Evaluating potential brand associations through conjoint analysis and market simulation

A novel method for evaluating the benefits of a potential brand association is presented. The uniqueness of the method is considering brand association as just another product attribute, subject to the usual analysis used to determine the attributes desired by consumers in a new product. The method was illustrated using automobile tires as the product, and designation of the tire as the “Official” tire of NASCAR as the brand association. A set of tire profiles was created, describing hypothetical tires as combinations of levels of five attributes. Subjects ranked these profiles for preference, and this preference was decomposed through conjoint analysis to yield part‐worths for each attribute level for each subject. Association with NASCAR had an average impact of 14.8 percent on consumer preference, comparable with that of speed rating (13.8 percent), and not much below that of brand (20.5 percent). Rudimentary market simulation suggested that associating the underdog tire brand with NASCAR would result in dramatically improved market share. Evaluating potential brand associations by their simulated effects on market share may be a useful managerial tool.