An investigation of consumer evaluation of brand extensions

This paper deals with the effects of perceived quality, perceived fit and perceived difficulty, and interaction between perceived quality and fit on consumer evaluations of brand extension. We used multi‐item scales to measure these constructs. Data were analysed via structural equation models. Results show that both perceived quality and perceived fit have direct positive effects on consumer evaluation of extensions. We find support for the chance of transferring the positive values of a brand to an extension is greater when consumers see the extension as a good fit with the original brand and the original brand is considered as of high quality.     

Antecedents and outcomes of brand love: the mediating role of brand loyalty

The purpose of this study was to propose and test an integrative conceptual model which incorporates experience-based (i.e. brand experience) and non-experience-based (i.e. self-congruity) antecedents and behavioural outcomes (i.e. brand loyalty and positive word-of-mouth) of brand love. The conceptual model and proposed hypotheses of the study are analysed with a sample of 361 consumers by using a structured survey as a data collection instrument. Structural equation modelling was used to examine the hypothesized linkages among the constructs. The findings of the study demonstrate strong associations between both experience-based and non-experience-based antecedents and brand love, and between brand love and its behavioural outcomes. This study also corroborates the mediating role of brand loyalty on the impact of brand love on positive word-of-mouth. This study is expected to contribute to the field of brand management by investigating the simultaneous impact of experience-based and non-experienced-based antecedents on brand love and the mediating role of brand loyalty on the association between brand love and positive word-of-mouth, which has not been addressed in the previous literature.     

Derived versus full name brand extensions

Most brand extension studies follow the assumption that brand extensions use the full original parent brand name (e.g., Oral-B tooth brush may extend to Oral-B dental floss). However, some companies use derived brand names in their brand extension strategies (e.g. Nestea Iced Tea). This study explores the advantages and disadvantages of derived brand extensions compared to full name extensions. The study examines the importance of target market effects on the evaluation of both brand extension strategies. Findings support the idea that derived brand names leverage parent brand evaluations and protect parent brand from extension failures.     

Why negative brand extension evaluations do not always negatively affect the brand: The role of central and peripheral brand associations

This research introduces the concept of brand association centrality and distinguishes central brand associations (CBAs) and peripheral brand associations (PBAs). Study 1 shows that the consistency with CBAs and PBAs influences perceived brand extension fit. However, the brand extension consistency with CBAs positively affects consumer–brand extension evaluations, while the brand extension consistency with PBAs does not have a significant effect. Study 2 demonstrates the mediating role of perceived fit between brand extension consistency with CBAs and brand extension evaluations. The study shows that the more inconsistent the product extension is with CBAs, the more the brand's image is altered and the faster brand evaluations deteriorate. In contrast, the brand extension inconsistency with PBAs does not affect brand evaluations.     

The role of brand exposure and experience on brand recall—Product durables vis-à-vis FMCG

The purpose of this study was to examine the role of brand exposure and experience on brand recall, mediated by three affectional drivers: brand trust, brand image and self-image congruence. The study distinguishes between an individual consumer׳s brand exposure and experience, and how these impact brand recall. Using original data collected from a survey of 219 consumers, brand recall models in two product categories (Fast Moving Consumer Goods FMCG and durable goods) were tested. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was applied, resulting in models for the two types of goods, establishing notable differences between durables and FMCGs. Experience influences brand recall in durable goods while brand recall is established via exposure for fast-moving consumer goods. This suggests that consumers are better able to recall durable goods brands if they have personally used them, while consumers of FMCG are more heavily influenced by advertising. Our study also established that brand trust has a significant role in mediating both of these relationships. Ultimately, the study establishes key differences between the brand recall of product categories, as well as the mediating role of brand trust, providing a framework for future brand recall research.     

