Showing papers on "Brand equity published in 1999"

Brand Management Through Narrowing the Gap Between Brand Identity and Brand Reputation

Abstract: Classical models of brand management pay insufficient attention to staff as brand builders, placing more emphasis on external issues such as image. This paper explores the significant contribution from employees and considers the need to align their values and behaviours with the brand's desired values. It clarifies the importance of culture in brand building and discusses how an adaptive, strategically appropriate culture, consistently apparent throughout an organisation is likely to be associated with healthy brand performance. A model is proposed, suggesting that stronger brands result from a homogeneous brand identity, with congruent identity components. It argues that reputation is a more appropriate external assessment of a brand than image. By auditing the gaps between brand identity and brand reputation, managers can identify strategies to minimize incongruency and develop more powerful brands. It is concluded that brand reality is an important aspect of branding.

Consumers' Trust in a Brand and the Link to Brand Loyalty

Abstract: Brands are important in the consumer market. They are the interface between consumers and the company, and consumers may develop loyalty to brands. This study proposes that trust in a brand is important and is a key factor in the development of brand loyalty. Factors hypothesized to influence trust in a brand include a number of brand characteristics, company characteristics and consumer-brand characteristics. Respondents representing a broad spectrum of Singapore consumers were surveyed. The findings reveal that brand characteristics are relatively more important in their effects on a consumer's trust in a brand. The results also show that trust in a brand is positively related to brand loyalty. Marketers should, therefore, take careful consideration of brand factors in the development of trust in a brand.

Brand Orientation: A Mindset for Building Brands into Strategic Resources

Abstract: Learning to see intangible values and symbols as resources is the necessary step in brand orientation. At certain companies, this can mean a step into a new reality - brand reality. A new way of approaching brands within companies. This is the heart of the discussion that will be pursued in this article. In the research field that deals with strategic brand management, considerable steps forward have been taken through the development of such concepts as brand equity and brand identity. Nonetheless, there has as yet been no fundamental discussion about the way in which brands are mentally approached or about the overarching conceptual frameworks that are used by companies that compete primarily via their brands. Based on experiences from case companies, including Nestle, DuPont, Tetra Pak, Volvo, and Pharmacia Upjohn Nicorette, the critical question will be examined of how an organization's approach is affected when its brands become to an ever greater degree the hub around which operations and strategies...

Brand Values and Capital Market Valuation

Abstract: Brand value estimates are significantly positively related to prices and returns, incremental to accounting variables. Questionable brand value estimate reliability underlies lack of financial statement recognition for brands. Findings suggest estimates are relevant and sufficiently reliable to be reflected in share prices. Simultaneous equations estimation reveals inferences are unaffected by potential bias resulting from simultaneity between brand value estimates and equity market value. Brand value estimates are positively associated with advertising expense, operating margin, and market share. Yet, brand value estimates provide significant explanatory power for prices incremental to these variables, and to recognized brand assets and analysts earnings forecasts.

Managing Advertising and Promotion for Long-Run Profitability

Abstract: In recent years, manufacturers have become increasingly disposed toward the use of sales promotions, often at the cost of advertising. Yet the long-term implications of these changes for brand profitability remain unclear. In this paper, we seek to offer insights into this important issue. We consider the questions of i) whether it is more desirable to ad-vertise or promote, ii) whether it is better to use frequent, shallow promotions or infrequent, deep promotions, and iii) how changes in regular prices affect sales relative to increases in price promotions. Additional insights regarding brand equity, the relative magnitude of short- and long-term effects, and the decomposition of advertising and promotion elasticities across choice and quantity decisions are obtained. To address these points, we develop a heteroscedastic, varying-parameter joint probit choice and regression quantity model. Our approach allows consumers' responses to short-term marketing activities to change in response to changes in marketing actions over the long term. We also accommodate the possibility of competitive reactions to policy changes of a brand. The model is estimated for a consumer packaged good category by using over eight years of panel data. The resulting parameters enable us to assess the effects of changes in advertising and promotion policies on sales and profits. Our results show that, in the long term, advertising has a positive effect on "brand equity" while promotions have a negative effect. Furthermore, we find price promotion elasticities to be larger than regular price elasticities in the short term, but smaller than regular price elasticities when long-term effects are considered. Consistent with previous research, we also find that most of the effect of a price cut is manifested in consumers' brand choice decisions in the short term, but when long-term effects are again considered, this result no longer holds. Last, we estimate that the long-term effects of promotions on sales are negative overall, and about two-fifths the magnitude of the positive short-term effects. Finally, making reasonable cost and margin assumptions, we conduct simulations to assess the relative profit impact of long-term changes in pricing, advertising, or promotion policies. Our results show regular price decreases to have a generally negative effect on the long-term profits of brands, advertising to be profitable for two of the brands, and increases in price promotions to be uniformly unprofitable.

