Knowledge metrics of Brand Equity; critical measure of Brand Attachment

Far East Journal of Psychology and Business Vol 3 No 1 April 2011

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Knowledge metrics of Brand Equity; critical measure of Brand Attachment

Arslan Rafi (Corresponding Author)

Scholar, Iqra University, Islamabad, Pakistan

[email protected]

Arslan Ali

Scholar, Iqra University, Islamabad, Pakistan

[email protected]

Sidra Waris

Scholar, Iqra University, Islamabad, Pakistan [email protected]

Dr. Kashif-ur-Rehman

Associate Professor, Iqra University, Islamabad, Pakistan

[email protected]

ABSTRACT

Brand creation through an effective marketing strategy is necessary for creation of unique

associations in the customer‟s memory. Customer‟s attitude, awareness and association towards

the brand are primarily focused while evaluating performance of a brand, before designing the

marketing strategies and subsequent evaluation of the progress. In this research, literature

establishes a direct and significant effect of Knowledge metrics of the Brand equity, i.e. Brand

Awareness and Brand Association, on creation of Brand Attachment and Brand Attitude Strength

and this factor becomes more effectual while introducing and promoting new brands. Finding of

this research imply that for achieving desirable outcome through creation of Brand attachment

and Brand Attitude Strength in the target audience and for designing more effective and fruitful

strategies, managers and policy makers should pay more focus on creating strong Knowledge

metrics amongst the target audience.

Keywords: Brand Attachment, Knowledge Metrics, Brand Awareness, Brand Association

Paper Type: Research paper

INTRODUCTION

Brand Attachment is why businesses are in the market and what they compete for it is not only

important to sell their products to customers but also to set up strong Brand Awareness and

Brand Associations with their customers. Brands are formed to get characteristics in the products

distinct from their competitors and attract and retain the customers with them by building up

their loyalty. It is strongly supported in the research that old customers are the core assets of the

any brand so it should be the core priority of that particular brand that they should retain their

existing customers, because retaining your existing customers results in good word of mouth and

with the help of strong word of mouth new customers might be attracted to that particular brand.

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Therefore, development of the brand attachment and creating a brand personality, businesses

save themselves much ease, funds and trouble.

Brand Attachment is a construct that shows how much a customer‟s intensions are strong tied

with that particular brand because if a customer‟s priority are strongly linked, that will ultimately

results in the market share of that brand and customer lifetime relations (Thomson, MacInnis,

and Park 2005). Brand Attachment can be divided into further two constructs first one is brand

self-connection that how a customer perceive or linked his personality with the brand the other

one is brand prominence that actually measures that what is the strength of linkage of customer

personality to brand (C.Whan et. al, 2010) it is also proposed by Deborah et. al Nov, 2010

Prominence measures the strength of the linkage concerning the brand with the customer.

This article aims to develop a conceptual model of brand attachment and to check brand

attachment impact on brand awareness and brand association. Brand Equity results in strong

brand name which could be resulted after implementation of effective integrated marketing

communication, but those who don‟t have effective integrated marketing communication would

results in weak Brand Equity. Consumers only get aware in the way if a brand has effective

integrated marketing communication. Consumers' knowledge regarding a brand makes

manufacturers/advertisers results to design brand integrated marketing plan.

There are three constructs of Metrics which are associated with branding, Knowledge Metrics,

Preference Metrics, Financial Metrics. Knowledge Metrics of brand equity measures that how

much is a customer is aware of every single promotion made by the brand and what are the

priorities, nodes in customer‟s mind for example whenever he wants to purchase any product

what going to be the first name comes in customer mind. Brands should concentrate to develop

effective integrated marketing communication to score big on both awareness and association

attributes.

There are two critical predictors of Knowledge Metrics. Brand Awareness is a marketing belief

that how much is a customer has the knowledge regarding to the existence of the brand (Laurent,

Gilles, Kapferer, and Francoise Roussel (1995).

The core goal of advertising is to develop involvement which results in brand awareness

(McMahon 1980). It is proposed by Bogart (1986, p. 208), employees of advertising department

work to develop strong nodes in the consciousness of the customer that he feel comfortable while

using that particular brand. The major role of advertisers to develop awareness through effective

integrated marketing communication that ultimately results in higher sales.

