Revista Científica Interdisciplinaria Investigación y Saberes

2024, Vol. 14, No. 2 e-ISSN: 1390-8146

Published by: Universidad Técnica Luis Vargas Torres

How to cite this article (APA):

Rangel, E., Viteri, A., Bourne, E. (2024) Humanization of the brand and its impact

on the purchasing decision. Case: Espíritu Santo University Technology, Revista Científica Interdisciplinaria

Investigación y Saberes, 14(2) 1-16

Humanization of the brand and its impact on the purchasing decision.

Case: Espíritu Santo University Technology

Humanización de la marca y su impacto en la decisión de compra. Caso: Tecnológico

Universitario Espíritu Santo

Ernesto Wladimir Rangel Luzuriaga

M.Sc. Tecnológico Universitario Espíritu Santo, ewrangel@tes.edu.ec, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3003-

3431

Alexis Estephany Viteri Lozano

M.Sc. Tecnológico Universitario Espíritu Santo, aeviteri@tes.edu.ec, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0037-

8383

Carlos Ermel Bourne Gastezzi

M.Sc. Tecnológico Universitario Espíritu Santo, cebourne@tes.edu.ec, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-

9785-9126

In the digital era, the humanisation of brands emerges as a vital

component to establish emotional connections with their audiences.

This research is a result of the research project Methodology for

measuring positioning through multivariate analysis for the

development of brand value: a business approach. It studies and

explores various strategies implemented by TES (Tecnológico

Universitario Espíritu Santo) to infuse humanity into its brand identity.

It demonstrates how the incorporation of elements of social activities

and the determined use of social media content has contributed

significantly to the positive perception of the TES brand towards

students.

Keywords:

Brand humanisation, emotional marketing, emotional

connection, consumer perception, higher education.

Abstract

Received 2024-02-12

Revised 2024-03-22

Published 2024-05-01

Corresponding Author

Ernesto Rangel Luzuriaga

ewrangel@tes.edu.ec

Pages: 1-16

https://creativecommons.org/lice

nses/by-nc-sa/4.0/

Distributed under

Humanization of the brand and its impact on the purchasing decision. Case: Espíritu Santo

University Technology

Revista Científica Interdisciplinaria Investigación y Saberes , / 2024/ , Vol. 14, No. 2

Resumen

En la era digital, la humanización de marcas emerge como un

componente vital para establecer conexiones emocionales con sus

audiencias. La presente investigación responde a un resultado del

proyecto de investigación Metodología para medir el

posicionamiento por medio del análisis multivariado, para el

desarrollo del valor de marca: un enfoque empresarial. La misma

estudia y explora diversas estrategias implementadas por el TES

(Tecnológico Universitario Espíritu Santo) para infundir humanidad en

su identidad de marca. Se demuestran cómo la incorporación de

elementos actividades sociales y el determinado uso de los

contenidos de las redes sociales ha contribuido significativamente a

la percepción positiva de la marca TES hacia los estudiantes.

Palabras clave:

Humanización de marca, marketing emocional,

conexión emocional, percepción del consumidor, educación superior.

Introduction

The humanisation of the brand is a business strategy whose work

elements are based on empathy and ethics, relating the

socioemotional characteristics of the business (Álvarez, Cristián, &

Páez, 2022). These types of strategies have rejuvenated the

communicational dynamism between brands and their audience,

without leaving aside part of the main objectives proposed by

traditional marketing, such as "the sale of products or services"

(Mendoza Calderon, 2019).

Nowadays, universities and other institutions dedicated to academic

training use brand management strategies to attract, retain and build

customer loyalty; in this case, students whose parents or guardians

pay for their courses (Casanoves & Küster, 2017). Reputation

management is one of the most significant elements in the

construction of messages and content for social networks and

traditional media in marketing. For this, it is important, from the vision

of (Casanoves & Küster, 2017) to build the image of a brand;

Humanization of the brand and its impact on the purchasing decision. Case: Espíritu Santo

University Technology

Revista Científica Interdisciplinaria Investigación y Saberes , / 2024/ , Vol. 14, No. 2

identifying chronological data of the environment that lived, the

customer profile of the 90s, which was immersed in competitiveness

and excessive offers of products and services; and the current

customer, as an urban user with a high mobility and changes in trends

due to the immediacy with which their environment of greater visual

consumption of brands is presented, which is the internet.

