In the last section, we talked quite a bit about the self concept. So in this section we'll dive in a little deeper, and talk about some of these relationships between the self and brands. Because it's true that we often find convergence between how people think about themselves and the products they choose. So let's return to the question I posed at the beginning of the module, are we what we by the famous psychologist William James, I think said it best way back in 1890. A man self is the sum total of all that he can call his and that was before the age of iPhones and diesel genes. self image congruence models suggest that we choose products, when their attributes match some aspect of the self and when we choose a product that we think is aesthetically pleasing This choice makes us feel better about ourselves as well.

Indeed, recent research that measures consumers brainwaves show that when a person has a close relationship with a brand, this activates the insula, a brain area responsible for addiction, loss aversion, and interpersonal love. Of course, in the age of the internet, a lot of what we post says quite a bit about who we are as individuals, but also about the brands that we like. And those online photos may be a lot more public than you think. Especially as marketers are finding interesting new ways to mine that information that helps them understand more about the way consumers think about their brands. So digital marketing companies can scan photo sharing sites like Instagram, Flickr and Pinterest. When they work for major advertisers, some of them use software to scan all the photos that we post in order to identify.

For example, whether a person is holding a brand with a logo like a coke can, and if so, what the person is doing in the picture. This information is used to send targeted messages to consumers, and to provide feedback to clients about how people are actually using their brands in the real world. For example, Kraft Foods pays a company to find out what people drink when they eat macaroni and cheese. congruence models assume a process of cognitive matching between product attributes and the consumer self image. Over time, we tend to form relationships with products that strongly resemble the bonds we create with other people. These include love Or unrequited love that is we yearn for it but can't have it, respect and perhaps even fear or hate, which is why many people wonder, why is my computer out to get me?

Researchers even report that after consumers break up with a brand, stop using it or abandon it. They tend to develop strong negative feelings about the brand and they'll go to great lengths to discredit it, including bad mouthing it on social media, and at times, even vandalism. years of research largely support the idea of congruence between product usage and self image. The ad you see here is one of my favorites. It's from Brazil, and it really reinforces the old folk saying that we tend to look like our pets as we get older. One of the earliest studies to examine this process found that car owners ratings of themselves tended to match their perceptions of their cars.

Pontiac drivers saw themselves as more active and flashy than did Volkswagen drivers for example. Indeed, a more recent German study found that observers were able to match photos of male and female drivers to pictures of the cars they drove almost 70% of the time. Researchers also report congruence between consumers and their most preferred brands of beer, soap, toothpaste, and cigarettes, relative to their least preferred brands, as well as between consumers self images, and their favorite stores. So the takeaway is that customers relate to products and services in human terms. They will form relationships with brands that offer the qualities they seek and other people. Furthermore, researchers have discovered that there are certain apps attributes that are particularly likely to be used when people think about personality traits and about the traits of brands.

These include rugged versus delicate, excitable versus calm, rational versus emotional, and formal versus informal. People use an individual's consumption behaviors to figure out that person's social identity. In addition to checking out a person's clothes and grooming habits, we make inferences about personality, based on his or her choice of leisure activities, for example, squash versus bowling, or food preferences Do they like tofu and beans versus steak and potatoes, or cars or home decorating choices? When researchers show people pictures of someone's living room, for example, study participants make surprisingly accurate guesses about the occupants personality. One increasingly popular promotional tactic that is based on this realization is sometimes known as identity marketing. This is a promotional strategy that he encourages consumers to literally alter some aspect of their bodies in order to advertise for a branded product.

So, for example, Air New Zealand created cranial billboards. In exchange for a round trip ticket to New Zealand, participants shaved their heads and walked around with an ad for the airline on their skulls. temporary tattoos or brand logos are very common these days. And indeed, this idea is actually not very new bubble gum companies way back in the 19th century, distributed crudely made versions of these tattoos and then In 1890, cracker jack use them as one of their prize in every box promotions. More recently, Reebok set up a pop up tattoo shop at an event in Sweden, and gave away thousands of dollars in prizes to the fan, who agreed to get the biggest version of the brand's new triangle logo tattooed on their body. Let's just say that the lucky winner who is shown in this picture, is Reeboks for life.

Objects act as a security blanket when they reinforce our identities, especially in unfamiliar situations. For example, students who decorate their dorm rooms with personal items are less likely to drop out of college. This coping process may protect the self from being diluted in a strange environment. When a pair of researchers asked children of various ages to create Who am I collages for which they chose pictures That represented themselves. Older kids between middle childhood and early adolescence, inserted more photos of branded merchandise. adolescent boys, for example, may use macho products such as cars and cigarettes to bolster a developing sense of masculinity.

So these items act as a social crutch, during a period of uncertainty about their new identity as adult males. As we mature into a role, we actually rely less on the products people associate with it. When kids start to skateboard, for example, they often invest in pro skateboard decks with graphics and branding that cost between 40 and $70. Even without the trucks that is the wheels and axles. But to the chagrin of the skateboard industry, as they get more serious about boarding, many think it's just fine to buy blank decks. The plain wood boards that cost only $15 to $30.

The takeaway is that identity marketing, ironically, is often compensatory. This means that beginners are more attracted to expressive products than our experts. So when you're thinking about selling branded products that are highly identifiable with a particular identity, you may want to think about targeting people who are relatively new at playing that identity versus those who are more accomplished.