Brand Association, second critical indicator of Knowledge Metrics is to develop strong

connection of the priorities in the consciousness of the customer that whenever a customer cause

the purchase intensions the first brand name comes in the mind due to strong nodes which are

connected to that particular brand. Degree to which a customer has strong nodes which are in the

consciousness of the customer makes him associate with the brand Theories of Memory

(Anderson 1979; Keller 1993). These associations has two further properties one is the strong

nodes that comes first in the mind and second is to help while ranking the brands which further

results in the selection of the brand (Howard 1969; Nedungadi 1990).


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LITERATURE REVIEW

Scholars and marketing professionals strongly emphasize to study consumer‟s attachment to

brands in late studies (Chaplin et, al. 2006). Brand Attachment is a construct that shows how

much a customer‟s intensions are strong tied with that particular brand because if a customer‟s

priority are strongly linked, that will ultimately results in the market share of that brand and

customer lifetime relations (Thomson, MacInnis, and Park 2005).

Brand attachment and brand attitude strength have distinguishing behavioral implications. Brand

attachment more specifically forecast aims to execute behaviors that employ considerable

consumer possessions for example time, money etc. Brand attachment is as well a well-built

forecaster of authentic consumer behaviors (C.Whan Park, Andreas B, & Dawn Iacobucci Nov,

2010).

Research has observed attachment in interpersonal perspectives, marketing research propose that

marketplace units can be developed by consumers as well, comprehensive of product brands

(Fournier and all, 2006), and exceptional belongings (Ball, Tasaki & others 2004).

Conspicuously, in spite of the emergent appreciation of the attachment construct, the theoretical

properties of this construct stay indefinable (Park, Priester. 2009)

With the help of material assets consumers might be remain attached to a perfume, just like they

attached to other material assets, whereas the idea of attachment basically concerned to the

linkage between a parent and an toddler (Bowlby 1979), it can influence to the people belongs to

all ages in utilization circumstances. Kleine and Baker 2004 classify material attachment as

versatile properties of the relationship among a precise material entity and an individual.

A customer also might fabricate an individual record with the body spray from side to side

relevance and link it with impressive, touching moments (Mugge and others 2006). In addition,

an individual‟s attachment to a body spray can accomplish touching density in vocabulary of

mutually ambiance and linked sentimental memories. Body spray as component of a person‟s

widespread character demonstrates. Unforgettable procedures clients deem a body spray

component of them and utilize it to fix with past recollections. Attachment subsequently

produces as they build up recollections associated with the body spray (Belk‟s, 1988).

The query that how different attachment begins to left behind unanswered for the reason that non

continuation of longitudinal learning of material control attachment, however attachment

progress “with the passage of time, with relevance to self-meaning” Researchers advocate

monotonic expansion of attachment over the period of time, found on consumer‟s contacts with

the control. Tasaki and Ball pull that huge level of attachment is linked with longer rights and

improved touching collision. (Ball and Tasaki 1992)

It is also proposed in the literature that attachments to items imitate persons to other people, for

example nonstop actions accomplish with the entity inspire the objective with better

understanding (Kleine and Baker 2004). Others found that long term attachments required ample

time, habitual communications, and memories concerning to the entity distinctively, which

heartens the individual to spend the entity with superior implication (Thomson and Park, 2005).

Brand Self-connection: Brand Attachment engages a connection among the brand and with the

personality of an individual that an important aspect of attachment includes the touching


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alliances between the self and the brand, which is explained here as the brand–self connection

(Chaplin, Escalas John 2005). Classifying the brand as measurement of the self build up wisdom

of oneness in the consumer related to the brand, determine links that attach the self with the

brand. even if cognitive in its description, this brand–self connection is fundamentally emotional

(Thomson and Park 2005), including potentially merged feelings relating the brand, counting

anxiety and grief from brand–self division, delight and relieve from brand–self proximity, and

delight from brand–self exhibit. Clients might attach to a brand because it symbolizes who they

are for a distinctiveness origin or as it is purposeful in light of objectives, individual anxiety, or

life mission (Mittal 2006).