When comparative valence frame affects brand extension evaluations: the moderating role of parent-extension fit

This research examines how comparative valence frame influences brand extension acceptance when parent-extension fit matters. The results of this research show that a positive comparison-framed ad message elicits more favourable extension evaluations and greater purchase intentions than a negative comparison-framed ad message under the similar extension condition, while both positive and negative comparison-framed ad messages contribute equally to brand extension evaluations and purchase intentions under the dissimilar extension condition. The findings also suggest that perceived extension risk serves as a critical mediator that underlies the interactive impact of comparative valence frame and parent-extension fit on brand extension evaluations. Theoretical and practical implications for advertising message strategies in brand extensions are discussed.     

Cute brand logo enhances favorable brand attitude: The moderating role of hope

A brand logo has significant influences on consumer evaluations of a brand. However, little research has examined the effectiveness of brand logo design. The present research thus seeks to extend the literature in this area by examining how cuteness associated with a brand logo might produce a more favourable brand attitude. Across two experimental studies, this research provides empirical evidence that a cute (vs. non-cute) brand logo can increase positive consumer attitude toward a brand, especially among those experiencing the emotion of hope (but not happiness or a neutral emotional state). Further, this effect is driven by the perceptions among consumers feeling hopeful (but not happy) that a cute (vs. non-cute) brand logo has higher levels of growth potential. The findings of this research thus make theoretical implications on the literature on brand logo, cuteness, and emotion literature, and offer managerial implications in terms of brand logo design effectiveness.     

Product recall,brand equity,and future choice

Abstract

The number of major product-recall incidents involving established brands have increased markedly over the last few years. Although the direct costs have been evaluated in these cases (typically in the millions), the indirect costs to brand equity and subsequent loss of market share are harder to evaluate. This paper applies a simulated multistage choice-based experiment to assess the impact of hypothetical product-recall experiences on brand-equity measures and, importantly, future brand choice. Contrary to some evidence, we find that product-recall experience has greater negative impacts for established strong brands than weaker non-established brands. Additionally, attributes of product recall such as the seriousness of the recall problem and speed of recall announcement impact on pre- and post-recall differences in consumer evaluations of brand equity. Differences in brand-equity evaluations for the established strong brand significantly affect post-recall choice.     

Consumers' cognitive and affective responses to brand origin misclassifications: Does confidence in brand origin identification matter?

Although research on country-of-origin (COO) effects in general is abundant, findings regarding the phenomenon of brand origin misclassification (i.e., consumers' association of a brand with the wrong COO) remain limited and inconclusive. This study fills this research gap by investigating how consumers' cognitive and affective responses upon learning the true origin of a previously misclassified brand drive the extent to which they revise their brand evaluation. Specifically, the authors explore the role of consumers' confidence in brand origin identification in this context. The results from an empirical study in South Korea (N = 259) suggest that consumers tend to adjust their brand evaluations only if the true COO is perceived more favorably; they tend not to take a worse COO into consideration. Moreover, negative emotions lead to greater losses in brand evaluation than positive emotions lead to gains in that respect.     

Consumption situations and the effects of brand image on consumers' brand evaluations

This research examines the role consumption situations play in determining the effects of brand image on consumers' brand evaluations. Results from the first experiment suggest that when consumption situations are experimentally manipulated for the same brand, conspicuousness does not significantly moderate the relative effects of actual and ideal congruence on brand evaluations. Further, marketers can manage the effects of image congruence (between brand image and self-image) by promoting varying consumption situations. Results from the second experiment demonstrate how a dynamic concept of situational ideal self-image (the image consumers perceive as being ideal to project in a particular situation) is a better predictor of brand attitudes than are static concepts of self-image such as actual and ideal self-image. Developing effective brand images must be coupled with a consideration of the potential situations in which the product is to be consumed. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Estimating the effect of brand beliefs on brand evaluations when beliefs are measured with error

We consider the internal validity of estimates of the effects of brand beliefs on brand evaluations when beliefs are measured with error. Consumer research suggests numerous errors that may impact belief measures. However, the literature has not determined precisely why and how myriad types of error matter for the evaluation-belief relationship. Furthermore, the literature has not explicitly considered what is necessary and sufficient to control for different types of belief error when using the latent general factor approach. We show that the important distinction for empirical research is not the origin of the error per se but its relationship to affective evaluation. Error related to brand evaluation has an inflationary effect on estimates of the evaluation-belief relationship while error unrelated to brand evaluation has an attenuating effect. We use a bifactor structural equations model to decompose belief measures into general and specific dimensions. The model uses bias free variation in specific beliefs to identify effects on brand evaluation while controlling for a general belief dimension correlated with evaluation. Compared to models that do not adjust for the bias, estimates of the bias corrected marginal effects are smaller but positive and significant.     

