“Brand building and relationships between marketing communication perceptions and brand personality of the Bangsaen 42 Chonburi Marathon running event”

The Bangsaen 42 Chonburi Marathon is the most attended full-marathon event in Thailand and a high-standard running event classified as the World Athletics Elite Label Road Race. The increase in runners reflected the response from both regular and new runners. This mixed methods study aimed to analyze branding processes, marketing communication perceptions, brand personality, and the relationships between perceptions of marketing communication and brand personality. The qualitative approach involved in-depth interviews with three key informants. A quantitative approach was applied to the questionnaire. The sample included 400 runners who participated in this event using nonprobability sampling. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Pearson’s correlation statistics, with a significance level of 0.05. The results showed three brand-building processes: 1) strategic brand analysis of runners’ needs, organizing marathon running events in Thailand, and self-analysis; 2) brand identity system under the only marathon running event in Thailand with world-class standards under the concept of “The passion of world-class marathon” and brand value of “You will run a full marathon with world-class standard;” 3) brand identity implementation systems through various media to demonstrate sound management. This sample group perceived marketing communication at a moderate level, and the perceptions of brand personality of the marathon met the competence the most. The relationships between marketing communication and perceptions of sincerity were positively correlated, with a correlation coefficient of 0.46 and a statistical significance of 0.05.


INTRODUCTION
During market competition with the increasing number of products or services nowadays, a product brand plays a significant role in doing business because consumers will recall the distinctive and recognizable brand as the priority.A brand represents the product or service of that company, resulting from the making of the product or service by the marketer by creating an identity and image for the brand.As a result, the brand seems unique and different from others, as well as having meaning and value in the minds of consumers, leading to the brand's reputation (Boonchutima & Rungwimolsin, 2017).Brands are important to manufacturers, suppliers, and consumers, as they help consumers see the differences between products and help build con-

LITERATURE REVIEW AND HYPOTHESIS
A strong brand can create added value for the products or services of that business due to unique identity creation and attributes.This is a way to differentiate and make consumers remember a brand.Branding is generated from 1. Attribute, which refers to the appearance of the product that makes it memorable; 2. Benefits, which refer to the properties of the product; 3. Value, which refers to the feeling that customers receive from the product; and 4. Personality, which refers to the identity of the brand.
Aaker (1996) stated that strategic brand analysis consists of three sub-steps: consumer analysis, competitor analysis, and self-analysis.In accordance with Temporal (2002), branding starts with marketing.The heart of branding was to study the inside-out, how consumers perceive the brand, and what attitudes and behaviors customers have when buying or using products to use that information to create an opportunity to develop products to meet the needs of consumers.Brand identity system consists of four sub-steps: core identity and extend identity, brand value proposition, credibility, and brand-customer relationships.Temporal (2002) also mentioned that the brand value proposition was important and necessary for branding.However, the branding strategy did not represent the value of brand by utilizing various benefits from the functional benefit of the brand, and consumers did not buy or use products by using rational thought as the basis for decision, but emotional capital instead.So, the brand value proposition must bring emotional benefit and self-express benefit of consumers as a branding strategy.Brand identity implementation system consists of three sub-steps: brand positioning, active communication together with alternative communication, and tracking.According to Kapferer (2008), communication is a tool of branding.If a brand has no communication, it does not differentiate from its competitors.However, doing research and product development must not be neglected because the results of that research will allow the branding to be created faster and reach large groups of people faster as well.
Brand personality designation is very important for branding because brand personality encourages consumers to feel that the products are for themselves, and consumers decide to buy products that reflect their personality the most (Dolich, 1969 cited in Smithikrai, 2020).Mulyanegara et al. (2009) found that consumers use brands to express their personalities.Those with highly conscientious personality traits appreciate reliable and consistent brands; those with self-disclosed personality traits like brands that reflect social personality.Brand personality is a key strategy in building a strong brand.It is also a tool to create a competitive advantage because brand personality is difficult to imitate (Polyorat, 2008).Therefore, brand personality must be positioned in branding and able to convey the desired brand personality through effective marketing communications to create brand perceptions in the minds of consumers, leading to the decision to buy specific products later.
Marketing communication is the process by which the organization conveys to the target groups in both internal and external organizations to inform, convince, and recall them (Teerasorn, 2019 Following the literature review and the conceptual model (Figure 1), the research hypothesis is as follows: H1: Marketing communication is relevant to the brand personality perceptions of the Bangsaen 42 Chonburi Marathon.

METHODS
This study used mixed methods:  (Chantavanich, 2010).This creates credibility and trustworthiness in the quality of the research (Chuto, 2008).
For data analysis, the study transcribed the interviews of the informant groups.It analyzed the data on the branding processes of the Bangsaen 42 Chonburi Marathon, which was an analysis of the relevant objectives and theories.The steps were as follows: 1. Transcription of the interview: reviewing the data obtained and summarizing the preliminary information by classifying data by the research objectives.
2. Data display: creating a temporary summary of information and collecting evidence to support the research to make the content more understandable.
3. Conclusion: drawing results following the objectives mentioned above.
4. Verification: confirming the validity and trustworthiness of the data.