Increasing brand loyalty in the hospitality industry.

Abstract: Hospitality companies can increasetheir market share and growth rates by increasing their brand loyal customers. This is a more profitable approach than other marketing activities, such as price cuts or promotional programs. As a mature industry, the hospitality business must pursue market‐share gains, rather than market‐growth gains. Acquiring new customers is expensive becauseof advertising, promotion, and start‐up operating expenses. Besides, it is cheaper to serve current customers. This paper brings together the factors that contribute to brand loyalty in marketing literature and provides strategies to hospitality managers for increasing brand loyal customers.

Media effect in commercial sponsorship

Abstract: Various elements of brand identity contribute to brand image development; however, the role of marketing communications is particularly important in achieving brand image effects. In the case of advertising, two separate elements of communications, a message and a medium, combine to deliver particular brand image values. In the case of sponsorship both the message and media elements are not separate, but are inextricably linked and imagery is delivered by association with particular activities and events. Presents the result of focus group research which sought to examine the images transferred by different categories of sponsorship, i.e. sports and arts. The results show that goodwill, which is generated amongst consumers as a result of corporate sponsorship involvement, varies by sponsorship category. The results have important implications for sponsorship managers in terms of the choice of sponsorship category and the manner in which sponsorship investments are leveraged. Introduction Commercial sponsorship represents one of the most rapidly growing sectors of marketing communications activity. The scale and recency of development in the sector is evidenced by the fact that world-wide sponsorship expenditure has increased from $2 billion in 1984 to $18.1 billion in 1997 (Sponsorship Research International, 1998). Growth in sponsorship expenditure has been driven by factors such as corporate desire for cost effective access to target markets, technological change as manifested in media developments and an increasing eventand leisure-oriented society. For the corporate user, sponsorship represents a highly versatile method of communication, capable of achieving a variety of objectives, largely in terms of communication effects, with a diversity of corporate publics. A particularly important sponsorship objective relates to the projection of brand imagery. While various image effects can be achieved through the usage of sponsorship, this paper seeks to examine the image effects generated and transferred by different categories of sponsorship such as sports, arts and the environment and to test if such differentiation by sponsorship category may provide a useful guide to practitioners. In effect, this paper seeks to examine the ``media effects'' of commercial sponsorship. The development of commercial sponsorship Sponsorship may have its origins in the patronage systems of earlier societies, but commercial sponsorship as it is experienced today is regarded by Media effect in commercial sponsorship 329 corporations as being similar to advertising in that sponsorship investments are made in order to fulfil particular commercial objectives. In effect the sponsor, in agreeing to sponsor a particular event or activity, is purchasing the rights to associate with the profile and image of the event and to exploit this association for commercial ends. Commercial sponsorship as a marketing activity has only developed over recent decades. This is indicated by the fact that total UK investment in this medium was only £4 million as recently as 1970 (Buckley, 1980). However by 1996 the scale of expenditure in the UK market had grown to £491 million (Mintel, 1997). On a world-wide basis, sponsorship expenditure has grown significantly in recent years and this is indicated by reference to Table I. This shows that in 1984 the world-wide sponsorship market was valued at $2 billion, but by 1997 this had risen to $18.1 billion, a growth in excess of nine-fold over the period. Europe and North America continue to dominate the world sponsorship market, each accounting for approximately 33 per cent of total world-wide expenditure (Sponsorship Research International, 1998). The estimates of sponsorship expenditure only refer to the costs of purchasing the property rights to events; effective sponsorship exploitation is of course reliant on support advertising and promotions to leverage the initial investment. Theoretical foundations of paper Traditionally image development in marketing has been discussed at three levels of analysis, namely corporate, retail and product/service. Increasingly the term ``brand'' is used generically to refer to the employment of marketing imagery at all these levels (Blackson, 1992; King, 1991). Analyses of marketing imagery of necessity distinguish between identity and imagery. Identity refers to the elements controlled and ``sent'' by the brand owner while image is essentially that which is received by the consumer. Identity and image inevitably differ as the consumer is the recipient of communication stimuli beyond those controlled by the brand owner. These stimuli will include Table I. World-wide sponsorship market Year Value ($ billion) 1984 2.

