Dubravka Sinčić Ćorić

Applicability of Keller’s brand equity model in the B2B chemical market

A B2B (business-to-business) brand is a distinctive identity that differentiates a relevant, enduring and credible promise of value associated with a product, service or organisation, as well as indicating the source of that promise. The concept of B2B brand equity is one of the most intriguing concepts connected to B2B brands. Although there have been some attempts to conceptualise and measure B2B brand equity in the literature, in practice no consensus about the concept has been reached so far. Unlike previous studies, this study examines the applicability of Keller’s brand equity model in a specific industry and market – the B2B chemical market. For that purpose, a series of semi-structured face-to-face interviews were conducted with buyers of specific industrial chemical products in the South and Eastern European B2B chemical market. The results show that the Keller’s brand equity model can be applicable in the B2B chemical market, however, the six brand building blocks – salience, performance, imagery, judgements, feelings and resonance – as well as subdimensions that assemble the blocks, need arrangements in different ways in order to meet the logic of the B2B marketing philosophy. As a result, the respondents perceive corporate brands to be more important than product brands. They also point to the significance of the relationship with sales representatives in building brand equity. At the top block of the pyramid respondents set partnership relations, and cooperation in developing solutions oriented towards improvement of customers’ production processes.

Consumers’ attitudes towards cause-related marketing

Abstract The paper presents the development of 5-point Likert scale for measuring attitudes towards cause-related marketing, as well as its application on a sample of Croatian consumers. The results of the research show that respondents are familiar with cause-related marketing and regard it as a good investment in the community. They see cause-related marketing campaigns as a good communication tool; they find a cause to be relevant for their personal involvement in campaigns, although the match between the cause and the product’s characteristics seems to be less important. Finally, respondents do not find the size of the donation to be crucial for their participation in cause-related marketing campaigns, but they find it important to know about the size of the donation. The results of the research can serve to marketing managers, who need to thoroughly consider how to communicate specific elements of campaigns in order to achieve maximum understanding by the target group.

The Status of Lobbying in Croatia

The positions of lobbying and the lobbyist, well established in developed democratic societies, are far less clear in transitional countries. The aim of this paper is to present the current status of lobbying in Croatia through a discussion of its reputation in the media, citizens’ attitudes and the perceptions of business sector representatives. For that purpose, three groups of research results are presented. (1) In order to characterize the reputation of lobbying in the media, the results of a quantitative content analysis of information published in daily and weekly newspapers, magazines and on Internet portals are given. (2) To understand the attitudes of citizens to lobbying, the views of the young are considered. (3) Finally, to define perceptions of lobbying in the public sector and business, the results of a survey conducted among 50 employees in government institutions and 50 in the enterprise sector are presented and analyzed.