Brand prominence: The other strong indicator of brand attachment is brand prominence defined

as addition to brand-self connection is brand prominence and it is defined in previous studies as a

degree to which positive feelings, nodes and memories about the particular object is always on

the top of the mind. As proposed by Collins and Mikulincer (1998), strong feelings related to the

attachment objects are consider as stronger for those people who have high level of attachment to

that particular object as compared to the people who have low attachment for that particular

object. It is also recommended that these strong nodes for particular object take much time to be

stronger that ultimately it becomes the important part of an individual‟s personality and stored in

the customer‟s consciousness. This is how we describe brand prominence: Prominence

impersonates the core and affective liaison that relates self to the brand. This core part is

developing by the professed simplicity and the occurrence with which the brand-related thoughts

and feelings occurs to mind. Therefore, individual‟ attachment with regard to two brands with

the equal degree of brand–self connection is greater for the brand that they be acquainted as more

prominent.

Brand Awareness: is a marketing notion that reviews individuals' knowledge of a brand, next to

the complete brand intensity, it demonstrates the ratio of individuals who have knowledge about

the particular brand (Roussel & Francoise Laurent 1995). The vital aim of advertising in state of

affairs of weak concentration or contribution is to breed and maintain brand awareness

(McMahon 1980). Advertisers take advantage of repetition to create an impression on the

individuals' consciousness and make them relax while selecting and using the brand. Advertisers

also expect that these strong nodes will help to increase the profitability and good market share

with the help of repeat sales (Bogart, 1986).

Brand Association: The knowledge about a particular brand is considered as the key market

based asset that the individuals stored in their consciousness and use while selecting and

purchasing situations. It is hoped that the use of a brand‟s associations by customers in buying

situations will cause the customer to favor purchase of a certain brand. As such, the knowledge

about the brand is taken as the vital component of Based Brand Equity (Keller 2003). It is

proposed by Keller (1993) that further expected distinctiveness of brand associations could be

likeliness, favorability, strength and uniqueness.


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THEORATICAL FRAMEWORK

HYPOTHESIS

Based on the defining fundamentals of each branding dimension, Brand Attachment, Knowledge

metrics of brand equity which have further two constructs as discussed in literature 1) Brand

Awareness 2) Brand Association that are estimated to be concerned in the Brand Attachment

and strong Brand Equity we hypothesize following recitations.

Brand Equity Metrics:

Brand Equity results in strong brand name which could be resulted after implementation of

effective integrated marketing communication, but those who don‟t have effective integrated

marketing communication would results in weak Brand Equity. Consumers only get aware in the

way if a brand has effective integrated marketing communication. Consumers' knowledge

regarding a brand makes manufacturers/advertisers results to design brand integrated marketing

plan.

Metrics Associated with Branding:

There are three types of Metrics which are allied with branding.

1) Knowledge Metrics

2) Preference Metrics

3) Financial Metrics

Knowledge Metrics:

Knowledge Metrics of brand equity measures that how much is a customer is aware of every

single promotion made by the brand and what are the priorities, nodes in customer‟s mind for

example whenever he wants to purchase any product what going to be the first name comes in

Brand Awareness

Knowledge

Metrics

Brand Self-

Connection

Brand Attachment

Brand Association

Brand Prominence


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customer mind. Brands should concentrate to develop effective integrated marketing

communication to score big on both awareness and association attributes. Researcher took Brand

Equity Metrics as an independent variable and further to Brand Equity Metrics Researcher took

Knowledge Metrics in Brand Equity Metrics. There are two significant indicators of Knowledge

Metrics 1) Brand Awareness is a marketing notion that reviews individuals' knowledge of a

brand, next to the complete brand intensity, it demonstrates the ratio of individuals who have

knowledge about the particular brand (Roussel & Francoise Laurent 1995).

The knowledge about a particular brand is considered as the key market based asset that the

individuals stored in their consciousness and use while selecting and purchasing situations. It is

hoped that the use of a brand‟s associations by customers in buying situations will cause the

customer to favor purchase of a certain brand. As such, the knowledge about the brand is taken

as the vital component of Based Brand Equity (Keller 2003). It is proposed by Keller (1993) that

further expected distinctiveness of brand associations could be likeliness, favorability, strength

and uniqueness.

