Constructing a combined brand identity

Abstract

Identity has acquired the status of a key concept in social, cultural and economic contexts, because it affects the formation of human values, beliefs, preferences and behavior, in particular, consumer behavior. Moreover, consumption itself has long been a stable form of organizing social life, as it focuses on almost all social positions, becoming an almost ideal identifier. Because of this, the research of the target audience is considered the basis of bran­ding, because its coincidence with the brand identity significantly increases consumer loyalty to the brand. On the other hand, brands tend to become part of the consumerʼs self-concept, influencing his values and lifestyle. It highlights the different roles of identity as an influencer (consumer on the brand) and as an object of influence (brand on the consumer). The search for ways to achieve a balance between consumer identity and brand identity outlined the research hypothesis, that systemic and structural app­roach will allow taking into account all elements of the consumerʼs identity in the process of brand identity formation and bring the "brand-consumer" relationship to a new emotional level through the construction of a complex, joint identity. Based on the methods of scientific ana­lysis and synthesis, conceptualization and struc­tural modelling, the key components of consumer identity and brand identity were identified. The structure of the consumerʼs identity has been improved by supplementing it with goals and ambitions of the consumer. A categorical apparatus of brand management has been developed due to the introduction of the concept of "combined brand identity", the starting condi­tion for the construction of which is the analysis of the consumerʼs identity. The result of the proposed system-structural approach is a gene­ralized matrix that allows forming a combi­ned brand identity through a combination of diffe­rent level factors of consumer identity and constituent elements of brand identity. The appli­cation of a system-structural approach will provide a detailed analysis of various consumer segments and will allow determining which elements of the consumerʼs identity should be reproduced in the brand for each segment. This will help to transform the brandʼs partnership with the consumer into a vital priority based on emotional intelligence