Editorial: Brand research imperatives
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The topic of branding and brand management has clearly become an important management priority in the past decade or so. Accordingly, academic research has covered a number of different issues that have collectively advanced our understanding of brands. Before considering imperatives in brand research, it is worthwhile to take some stock of the progress that has been made and the kinds of generalisation that have emerged from this academic research. The following comments are based on an in-depth review of academic research prepared as background for a chapter to appear in a handbook targeting graduate students in marketing.1
SUMMARY OBSERVATIONS Prior academic research has convincingly demonstrated the power of brands. Branding effects are pervasive, and the impact of virtually any marketing activity seems to be conditioned or qualified by the nature of the brands involved. In particular, consumer response to a product and its prices, advertising, promotions and other aspects of the marketing programme have been shown to depend on the specific brands in question. In understanding how these effects are manifested, essentially all the theoretical approaches one way or another interpret these branding effects in terms of consumer knowledge about the 4
brand and how that knowledge affects consumer behaviour. The particular dimensions or aspects of brand knowledge that drive these differences vary, however, by theoretical account and by the particular problem being investigated. Similarly, the exact mechanism involved also varies according to the brand setting under study. Because of the primary explanatory role that brand knowledge plays as an antecedent, however, branding effects are highly dependent on the context involved. Highlighting brand-related information can activate certain brand associations and not others in a manner to produce different outcomes. This differential accessibility may be a result of the cues in the marketing environment from the marketing programme or through other means. Branding effects can thus be surprisingly complex. Moreover, there is inherent complexity with brands themselves as brand names, logos, symbols, slogans, etc all have multiple dimensions which each can produce differential effects on consumer behaviour. As a result, brand management challenges can be especially thorny. There are a number of input variables that come into play and a number of outcome variables that may be of interest. Only by understanding the totality of the possible antecedents and consequences of brand marketing activity and the possible mechanisms involved can proper analysis be conducted and decisions executed.
䉷 HENRY STEWART PUBLICATIONS 1350-231X BRAND MANAGEMENT VOL. 9, NO. 1, 4–6 SEPTEMBER 2001
EDITORIAL
BRAND RESEARCH IMPERATIVES Although much progress has been made in branding research, especially in the last decade or so, a number of important research priorities exist which suggest that branding will be a fertile area for research for years to come. Five general areas worthy of some rese
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