Researching international “brand equity”: a case study

Looks at the implications of building brand equity in a marketing rather than balance sheet sense. Uses the case example of Chivas Regal to illustrate how the global brand of a multinational organisation can be developed and whether a “global” advertising campaign can be built. Examines the role of marketing research in this process. In order to determine how a brand’s equity can be developed, the core and local values of a global brand as seen by consumers need to be clearly identified. However, running a global advertising campaign is expensive for the organisation. Pre‐testing in international marketing research helps in reducing risks with the positive effects of obtaining feedback and informing those involved. The discussion in the paper covers the pre‐testing of a global advertising campaign, in particular the appropriateness of qualitative and quantitative pre‐testing methods and then the measures used for post‐campaign assessment. The discussion also includes the appropriateness of single measures of brand equity.