Editorial
Article Type: Editorial From: Journal of Product & Brand Management, Volume 18, Issue 6
As consumers, we are constantly being bombarded by companies that are trying to communicate with us as it pertains to putting the most positive “spin”on how their products/services could/should be viewed. If these messages find individuals that react in a positive manner, then perhaps usage and loyalty might be increased, which, in the long run, could lead to greater market share and overall profitability. But this cause and effect might not be that easy to measure or understand. The global consumer marketplace is a complicated puzzle that is fraught with many nuances and differences that may not be a straightforward, as if we were only dealing with a single market. There is no magic formula that can be applied in all situations. It remains for the marketer to ascertain what is relevant as it affects an individual’s attitude and behavior.
In our beyond product’s brand management section, Rotfeld discusses the problems faced by US consumers as insurance companies use brand names as a heuristic tool to identify medical profligacy, penalizing consumers with higher co-payments or even refusing funding support for new and necessary medications.
Montaner and Pina undertake a study to determine how a company can leverage brand images through brand extensions without harming their image. The specifically analyze the influence of three variables: communication policy,brand breadth and extension brand fit. The authors show that brand extensions far from the current markets damage the brand associations, although using advertising focused on the new product can reduce this negative effect. The results of this study suggest how to manage the launching of brand extensions in order to protect the extended brand image.
Curtis, Abratt and Minor provide an interesting overview of how the corporate brand building process might be applied within the higher education sector. The corporate brand building process addresses three key areas: web administration,program marketing and corporate brand positioning. The authors employed four phases for this process, which included: a brand audit, delineating positioning options, developing a formal organization positioning statement and finally a marketing communications campaign must be developed.
Broyles examined the influence of customer loyalty on the predictive relationship between the meets expectations and affective feeling state customer satisfaction constructs and customers’ future (re) purchase behavior. The author found that attitudinal loyalty and behavioral loyalty are two distinct constructs with both US and Chinese samples, and that the influence of the how loyalty constructs on the predictive paths between meets expectations and affective feeling state and (re) purchase intent vary by product category and culture. This study is a unique comparative cross-cultural study of the influence of customer loyalty on customer satisfaction and future (re) purchase intent in a cross-cultural setting.
Lantos, Brady and McCaskey examine the felt need for new products in organizations, the nature of new product disciplines, and the usefulness of new product development education in order to show the importance of NPD courses in universities and colleges. The analysis was based on catalog titles and course descriptions (specific course content was not ascertained). The authors could only speculate on reasons for the paucity of NPD courses. Additional research needs to be done to determine what influences the ability to offer such NPD courses and identify specific actions to increase the adoption of NPD courses. The authors make specific recommendations for overcoming impediments to instituting NPD courses.
Alcañiz, Pérez and Garcia analyze the moderating effect of consumer altruistic values upon two drivers of brand credibility in cause related marketing: cause brand fit and consumer attribution of altruistic brand motivation. Findings show that altruistic consumers use mainly altruistic attribution to form their judgment on brand credibility in cause related marketing messages, whereas non-altruistic consumers base their assessment on cause related brand fit. These findings have relevant implications for cause related marketing managers so that they may create more effective marketing communications.
Pitta presents a case study that involves how a company may build a culture of new product innovation that is based on a solid foundation of theory and a healthy history of prior new product successes.
In this issue you will also find our Pricing strategy & practice section,as well as our Book review section.
Richard C. Leventhal
