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Brand Strength

Building and Testing Models Based on Experiential Information

verfasst von: Martin G. Walser

Verlag: Deutscher Universitätsverlag

Buchreihe : Forschungsgruppe Konsum und Verhalten

Enthalten in: Professional Book Archive

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Recent years have seen an ever increasing interest in the phenomenon of brands. A great number of books and articles have been published focusing on as various subjects as brand value, brand meaning, brand awareness or brand communities. Despite the numerous and widely different approaches to brand research and management, there seems to be general agreement on one point: strong brands are a major asset to any business firm. The questions what constitutes a strong brand and how brand strength is to be measured, however, has stirred a hefty discussion in literature. With his research work presented in this book, Martin Walser has made a very interesting contribution to this discussion. Based on a description of the history of branding and the functions of brands in modem economies he first compares the various conceptional approaches to the brand phenomenon and develops a definition that perfectly fits the purpose of his research. v Preface This doctoral dissertation is the result of an investigation into the nature, measurement and formation of brand strength. It is an attempt to consolidate a fragmented field of research and to advance our knowledge, by providing one of the few empirical studies examining models of brand strength formation. This work would not have been possible without the help of a number of people.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Frontmatter

1. Introduction

Abstract

These contrary statements are illustrative of the ongoing discussion about the present and future role brands can play in consumer’s buying behavior. Probably every decade in the recent history of branding witnessed the emergence of a movement under the headline “crisis in branding” or “brands in trouble”. The latest version of this dispute was triggered by — what is known in the Marketing literature — as “Marlboro Friday”. A substantial price-cut (-20%) for Marlboro-cigarettes by the category leader Phillip Morris induced a shift in consumer buying habits in many product categories. Consumers were said to substitute brands by equally valued no-names, to reduce their loyalty to their favorite brands and to generally emphasize the “value for money” theme. A deeper analysis of these claims, however, yielded the impression that actual problems in very specific product categories (e.g. exaggerated price premia) had been incorrectly generalized across all categories, markets and even countries (see Feldwick/Bonnel, 1996). Not surprisingly brands shortly after have been “alive and kicking”.

Martin G. Walser

2. Brands

Abstract

Applying a strategic management concept, this chapter starts with an analysis of the importance of brands in today’s service and goods markets. Next the historical evolution of brands is depicted, then the issue of defining the concept “brand” is discussed, followed by an indication of brand functions and closing with objects of branding activities.

Martin G. Walser

3. Brand evaluation

Abstract

The interest in evaluating brands has received considerable interest in the marketing and management literature in recent years. However, the idea of brands as valuable company assets was not always as generally accepted. Instead, branding and related issues were seen from an advertising perspective and judged by their ability to “convert prospects” or “make sales” (Feldwick, 1993, p. 93).

Martin G. Walser

4. Brand strength

Abstract

Even after having removed some sources of ambiguity by dividing the field of brand evaluation into two perspectives and suggesting a corresponding terminology, there is still room left for differing views of the concept. Similar to the discussion of the brand concept, in the following an attempt is made to collect varying definitions, detect similarities, and finally provide an integrative and potentially consensual definition of brand “strength” which is in line with the definition of the concept “brand” provided earlier.

Martin G. Walser

5. Measuring brand strength

Abstract

The strong interest in brand strength over the last years has produced an almost infinite number of ways to grasp the phenomenon. Sattler (1994) claims to have identified 512 (!) variations to measure brand strength. However, up to now no single approach has achieved the status of being the most widely accepted. The reasons for this situation are diverse. Most importantly it is an outcome of the different understandings of the concept as shown in the discussion of different definitions of brand strength. Another reason can be seen in the different backgrounds (marketing, psychology, economics, consumer behavior) against which researchers build their measurement models. Finally the varying interest of marketing practitioners and academic researchers tend to produce methods easy to apply and communicate on the one hand, and sophisticated methods, on the other hand.

Martin G. Walser

6. Brand strength formation

Abstract

It is fair to conclude that research on the topic of brand strength has to a large extent been focused on defining the construct and searching for appropriate measures to operationalize it (e.g. see Bekmeier, 1994; Dawar, 1998). Though the notion of “building brand strength” is often used (e.g. Keller, 1993/1998; Aaker, 1991; Farquhar, 1990; Barwise, 1993; Rossiter/Lawrence, 1993), the corresponding discussion of promising means to build a strong brand, as well as an assessment of the relative importance of these inputs, most of the time is neither systematic nor supported by empirical testing.

Martin G. Walser

7. Empirical design

Abstract

In the previous chapters, the issues of defining brand strength, measuring brand strength and brand strength formation have been addressed, using a number of theories and findings from many areas in research about consumer behavior, advertising and psychology. Besides a systematic discussion of the many ways to measure the strength of a brand, the major result of this work so far is the development of a conceptual, situative model to assess the impact of experiential information on brand strength formation. Generally, very few attempts have been made in the past to empirically study the formation of brand strength. This study probably is the first in this field to address the impact of consumer experience on brand strength. Therefore, the nature of the chosen approach also is a bit “exploratory” in nature, since the tested model is kept rather simple (only one source of information, no mediators). However, aiming at providing empirical evidence rich in content, causal analysis is used in order to test the relationships between the model’s constructs.

Martin G. Walser

8. Empirical findings

Abstract

In the following, appropriate statistical analyses will be applied to test the relationships between the constructs of the empirical model of brand strength formation. In order to provide a structured recapitulation of the constructs and their proposed relations, the essence of the empirical model described earlier in chapter 7.3. is shown below: The arrows (paths) in the model represent the hypotheses to be examined subsequently. Thereby all (8) relations will be addressed separately. In addition to singular testing of relations between two specific constructs of interest, an attempt is made to completely test the above causal model using path-analysis.

Martin G. Walser

9. Conclusions

Abstract

In the final chapter of this work, some conclusions are drawn from this research on brand strength. First, the findings related to the areas outlined in the introduction to this work are briefly summarized, and the major contributions of this research are highlighted. Second, some implications for further research in the field and some preliminary recommendations for brand management are discussed.

Martin G. Walser

Backmatter

Titel: Brand Strength
verfasst von: Martin G. Walser
Verlag: Deutscher Universitätsverlag
Electronic ISBN: 978-3-322-81629-0
Print ISBN: 978-3-8244-7959-7
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-322-81629-0

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Über dieses Buch

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Frontmatter

1. Introduction

2. Brands

3. Brand evaluation

4. Brand strength

5. Measuring brand strength

6. Brand strength formation

7. Empirical design

8. Empirical findings

9. Conclusions

Backmatter