The direct approach to measuring customer-based brand equity implies measuring
againstthe customer-based brand equity of other brands. Here, consumer reac-
tions to the marketing strategies of the brand are compared with reactions to the
same strategies ascribed to a fictitious or unnamed brand. In these blind test
scenarios, different elements of the marketing mix are compared between a named
brand and an unnamed ‘rival’ brand. Any marketing element will do, for example
the marketer can test perceptions of taste, feel, product quality, packaging and
advertising. The majority of these results show that the connotations of the known
brand affect the perception of all marketing methods (negatively or positively).
This comparative approach to measuring customer-based brand equity can be used
for all kinds of marketing methods, but it is a challenge to secure valid results from
these tests. Ideally, the whole sequence of mapping brand knowledge is performed
in two or more simultaneous groups where group members are exposed to exactly
the same material. Remember that brand associations are mental representations
of all kinds of sensory input (figure 6.6) and the research design should therefore
try to accommodate the fact that some representations are more linguistic than
others. The more abstract associations should also count as important data.
Summary
Building on the if–then logic of cognitive psychology and the way choice is seen
as an accurate process in the information-processing perspective, the methods
applied to investigate the cognitive aspect of the consumer can be divided into
input–output and process-tracing approaches. In the first category, input is
changed and changes in output are measured in order to capture how the human
‘computer’ works. In the latter approach, different choice scenarios are monitored
by means of (for example) verbal protocols, prompted protocols, and chrono-
metric analysis.
102 Seven brand approaches
Box 6.5 Map out customers’ brand associations yourself- Start out by asking your respondents if they recognize the brand name.
- In another respondent pool, ask which three brands come to mind when
you mention the given product category or industry. - Ask your respondents to draw association maps.
- Expose your respondents to an appropriate set of projective techniques
(e.g. finishing sentences, filling out blank speech balloons). - Interview individual respondents and make them rate their associations.
- Ask respondents what they consider to be unique about the brand.
- Compare patterns of the results across as many respondents as possible.
- Do the same routine with the brand’s closest competitors.
- Now, compare the analyses in order to know exactly which associations
of your brand are the most strong, favourable and unique.
SourceKeller (1993)