A charming little Cabernet

Purpose The purpose of this research is to examine the impact of brand personality on purchase intent and the influence of three design elements of wine labels on brand personality. Design/methodology/approach Participants made brand personality judgments and rated their purchase intent for subsets of 90 experimental wine labels, which varied along the dimensions of color, illustration, and design layout. Findings Brand personality explained nearly half of the variance in purchase intent, with the facets successful, charming, spirited, and up‐to‐date being most strongly correlated with purchase intent. Of the three dimensions of visual design studied, the illustration used on the label had the greatest impact on both purchase intent and perceptions of brand personality. Research limitations/implications This study used a proxy to measure purchase intent and studied only a subset of brand personality facets, limiting the generality of findings. Practical implications This research offers brand managers a potential means of evaluating prospective designs in terms of their likely impact on purchase intent and consumer perceptions of brand personality, and suggests general guidelines for the design of product line extensions from a successful label design. Originality/value This research helps brand managers and packaging designers to leverage brand personality research and evaluate the effectiveness of new designs.