Brand intimacy is defined as the level of emotional connection a brand has with its customers.[1] The theory specifically focuses on a customer’s emotional relationship with a brand, positing that customers who have strong brand intimacy with a given brand have a powerful, positive emotional connection with that brand.
Brand intimacy model
Brand intimacy is centered around the theory that in order for a brand to succeed, it must appeal and connect with a customer’s emotions in a deep and meaningful way.[1][2] The model defines six characteristics commonly found in brands that have an emotionally intimate relationship with its customers. These are called archetypes and include: Fulfillment, Identity, Enhancement, Ritual, Nostalgia and Indulgence.[3]
The model also measures the strength of the bonds between brand and customer. This is defined in a series of stages of increasing emotional connection or intimacy between customer and brand. These stages of increasing Brand Intimacy are: sharing, bonding and fusing. [4] The model quantifies the intimacy between customer and brand through a Brand Intimacy Quotient.[5]
