The Impact of Visiting a Brand Website on Brand Personality

Abstract

What are the effects of forced exposure to the brand website on perceived brand personality? An experiment with random assignment to exposure vs. control (non‐exposure) groups for ten websites is analysed. Three covariates are included to test their impact on brand personality after website exposure: product type (utilitarian/functional vs. auto‐expressive), enduring involvement with the product category and attitude toward the website. The results of this study show significant differences between exposed and non‐exposed individuals. Two dimensions of brand personality (youthfulness/modernity and sincerity/confidence) increase after exposure to the brand website. In addition, the brand is perceived younger and more modern when a visitor to the site has a positive attitude toward the brand's website than when s/he has a negative attitude toward the website. This reinforces the perception of the brand as being more sincere and trustworthy, which is particular important for e‐commerce websites.