It is inevitable that within Marketing 5.0 the brand is not evident in

social networks (Kotler, Kartajaya, & Setiawan, 2021). That is why

authors such as (Gallegos & Gavilanes, 2022) taking as a reference the

studies of Cancelo & Almasa (2013), Gonzalo, Laaser & Toloza (2015)

and Salas et. al, (2022) identify some of the characteristics that are

sustained in the proper management of the brand on social platforms:

Figure 1

Benefits of social networks for Higher Education Institutions

Note. The graph represents the benefits of social networks for Higher

Education Institutions, from Gallegos & Gavilanes (2022) citing the

works of: Social networks in Spanish and Mexican universities, by

Cancelo & Almasa (2013); The use of social networks by universities

at the institutional level. A comparative study by Gonzalo, Laaser and

Toloza (2015); Main effects of advertising on social networks at the

Humanization of the brand and its impact on the purchasing decision. Case: Espíritu Santo

University Technology

Revista Científica Interdisciplinaria Investigación y Saberes , / 2024/ , Vol. 14, No. 2

affective-cognitive level in millennials, by Salas, Martínez, López and

Jiménez (2022).

In addition to building and maintaining a habitat of interaction in the

social media environment as part of Marketing 4.0, (Villalobos, 2020)

points out that the consumer should not only be analysed by the

purchase management in the present, but also by the emotional

management generated by that product or service: before, during

and after the purchase. Brands currently stand out for having their own

expression, but at the same time connected to the innovations that

are generated in the range of their products and services. The

construction of the brand's expressive identity becomes a mirror of

the emotional elements of the company's prospective and loyal

customers (Trujillo & Palacio, 2022).

In the case of universities in Ecuador, the focus of customer attraction

and loyalty or retention is centred on elements such as: The

generation of content on social platforms and institutional website,

the analysis of prices and competitiveness in the prestige of the

academy in relation to the competition; and finally, the treatment of

the student before, during and after their training (Gallegos &

Gavilanes, 2022).

Authors such as (Trujillo & Palacio, 2022) connect brand humanisation

strategies with Experiential Marketing, citing (Schmitt, 2002),

highlighting the five types of experiences called Strategic Experience

Modules, which provide labels to identify some of the strategies

implemented: "1. Sensory experience/feeling, 2. Affective

experience/feeling, 3.

Another of the characteristics highlighted by (Ramirez, 2017) related

to the user's connection with the brand, lies in provoking credibility

and trust in the customer for the company. To this end, the same

author proposes the following:

Humanization of the brand and its impact on the purchasing decision. Case: Espíritu Santo

University Technology

Revista Científica Interdisciplinaria Investigación y Saberes , / 2024/ , Vol. 14, No. 2

Figure 2

. Strategies for the Humanisation of the Business Brand.

Note. Own elaboration.

Likewise, (Ramos, 2021) through his research on the importance of

Social Media Marketing in private educational institutions, takes as a

starting point his results to highlight the elements that he focuses on

as a company dedicated to academic training:

"...Private Educational Institutions applied social media marketing

through the social networks of Facebook and WhatsApp with use of

65.38% and 96.20% respectively, quality management with respect to

the management of strategies leadership (69.23%), costs (84.62%)

and discount (84.61%), in teacher evaluation and administrative staff

84.62% and 80.77% respectively..." (p.7).

On the other hand, brand equity as a company dedicated to higher

educational training must evaluate its development taking into

account 5 axes that determine the learning process of the same; such

as: "...1) birth of the brand, 2) creation of recognition and associations,

3) creation of perceptions of quality and value, 4) emergence of brand

loyalty and 5) launch of brand extensions..." (Casanoves & Küster,

2017, p. 100, citing Gordon, Calantone and Di Benedetto, 1993).

Humanization of the brand and its impact on the purchasing decision. Case: Espíritu Santo

University Technology

Revista Científica Interdisciplinaria Investigación y Saberes , / 2024/ , Vol. 14, No. 2

In Ecuador, at the beginning of 2023, the Municipality of Guayaquil,

through the Public Enterprise of Social Action and Education with the

Secretariat of Higher Education, Science, Technology and Innovation,

signed agreements with several universities and private university

technology centres in the city to grant Scholarships for Academic

Excellence to citizens who have not completed their third level studies

(Empresa Pública de Acción Social y Educación, n.d.). This kind of

encouragement by the autonomous government widened the

accessibility of higher education. Among the list of higher education

institutions subscribed to this agreement are: Tecnológico

Universitario Espíritu Santo, Universidad ECOTEC, Instituto

Tecnológico Bolivariano, among others.

In the case of the Tecnológico Universitario Espíritu Santo, the

Academic Excellence Scholarship programme has brought together a

community of approximately 2000 students in careers such as

administration (Tecnológico Universitario Espíritu Santo, n.d.). Taking

into account that the cost is not an element to generate competition

in attracting clients, due to the fact that its nature is the scholarship of

100% of the cost of the degree, it is important to point out that the

management of the brand is therefore concentrated on the prestige

of the institution.

