachment

Aspirational branding strategies (aim at ideal self-congruence) may need to be reconsidered
A call for more individual branding

What are the two main findings with regard to the three moderators?

All three moderators can significantly increase the relative importance of actual self-congruence as a driver of emotional brand attachment (compared with ideal self-congruence)
The relatively stronger effect of actual self-congruence on emotional brand attachment becomes reliably less pronounced when product involvement, self-esteem, or public self-consciousness is low

What are the 4 main conclusions of the paper by Malär et al. (2011)?

Self-congruence can increase emotional brand, but both the type of self-congruence and the context/consumer characteristics must be considered
Brands with actual self-congruence generated higher levels of emotional brand attachment. Even more pronounced when consumers were involved with the product or had a high level of selfesteem or public self-consciousness.
Brands with ideal self-congruence were less successful in increasing emotional brand attachment
Aspirational branding may still work under certain conditions, specifically when involvement, self-esteem, or public self-consciousness is low

The question on the page originate from the summary of the following study material:

International Brand Management

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Malär et al. (2011): Emotional Brand Attachment and Brand Personality: The Relative Importance of the Actual and the Ideal Self

15 important questions on Malär et al. (2011): Emotional Brand Attachment and Brand Personality: The Relative Importance of the Actual and the Ideal Self

Why are companies always searching for ways to create strong emotional brand connections with consumers?

What are the two objectives of the study by Malär et al. (2011)?

Which concept is centered in the paper by Malär et al. (2011) and what does this concept entail?

How can actual self-congruence and ideal self-congruence be defined?

How can a consumer achieve self-congruence?

Explain the conceptual model of the study. Wich main effects and which moderators are examined?

How can a consumer achieve self-congruence?

How can self-concept be defined and which two forms has it?

How can emotional brand attachment be defined?

Which three moderators are examined and what do they entail?

Which 3 hypothesis are formulated with regard to the direct effect of the conceptual model? And are they supported or not?

Which 6 hypothesis are formulated with regard to the moderating effect of the conceptual model? And are they supported or not?

What are the 5 academic and managerial implications of the paper by Malär et al. (2011)?

What are the two main findings with regard to the three moderators?

What are the 4 main conclusions of the paper by Malär et al. (2011)?

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