Managing Brands for the Long Run: Brand Reinforcement and Revitalization Strategies

Abstract: Effective brand management requires taking a long-term view of marketing decisions. Managing brands for the long run involves reinforcing brands or, if necessary, revitalizing brands. Reinforcing brands involves ensuring innovation in product design, manufacturing, and merchandising and ensuring relevance in user and usage imagery. Another critical consideration in reinforcing brands is the consistency of the marketing support that the brand receives, both in terms of the amount and nature of that support. Revitalizing a brand, on the other hand, requires either that lost sources of brand equity are recaptured ("a back to basics" approach) or that new sources of brand equity are identified and established. Two general approaches are possible: expanding the depth and/or breadth of brand awareness by improving brand recall and recognition of consumers during purchase or consumption settings; and improving the strength, favorability, and uniqueness of brand associations making up the brand image (either in terms of existing or new brand associations).

Brand Equity Dilution: Retailer Display and Context Brand Effects:

Abstract: Consistency among the various elements of a marketing program is believed essential in building and maintaining brand image and equity. And yet, a brand's ultimate presentation to customers is cont...

Co-Branding: The Science of Alliance

Abstract: The strategic management and development of brands continues to grow in importance for most businesses and the 1990s have seen more and more brand owners turning to co-branding as a way of adding further value to their brand assets.

Measuring brand power: validating a model for optimizing brand equity

Abstract: Rather than taking the more traditional approach of measuring brand equity for accounting or strategic reasons, the approach taken here is concerned with optimizing brand equity through parsimonious manipulation of the marketing mix. To this end a macro‐model is first developed; this model is then operationalized and tested (in terms of predicted versus actual brand share) in three Korean markets. The contribution of the paper lies in the development of a methodology through which management can efficiently build brand power in their markets. The statistical methods (factor analysis and preference regression) are commonly used in commercial research and the research requirements to build such a model are quite modest – the proposed model makes a theoretical contribution but can also be used as a practical managerial tool.

Does Brand Loyalty Mediate Brand Equity Outcomes

Abstract: A causal modelling approach is used to analyze the direct and indirect influences of brand attitudes, habit and brand loyalty on brand equity outcomes such as market share, shelf facings and price. Hypotheses concerning these relationships are developed and tested in two separate studies. The first study surveyed shoppers at a campus store while the second study surveyed mall shoppers. Results indicate that brand attitudes are directly and indirectly related to market share and shelf facings but only indirectly related to price, with the indirect path occurring through brand loyalty. The results are shown to replicate adequately when using different samples of shoppers and products. The implications of the study are discussed in terms of their significance for managers.

Brand Management Prognostications

Abstract: The role of brands and the ways of managing brands are changing. The authors review how brands aid the buyer and seller and, by focusing on the customer-oriented functions of brands, offer insight into how brand management is evolving. Factors propelling changes in brand management include: 1. Information technology. By simplifying customer search and by enabling retailers to collect real-time information about individual shoppers, IT shifts power away from consumer goods manufacturers and their brand managers. 2. Maturing consumer values. Changing demographics ensure that future markets will consist of experienced buyers. Skeptical of superficial blandishments, they seek to understand the relationship between quality and price, aided in their search by technology. 3. Brand mimicry and brand extension. An abundance of copycat or extension products degrade the brand as a marketing tool, confounding a consumer's attempts to differentiate among products. 4. Autonomy of retailers. Trade concentration, exemplified by supermarket retailing, is shifting the "center of marketing gravity" to retailers who are managing for product category profitability. The authors propose three scenarios for the future of brand management: In Scenario 1, current trends continue. Copycat and brand-extension products diminish as pressure on all but the leading brands increases due to restricted shelf space. Companies emphasize "umbrella" branding at the corporate and product-family levels; brand managers begin working on cross-functional teams organized around categories or processes. Scenario 2 is at least partially in place in some companies. Simplified brand and organizational structures focus on trade customers with whom manufacturers develop joint strategies. Scenario 3 differs radically from the past. By using increasingly economical, IT-based techniques, firms identify customers individually, enabling them to organize and manage customers rather than brands or products. The key lesson is that managers should focus on the dynamically evolving functional patterns of brands rather than on the brands themselves.

