Brand personality and brand equity: evidence from the sportswear industry

Purpose - This paper aims to explore the personalities of sportswear brands and their relationship to brand equity using Aaker's methodology in the context of sportswear brands. Design/methodology/approach - This paper used Aaker's brand personality framework to empirically investigate the personality of sportswear brands and the impact of brand personality on brand equity based on data collected from 420 college students. Findings - Results revealed that the personality of sportswear brands can be described in seven dimensions and 53 personality traits: competence, attractiveness, sincerity, innovation, activity, excitement and ruggedness. The study identified that four dimensions among all the seven personality dimensions, namely, competence, attractiveness, Sincerity and innovation, are the positive and significant contributing factors to the creation and enhancement of sportswear brand equity. Originality/value - This study makes an important contribution to the understanding of brand personality and brand equity in the context of sportswear brands. It confirmed that consumers do associate particular brand personality dimensions with sportswear brands, and certain dimensions of brand personality have a direct impact on brand equity. The study showed that not all brand personality dimensions have the same influence in increasing the value of a sportswear brand from a consumer perspective, some dimensions being more efficient than others. The findings provide insights as to what dimensions of brand personality would deliver the best result in today's competitive sportswear market.