5.
Interpretation: analyzing all research, creating a summary, and then checking for confirmations obtained from the concepts, theories, and related research to see the differences and similarities, as well as proposing further recommendations and guidelines for future research.
Regarding quantitative research, the population was runners participating in the Bangsaen 42 Chonburi Marathon.The total amount is unknown.Therefore, the sample size was determined using the Cochran (1953) Unknown Sample Size formula with a confidence level of 95% and a significance level of 0.05.A total of 385 people were recruited.The sample (400 runners at the Bangsaen 42 Chonburi Marathon event) was chosen via purposive sampling and nonprobability sampling.
The questionnaire was used as a research tool, which contained closed-ended questions divided into three parts: 1) demographic characteristics of the sample, 2) ten items of marketing communication perceptions of the Bangsaen 42 Chonburi Marathon event and five levels of answers, and 3) brand personality perceptions of the Bangsaen 42 Chonburi Marathon using the Brand Personality Scale of Aaker (1997) with five types of brand personality for 42 items and five levels of answers (Babakus & Mangold, 1992).
Three experts assessed the content validity of the questionnaire, and the consistency index of all measures was between 0.7-1.00(Kim & Jindabot, 2022).Based on the responses of 30 samples, the reliability of the questionnaire on marketing communication issues for the Bangsaen 42 Chonburi Marathon was 0.94, and that for brand personality was 0.96.Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, including frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation.The inferential statistics from hypothesis testing were used by Pearson's product-moment correlation coefficient with a significance level of 0.05.

Specifics of branding process
According to the qualitative results, the branding processes for the Bangsaen 42 Chonburi Marathon can be summarized into three steps.The first step is an analysis of product branding, which contains three sub-steps.This event is managed like sports events aiming to become an international event.Amazing Thailand Marathon Bangkok positioned itself as an international event.Knowledge is used to organize significant sporting events, which leads to novelty in marathons.Each marathon has been differentiated based on the owners' knowledge.However, there are no a one-distance marathon in Thailand or with the world's standardized management.
The third is product branding analysis: Mice and Communication Company Limited is the owner of the Bangsaen 42 Chonburi Marathon.Consequently, it adapts conference management in this marathon, so the Bangsaen 42 Chonburi Marathon is known as a well-organized and trustworthy event.It maintains its promise for runners.The event owner built a strong image of product branding for the Bangsaen 42 Chonburi Marathon.The Bangsaen 42 Chonburi Marathon is the only one-distance marathon in Thailand with the world's standard.In 2020, the World Athletics Bronze Label Road Race was awarded the Bangsaen 42 Chonburi Marathon (Online Manager, 2020).In 2021, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, the standard was adjusted for higher flexibility in international road races.

Creating a systematic identify
The second step was to build a systematic identity that contains four sub-steps.First, building a significant and extended brand identity is vital.

Identity and product branding
The third step is to build identity into systematic product branding, which contains three substeps.The first is the position and creation of the product branding.

Quantitative results
Regarding the quantitative results, the sample group consisted of more males than females, aged between 41 and 50, and graduated with a bachelor's degree.The occupations mainly were private company officers, with an income of 15,001 -30,000 THB.

DISCUSSION
Firstly, the branding process of the Bangsaen 42 Chonburi Marathon event was followed by the framework of Aaker (1996), which consisted of 3 aspects: strategic brand analysis, brand identity system, and brand identity implementation system.This was consistent with Pianphak's finding (2020), which showed the same brand process in the Bangsaen 21 running event when comparing with the Bangsaen 42 Chonburi Marathon event.This process comprised of three steps: brand strategy analysis of the target group and the competitors; identity creation of the running event; and marketing positioning.

