PECULIARITIES IN PERCEPTION OF BRAND'S ENVIRONMENTAL FRIENDLINESS IN BRAND COMMUNICATIONS BY UKRAINIAN CONSUMERS

The article presents the results of research on peculiarities in perception of brand's environmental friendliness in brand communications by Ukrainian consumers. Based on the results of theoretical analysis of literature, it is determined that brand communication is a set of specific actions in social interaction process (interpersonal, intergroup, mass-scale) that influence opinion, motives, attitudes and behaviour of consumers towards certain companies, their products and (or) services. The effectiveness of brand communications is referred to when the formed image of a brand generates consumers' loyalty as an attitude, which is developing dynamically and motivates individuals to purchase and consume a certain product (service). Provided are the results of empirical research that singled out types of consumers by perception of brand's eco-friendliness in brand communications, determined are the statistically important differences in categorization of consumer types depending on the range of social-demographic and institutional-occupational factors. For instance, women are more oriented to personal significance of brand's eco-friendliness than men. Among the group of younger consumers there are more of those oriented to conventional level of brand communication or not oriented to environmental friendliness of a brand as a regulator of consumer behaviour. Based on results of dispersive analysis we determined the influence of brand's environmental friendliness on loyalty as the factor of efficient brand communication for food group of goods. Determined are the prospects of further studies that consist in determination of social-psychological mechanisms and factors of effective brand communication, theoretical justification, development and testing of social and psychological training programs for future managers, marketing specialists, and advertising sector employees to effective brand communications.