PEPPER IN OTHER’S EYES IS... CHILLI BEANS! BRAND PERSONALITY AT CONSUMERS “EYES”

Abstract

More and more organizations seek to establish links between their brands and consumers as value construction strategy in pursuit to establish exchanges. Within the academy, this point appears in studies located at the intersection between branding and relationship marketing. To this end, brand personality, referred to the assignment of human characteristics to it, serves as a primary notion in foresting this link. Present study investigates the perception of Chilli Beans’ consumers, the Latin America’s sunglasses largest seller, about the brand. Thou, the objective of this research was to identify and evaluate human characteristics that make up Chilli Beans’ personality based on its consumers’ perspective. The research is characterized as an exploratory qualitative study, conducted through in depth interviews and analyzed using functional discourse analysis. Our findings indicate thirteen categories that, in their relations, propitiated us to identify three profiles that make up the brand ontic characteristics. Theoretical and practical implications, as well as directions for future research, are considered.