This book explores ways to drive and increase a brand¿s most important property, its equity. Focussing on gender, the author analyses the impact of assigning personalities and characteristics to products and how this can affect the management of brands on a global scale. Using detailed examples, the author argues that brands with low masculine and feminine characteristics have the lowest equity, whilst brands with both high feminine and masculine characteristics are shown to have the strongest equity. Including notions of androgyny in brands, this significant study reveals the different factors which can affect a brand being perceived as either masculine or feminine. Aiming to develop a comprehensive theory and provide practitioners with a guide to increasing the equity of their brands, this controversial and pioneering book lays the foundation for creating a global brand personality model.

1. A Brand as a Person.- 2. Gender and Ease of Categorization.- 3. Global Branding with Brand Gender and Brand Equity.- 4. Adrogyny, Consumers' Biological Sex, and Cultural Differences.- 5. Brand Gender and Equity through Brand Design.- 6. Creating a Strong Sports Shoe Brand.- 7. The Independent Gender Effects of Logo, Product, and Brand.- 8. Product Gender and Product Evaluation.- 9. Salesperson Gender Follows Brand Gender.- 10. Brand Gender and Brand Alliance.- 11. How to Create a Personality Scale,- 12. The Effect of Brand Gender on Brand Equity - A Simple Fallacy?.- 13. Summary, Discussion, and Conclusion.

Theo Lieven is Adjunct Professor of Marketing at the Institute for Customer Insight, University Of St. Gallen, Switzerland. Previously, he founded a computer company which grew to be one of the largest European retailers in 1996, and has studied management and economics.¿