Strategic brand association maps: developing brand insight
| Date | 19 April 2011 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/10610421111121080 |
| Published date | 19 April 2011 |
| Pages | 92-100 |
| Author | Brian D. Till,Daniel Baack,Brian Waterman |
| Subject Matter | Marketing |
Strategic brand association maps:
developing brand insight
Brian D. Till
School of Business Administration, Loyola University, Chicago, Illinois, USA
Daniel Baack
Daniels College of Business, University of Denver, Denver, Colorado, USA, and
Brian Waterman
Waterman Research Solutions, LLC, St Louis, Missouri, USA
Abstract
Purpose – The primary purpose of this paper is to illustrate a new methodology for gaining actionable, strategic insight into a brand’s associations and
its competitive uniqueness
vis-a
`-vis
key competitors.
Design/methodology/approach – The authors integrate free association protocols, response latency, and more conventional scale items to develop a
strategic overview of a brand’s associations and to depict brands’ strategic meaning in a comprehensive visual presentation.
Findings – The authors show, via an example featuring peanut butter brands, how their methodology effectively uncovers associations that the market
has for the brands and how strong, unique, relevant, and favorable those associations are.
Research limitations/implications – This methodology is most appropriate for four to six brands at a time.
Practical implications – The strategic brand association map process demonstrated provides managers with a very clear,consumer-driven, strategic
view of the associations their brand has, and how those associations may (or may not) be serving to differentiate their brand. Additionally, these
strategic brand association maps serve as an excellent diagnostic as to the overall health of a brand and can provide actionable insight for better
understanding strategic reasons why a particular brand may be under-performing against expectations.
Originality/value – Brand associations are one of the fundamental cornerstones of brand value. Brand associations serve to differentiate and create
meaning for brands. Better understanding and managing a brand’s associations is a fundamental role of brand managers. Thisprocess illustrates a new
way to give brand managers strategic, consumer-driven insight into their brand’s associative network.
Keywords Brands, Brand equity, Product differentiation, Competitive advantage
Paper type Research paper
An executive summary for managers and executive
readers can be found at the end of this article.
Introduction
One of the most fundamental tasks of brand managers is to
understand and manage the set of associations around their
brand. These associations (both intended and unintended)
give meaning to the brand are an important component of
brand equity. Here we present a methodology designed to give
managers a strategic, comprehensive and consumer-driven
view of their brand and how their brand is differentiated vis-a
`-
vis key competitors.
Brand equity is one of the core concepts in marketing and
has been the focus of much research over the last 30 years
(Aaker, 1991; Keller, 1993). The concept is traditionally
defined as the “marketing effects uniquely attributable to the
brand” (Keller, 1993, p. 1). With an estimated 17 out of 20
new brands failing (Hart and Murphy, 1998), brand equity is
especially important for practitioners. Many brand equity
scholars stress its importance as a source of firm competitive
advantage (e.g. Aaker, 1996; Bendixen et al., 2004; Campbell,
2002; Tong and Hawley, 2009; Hsieh, 2004). This
competitive advantage is based on the price premium
attained, increased efficiency and effectiveness of marketing
programs, increased margins, increased customer demand
and satisfaction, brand extension facilitation, negotiation
leverage, and lower vulnerability to competitors (Aaker, 1992;
Bendixen et al., 2004). Research on brand equity has
supported these claims by linking it to a variety of
performance measures such as profit and market
performance (Baldauf and Cravens, 2003) as well as stock
market performance (Aaker and Jacobson, 2001).
One key component of brand equity is the associations
consumers have with the brand (Aaker, 1991; Keller, 1993).
For example, consumers may associate “refreshing,” “youth,”
and “caffeine” with the brand Pepsi, and these associations
then may drive their choice of this brand (Keller, 1993).
Brand associations have been called “the heart and soul of the
brand” (Aaker, 1996, p. 8), and “fundamental to the
understanding of customer-based brand equ ity” (Hsieh,
2004, p. 33). The central role of brand associations in the
creation and maintenance of brand equity is widely accepted
(e.g. Chaudhuri, 1999; Hart and Murphy, 1998; Hsieh, 2004;
Maltz, 1991; Walvis, 2008; Wansink, 2003). As such, any
insights into the measurement and improved understanding of
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/1061-0421.htm
Journal of Product & Brand Management
20/2 (2011) 92–100
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited [ISSN 1061-0421]
[DOI 10.1108/10610421111121080]
92
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