Editorial
Article Type: Editorial From: Journal of Product & Brand Management, Volume 21, Issue 2
How does a company measure the value/worth of their brands[s] and can the actual return-on-investment be calculated for these brands? This is a complex and most perplexing problem for companies around the globe. It is important to be able to grasp how familiar a consumer is with the brand, and also how the brand is perceived (hopefully in a positive light). What influences affect a brand, and how can a brand improve its image in the marketplace? Brands are considered an asset, and must be built over a period of time. If we look at true“global brands”, we see that it has taken much time and effort for a company to achieve such success, and this effort is constantly being reviewed and revitalized. Not to do so can mean the loss of a competitive edge.
Hariharan, Bezawada and Talukdar examine the factors that drive consumers’trial and repeat purchases of co-branded extensions, and the amount of spillover effect on host and ingredient brands. The results of the author’s study suggests that while initial targeting for the co-branded extension should be focused on consumers who are loyal to only the host brand.
Levy and Gendel-Guterman examine a more recent phenomenon, this being the emergence of “premium” store brands. The authors propose a conceptual framework, integrating advertising-related psychographic factors that were empirically tested. The results of their research indicated that creating a strong and sustainable store brand through advertising and innovation was most important. The costs of advertising could be compensated for by a growth of the total store sales and the store’s gross margin.
Hwang and Kandampully investigate the roles of three emotional factors(self-concept connection, emotional attachment and brand love) in the context of younger consumer luxury brand relationships. The results of perceptual mapping show different perceptions of the luxury brands in younger consumers’minds. Generalizability needs to be established with a wider range of young consumer groups. The insights on younger consumers’ brand relationships help brand managers devise more effective brand management strategies.
Holmes and Paswan examine the reaction of consumers to a new package design through differing levels of experience. The authors study how the consumer’s expectation of product quality changes as the consumer’s experience with the package moves from indirect to direct. Consumer’s purchase intentions are influenced by consumer’s quality expectations and attitude of new package usage regardless of the type of experience. However, the type of package experience significantly influences quality expectations and both dimensions of attitude toward the new package.
Pauwels Delassus and Mogos Descotes attempt to identify key influences that might enable companies to minimize their brand equity losses in response to brand name substitutions. Marketing managers should pay heed to the five key determinants of brand equity transfer as discussed in this research. They then could precisely estimate the extent to which their brand equity is transferable during a brand name substitution. Pay attention to those key factors with the strongest impact on brand image, perceived quality or loyalty transfer.
In this issue you will also find a most interesting case study, as well as our Pricing Strategy & Practice and book review sections.
Richard C. Leventhal
