06-05-2014, 10:44 AM
Editor’s Introduction: Brand Management
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Introduction
The study of brands and brand management has historically attracted a great deal of
interest among practitioners and academics. Early, seminal research on brands
includes the studies by Gardner and Levy (1955), Levy (1959), Martineau (1959) and
Allison and Uhl (1964).
Since then, the number of brand related journal articles and of brand management
books have increased exponentially, particularly in the last 20 years.
Two academic Journals (the Journal of Brand Management and the Journal of Product
and Brand Management) are entirely devoted to the study of brands. In addition, a
number of special issues have focused on specific topics in branding, for instance the
Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing (2007) Special Issue on Branding in
Industrial Markets, the European Journal of Marketing (2003) Special Issue on
Corporate and Service Brands and the Journal of Marketing (1994) Special Issue on
Brand Management. Moreover, most marketing and consumer behaviour conferences
include a „branding‟ or „brand management‟ track. There are also frequent specialist
conferences (e.g. the annual „Thought Leaders International Conference on Brand
Management‟) and a number of Special Interest Groups (e.g. the Academy of
Marketing‟s Brand Identity and Corporate Reputation Special Interest Group).
The sheer amount of brand related literature published in the last fifty years in a
variety of journals, books and conference proceedings, on a large array of issues and
topics, can be overwhelming for brand researchers. The articles chosen for this four-
volume collection aim to provide a comprehensive overview of the status of brand
related research, featuring the scholarly debates on a number of still unresolved issues
and the contemporary challenges faced by brands and by their managers.
Conceptualising and measuring „brand equity‟
Disagreement between researchers persists on the dimensions of „brand equity‟ and,
particularly, on the issue of its measurement. Some even question the usefulness and
relevance of the „brand equity‟ concept.
Firstly, as Kapferer (2008) remarks, two „brand equity‟ paradigms do exist: the first is
customer-oriented, is based on the relationships consumers have with the brands they
buy, from indifference to attachment, and focuses on the consequent relative
“strength” of the brand. In contrast, the second „brand equity‟ paradigm is concerned
with the brand‟s financial value, as a separable asset (e.g. Chu and Keh, 2006; Simon
and Sullivan, 1993). To these two approaches, Feldwick (1996a) adds a third
interpretation of „brand equity‟ as „description of the associations and beliefs the
consumer has about the brand‟ (p. 87).
Contemporary challenges faced by brands and by their managers
Besides the unresolved issues in branding research illustrated in the previous section,
the evolution of brands (Goodyear, 1996) has met many other challenges, particularly
over the last 20 year.
In the1990s, many commentators foresaw the „death‟ of brands at the hand of private
labels (The Economist, 1994), the growing power of retailers (The Economist, 1996)
and the short-termism of brand managers (de Chernatony, 1996; de Chernatony and
Dall‟Olmo Riley, 1998b). The literature of the 1990s started to address these
challenges, with an increasing focus on „fighting to win private labels‟ (e.g. Quelch
and Harding, 1996) and on how firms should leverage the strength of the brand,
especially by means of brand extensions. The latter has been a particularly prolific
area of research (e.g. Aaker and Keller, 1990; Park et al., 1991; Broniarczyk and
Alba, 1994; Keller and Aaker, 1992; Dawar, 1996 and many others), but many
unanswered questions do remain, particularly with regards to moderating factors such
as the characteristics of consumers, of the parent brand and of the extension category
(see Czellar, 2003).
Firms‟ motivations for branding
Firms‟ motivations to invest in branding are discussed in the subsequent five articles.
Reputational economies of scope deriving from branding are discussed by Wernerfelt.
Specifically, he notes that a multi-product firm can use its reputation as a bond for
quality when extending an established brand name. In essence, umbrella branding
could be used to send a noise-free, credible signal about the quality of a new product.
Strategy motivations for branding are discussed next, in the article by Park, Jaworski
and MacInnis. The authors propose that selecting the brand central concept, on either
a functional, or symbolic or experiential positioning, is key to gaining competitive
advantage. Their Brand Concept Management (BCM) framework offers a structured
pathway for the management and control of the brand‟s image throughout its life,
from Introduction, to Elaboration and Fortification. Within each stage, specific
positioning strategies are recommended, depending on whether the brand concept is
functional, symbolic or experiential. However, in the following article, Henderson,
Iacobucci and Calder argue that understanding consumer perceptions and associations
is more important than „a priori managerial statements of intended brand strategies‟
(p. 307). Specifically, they advocate that „associative networks‟ theory is particularly
well suited to the understanding not only of which brand associations are stored in
consumer minds, but also of how they are interrelated and activated. Various
techniques, including Kelly‟s Repertory Grid.
Brand Names
Keller et al. (2008) remark the importance of the brand name in capturing and in
conveying the key associations and the central theme of a product in an effective and
concise manner. Since brand names become shorthand for the product and its
characteristics, they are also the most difficult element for brand managers to change.
Hence, choosing an effective brand name is considered as an important decision and a
complex process of identifying and screening alternatives is usually undertaken, often
with the help of specialised consultancies. The literature on brand names reflects their
importance as shorthand of meaning and discusses the phonetic, cultural and semantic
considerations necessary when choosing a name for a new product. These three
aspects are represented by the five articles reproduced here.