Investigation of the intermediate role of brand identification in the effect of brand experience on brand loyalty

We live in a rapidly developing world. Rapidly changing and developing environment and technological developments have brought competition. Intense and ruthless competition conditions prevail in the world market and failure to follow these developments even for a moment will lead to the extinction of companies. Firms have tried to develop various marketing activities in order to compete under these intense market conditions. The desire of companies to create a difference between products has led to the emergence of the concept of branding. In today's rapidly developing world, keeping up with the developments, taking place in the rapidly growing market and competing with competitors in the market can only be achieved by creating strong brands. The concept of creating strong brands also means creating trusted brands. Being a trusted brand is also a very important concept today as it will bring loyal customers along with it. Consumers develop loyalty to the brand through this bond. Creating a successful brand can only be achieved by positioning the brand differently from its competitors in consumer perception. By determining what the consumer expects from a brand, the product should be differentiated against competitors by considering competing products. Successful brands can only be created by knowing what consumers want and developing products and services accordingly. The purpose of this study is to examine the mediating role of brand identification on the effect of brand experience on brand loyalty. When examined in the literature, there are many studies in which brand experience, brand loyalty and brand identification variables are frequently used, but there is no research that uses these variables together. Therefore, the use of related variables together will contribute to the literature. The research phase consists of people who continue their life activities in Ağrı city center. The sample of the research consists of 200 people randomly selected from certain age groups in Ağrı province center. In the research, brand experience has a direct effect on brand loyalty, while brand identification has a partial mediating effect. Businesses need to develop and support various communication channels in order to continue their existence and create brand love. Keywords: Brand Experience, Brand Loyalty, Brand Identification, Structural Equation Modeling