H-1: Brand Awareness is a strong construct of an individual’ intentions to measure Brand

Attachment: The next critical indicator of Knowledge Metrics is 2) Brand Association One of the

most important market based possessions is the knowledge about a particular brand that

consumers amass in their memory and use in buying situations. This knowledge is

conceptualized as associations connected to a brand name in line with the Associative Network

Theories of Memory (Anderson 1979; Keller 1993). These associations characteristically have

two foremost functions. The first is to act as cues to get back a brand name from memory for

consideration set entry. The second is to help in the brand evaluation process leading to selection

(Howard 1969; Nedungadi 1990).

H-2: Brand Association is a strong construct of an individual’ intentions to measure Brand

Attachment.

Brand Attachment:

Brand attachment is taken here as a dependent variable. Brand Attachment is a construct that

shows how much a customer‟s intensions are strong tied with that particular brand because if a

customer‟s priority are strongly linked, that will ultimately results in the market share of that

brand and customer lifetime relations (Thomson, MacInnis, and Park 2005).

Brand attachment and brand attitude strength have distinguishing behavioral implications. Brand

attachment more specifically forecast aims to execute behaviors that employ considerable

consumer possessions for example time, money etc. Brand attachment is as well a well-built

forecaster of authentic consumer behaviors (C.Whan Park, Andreas B, & Dawn Iacobucci Nov,

2010).

H-3: Brand awareness and Brand Association has significant impact on the construct

Brand Self-Connection of Brand Attachment.

The other strong indicator of brand attachment is brand prominence defined as addition to brand-

self connection is brand prominence and it is defined in previous studies as a degree to which

positive feelings, nodes and memories about the particular object is always on the top of the

mind.

H-4: Brand awareness and Brand Association has significant impact on the construct

Brand Prominence of Brand Attachment.


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DISCUSSION

In this Research Model, Brand Attachment is taken as dependent variable whereas Knowledge

metrics of the brand equity is taken as Independent variable. Brand Attachment is a construct that

shows how much a customer‟s intensions are strong tied with that particular brand because if a

customer‟s priority are strongly linked, that will ultimately results in the market share of that

brand and customer lifetime relations (Thomson, MacInnis, and Park 2005).

The marketing techniques or conclusion that fabricate to a product with its Brand Personality

compared with those that might appears if the same product did not have the Brand Personality.

At the origin of these marketing possessions is the consumers' knowledge, or we can articulate

that consumers' knowledge be appropriate to a brand makes the managers/market researchers to

react in a different way, or oblige them to espouse properly related measures for effective

marketing of the brand.

Strong Brand Equity is build through strong brand awareness and strong nodes in the

consciousness of a customer. For the most part market based positive feature for a business is the

knowledge that subsists in the consumer markets about a specific Brand and individuals needs to

build up strong nodes in their minds while making purchase and selecting decisions. With the

help of these strong brand associations by customers in purchasing will positively prompt the

customers in making purchase of a particular brand.

A strong Brand loyalty verify as a competitive edge for a business and differentiate from the

other market brands is a deal with businesses and a policy of acquiring, hunting and then

targeting those inimitable qualities for the brand might compete marketers discarding the

techniques which incorporate individuals‟ basic group needs (Tybout and Keller 2002).

With a brand equity viewpoint, customers anticipate that brand that have strong equity make a

competitive edge on those brand which don‟t have strong brand equity. For example, strong

nodes or associations, favorable for those who have strong brand equity (Broniarczyk 2003).

Therefore, it is compulsory for new participants into a group or market need to offer anything

inimitable to customers, which help to provide some good rationale causes to purchase.

(Davidson 1976). These benefits advice that building professed brand inimitability might be a

helpful and significant strategy in developing and civilizing brand performance. But yet, one

thing counts more than that and if such observable fact remains unaddressed, the brand may

undergo difficulties in making it‟s significance and gaining concentration from the promising

customer, and that is formation of awareness and the association of the brand and its‟ inimitable

contributions in target customers.

The vital aim of advertising is to develop strong awareness in the minds‟ of the customers

(McMaahon 1980). Building brand awareness is a feasible strategy for advertising proposed at

increasing brand-choice prospects. Two techniques if possible can be use to get brand


48

differentiation. The first is that when individual incorporate what is the promotion strategy is

going to be offered by this brand that other market brands don‟t have such promotional strategy.

