Lea Prevel Katsanis

Understanding brand equity for successful brand extension

The turbulent 1990s typified by increased product development and marketing costs as well as increasing international competition, focussed marketing managers on cost‐saving tactics to increase competitiveness. One of the most important effects was to make brand extensions more compelling and frequent. While leveraging the brand equity of a successful brand promises to make introduction of a new entry less costly, success depends on the underlying brand knowledge and image among consumers. Explores the consumer dimensions of brand equity, the benefits and dangers of brand extension, and culminates in a series of implications and recommendations for successful brand extensions.

Redefining new product development teams: learning to actualize consumer contributions

Looks at recent product development literature which cites the improving but troubling success rates of newly introduced products and recommends integrating customer input as early as possible. Notes that, while companies have adopted cross‐functional product development teams, integrating customer input is uncommon. Suggests that, to increase product success consumers and other external information sources should be part of idea generation and should provide input throughout the rest of the product development process. Highlights several problems that exist which interfere with achieving that integration: many firms are not structured to gather, disseminate and exploit consumer preference data or their surrogates; and it is difficult to identify consumers who could provide ongoing interactive input. Reviews the relevant learning organization literature and relates it to the new product development process. Explores the successful lead user technique used in industrial marketing, describes its important components, and proposes a potentially useful extension ‐ boundary‐spanning product development teams. Describes boundary‐spanning product development teams which are composed of internal cross‐functional members and external members selected from suppliers, retailers and consumers.

Do Unmentionable Products Still Exist

Unmentionable products are those that are considered to be offensive, embarrassing, harmful, socially unacceptable, or controversial to some significant segment of the population. Examples of these products include personal hygiene products, cigarettes, and even fur coats. Describes empirical research, based on a cross‐sectional survey of 248 subjects, which provides a taxonomy of these products. Objectives of the research were to determine if unmentionable products still exist; and to assist brand marketers with market strategies. Two key factors were found to group unmentionable products together: level of controversy/harm; and level of communication. There were two groups of unmentionable products based on this classification: controversial/harmful and public communication; and beneficial and private communication. Certain products were not unmentionable. Managerial implications include careful target market segmentation, particularly for controversial/public products. For beneficial private products, ...

Punctuated equilibrium and the evolution of the product manager

There has been overwhelming discussion about the death of the product management system. Focusses on how the product management system is changing, and how firms can best anticipate and manage this change. Claims organizational change is inevitable and that marketing organizations must anticipate and prepare for it. Concludes that product management is not dead – merely evolving and at a rapid pace, and that punctuated equilibrium provides a useful model for product management for the next “equilibrium” period.

How should product managers’ job performance be evaluated in emerging product management systems?

Examines the types and characteristics of the new forms of the brand management system in marketing organizations as identified in previous research and previous existing research on performance appraisal systems. Draws linkages between the two systems to provide a framework for maximizing individual product manager’s performance, thereby maximizing overall organizational performance. Sets out a number of managerial implications and suggests areas for future research.

An assessment of professional training for product managers in the pharmaceutical industry

Purpose – The primary purpose of this study is to identify how and where product managers in the pharmaceutical industry receive the training required to undertake their job tasks, and whether or not there is a relationship between the tasks they perform and the training they receive.Design/methodology/approach – The methodology for this study was exploratory and descriptive in nature, and utilized a cross‐sectional survey design. Both descriptive and relational statistics are used to analyze the data.Findings – The key findings reveal that product managers receive the majority of their training on the job, with the rest supported by company‐sponsored training and outside seminars. Product managers do not appear to receive company training in proportion to the frequency with which particular tasks are performed.Research limitations/implications – The limitations to the study are that the findings are limited to one industry and that training needs are self‐reported.Originality/value – Managers should not ...

Some effects of changes in brand management systems: issues and implications

Asserts that the traditional approach to brand management is changing and there has been a quiet shift towards a new structural paradigm in the marketing organization. This change represents a move away from a system that focuses on the individual brand manager, who is responsible for all the business activities that relate to ensuring the success of a specific brand. Investigates the ways that these new marketing organizational structures will affect competitive advantage. Outlines a proposed holistic systems framework.

The Ideology of Political Correctness and Its Effect on Brand Strategy

Describes the phenomenon of political correctness and its effect on the way brand marketers conduct their business. Discusses in detail the effect of this ideology on brand association, brand symbolism, target marketing, promotional messages and brand features; provides case studies. Presents first, a brief discussion of political correctness with a working definition; then the differences between politically correct and politically incorrect brands. Uses the examples of Dakota cigarettes and Stroh′s beer to show how brand symbolism is affected by political correctness. PowerMaster beer, Uptown cigarettes and Nike athletic shoes are examples of politically incorrect target market selection. Benetton is controversial, yet politically correct, as is Ben and Jerry′s ice‐cream, with respect to promotional messages. Fur coats and Barbie dolls have incorrect product features, while The Body Shop has correct ones. Recommendations for brand marketers include two possible strategies: prevention and proaction; or r...

The performance appraisal process of pharmaceutical product managers in Canada: an empirical study

Examines the way in which the performance of the pharmaceutical product manager is evaluated. Attempts to provide a picture of the principal functions on which the Canadian pharmaceutical product manager is evaluated, as well as of performance appraisal systems currently used in the pharmaceutical industry. Two methodologies are used, both in‐depth interviews and survey, in order to provide the most comprehensive examination of this area. Additionally, examines whether or not these systems are proving useful in linking job tasks to performance appraisal in order to achieve the goals of the organization.

The dimensions of prescription drug brand personality as identified by consumers

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to describe the development and validation of a two-dimensional scale measuring prescription drug brand personality as identified by consumers. Design/methodology/approach – A total of 483 US respondents rated a subset of 15 well-known prescription medications on 22 different personality traits. A total of 2,245 individual brand evaluations were generated and subsequently analyzed using exploratory factor analysis. Findings – The findings revealed that consumers are in fact able to attribute human personality traits to prescription drugs. A stable and generalizable two-dimensional (competence and innovativeness) scale was established: the Prescription Brand Personality Scale (PBPS). Research limitations/implications – The “stacked” data structure required to aggregate data across subjects discounts the variation between brands and subjects. The brands included in the study are relatively few compared to consumer brands. Practical implications – This research has importan...