Articles Brand & Product Management
Conceptualizing, Measuring & Managing Customer-Based Brand Equity
Customer-based brand equity = the differential effect of brand knowledge on consumers
response to the marketing of the brand. A brand is said to have positive (negative)
customer-based brand equity when consumers react more (less) favourably to an
element of the marketing mix for the brand than they do to the same marketing mix
element when it is attributed to a fictitiously named or unnamed version of the product
or service. Brand knowledge is defined in terms of two components: brand awareness (=
brand recall and recognition performance by consumers) and brand image (= a set of
associations linked to the brand that consumers hold in memory). Customer-based
equity occurs when the consumer is familiar with the brand and holds some favourable,
strong an unique brand associations in memory.
Customer-based brand equity occurs when the consumer is familiar with the brand and
holds some favourable, strong and unique brand associations in memory.
Because, the content and structure of memory for the brand will influence the
effectiveness of future brand strategies, it is critical that managers understand how their
marketing programs affect consumers learning and thus subsequent recall for brand-
related information.
Brand associations are conceptualized in terms of their characteristics by type (level of
abstraction and qualitative nature), favourability and strength, and in terms of their
relationship with other associations by congruence, competitive overlap (identification
and uniqueness), and leverage. Customer-based brand equity occurs when the consumer
is aware of the brand and holds one favourable, strong and unique brand associations in
memory. The different types of customer-based brand equity are discussed by
considering the effects of these dimensions of brand knowledge on brand loyalty and
consumer response to product, price, promotion and distribution strategies.
Building brand equity requires creating a familiar brand name and a positive brand
image – that is, favourable strong and unique brand associations. Strategies to build
customer-based brand equity are discussed in terms of both the initial choice of the
brand identities (brand name, logo, and symbol) and how the brand identities are
supported by and integrated into the marketing program. Two basic approaches to
measuring customer-based brand equity are: the indirect approach measuring brand
knowledge (brand awareness and elements of brand image) to asses the potential
sources of brand equity; the direct approach measuring the effects of the brand
knowledge on consumer response to elements of the marketing mix.
Brand awareness: recall & recognition
Brand image:
- Characteristics of brand associations: type, favourability, strength
- Relationships among brand associations: uniqueness, congruence, leverage
, Consumers and their brands: developing relationship theory in consumer
research
This article provides a framework for better understanding the relationships consumers
form with the brands they know and use.
- Brands can and do serve as viable relationship partners
- Consumer-brand relationships are valid at the level of lived experience
- Consumer-brand relationships can be specified in many ways using a rich
conceptual vocabulary that is both theoretically and managerially useful
Understanding the broader context of people’s life experiences to understand the
relationship with brands. Consumer-brand relationships are more a matter of perceived
goal compatibility than congruence between discreet product attributes and personality
trait images. Meaningful relationships are qualified not along symbolic versus functional
product category lines, or in terms of high versus low involvement classes, but by the
perceived ego significance of the chosen brand. Individual consumer-brand
relationships make the most sense when considered at the aggregate level of the
personal brandscape. Just as meaning of a given construct is dependent on its
relationships with other constructs, so too is the meaning of a given brand relationship a
function of other relationships in the portfolio.
Brand cohere into systems that consumers create not only to aid in living but also to give
meaning to their lives consumers do not choose brand, they choose lives.
This study argues for the power and influence of the relationship theme beyond the
interpersonal domain to the world of branded goods.
Got to get you into my life: do brand personalities rub off on consumers?
Consumers often use brand as an instrument to create more positive self-image. In
particular, brand with appealing personalities, such as Cartier (sophisticated) and
Harley-Davidson (adventurous), are particularly useful for consumers wanting to
enhance a self-image in line with a brand’s personality.
Only consumers with certain implicit theories view brand experiences as opportunities
to signal that they possess the same appealing traits as the brand, and only these
consumers actually perceive themselves more positively after a brand experience.
Implicit self-theories are lay beliefs people hold about the malleability of their
personalities. Two types have been identified: entity versus incremental theory.
Individuals who endorse incremental theory view their personal qualities as something
they can enhance through their own direct efforts at self-improvement. In contrast,
individuals who endorse entity theory view their personal qualities as something they
cannot improve their own direct efforts. Instead they seek out opportunities to signal
their positive qualities to the self or others. Entity theories are responsive to signalling
value of brands with appealing personalities. They use a brand associated with an
appealing personality to signal that they posses the same appealing personality as the
brand, resulting in more positive self-perceptions. For example, after carrying the
Victoria’s Secret shopping bag entity theorists a perceived themselves to be better-
looking, more feminine and more glamorous.
