Editorial

Citation

Leventhal, R.C. (2009), "Editorial", Journal of Product & Brand Management, Vol. 18 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/jpbm.2009.09618aaa.001

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: Journal of Product & Brand Management, Volume 18, Issue 1

Much attention has been paid to the importance that a brand has for a particular product and/or service in the marketplace. There is no denying the fact that image and awareness have always been important facets of what a brand is all about. However, the idea that we are able to manipulate how people think and behave toward a particular brand is no longer valid. What has succeeded in the past may no longer be appropriate today. The electronic/digital revolution has changed how individuals approach the marketplace. Perhaps having the ability to approach branding from the outside in instead of from the inside out may be what is needed. After all, branding may be more complex than just considering it a part of the marketing process.

Gabay, Moskowitz, Beckley and Ashman test the consumer-centered approach to brand management that has been created to assist companies in reducing the depreciation of brand equity. The authors found that brands did not hold much beyond their names. Companies holding strong brands will need to define product features in terms of their perceived functionality across consumer segments. The authors suggest that companies should build and position their brands around customer segments.

Abbott, Holland, Giacomin and Shackleton explore whether consumer cognitive reactions to a branded product remain stable over time. In many created concepts, entity attributes are such that cognitive reactions to them change in a predictable manner by attraction to elements of novelty and typically in the genre. By analyzing products from a luxury vehicle brand under the framework of a theoretical model of changing “affective content”, the authors explore whether brands behave similarly. Through understanding cognitive reactions to the branded product, that may be discreetly deconstructable and anticipated, advantageous product attribute development can progress with some certainty. In addition, new product launches can be timed to coincide with receptive consumer conditions supported by appropriate attribute emphasis.

Harmancioglu, Finney and Joseph examine consumers’ cognitive processes and motivations for making impulse purchases of new products. The authors draw upon the theory of reasoned action as a theoretical foundation in building their model of impulse buying of product innovations. The authors posit that the determinants of impulse purchases include consumers’ characteristics (i.e. excitement and esteem) and prior product knowledge (as influenced by opinion leaders and compliance to social norms). The authors determine how impulse purchases of new products differ from impulse purchases of other types of products. This information may be of great value to brand managers.

Boatwright, Cagan, Kapur and Saltiel illustrate an analytical method to identify tangible and intangible customer values and to translate those values into brand identity differentiators and product specifications. The authors show how using a tool known as “Value opportunity analysis” may be of great value for evaluating and crafting a brand identity. The results of this exercise may be then translated into product specifications so that products embody, communicate and deliver the correct brand identity.

Broyles, Ross and Leingpibul test a model that examines whether satisfaction’s meets expectations and affective feeling state perspectives are distinct constructs in a cross-product group setting with products that have disparate levels of consumer involvement. The authors also test whether the constructs’ influence on (re)purchase behavior are (dis)similar across product groups. The authors believe that there is a need to develop marketing strategies with dual goals of meeting consumers’ expectations and developing positive consumer affective feelings.

In this issue you will also find our Pricing strategy & practice section as well as our Book Review section.

Richard C. Leventhal