Brand Management: Research, theory and practice

than others; they are connected to the brand node by a stronger link and are, thus,
more powerful associations than the ones connected more loosely to the main
node. The associations appear as different kinds of mental representations, as all
associations are interpretations made by our cognitive mindsets. Some associa-
tions are of a more visual nature and some are of a more verbal nature that others.
The basis for talking about customer-based brand equity is, as already
mentioned, brand awareness. If brand awareness can be stated, the further process
is to create a map of consumer associations consisting of the above-mentioned
elements. These customer associations paint an accurate picture of the content of
brand image.
Content is one thing, but customer-based brand equity also expresses a value
that can be measured against that of competitors. For a brand to have high
customer-based brand equity (in other words to be a strong brand), the consumer
associations need to be more favourable, strongand uniquethan the image asso-
ciated with competing brands.

• Favourabilitycorresponds to whether the consumer’s overall brand associa-
  tions are more or less favourable than those associated with competing
  brands. Is the overall brand attitude so favourable that it will likely affect
  consumption behaviour?


• Strengthof brand associations corresponds to the way associations spread in
  the associative web activated by the brand as node. Strong associations appear
  fast (the accentuated links in figure 6.5) and demand attention. (Make the
  consumer pay attention to the information stored in the association.)


• Uniquenessof associations. A brand with desirable customer-based brand
  equity can also claim some unique associations. Some central associations
  should ideally not be shared by competing brands. Unique associations are
  the unique selling point of the brand.

Customer-based brand equity has a comparative framework and can also be negative:

a brand is said to have positive (negative) customer-based brand equity if

consumers react more (less) favourably to the product, price, promotion, or

distribution of the brand as they do to the same marketing mix when it is

attributed to a fictitiously named or unnamed version of the product or service.

(Keller 1993, p. 8)

As the customer-based brand equity is a conceptual model, it does not build on a
research project, but is rather an application of the established knowledge about
consumer behaviour to branding. It gives birth to a new approach to brand
management (which to date has proven the most tenacious) and opens up for a
clarification of brand image and brand equity. Now:

brand equity should be thought of as a multidimensional concept that depends

on (1) what knowledge structures are present in the minds of consumers and

The consumer-based approach 95