The brand personality of rocks: A critical evaluation of a brand personality scale

Abstract

Aaker’s (1997) brand personality (BP) scale is widely used in research and is an important foundation for the theory of BP. Building on extant critiques of the scale, this article considers the possibility that Aaker’s (1997) scale methodology ‘creates’ the BP that it measures. Using pictures of rocks as stimuli, this article applies the principles of Aaker’s methodology to examine the BP of rocks. Rocks are the chosen stimuli as they do not have any obvious commonalities with brands, or have antecedents to BP formation. Findings revealed that each of the rock stimuli has a distinct BP and that the personality is developed from sometimes surprisingly detailed personifications. In consideration of the importance of Aaker’s scale in the development of the BP concept, the findings raise questions about its conceptualisation and emphasises the importance of critical examination of the methods used to measure marketing concepts.