Brand Equity, Consumer Learning and Choice

Abstract: The aim of this paper is to explore the links between brand equity, consumer learning and consumer choice processes in general and considering two recent trends in the market place: store brands and the Internet. We first review the advances that have occurred in brand equity research in marketing in the past decade, with particular emphasis on integrating the separate streams of research emanating from cognitive psychology and information economics. Brand equity has generally been defined as the incremental utility with which a brand endows a product, compared to its non-branded counterpart. We amplify this definition: we propose that brand equity be the incremental effect of the brand on all aspects of the consumer's evaluation and choice process. We propose an agenda of research based on this amplified definition.

Brand Mantras: Rationale, Criteria and Examples

Abstract: In this paper, we consider how marketing managers can benefit from the concept of a "brand mantra." We examine how brand mantras relate to brand positioning and a related concept, "core brand associations." Our focus is on how brand mantras can be used to improve internal brand management. We consider design and implementation issues in term of characteristics of good brand mantras as well as process issues in developing brand mantras. It is noted that brand mantras, as with Nike's "authentic athletic performance" and Disney's "fun family entertainment" often consist of three words that combine brand functions with descriptive and emotional modifiers. Procedurally, brand mantras are developed at the same time as brand positioning. At that time, brand mantras would then be judged on their ability to effectively communicate, simplify, and inspire, as reflected by employee research.

Re-appraising the concept of brand image

Abstract: This paper highlights a major conceptual problem in the branding literature which is currently impeding theoretical development and managerial practice. In calling for more thorough and precise research in this field, the paper focuses on the delineation between the concepts of brand image, brand personality and user image. Utilising qualitative content analysis of existing definitions, substantive terms are identified and used in the construction of three new working definitions. The paper then proposes a conceptual framework of brand image based on the extant literature and which represents the relationship between the components of brand image. Thus, this paper lays the groundwork for a stronger branding literature which should in turn inform the creation of more potent communications strategies.

The impact of demographic factors on Hong Kong hotel employees’ choice of job‐related motivators

Abstract: Hospitality companies can increasetheir market share and growth rates by increasing their brand loyal customers. This is a more profitable approach than other marketing activities, such as price cuts or promotional programs. As a mature industry, the hospitality business must pursue market‐share gains, rather than market‐growth gains. Acquiring new customers is expensive becauseof advertising, promotion, and start‐up operating expenses. Besides, it is cheaper to serve current customers. This paper brings together the factors that contribute to brand loyalty in marketing literature and provides strategies to hospitality managers for increasing brand loyal customers.

Strategic brand communication campaigns

Abstract: Foreword: The Communications Revolution Introduction: Welcome to the Marketing Communication Revolution Part One. An Introduction to the Idea of Brands 1. Marketing and Communication in the Twenty-First-Century Marketplace 2. Brands and Branding 3. Building Brand Value 4. The IBC Planning Process and Fstimating Customer Value 5. Converting Customer Knowledge into IBC Programs: The IBC Strategy Part Two: Understanding Consumers and Their Relationship to Brands 6. Consumer Behavior and Information Processing 7. Researching the Relationship Between the Consumer and the Brand 8. Developing Communication Investment Strategies Part Three: Campaign Strategy: The Elements of Effective Campaigns 9. Brand Building: Mass Media Advertising 10. Brand Building: Public Relations 11. Business Building: Trade Sales Promotion 12. Business Building: Consumer Sales Promotion 13. Business Building and Brand Building: Direct Response and Interactive Media Part Four: Campaign Evaluation: Issues in Campaign Management 14. Using Media to Deliver Brand Messages and Incentives 15. Measuring the Results of IBC Programs 16. Selling Management on the IBC Plan

The Effects of Country-of-Brand and Brand Name on Product Evaluation and Consideration

Abstract: SUMMARY This study investigates the individual effects of brand name and the country-of-brand (COB) on consumers' overall product evaluations when only brand name information is provided. The effects of these same factors on brand consideration (and rejection) are also explored. A study involving subjects from two countries was conducted to test these effects in a cross-cultural context. The results show a strong COB effect despite the lack of available COB information, suggesting that country-of-origin (COO) effects are extremely robust. However, brand name also plays a strong and incremental role in influencing subjects' evaluations. Furthermore, these effects differ by subject nationality. Finally, the results show that COB and brand both have an incremental impact on brand consideration beyond that of brand evaluation. Consequently, COB and brand should both be viewed as important in puts to consumer decision making, and both must be carefully managed.

