Using brand alliances with artists to expand retail brand personality

Fashion retailers are increasingly entering into brand alliances with visual artists, but the conditions under which such alliances are most effective are not clear. Drawing on brand personality and implicit personality theory, we used two experimental studies to show both negative (dilution of retailer's original personality) and positive (expansion of personality) effects. Study 1 demonstrated that retail brand personality was diluted when the visual artist had a strongly incongruent personality, while it was expanded when the artist had a personality moderately incongruent to the retailer's brand, but only for consumers who hold an incremental theorist view of personality. Study 2 showed that consumers' implicit theory beliefs can be primed to design the intended personality of retail brands through artist partnerships. Our findings suggest visual artists are an untapped source of value that retailers can exploit to create differentiated brand personalities as a way to gain a greater market appeal.