The role of brand experience,brand resonance and brand trust in luxury consumption

Consumption of luxury brands has been rising significantly, particularly in emerging economies.While some aspects of luxury consumption may be consistent across cultural settings, certain key differences may prevail; with particular attention to the relational and experiential aspects that characterize consumer-brand engagements. The purpose of the current research is to address this previously underexplored area and study the impact of consumer-brand dyadic attributes – incorporating brand experience, brand resonance, brand trust, and consumer involvement on the pursuit of luxury brands within the Indian context. Data was gathered using a survey distributed to 413 luxury brand consumers in four major metropolitan cities in India, employing Smart-PLS for analysis. In addition to the main effects, the moderating impact of gender, geographic location, and generation were explored. The results reveal that brand experience and brand resonance are both essential for luxury consumption, with an additional moderating role of generation and gender. Furthermore, consumer involvement is found to mediate the relationship. Implications for scholarship and practice are discussed.     

Brand alliance and customer‐based brand‐equity effects

This research examines brand alliances, a specific marketing strategy designed to transfer the positive brand equity of two or more partner brands to the newly created joint brand. The study explores how customer‐based brand equity (that is, brand equity as seen from the customer's perspective) of partner brands affects consumer evaluations of an alliance brand; how the brand equity of one partner brand affects the other; how customer‐based brand equity of the partner brands affects consumers' evaluations of the search, experience, and credence attribute performance of the alliance brand; and how product trial influences such evaluations. Results suggest that merely the act of pairing with another brand elevates consumers' evaluations of the partner brands' customer‐based brand equity, and high‐equity partners enhance pretrial evaluation of experience and credence attributes that are relevant to the high‐equity partner. As hypothesized, product trial moderates the equity value of the alliance partner for experience attributes, and brand equity of the partner brands influences consumer perceptions of the alliance brand's equity. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Brand positivity and competitive effects on the evaluation of brand extensions

The dominant approach in brand-extension research has focused on the role of fit in the extension evaluation process. Overemphasis on fit has resulted in research designs that involve singular evaluation of the extension without considering how competing brands in the target category might affect the evaluation of brand extensions. Singular evaluations are known to result in brand positivity effects; that is, brand extensions are evaluated more favorably than is warranted. This research finds that singular evaluations do indeed lead to brand positivity effects. However, brand positivity effects are mitigated when respondents were provided with competitive information along with target-category structure and comparative/non-comparative brand positioning statements. Results also suggest that parent brand-extension fit, though an important determinant of an extension's assessment, plays a less critical role in a comparative evaluation context when an extension's brand strength is accounted for in relation to its competition in the target category. Therefore, the findings stress the importance of both competition and parent-brand fit in making informed positioning decisions and more realistic predictions of extension success. The research demonstrates when, how and to what extent comparative evaluations result in lower extension ratings and provides managerial strategies to introduce an extension effectively.     

Brand crises: The roles of brand familiarity and crisis relevance in determining the impact on brand evaluations

Brand crises, defined as well-publicized claims of unsubstantiated or false brand propositions can do severe damage to brands. Yet, the damaging effects of brand crises may not always be uniform. In other words, the effects of crises may be subject to moderators such as the relevance of the crisis to the brand and brand familiarity. We propose a framework that helps us understand the effects of brand crises on consumers' brand evaluations. We test the hypotheses that crisis relevance interacts with familiarity in its effect on brand evaluations, and that this effect is mediated by perceptions of the seriousness of the crisis. Results from two experiments support these predictions.     

