An application of brand personality dimensions to container ports: A place branding perspective

Abstract

In the light of developments in port competition and the need for differentiation in port services, branding has become a vital issue for seaport organizations. As of the critical nodes in global supply chain systems, seaports need to attract and retain customers through their marketing activities. This can be achieved by building a strong brand, communicating the brand's message properly, and enriching the message with brand personality components for successful positioning. This study analyzes how ports' brand personalities differ across geographical regions and how the brand personality of each port reveals the branding strategies of seaports. The study's multistage methodology consists of a longitudinal content analysis of Twitter messages of certain selected container ports and multiple correspondence analyse to determine the relationships between ports and different regions. The Twitter messages of the selected ports have been content analyzed and brand personality has been measured through Aaker's (1997) brand personality model and Opuku's (2005) dictionary of synonyms. The findings show that seaports develop clear and distinctive brand personalities alongside brand images,they also reveal a high level of isomorphism on the specific brand personality dimension.