Analysis of the Masculine and Feminine Brand Personality and the Customer-based Brand ‎Equity on Instagram Pages of Fast-moving Consumer Goods

Today's consumers do not only pay attention to the functional aspects of the product when making decisions, they involve the symbolic aspect of the brand in their decisions in many cases due to the multiplicity of products and also the improvement of the quality of different products. The strong presence of today's humans in social networks is also a good opportunity for brands to interact more with their customers. With their presence in this space, they transform themselves from a functional product to a personality that interacts with customers. Customer-centric brand equity in the context of social media is defined as the ability to create a psychological state in the minds of consumers in interaction with the brand. In this study, the relationship between customer-based brand equity and the dimensions of brand gender (as a dimension of brand personality) which is a symbolic and non-functional aspect of the brand, was investigated in the context of Instagram. In addition to the direct relationship between these two variables, the effect of gender personality dimensions of the brand on customer-based brand equity was measured through two variables of brand love and brand emotional interaction. To assess the relationship, 391 questionnaires were completed by active Instagram users of FMCG brands. The results using structural equation modeling showed that the two dimensions of brand masculinity and femininity, both directly and indirectly, through the two variables of brand love and consumer emotional interaction have a positive and significant effect on customer-centric brand equity.