In the economic approach, the consumer was supposed to be an economic man,
able to take into consideration all relevant information and rationally evaluate
different options in a choice situation. The view of the consumer in the infor-
mation-processing theory of consumer choice is somewhat different. The
consumer is assumed to be exposed to a constant information overload and the
mind an inadequate container in an over-communicated society full of commercial
messages. ‘The computer’ is in other words not capable of processing all the data
that are fed to it. Therefore, the human mind economizes on processing capacity
by choosing not to process all information. These simplifying strategies that econ-
omize on processing capacity (heuristics) are also central to understanding the
information-processing theory of consumer research and the further implications
for and of the customer-based brand equity framework.
Customer-based brand equity
‘Customer-based brand equity is defined as the differential effect of brand
knowledge on consumer response to the marketing of the brand’ (Keller 1993,
p. 2). It is also a conceptual model of brand equity seen from the perspective of
the individual consumer: The ‘marketing’ of the above definition relates to the
marketing mix, but the point of view is reversed in comparison with the
economic approach (chapter 4) – it is consumer reactions to marketing actions
that are in focus.
The global understanding of the brand in the mind of the consumer is conceptu-
alized as ‘brand knowledge’, which is divided into ‘brand awareness’ (brand recall
and brand recognition) and ‘brand image’ (the set of associations linked with the
brand). Memory principles and structure from cognitive psychology are the back-
ground of brand knowledge. As explained in the above sections, memory and
knowledge consist of a set of nodes and links. Nodes are stored information and
Box 6.2 Heuristics are important in low-involvement categories
Consumers take more brand alternatives into consideration during a
consumption choice process if either the perceived risks or the perceived
benefits are high.
Choosing a mundane, low-involvement brand involves a simpler process
of choice where heuristics are more easily applied.
Heuristics take on different forms. Below are two examples:- Lexicographicheuristic: ‘I buy the least expensive brand’.
- Familiarityheuristic: ‘I buy the brand most familiar to me’.
Especially in low-involvement categories, it is hence worth while investi-
gating which heuristics are typically applied in choice processes.
SourceKardes (1994)92 Seven brand approaches