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Who are we? The impacts of anthropomorphism and the humanization of nonprofits on brand personality

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Abstract

In recent years, research on the impact of an organization’s brand personality has increased dramatically. Scholars have devoted significant time to devising multiple methods of measuring brand personality, but have often ignored anthropomorphism, an approach favored by anthropologists and sociologists. By attributing human characteristics and traits to non-human entities, such as organizations, personalities are assigned to the brand. Scholars have found that organizations with brand personalities that resembled the consumer were more likely to see customer loyalty and increased sales from the consumer. Nonprofit scholars have identified brand personalities of well-known nonprofit organizations and have linked their brand personalities to fundraising contributions and intentions to donate. This study furthers brand personality studies pertaining to nonprofit organizations by using a intercept survey of 240 adults in the Southeastern United States to determine what the anthropomorphized version of nonprofit organizations would be. Additionally, the perceived version of the nonprofit is compared with the participants’ own demographics data to determine the level of social distance the individual has with the individual they imagine when they think about the nonprofits. Results of the study indicate that the greater the social distance between the individual and the nonprofit, the more likely the individual will not become involved with volunteering, donating, or information-seeking behaviors. The implications of these findings are discussed with a focus on what marketing practitioners can do to craft messages and design community outreach efforts to improve their brand personality and how the public perceives their nonprofit organization.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Communication, North Carolina State University, Winston Hall, Campus Box 8104, Raleigh, NC, 27695-8104, USA

    Rachel C. Stinnett & Eva E. Hardy

  2. School of Management, University of San Francisco, 2130 Fulton Street, San Francisco, CA, 94117, USA

    Richard D. Waters

Authors
  1. Rachel C. Stinnett
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  2. Eva E. Hardy
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  3. Richard D. Waters
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Correspondence to Richard D. Waters.

Additional information

Resubmitted to the International Review on Public and Nonprofit Sector Marketing, May, 2012.

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Stinnett, R.C., Hardy, E.E. & Waters, R.D. Who are we? The impacts of anthropomorphism and the humanization of nonprofits on brand personality. Int Rev Public Nonprofit Mark 10, 31–48 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12208-012-0087-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12208-012-0087-z

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