Brand and I

Brand is a kind or variety of something distinguished by some distinctive characteristic

[1] the first brand I will discuss is Apple I began to use the brand when it launched the
iod since then the brand has been revered as producers of high!tech technology that"s
easy to use# sleek and simple all $ualities that attract me to its products% I incidentally
won my first iod in a competition# after this I became $uite popular at school because
not many of the other children had one# it allowed me to open conversations with people
$uite easily as we had a mutual interest% &he direct e'perience of owning and using the
iod prompted me to want further items from this brand# furthermore the brands
advertisements associated their products with a fun popular lifestyle something I had (ust
e'perienced with the iod% )ince then iod I have purchased a *acBook laptop and an
iad tablet from the brand as I sought the same attention I had received with the iod#
given that many of my friends and family also own an Apple product I can identify with
them and we often converse about the product% +wning an Apple product gives the
feeling of e'clusivity and boosts social stature# it"s rivals are far more popular however in
my opinion inferior to Apple"s $uality and prestige I view my Apple possessions as an
e'tension of my self to reflect my status and personality% &here is debate between Apple
users and those of its rivals however despite negative views my direct e'periences with
both have led me to believe in Apple and I aim to stick with it% All three of my products
are embla,oned with the uni$ue Apple logo and I tend to position them in such a way
when in use# that the mark may always be seen# in this way I symboli,e loyalty to the
brand% -sing .ournier"s relationship types# committed partnership[/] and best
friendship[0] fit my brand relationship with Apple $uite well# I adhere to e'clusivity
rules and it"s socially supported% &he positive rewards I gain from the%%%
*ost of us spend more time consuming or buying than we do working or sleeping% 1e
consume products such as cars and fuel# services such as haircuts and repairs# and
entertainment such television and movies% 2iven the time and money that we devote to
consuming we should try to make ourselves better at it in order to be able to develop an
ability to consume wisely%
*arketers each year spend billions of dollars trying to influence what# how and when we
buy and also spend billions of dollars on studying our behaviours% 3aving knowledge of
consumer behaviour not enables marketers to market their products more effectively but
also allows them to have a better understanding through research about the various
factors# apart from brand perception and the buying process that influence their choice%
By definition# the field of consumer behaviour is the study of individuals# groups or
organi,ations# and the processes they use to select# secure# use# and dispose of products#
services# e'periences# or ideas to satisfy needs and the impacts that these processes have
on the consumer and society% *y essay herein will provide definitions on some of the
concepts of 4onsumer Behaviour that are related to 4onsumer choice such as self!
concept# the image a person has of themselves and consumer influence factors# and will
then discuss in detail various author opinions# along with my introspect on the same%
5arious research studies have been published in the last thirty to forty years about the
relationship between self!concept and consumer consumption% )elf!concept by definition
is 6)cience 7aily# /889: the )elf!concept or self!identity is the mental and conceptual
awareness and persistent regard that sentient beings hold with regard to their own
being%%% +ne of the research works that I read before beginning the writing of this essay
is called ossessions and the e'tended self by ;ussell 1% Belk% Belk speaks in detail
about how consumers believe that their image or identity
In the present developing and modern day world# consumerism has dominated all the
aspects of life% &he life in the society follows the pattern of the capitalist culture where
the human values have a different measure# <you are known by what you have not by
what you are"%
&his naturally leads to the life in a society where everyone wants to have a uni$ue place
in the society# by possessing the things which sets them apart from the rest of people in
the society%
In present society and living way# the Brands not only represent the symbol of the
company or product but to a larger e'tent define the general life of a person% 1hat the
person uses can reflect his taste of life# his status in the society# his economic background
and many other things% &his makes a deep connection between the company and its
brand# with the consumer% In this two way relation both are dependent on each other for
various different reasons%
In today"s time customers are very deeply connected to the brands% 1hen they purchase
any product like a car# mobile# items of daily need# brand name influence the consumer"s
choice%
)ome customers purchase the specific branded things (ust due to the brand name%
4ustomers believe that brand name is a symbol of $uality%
I found this interesting and wanted to find out whether brand name influences the
consumer choice when they go for purchasing any product% I chose to for the specific
product because
this is one of the products which got my attention because of many reasons%
Initially the car production was dominated by few companies and one or two countries%
1ith the time# the market started to grow and once considered to be lu'urious
commodity# cars became a need
rather than a choice% &his increased the demand and with that many more companies
entered the arena to have their share of profit and e'ploit the growing market% &his made
the companies to put more efforts and money to creating brand awareness of their
product%
1ith the 3uge sum of money and effort invested by the companies to create the
awareness of their brand in the market# many $uestions arise= does this really affect the
purchasing decision
of the customer> 7oes the brand awareness somehow influence the sale of the product>
?tc%
+n the basis of these $uestions# I formulated my problem as follows@
&he purpose of this thesis is to create deeper consideration of what influence a brand
name can have# when people go for purchasing# choose the products between different
brands in automobile industry% .urther I want to identify# if there is a connection between
brands and the consumer decision making process%
I conducted this study based on theories and surveys% I analy,ed the result of the survey
in order to be able to draw conclusions and find answers to my problem%
I came to the conclusion that when consumer purchases a car# brand names influence his
choice% 4ustomers choose the well known branded car among other brands which are
new or not so known%
&he study shows that branded cars have a great place in consumer mind# when customers
go for purchasing a car# they prefer to purchase a well known branded car% 4ustomers do
not want to try new or unknown branded cars because they have no much information
about the
lesser known brand% -sually# people purchase well known branded cars because they
might have heard before about brands or they have some information about them from
other sources%
&his makes customer feel more comfortable during the time of decision making as they
are not so confident about the knowledge they have gathered about the other brands%
&he consumers are very conscious about branded and unbranded cars because they have
the view that branded cars are more reliable than unbranded car% &his study also e'plains
that customers trust the branded cars" $uality% Before purchasing a car people do not
consider the lesser known brand car# as people are very attached to some specific brands%
)ome people are loyal to specific brands# over time they want to purchase the same
branded car because the specific brand has satisfied the customer"s needs and in turn has
gained the trust in the brand name%
I feel that the purpose of this study has been fulfilled to some e'tant% &he theory describe
that brand name has a power# which attracts the customers towards branded products% &he
reason
is that customer gets special connection with specific brands product and become the
loyal with brand%