Strategic brand analysis of the Bangsaen 42
Chonburi Marathon event is derived from an analysis of problems from runners in other events and the desire of runners to have a marathon run with only one run distance.Moreover, the successful branding appeared in the Bangsaen 21 running event was the branding process under the empathy level (Pianphak, 2020).This is also was consistent with Temporal (2002), who stated that branding started with marketing and the purpose of branding was to study the inside-out strategy, how consumers perceive the brand, and what attitudes and behaviors customers have when buy-ing or using products by doing research in order to use that information to create an opportunity to develop products to meet the needs of consumers.
The brand identity system of Bangsaen 42 Chonburi Marathon event aimed to differentiate and meet the needs of runners, so the Bangsaen 42 Chonburi Marathon event was created as the only marathon run with one run distance in Thailand and the main concept of "The Passion of World-Class Marathon" and was also consistent with Pianphak (2020): organizers established clearly the core identity of Bangsaen 21 running event under the concept of "the happiest running" and "the world-class running in Thailand."This is also was consistent with the Ruenrom (2013), who stated that customers will recognize the brand when it was clearly positioned.In accordance with Temporal (2002), the brand value proposition was important and necessary for branding.
Regarding the brand identity implementation system of the Bangsaen 42 Chonburi Marathon event, the organizers had a well-planned branding to create a world-class marathon and also communicate to demonstrate the quality and strengths of various standards.Following Pianphak (2020), the Bangsaen 21 running event focused mainly on emphasizing the identity of the event and the commitment to runners.Keller (2013) stated that the heart of marketing communication plan was the brand promise.Kapferer (2008) addressed branding strategy in terms of using communication in branding.If a brand had no communication, it did not differentiate from its competitors.The branding with communication could set the brand apart.
Second, regarding perceptions of marketing communication in the Bangsaen 42 Chonburi Marathon event, the results showed that the overall perception of marketing communication in the sample group was moderate.They are aware of public relations through Facebook (BANGSAEN42).Next, regarding the perceptions of the brand personality of the Bangsaen 42 Chonburi Marathon event, the results showed that the sample group perceived competence in reliable, hardworking, confident manners in the brand personality.Plummer (1984) divides brand personality into two parts: defined brand personality traits (marketers want consumers to know about the brand) and brand personality traits consumers perceive as brands.It can be concluded that the Bangsaen 42 Chonburi Marathon event has set the brand personality to seem like a person who is serious, strong, fierce, and highly determined through the concept of "The Passion of World-Class Marathon," which is a tremendous full marathon event in Thailand that has been certified following world-class standards.In addition, the sample group linked personality traits through traits directly related to the product (product-related characteristics) (Aaker, 1996)  Finally, the results of the hypothesis testing revealed that the marketing communication of the Bangsaen 42 Chonburi Marathon event was most positively correlated with perceptions of sincere personality, which can be explained by the fact that the sample group with many marketing communication perceptions will perceive the brand personality of the event in a sincere personality way.Duncan (2002) said that integrated marketing communications help convey brand messages, such as brand quality, identity, position, and value.When consumers hear or see them through various media, they decode them and combine the code with their impressions, thoughts, and feelings about the brand and its organization.This makes consumers aware of the brand (brand perception) and creates the brand in the minds of consumers.Integrated marketing communication also acts as a bridge that builds the relationship between the consumer and the brand, bringing the brand closer to consumers.
Therefore, a clearly defined personality will choose marketing communication to communicate the brand personality suitable for the target audience and position.Moreover, it also makes the target audience understand brand personality and leads to perceptions of brand personality as defined by the organization.Aaker (1996) further explains that evident personality traits give marketers and advertisers a way to communicate more directly and clearly with consumers.

CONCLUSION
The study aimed to assess factors influencing the branding of the Bangsaen 42 Chonburi Marathon event.
The results show that there need to be more communication strategies to present the brand position and proactively create less diverse alternatives.Therefore, the organizers of the Bangsaen 42 Chonburi Marathon event, including the Communication Department, should plan proactive communication and create other communication alternatives, such as advertising, public relations, and organizing a unique project for runners to link brands differentiated from competitors and make it easy for runners to remember the brand.According to the marketing communication of the Bangsaen 42 Chonburi Marathon activities, it was most positively correlated with perceptions of sincere personality.Thus, organizing the Bangsaen 42 Chonburi Marathon event should focus on marketing communication.Brand personality will be more assertive if supported through continuous marketing communication tools because it helps consumers extract information about the brand from memory and make it different from competitors.
Future research may opt to gain insights into marketing communication and opinions about the brand personality of the Bangsaen 42 Chonburi Marathon event in the sample group.In addition, this paper studied the perceptions of brand personality in the Bangsaen 42 Chonburi Marathon event.Further analyses may choose to compare the brand personality of running events at other distances of MICE and Communication Company Limited or compare it with other running events to understand the behavior of consumers responding to brand personality creation.
This study is helpful for marketing communication planning and creating a brand personality for the Bangsaen 42 Chonburi Marathon.In academic fields, this information can be used to fulfill the knowledge of marketing communication in the brand personality of sports events.It can be applied to develop other activities effectively.
It was discovered that building a major identity of the Bangsaen 42 Chonburi Marathon brand started with the runners of the Bangsaen 21 Half Marathon, who expressed their need to increase the distance (42.195 km) and ensure sound management for the marathon.Therefore, Mice and Communication Company Limited set the goal of this event with the concept of "The Passion of

Table 1 .
Relationship of acknowledgment of marketing communications and product branding of the Bangsaen 42 Chonburi Marathon in order to bring the Bangsaen 42 Chonburi Marathon event to reach the World Athletics Gold Label Road Race standard as the Boston Marathon, the Tokyo Marathon, and the Berlin Marathon by 2022.In 2020, the Bangsaen 42 Chonburi Marathon received the World Athletics Bronze Label Road Race award (Online Manager, 2020).