Conceptualizing, Measuring & Managing Customer-Based Brand Equity
Customer-based brand equity = the differential effect of brand knowledge on consumers
response to the marketing of the brand. A brand is said to have positive (negative)
customer-based brand equity when consumers react more (less) favourably to an
element of the marketing mix for the brand than they do to the same marketing mix
element when it is attributed to a fictitiously named or unnamed version of the product
or service. Brand knowledge is defined in terms of two components: brand awareness (=
brand recall and recognition performance by consumers) and brand image (= a set of
associations linked to the brand that consumers hold in memory). Customer-based
equity occurs when the consumer is familiar with the brand and holds some favourable,
strong an unique brand associations in memory.
Customer-based brand equity occurs when the consumer is familiar with the brand and
holds some favourable, strong and unique brand associations in memory.
Because, the content and structure of memory for the brand will influence the
effectiveness of future brand strategies, it is critical that managers understand how their
marketing programs affect consumers learning and thus subsequent recall for brand-
related information.
Brand associations are conceptualized in terms of their characteristics by type (level of
abstraction and qualitative nature), favourability and strength, and in terms of their
relationship with other associations by congruence, competitive overlap (identification
and uniqueness), and leverage. Customer-based brand equity occurs when the consumer
is aware of the brand and holds one favourable, strong and unique brand associations in
memory. The different types of customer-based brand equity are discussed by
considering the effects of these dimensions of brand knowledge on brand loyalty and
consumer response to product, price, promotion and distribution strategies.
Building brand equity requires creating a familiar brand name and a positive brand
image – that is, favourable strong and unique brand associations. Strategies to build
customer-based brand equity are discussed in terms of both the initial choice of the
brand identities (brand name, logo, and symbol) and how the brand identities are
supported by and integrated into the marketing program. Two basic approaches to
measuring customer-based brand equity are: the indirect approach measuring brand
knowledge (brand awareness and elements of brand image) to asses the potential
sources of brand equity; the direct approach measuring the effects of the brand
knowledge on consumer response to elements of the marketing mix.
Brand awareness: recall & recognition
Brand image:
- Characteristics of brand associations: type, favourability, strength
- Relationships among brand associations: uniqueness, congruence, leverage
, Consumers and their brands: developing relationship theory in consumer
research
This article provides a framework for better understanding the relationships consumers
form with the brands they know and use.
- Brands can and do serve as viable relationship partners
- Consumer-brand relationships are valid at the level of lived experience
- Consumer-brand relationships can be specified in many ways using a rich
conceptual vocabulary that is both theoretically and managerially useful
Understanding the broader context of people’s life experiences to understand the
relationship with brands. Consumer-brand relationships are more a matter of perceived
goal compatibility than congruence between discreet product attributes and personality
trait images. Meaningful relationships are qualified not along symbolic versus functional
product category lines, or in terms of high versus low involvement classes, but by the
perceived ego significance of the chosen brand. Individual consumer-brand
relationships make the most sense when considered at the aggregate level of the
personal brandscape. Just as meaning of a given construct is dependent on its
relationships with other constructs, so too is the meaning of a given brand relationship a
function of other relationships in the portfolio.
Brand cohere into systems that consumers create not only to aid in living but also to give
meaning to their lives consumers do not choose brand, they choose lives.
This study argues for the power and influence of the relationship theme beyond the
interpersonal domain to the world of branded goods.
Got to get you into my life: do brand personalities rub off on consumers?
Consumers often use brand as an instrument to create more positive self-image. In
particular, brand with appealing personalities, such as Cartier (sophisticated) and
Harley-Davidson (adventurous), are particularly useful for consumers wanting to
enhance a self-image in line with a brand’s personality.
Only consumers with certain implicit theories view brand experiences as opportunities
to signal that they possess the same appealing traits as the brand, and only these
consumers actually perceive themselves more positively after a brand experience.
Implicit self-theories are lay beliefs people hold about the malleability of their
personalities. Two types have been identified: entity versus incremental theory.
Individuals who endorse incremental theory view their personal qualities as something
they can enhance through their own direct efforts at self-improvement. In contrast,
individuals who endorse entity theory view their personal qualities as something they
cannot improve their own direct efforts. Instead they seek out opportunities to signal
their positive qualities to the self or others. Entity theories are responsive to signalling
value of brands with appealing personalities. They use a brand associated with an
appealing personality to signal that they posses the same appealing personality as the
brand, resulting in more positive self-perceptions. For example, after carrying the
Victoria’s Secret shopping bag entity theorists a perceived themselves to be better-
looking, more feminine and more glamorous.
