Paul Trapp

University brand equity: an empirical investigation of its dimensions

Purpose – In todays complex and highly competitive marketplace, universities and colleges, realizing a need to develop sustainable strategies, have turned to branding as a solution. However, because of unique service characteristics, universities’ branding attempts may not always result in success. The purpose of this paper, utilizing the concept of brand equity as a foundation of understanding, is to present a framework and scale measurements of university brand equity and its dimensions. Design/methodology/approach – Because no prior measurement scales for university branding have existed, the scale measures for this study are compiled from the literature on brand equity measurements identifying the core and supporting value-creation factors for higher education. For this exploratory study, several pretests and exploratory factor analyses were conducted to ensure that the scale items are comprehensible and clearly measure the intended constructs. Students are considered as the target population for thi...

Creating Competitive Advantage Through Ingredient Branding and Brand Ecosystem

Abstract Ingredient branding has proven very successful for many companies across a variety of industries in recent years. Prominent examples include Intel, NutraSweet, and DuPonts Teflon. The main goal of ingredient branding is to take advantage of the potential synergy of two or more brands that share a common brand space. The Turkish cotton and textile industry can employ ingredient branding as a competitive strategy to differentiate and promote its products in the global marketplace. In recent years, the Turkish textile industry has been coming under increasing pressure from cheaper Asian textiles. This article suggests that Turkey could implement an ingredient branding strategy using its high quality cotton to differentiate its cotton and textile products in the global marketplace, and also to improve its competitive position prior to possible EU entry. In addition to presenting specific ingredient branding strategic options, the article makes some specific recommendations in implementing an ingredient branding strategy as an initial step towards creating competitive advantage through the development of a Turkish cotton and textile “brand ecosystem.”

Services branding triangle: Examining the triadic service brand promises for creating a strong brand in banking industry

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine customer, management, and contact personnel perceptions of consumer-based brand equity (CBBE) and its dimensions utilizing a services branding triangle framework in the banking industry. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from customers, managers, and contact personnel of three types of banks in Turkey – state, private, and foreign. Findings – The study finds significant external branding gaps between the perceptions of managers and customers and interactive branding gaps between the perceptions of contact personnel and customers, but no internal branding gaps between the perceptions of managers and contact personnel with respect to CBBE dimensions. Research limitations/implications – The sample was limited to Turkish adult citizens of a single major metropolitan area in Turkey and bank personnel in three cities. Originality/value – The services branding triangle framework used in this study allows service brand managers to understand not only the differences in the perceptions of brand equity dimensions of bank customers, managers, and contact personnel, but also provides an opportunity to identify the external, internal, and interactive branding gaps of each of the brand equity dimensions. The findings provide an empirical test for the three promises theory and identifying potential branding gaps resulting from differences between consumer, management, and contact personnel perceptions of CBBE and its dimensions. The paper discusses the implications of the findings in developing a strong services brand and brand equity.