To establish the message of a higher education institution's prestige

in the audience's retention, it is essential to connect with Marketing

5.0 (Kotler, Kartajaya, & Setiawan, 2021). The construction and

replication of the message on social media becomes the most

important element of work, followed by user retention through

management and quality of service.

Thus, the interest of this research focuses on identifying the elements

involved in the purchase decision by the student who is interested in

the Academic Excellence Scholarship programme offered by the

Tecnológico Universitario Espíritu Santo. Taking into account that this

purchase decision is related to the image of the Tecnológico

Universitario Espíritu Santo as an educational business brand, in the

offer of its online academic training modality.

Humanization of the brand and its impact on the purchasing decision. Case: Espíritu Santo

University Technology

Revista Científica Interdisciplinaria Investigación y Saberes , / 2024/ , Vol. 14, No. 2

Methodology

The research has a quantitative methodology with descriptive and

causal conclusive designs. The aim of the study was to determine the

factors that influenced the students of the Academic Excellence

Scholarship Programme in the purchase decision process, specifically

when choosing Tecnológico Universitario Espíritu Santo (TES) as a

Higher Education Institution to carry out their third level studies. The

aim was to identify how the positioning and recognition of the brand,

as well as its presence in social networks, among other factors,

influenced their choice. In this sense, an exploratory factor analysis

was proposed to identify the different dimensions of purchase choice.

The study population, as of November 2023, is made up of the 1,100

students in the Academic Excellence Scholarship Programme who are

enrolled in the 19 degree programmes offered by TES. The sample

included 312 students and was selected by random sampling with a

finite population of 1,100 students, 95% confidence level,

probabilities of success and failure of 0.5 in each case and a sampling

error of 4.7%. The survey was carried out using the Google Forms

platform and its delivery was channelled through the academic

department.

A self-administered questionnaire (Malhotra, 2016) was applied with

4 closed-ended questions that included demographic variables such

as gender, age, city of origin and the degree course each student is

studying; as well as 29 items that sought to evaluate, on a Likert scale

of 5 categories, the factors that influence their purchase decision.

Once the information on the variables had been collected through the

Google Forms report, it was migrated to the SPSS statistical package

for the respective analysis. The data processing made it possible to

identify 4 different types of student purchasing behaviour depending

on the variables that influenced their choice.

Humanization of the brand and its impact on the purchasing decision. Case: Espíritu Santo

University Technology

Revista Científica Interdisciplinaria Investigación y Saberes , / 2024/ , Vol. 14, No. 2

Results

The information collected was tabulated in the SPSS statistical

package where the descriptive statistics of the demographic variables

were obtained and the exploratory factor analysis was carried out to

identify purchasing behaviours.

The students of the TES Academic Excellence Scholarship Programme

show interesting demographic characteristics when it comes to

knowing their profile more closely. Thus, it was established that

67.95% are female and 32.05% are male. Their ages range from 18 to

53 years old and their distribution by ranges is shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3.

Age range of the students of the TES Academic Excellence

Scholarship Programme.

Note. Own elaboration.

96.8% of students are from the city of Guayaquil. In terms of preferred

careers, 13.1% studied Quality and Productivity, 11.9% Sales, and the

same percentage of 9.9% studied Marketing and Commercial

Management and Accounting and Taxation. Table 2 shows this

distribution:

Humanization of the brand and its impact on the purchasing decision. Case: Espíritu Santo

University Technology

Revista Científica Interdisciplinaria Investigación y Saberes , / 2024/ , Vol. 14, No. 2

Table 1.

Careers preferred by the students of the Academic

Excellence Scholarship of the Tecnológico Universitario Espíritu

Santo.

Note. Own elaboration.

For Malhotra (2016) factor analysis is a technique used to reduce and

synthesise data. Relationships between sets of many linked variables

are examined and presented in a few factors. For example, the image

of a brand can be measured and respondents are asked to evaluate

several items on a Likert scale. These ratings are then analysed to

determine the factors on which that image is based.

For this research, the factor analysis allowed us to determine which

attributes or factors influenced students to choose TES as a study

centre. It also made it possible to identify four types of consumption

behaviour based on these attributes.

When the factor analysis was carried out in the SPSS statistical

package, it was observed that the KMO statistic, which is the measure

of sample adequacy, yielded a value of 0.956, which, being very close

to unity, indicates an excellent adequacy of the study data to a factor

analysis model. Barlett's test of sphericity, with its p-value of 0.000,

shows that the null hypothesis that the initial variables are not

Humanization of the brand and its impact on the purchasing decision. Case: Espíritu Santo

University Technology

Revista Científica Interdisciplinaria Investigación y Saberes , / 2024/ , Vol. 14, No. 2

correlated in the population is not significant. These two statistics,

shown in table 2, verify that the factor analysis is adequate for the

proposed model of purchasing behaviour.

