COGNITIVE, EXPERIENTIAL, AND MARKETING FACTORS MEDIATE THE EFFECT OF BRAND PERSONALITY ON BRAND EQUITY

Many researchers have investigated the effects of brand personality on brand equity; however, the antecedent factors contributing to the development of brand personality have been largely ignored. We aimed to bridge this research gap by integrating cognitive, experiential, and marketing factors as antecedents to explore the effect of brand personality on the relationship between these antecedents and brand equity. Participants were 292 cosmetics users in Taiwan, who were asked to identify the cosmetic brands they favored, then interviewed about their perception of a brand they had mentioned. Results indicated that cognitive, experiential, and marketing factors all had significant effects on brand equity, and that brand personality served as a key mediator increasing the influence of these antecedents on brand equity. Our findings offer a reference point for academics to conduct further empirical validation studies, and for professionals to develop appropriate branding strategies in the cosmetics marketplace.