Crossing the border: changes in self and brands

Purpose Migration shapes our societies, values, markets, consumption and even the notion of self. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of migration in the perception-of-self and if differences in the perception-of-self influence the perception of brands from the immigrants’ home country – which immigrants often use as a cultural anchor. Design/methodology/approach Using Aaker’s (1997) brand personality scale as a measure of brand image, the authors gather data from Mexico City and the Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area. Respondents to an interviewer-administered questionnaire were asked to evaluate the brand image of two TV media Mexican brands and their perception-of-self based on Aaker’s 42 brand personality traits. Findings The results of this paper indicate that the perception-of-self is different for Latinos residing in their home country and immigrant Latinos living abroad. Further, these differences in the perception-of-self appear to influence the way immigrants perceive brands from their home country. Practical implications Brands from emerging markets making inroads into developed markets, targeting their country’s diasporas as their first target group, should understand whether people’s perception-of-self differs significantly from their home country counterparts, the direction of such a difference and the effect of such differences on the perceptions of brands from their home country. Originality/value This paper is a contribution to the brand personality, brand image and self literature and presents an innovative approach to analyzing the possible brand image implications of the expansion of multinational companies and immigration.