Abstract: The definition and types of brand overlap are given based on the theoretic summary. Then dimensions are built based on brand personality, and an empirical research on perceived-intangible brand overlap in the Chinese mobile phone market is conducted from the perspective of perceived brand positioning. In the quantitative analysis, the similarity matrix based on error identification rate is introduced to improve the MDS analysis, after that a graph of the similarities on the dimensions among the seven mobile phone brands is given. On the basis of this graph, four categories are attained by fuzzy C-means clustering, which are high functional class, high emotional class, middle emotional and low functional class, low emotional and low functional class respectively. At last, conclusions and future research directions are given.

Key words: brand personality, brand positioning, brand overlap, optimal error identification rate