Effects of television brand placement on brand image

A survey as well as an experiment was conducted to study the effects of television brand placement on brand image. The studies showed that the integration of a brand into the editorial content of a program had a significant effect on brand image: As people watched more episodes, the brand image became more in agreement with the program image. These results confirm the applicability of learning and human associative memory theories to brand placement. Another important finding is that brand memory and brand image were not related. Thus, brand image became more positive regardless of viewers' memory of the brand placements, which implies that brand image was implicitly affected. This has important theoretical implications for the understanding of the working of brand placement. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Functional brand qualities and perceived value: The mediating role of brand experience and brand personality

Brand experience and brand personality have become two important theoretical constructs in the branding literature. However, research on the antecedents of these two constructs has been focused on intangible brand characteristics and qualities, underestimating the role of functional features. This study aims to overcome this gap by postulating that two key functional brand qualities, quality and innovativeness, help shape brand experience and personality, which, we ultimately predict, contribute to perceived value. Investments in quality and innovation have grown substantially, but how they materialize in benefits for customers and firms remains unclear. Accordingly, this study provides insights into how firms can engender the characteristics of their offer to build brands that are perceived by consumers as generating a valued brand experience and personality. The results from two samples provide broad support to the proposed model. Both brand quality and innovativeness contribute to brand experience and personality. Moreover, we observe that both brand experience and personality relate to perceived value. Finally, we also determined that brand personality and experience partially mediate the relationship between brand innovativeness and quality and perceived value. Hence, these results provide relevant implications for both theory and the practice of brand management.     

Drivers of brand community engagement

Brand community engagement is evolving as a prominent relationship marketing variable that yields promising outcomes for the firms. Drawing upon the relevant premises of social exchange theory, this paper proposes a theoretical model portraying the role of online brand community based benefits (experience based and self-esteem based) and the community relationship investment in predicting the levels of brand community engagement.Data collected through a survey questionnaire technique from 925 members of the firm created online brand communities was employed to test the measurement and structural theory using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling respectively. The empirical results reveal that the customers’ experiential and self-esteem based benefits drive their brand community engagement. The perceived community relationship investment of the members also drives their brand community engagement positively. The sequential structural model also supported a positive impact exerted by brand community engagement on brand community commitment and brand loyalty. Additionally, it is observed that the focal brand ownership moderates the effect of community benefits and community relationship investment on brand community engagement.This study contributes to the nascent academic research on online brand communities and to the existing understanding of the brand community managers in managing customer engagement in online brand communities, thereby of profound theoretical and managerial relevance.     

How advertising slogans can prime evaluations of brand extensions

Different versions of a brand slogan were presented to each of three treatment groups before they evaluated six potential extensions of a fictitious brand. One slogan primed “nutrition,” one primed “spiciness,” and the third primed “high quality” as product attributes. All other product and brand information was held constant. The slogans had a significant effect both on the perceived similarity and on the evaluations of potential brand extensions. The results suggest that there is considerable flexibility in the category of products that a brand represents. Advertising slogans can play an important role in supporting or undermining a brand extension strategy by drawing attention to attributes that the new product either has in common with existing products or that conflict with existing products. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Strategies to offset performance failures: The role of brand equity

In this research, we examine the role of brand equity as a strategy to offset the negative effects of a performance failure. Two independent studies, spanning four industries and involving 669 respondents are employed to investigate this issue. Results suggest that high brand equity leads to more favorable satisfaction evaluations and behavioral intentions than low brand equity. The brand equity effect is identified as a prevailing advantage that spans the entire failure and recovery sequence. This is an important finding because it implies that the advantages of high brand equity theoretically can apply to all failures, not just those for which recovery is attempted. Further inspection, however, reveals that despite the prevailing advantage, high-equity brand failures lead to a more drastic decline in customer evaluations immediately after the failure episode. Managerial implications and future research are addressed.