Table 2.

KMO statistic and Barlett's test of sphericity.

Note. Own elaboration.

To determine how many factors should be included in the model,

those whose eigenvalues are greater than 1.0 were chosen, in this

particular case there are 4. Confirming this decision, the explained

variance of these 4 factors is greater than 60% (Pérez, 2004). It can

therefore be stated that it has been possible to identify 4 types of

purchasing behaviour. Table 4 shows this analysis:

Table 3.

Methods for identifying the number of factors

Note. Own elaboration.

Humanization of the brand and its impact on the purchasing decision. Case: Espíritu Santo

University Technology

Revista Científica Interdisciplinaria Investigación y Saberes , / 2024/ , Vol. 14, No. 2

If the factors that influenced the purchase decision are analysed, 4

types of consumer behaviour types were identified: those who attach

importance to educational aspects in general; those who attach

importance to brand positioning, reputation and aspiration; those

who attach importance to innovation and educational programmes;

and, those who attach importance to brand valuation and reputation

in social networks.

The first type of behaviour, students who attach importance to

educational aspects in general, is mainly influenced by the following

factors: experience and professionalism of professors; job

opportunities for graduates; available infrastructure and resources;

participation in exchange programmes; student support services;

participation in social projects; quality of student life; availability of

bibliographic resources; collaboration with companies; and, flexibility

to customise the curriculum.

For the second type of behaviour, students who attach importance to

the positioning, reputation and aspiration of the TES brand, the

following factors influence: reputation and image; recognition for

offering high quality academic programmes; ease of choice because

of the perceived value of the brand; the security of choice conveyed

by the brand; the image and values conveyed by the brand and

representing what they aspire to be in the future; the reputation for

academic excellence; and, variety of academic programmes.

The third type of purchasing behaviour, students who attach

importance to innovation and educational programmes, is influenced

by the following factors: the offer of academic programmes that

match their interests and goals; the use of modern and efficient

technological platforms and their incorporation into the learning

process; the offer of innovative and up-to-date degree programmes;

the offer of resources and programmes for personal and professional

development; and agreements and direct connection with the

business world.

Finally, for the fourth type of consumption behaviour, students who

attach importance to the valuation and reputation of the brand in

social networks, the following factors are important: the opinion of

friends and family; the opinions and recommendations of influencers

Humanization of the brand and its impact on the purchasing decision. Case: Espíritu Santo

University Technology

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and other experts in social networks; the active presence of the TES

in social networks; and, the information, comments, experiences and

interactions in social networks with other people.

Table 4 shows the rotated component matrix with the 4 types of

purchase behaviour, as well as the factors or attributes that influenced

each case. Figure 4 shows the spatial location of the 4 types of

shopping behaviour.

Table 4.

Matrix of rotated components with the types of purchasing

behaviour.

Note. Own elaboration.

Humanization of the brand and its impact on the purchasing decision. Case: Espíritu Santo

University Technology

Revista Científica Interdisciplinaria Investigación y Saberes , / 2024/ , Vol. 14, No. 2

Figure 4.

Spatial location of the 4 types of buying behaviour

Note. Own elaboration.

Conclusions

In this study, it was corroborated that the positioning of the TES brand

(Tecnológico Universitario Espíritu Santo) on social networks was a

determining factor for students when choosing the educational

institution to access the scholarship. Álvarez, et. al (2002) emphasises

the importance of marketing strategies used by higher education

institutions to increase the attraction of potential students.

On the other hand, Casanoves & Küster (2017) highlight that the

prestige of universities lies mainly in the proper management of

content on social networks, which help to build the image of a brand.

TES (Tecnológico Universitario Espíritu Santo), according to the

Humanization of the brand and its impact on the purchasing decision. Case: Espíritu Santo

University Technology

Revista Científica Interdisciplinaria Investigación y Saberes , / 2024/ , Vol. 14, No. 2

results of the survey conducted in this study, has been able to reach

students with clear and precise messages through its social networks,

which influenced the decision of applicants to determine which

institution they would like to join.

However, it was the participation in social activities and the impact of

the community work carried out by TES, which is also communicated

on social networks, that helped to identify students as an institution

with a humanistic character, which at the same time encouraged

applicants to be part of an academic, social and entrepreneurial

project.

The present research provides an opportunity to learn about the

impact of social outreach activities on students when choosing a

higher education institution. However, it has only been possible to

demonstrate this in the case of TES; it would be interesting to know

the situation of other higher education institutions and be able to

make a comparison of student perception and analyse the variables

of choice in relation to the brand that each institution reflects.

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