Athlete Identification and Brand Personality States

Abstract

By integrating social identity theory with brand personality, the authors test a model of how perceptions of athlete human brands affect consumer’s level of cognitive identification. The authors contend that contrary to the trait schema of human personality, brand personality is a state rather than a trait. States are temporary, brief and caused by external circumstances, while traits are stable, long-lasting and internally caused. The findings suggest that consumers view athletes as human brands with unique personality states that influence consumer perceptions. Additional findings demonstrate that athlete prestige and distinctiveness leads to the evaluation of athlete identification.