International Business Research; Vol. 12, No. 2; 2019 ISSN 1913-9004 E-ISSN 1913-9012 Published by Canadian Center of Science and Education 21 Brand Personification: A Study on Humanizing Personal Care Products in Sri Lanka Sumudu N. Munasinghe 1,2 1 Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing, Colombo, Sri Lanka 2 Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology, Colombo, Sri Lanka Correspondence: Sumudu N. Munasinghe, Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Received: December 7, 2018 Accepted: January 7, 2019 Online Published: January 11, 2019 doi:10.5539/ibr.v12n2p21 URL: https://doi.org/10.5539/ibr.v12n2p21 Abstract In the context of marketing communications where the concern is to create effective brand promotions, associating a brand with the personality of the consumers commonly known brand personification has become one of the most prominent aspects over recent years. In the process of designing the message, incorporating an appeal where the brand is associated to a human-like character is called the humanization of brands in advertising. There, the brand focuses on attracting the consumers with a reflection of the consumer‟s personality in the brand being promoted. This strategy becomes thousand times more attractive to those products which are closely associated with the consumers. Thus, humanizing a brand alone isn‟t sufficient, while humanizing them in the appropriate appealing manner is much more vital. Hence, this research will mainly be focusing on identifying the most suitable personality dimension to be associated for some of the top of mind personal care brands in Sri Lanka. The research approach, which takes the form of both quantitative and qualitative follows the use of multiple sources of data collection methods. The qualitative aspect clarifies the initial stage with the identification of the top of mind personal care brands and the personality dimensions which are closely associated with the targeted group. The quantitative aspect of the study is satisfied via the data gathered through a self-administered questionnaire developed by the researcher. The study then focuses upon an in-depth statistical analysis with the application of the Kruskal Wallis H Test followed by the Nemeyni Post Hoc test to identify the most suitable personality dimension to be associated with each brand in the humanizing them. The findings reveal some interesting facts over the consumer‟s preferred dimensions to be reflected on those brands. Keywords: brand personification, personality, humanization of brands, personal care products 1. Introduction From a marketing communications perspective, the marketers are faced with the challenge of designing promotions which are not only attractive, but appealing too. In this context, making it appealing involves putting an effort to differentiate the offering in a unique way, not only for it to be preferred, but to be preferred and picked over the competitive offerings as well. Brand personality serves as a differentiator, giving competitive edge to the marketers. In a world, where the competitors can easily copy features and price, the associated personality cannot be or can minimally be duplicated. By creating a favorable and a liked brand personality, it helps to set the brand apart. Brand Personality, also serves as a liability in building and maintaining the corporate image. The failure or inability to maintain a favorable brand image that would match and appeal to the consumers in the best possible way will ultimately, result in a loss of interest by the consumers in products, resulting them to move in to alternatives. 1.1 Current situation of the Study and the Problem Statement In Sri Lanka, a wide variety of personal care brands are available from a number of different manufacturers. Among them, the highest number of personal care brands are manufactured and marketed by Unilever Sri Lanka and Hemas Holdings. The personal care products, which comes under the “Fast and quick to leave” category commonly known as Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG), consist of some other product categories as well. These personal care products can again be classified in to skincare, haircare, fragrances, cosmetics and oral care products. According to the data published in LMRB household panel, Unilever Sri Lanka owns the highest