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Cet article a pour objectif de mieux comprendre l'évolution des marques. La problématique qui nous intéresse ici est celle de l'impact de l'extension de marque sur la marque. La théorie du noyau central, issue de travaux sur les représentations sociales, permet tout d'abord d'envisager la marque comme un objet social organisé autour d'un noyau central et d'un système périphérique. l'étude empirique montre que l'incohérence entre l'extension et les associations centrales de la marque modifie l'évaluation de la marque. Par ailleurs, l'étude suggère que la distinction de la cohérence de l'extension avec le noyau et le système périphérique de la marque est mieux à même d'expliquer l'évolution de l'évaluation de la marque que le degré de typicalité de l'extension dans la marque.

Personifying a brand through the use of a spokesperson is a strategy that some companies use to humanize their brands. Three of the ways that such personification is accomplished in advertising is by ads featuring celebrities, “regular people” (such as everyday consumers or persons employed by the brand), and company founders or CEOs as spokespeople. Using a sampling of representative print ads as stimuli, this exploratory qualitative research probed consumer thinking and perceptions regarding these various approaches to brand personification. It was found that celebrities could magically transport consumers to an idealized place, provided there was congruence between the celebrity and the brand. Ordinary people as spokespeople, when genuinely perceived as “one of us,” could be particularly effective in humanizing a brand and eliciting empathy. Famous CEOs and company founders were revered by many respondents who viewed them as aspirational models: they are ordinary people with an extraordinary story. The implications and limitations of the research were discussed, and some directions for future research were provided.

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