The Impact of Artification on the Artist’s Personal Brand: Evidence from Fashion Collaborations

The general aim of this paper is to determine the impact of artification on an artist's personal brand perception. Previous studies have emphasized the need to explore the artist's perspective in collaborations with brands, as this topic has not been widely explored in the academic field. This research will employ an explanatory case study design, 15 semi-structured in-depth interviews with artists and art managers were conducted. The choice of cases was limited to fashion, as art and fashion have a long history of co-operation and a large number of successful collaborations. Based on the studied literature on the phenomenon of artist-brand collaborations and elements of the artist brand, a theoretical model of the influence of artification on the perception of the artist's personal brand was proposed. Thus, perception was analyzed through brand awareness and image consisting of authenticity, benefit perception and subjective popularity. The results of the study show that artification influences the artist's brand perception. However, it was found that collaboration is just a single brand promotion strategy and there are many factors affecting artist brand perception. The artist brand is a complex mechanism that consists of various stakeholders that mutually influence each other. Nevertheless, when this strategy is employed correctly, artification represents a powerful promotional tool that has a positive influence on the artist's brand perception, increasing brand awareness and image. This study fills gaps in the existing literature and expands theoretical knowledge about the artist's perspective in collaborations. In addition, the paper offers a number of practical recommendations for artists and art managers on how to promote an artist's personal brand and effectively conduct artist-brand collaborations. Furthermore, insights derived from the expert interviews can be utilized for further research on artification. Key words: artist’s personal brand, artification, artist-brand collaborations, brand perception, brand image, brand awareness.