The Reality of Brands: Towards an Ontology of Marketing

Abstract: The ontology of marketing, particularly the question of what products and brands are, is still largely unexplored The ontological status of brands hinges on their relationship with products Idealists about brands see perceptual or cognitive acts of consumers grouped under the heading ‘brand awareness’ or ‘brand image’ as constitutive for the existence of brands so that, in their view, tools of the marketing mix can influence relevant mental dispositions and attitudes Brand realists, on the other hand, reject the view of brands as mere marks or names and interpret them as emergent products with properties that afford branding in the sense of Gibson’s ecological psychology Brand strength is a function of the degree to which brands occupy defensible niches in product space Branding as a process involves changing external or internal boundaries of products Several arguments are proposed in favor of brand realism The fragments of an ontology of marketing are developed in a broadly Aristotelian framework Brand realism has significant implications for a new understanding of issues ranging from the effects of advertising to financial brand valuation, the nature of trademarks, and marketing strategy in general It permits one to treat brand equity as a real phenomenon not dependent on associations, attitudinal states such as brand loyalty, or spurious constructs such as brand character or personality

A Consumer Perspective on Foreign Market Entry

Abstract: Firms seeking to enter their brands in another country's market may face large expenditures in order to build brand awareness and brand image Often co-branding is used in strategic alliances or joint ventures, however, it may benefit firms across all modes of market entry We define a brand alliance as the renting of a brand name from another firm In experiments with Japanese and US subjects, we show that consumer evaluations of an unknown brand from another country were more positive when a brand ally was used Alliances also increased subject evaluation of the parent firm Brand alliances, while apparently effective, did not eliminate the effects of country of origin stereotyping

Integrated Branding: Becoming Brand-Driven Through Companywide Action

Abstract: Illustrations Preface Chapter 1 Your Company's Most Powerful Weapon: The Brand Within Chapter 2 The Integrated Brand Model: The Basis for Strong Customer Relationships Chapter 3 How Integrated Branding Differs from the Alternatives Chapter 4 A Blueprint for Creating Organization Drivers Chapter 5 The Role of the Brand Principle Chapter 6 Other Core Brand Drivers: Personalities and Associations Chapter 7 How to Reveal Your Brand: Seven Steps to Integrated Branding Chapter 8 Developing a Practical Brand Structure Chapter 9 Using Integrated Branding to Expand Market Share Chapter 10 The WRQ Story: The Steps to a Successful Integrated Brand Chapter 11 How to Get and Keep All Divisions, Departments, and Employees on the Same Path Chapter 12 How to Conduct Brand Planning and Benchmarking Chapter 13 How to Create Brand-Driven Marketing Chapter 14 Using Marketing Communications to Drive Brand Chapter 15 The Digital Age: A Brand's Best Friend - or Worst Enemy? Chapter 16 Using Brand to Clear the Path to an IPO and Beyond Chapter 17 Integrated Branding for Technology Companies Chapter 18 Comparing Well-Known Brand Models to Integrated Branding Appendix: Conducting Organization and Brand Driver Interviews Selected Bibliography Index

Examining the Role of Brand Equity in Business Markets: A Model, Research Propositions, and Managerial Implications

Abstract: This paper presents a model of brand equity for business markets. It is argued that the potential benefits of branding and brand equity development have been neglected in business markets and that a general model and stream of relevant empirical research could be useful to managers in business markets depending on the situational nature of their market and competitive structure. The model adapts and extends existing brand equity literature to reflect the unique aspects involved in a business-to-business marketing context. The model developed considers marketing strategies as antecedents, two different classes of moderator variables, brand equity as a perception by the buyer or the market, a series of consequences of brand equity perceptions, and perceived risk as a moderator of the brand equity-consequences relationship. Propositions have been defined and discussed to help facilitate research and provide guidelines for industrial marketing managers.