Jenni Romaniuk

Conceptualizing and measuring brand salience

Historically, brand salience has been considered synonymous with the brand being ‘top of mind’ (mentioned first) when the product category is used to cue retrieval from memory. In this article we argue that this conceptualization (and associated measure) is too narrow. We show that there is value in distinguishing salience from the concepts of awareness and attitude by conceptualizing brand salience as the brand’s propensity to be noticed or come to mind in buying situations. Brand salience reflects the quantity and quality of the network of memory structures buyers’ hold about the brands. This article offers guidelines to facilitate research on the role of brand salience in brand choice and buyer behaviour that are an important progression from the evaluation (attitude) focus of contemporary marketing theory.

Perceptual categorization of private labels and national brands

Purpose – This paper seeks to compare how brand users and non‐brand users currently position private labels and national brands in three packaged goods categories. It aims to provide guidelines for positioning strategies for both private labels and national brands through the outcomes.Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected in a telephone survey of 600 randomly recruited primary shoppers. Binary logistic regression was used to examine the informational cues consumers use to categorize private labels and national brands. The memory structures of users and non‐users of private labels were then separately modelled.Findings – Results suggest that the perceptual categorization into private label brands and national brands differs once private labels have been purchased. Users of private label brands did not see them as being any less trustworthy than national brands. However, non‐users of private labels did use trust to discriminate between the two types of brands, and tended to use negative attribut...

Evidence concerning the importance of perceived brand differentiation

The credibility and vibrancy of any discipline depends on a willingness to question even the most strongly held beliefs. Our research challenges the central importance of differentiation to brand strategy. We provide an empirically grounded theoretical argument that differentiation plays a more limited role in brand competition than the orthodox literature assumes. We then present empirical data, spanning many categories and two countries, showing that there is a low level of perceived differentiation across competing brands. However, despite this lack of perceived differentiation, customers are still buying these brands. This leads us to question the importance of perceived and valued differentiation and to instead place distinctiveness at the centre of brand strategy - where a brand builds unique associations that simply make it more easily identifiable. We discuss the very positive implications for marketing management and call for research on being distinctive and getting noticed.

Comparing Methods of Measuring Brand Personality Traits

Brand personality development has become an important marketing objective. Accompanying this objective is increased interest in brand personality measurement. In split sample tests across three categories, the personality traits generated using the five-point scale in Aaker (1997) were compared to those generated by a quicker to administer, free choice association method commonly used by practitioners. The results show both methods ranked brands similarly for each trait and obtained higher responses from brand users. However, the free choice method discriminated more between brands and generated a greater variety of trait associations. Therefore, if the objective is to understand the whole market, including competing brands and nonbrand users, the findings suggest a free choice method is a more appropriate than the five-point scale.

Positive and negative brand beliefs and brand defection/uptake

Purpose – The paper seeks to conduct an exploratory study into how positive and negative brand belief levels differ before, and change after, consumers defect from a brand or take up a new brand.Design/methodology/approach – Two longitudinal studies in banking and insurance were used. These included repeat interviews with the same consumers. Brand buying behaviour and positive and negative brand beliefs were measured and then compared across those who defected from a brand and those who took up a new brand.Findings – Prior to defection, differences in both positive and negative perceptions were apparent in those who subsequently defected. There was also evidence of a readjustment after defection to match the new user status. There was evidence that this readjustment did not just occur in the behaviour change period, but continued to occur afterwards, with differences over time much greater for the longer time frame interview than evident for the shorter time frame. Negative beliefs were more discriminatin...

The relationship between unique brand associations, brand usage and brand performance: analysis across eight categories

It is considered desirable for a brand to have unique associations attached with it in consumer memory. In this research we tested the interaction between unique brand associations, customer usage/preference and brand performance. In our analyses across 94 brands in eight markets we found that the presence of unique associations was not positively related to past usage or a stronger brand preference. A brands share of unique associations was also poorly correlated with current brand share. This empirical evidence supports more recent calls for brands to focus on meeting or exceeding performance on general category needs as a primary concern, which builds the richness and accessibility of the total brand associative network in consumer memory.

Brand attributes – ‘distribution outlets’ in the mind

This research tested the relationship between association of a brand with different types of image attributes and subsequent purchase of the brand. The image attributes incorporated were based on the product categories, situations and benefits offered. While mention of the brand for an image attribute was positively related to future purchase, this relationship did not vary between attributes once brand and attribute size was taken into account. However, a positive relationship was found between the number of attributes associated with the brand and future purchase. This suggests that image attributes can be considered to be analogous to ‘distribution’ outlets in consumer memory. The more attributes the brand is associated with, the greater the likelihood the consumer will think of and therefore consider the brand for purchase and that the brand will be acceptable on any criteria used. Therefore, just as a manufacturer would aim to obtain a wide geographic distribution for a supermarket brand, perhaps brand managers should aim to obtain a wide mental ‘distribution’ for their brand by linking it to a wide range of attributes. The long‐term aim is that the brand is salient for any number of attributes likely to be used by the consumer.

Brand Salience and Customer Defection in Subscription Markets

Drawing on research concerning the range of cues consumer’s use to access brands for consideration, and the effect of frequency of exposure, we examine the concept of brand salience, which is based on the likelihood of the brand to come to the ‘forefront’ of the mind of a consumer. We show how a measure of brand salience is related to the probability of switching suppliers in subscription markets (e.g. insurance, banking). We have discovered a generalisable relationship between brand salience and the probability of customer defection. This relationship was consistent across three studies that covered two markets, two data collection methods, two image questioning methods and two types of attributes. This is an important finding for marketing management because it suggests that brand/attribute links in memory can influence consumer behaviour in a way that is independent of the content or importance of the attributes. Our finding might even allow managers to forecast the effect of a change in brand salience in terms of numbers of customer defections.

Brand Image and Brand Usage: Is a Forty-Year-Old Empirical Generalization Still Useful?

ABSTRACT In this paper the authors provide evidence of the breadth and longevity of Andrew Ehrenbergs work—a testimony to the quality of his research approach. To demonstrate this vitality, the authors drew on 45 new data sets to test findings about the relative brand image response patterns from customer usage groups (Bird, Channon, and Ehrenberg, 1970). The data cover different categories (among them, services, durables, and retailers), countries (including emerging markets), and newer data collection methods (i.e., online). The authors found the generalization that brand association responses are strongly and systematically linked to past brand usage still holds—both qualitatively and, to a large extent, quantitatively. This has implications for researchers and practitioners.

The Efficacy of Brand-Execution Tactics in TV Advertising, Brand Placements, and Internet Advertising

ABSTRACT This article examines brand-execution tactics in television, internet video advertising, and in brand placement within TV programs. Multiple studies provide evidence that showing the brand early and often—and having at least one verbal mention—enhances brand recall. By contrast, the evidence is mixed for verbal frequency, and there is not support for the brand simply being present for a long time. A review of current practice across a variety of media finds considerable scope for improvement in brand execution.