It will results in the inimitability of the brand as measure up to other brands in the market. The

second is based on brand dominance, when a customer incorporates that although other brands

are using the same promotional strategy as this brand, but still they take that particular brand as

superior as compared to other brands in the market due to strong brand equity and brand loyalty

(Pechmann and Sharp, 2001). Investment in developing differentiation strategy have long term

value if it is sustainable, or in other words brand will be able to attract and retain hard core loyal

customers. (Aaker 2003).

Dall‟Olmo Riley (1997) dispute that repossession of brand-attribute relations varied thoroughly

for individuals over the period of time, even for usual group attributes for example even if „each

person knows‟ Coca-cola taste still worth in building core feature while selecting any drink to

use, and other, memory associations (Romaniuk, 2004). This also ropes the preceding argument

for need of creation of market awareness and then constructing an association with the market in

order to get Brand Attachment.

When a consumer possesses no prior knowledge or awareness regarding any brand in a choice

set, easy and reliable choice tactics may be fewer immediately available. This lack of knowledge

would most likely result in a more effortful decision-making process. But creation of Brand

awareness and Association, this perceived difficulty may be encountered tactfully and

successfully. So literature supports that creation of a Brand Awareness and then Knowledge

among the customers and target market will be helpful in generating market demand and then

further lead to development of Brand Attachment.

MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONS

Substantial possessions are being spent on customer attraction and retention. This research

involves that Brand managers should use significant resources in calculating brand awareness,

association, attachment and brand loyalty. It is also recommended and established

managers/market researchers should also use brand bond measures, commence and develop

tactical and strategic schemes that will make sure that consumers are concerned, satisfied, trust it

and feel linked to Brand.

Consumers' knowledge about a brand constructs managers/market researchers counter in a

different way or assume suitably proficient measures for the marketing of the brand and prior

focus on the propositions and regular estimations of the Knowledge metrics of Brand Equity

might be fruitful for Managers, advertisers and market researchers in adding up and manipulating

marketing strategies and strategic goals in harmony to the target markets.

CONCLUSION

First Hypothesis (H-1) of this paper assumes that Brand Awareness is a strong construct of an

individual‟ intentions to measure Brand Attachment for example if a customer is well awareness

concerning a brand strong associations are urbanized with the brand, eventually the customer

will turn out to be hardcore loyal with that particular brand. Literature fully supports this


49

Hypothesis and proposes for Brands for formation of awareness regarding the inimitability and

traits vacant by the Brand to make it more discriminative from other competitors Brands in the

market.

Second hypothesis (H-2) states that Brand Association is a strong construct of individual

intentions to measure Brand Attachment. Research support that if a Brand accomplish something

in developing strong bond of between it and the target customers in the market, eventually

customers might start considering Brand as a part of their personalities.

Third hypothesis (H-3) Brand awareness and Brand Association has significant impact on the

construct Brand Self-Connection. Brand Attachment is a construct that shows how much a

customer‟s intensions are strong tied with that particular brand because if a customer‟s priority

are strongly linked, that will ultimately results in the market share of that brand and customer

lifetime relations (Thomson, MacInnis, and Park 2005). Research strongly supports that if a

customer tied with strong associations and he is well aware of the latest offerings of that

particular brand. Eventually this will results in hardcore loyalty of that particular customer.

Fourth hypothesis (H-4) Brand Awareness and Brand Association has significant impact on the

construct Brand Prominence of Brand Attachment. Strong feelings related to the attachment

objects are consider as stronger for those people who have high level of attachment to that

particular object as compared to the people who have low attachment for that particular object.

So, if a Brand do well in developing awareness in the course of its‟ strong word of mouth and

mounting attachments and strong associations, his hardcore loyalty will consequences as

conclusion to the whole work out and may lead to the identification of the brand as well as in

preserving loyalty and emotional attachment of the prospective customers.

FUTURE RESEARCH

However our literature positively supports our hypothesis, but it also raises additional research

issues that what could be the other variables which can further enhance the attachment of a

particular customer, how can this bond further strengthened for this future research might be

related to customer loyalty, so future research might check the impact of brand attachment on

customer loyalty.

Additional research is also required to examine the relative impact of brand attachment on

financial and preference metrics of brand equity.

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Documents

Knowledge metrics of Brand Equity; critical measure of Brand Attachment