Editorial

Citation

Leventhal, R.C. (2009), "Editorial", Journal of Product & Brand Management, Vol. 18 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/jpbm.2009.09618daa.001

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: Journal of Product & Brand Management, Volume 18, Issue 4

What is the value of a brand? Many companies have been examining the relevance of this question and much has been written as it concerns various corporate efforts at trying to establish global brands. But what is a brand? Is it a product? A service? A person? A company? A specific process? The bottom line is that a brand represents something that a buyer and seller can identify with and is something that can create value for both the buyer and the seller. A brand only has value if a consumer is willing to purchase and use it. A good brand makes money for a company. But to succeed in today’s global marketplace is a definite challenge.

Corkindale and Belder investigate how the strength of a corporate brand influences the adoption of an innovative service. There was significant relationship between corporate brand strength and a consumer’s likelihood of adoption of the service. Corkindale and Belder also point out that the corporate brand construct was found to comprise two factors: a conative and cognitive one where the former was more influential on adoption probability. The emotive rather than the factual associations with the corporate brand may well be more influential as it pertains to the adoption decision.

Nenycz-Thiel and Romaniuk examine how brand users and non-brand users currently position private labels and national brands in three package goods categories. Results suggest that the perceptual categorization into private label brands and national brands differs once private labels have been purchased. Regardless of (shopping) experience, private labels form a subgroup in consumers’ memory, with low prices and low quality as the main drivers of this categorization. The author’s findings have implications for retailers looking to launch and manage private labels and manufacturers who need to compete with them.

Tong and Hawley examine the practicality and applications of a customer-based brand equity model in the Chinese sportswear market. The authors found that brand association and brand loyalty are influential dimensions of brand equity. Weak support was found for the perceived quality and brand awareness dimensions. Sportswear brand managers, and those involved with developing marketing strategies for said products, should consider the relative importance of brand equity in their overall brand (equity) evaluations. Efforts should be concentrated on building brand loyalty and image.

Arora and Stoner study the personality dimensions of two retail stores (Target and Wal-Mart) and two athletic brands (Adidas and Nike). The authors use a mixed method (qualitative and quantitative) approach to explore product personality. The author’s findings revealed important dimensions that have previously appeared only in either qualitative or quantitative analysis. As an example, the attributes of competence, sophistication, and ruggedness failed to emerge in the qualitative analysis. The findings may be used to help marketers formulate more effective product design, positioning, and promotion strategies.

Charters examines the issue of whether or not a brand needs to be consistent. The author examines the wine industry, and suggests that rather than wine invariably being the same; it is necessary for it to offer a regular standard of quality within varying external constraints. In fact, consumers may actually search out such inconsistency. Extending this idea, it may be argued that this is relevant for other goods, such as food and fashions. Thus, it may be relevant for marketing managers to build some type of inconsistency into their product design in some cases to give consumers the chance of involvement in brand co-creation.

In this issue you will also find a most interesting Case study, a very salient Beyond product brand management, our Pricing strategy & practice section, as well as our Book reviews.

Richard C. Leventhal