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Purpose: This study aims to categorize user-generated content (UGC) based on the target audience, namely, brand-oriented content (BOC) and community-oriented content (COC). By using the equity theory, this study investigated how personal factors (motivations and self-construal) and brand/product factors (brand luxury) drive members to generate brand-oriented or COC. Design/methodology/approach: Experimental studies were conducted with online brand community (OBC) participants who had been active in an OBC in the past 30 days. Findings: Both in Studies 1 and 3, participants with an independent self-construal generated more BOC relative to COC, whereas participants with an interdependent self-construal generated more COC relative to BOC. In Study 1, extrinsically motivated participants generated more BOC relative to COC, whereas intrinsically motivated participants generated more COC relative to BOC. However, this finding was not confirmed in Study 3. In Study 2, the participants of luxury brand communities generated more COC relative to BOC, whereas participants of affordable brand communities generated more BOC relative to COC. However, this finding was not confirmed in Study 3. Practical implications: This research provides marketing practitioners with an opportunity to focus on different motivation types in different contexts. The study also helps marketing departments understand the relationship between brand characteristics and UGC types. Finally, the insights of this study can also be useful in a brand extension context. Originality/value: This study has constructed a better understanding of content generation in OBCs by categorizing UGC based on their target audience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spillover effects seem to be pervasive in consumers' decision-making. Yet, research examining spillover effects of competing brands' associations is scarce, particularly in the context of brand extensions. In this research, we examine the extent to which associations of rival brands are transferred from the parent category to an extension category and how it influences extension evaluations. In two studies, we demonstrate a spillover effect of rivalry associations such that the success (failure) of a prior extension by a rival brand leads to a more (less) favourable brand extension evaluation, this effect being present in a high (vs. low) fit category. In addition, we show that this effect is moderated by relative brand strength of the rival brand. A stronger spillover effect is observed when the extension of a market leader brand is introduced following a prior successful extension by a challenger brand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Established brands endeavor to extend their products into new categories to grab market share and benefit from the positive spillover effect. The "fit" between extension products and their parent brands is a critical challenge companies face when launching a new product in a new product category, which is very different from the category served by the parent brand. A potential clue influencing consumers' perceived fit and attitudes towards extension products is the nondiagnostic haptic cues in touch environments. Thus, this study predicts that soft perception elicits more favorable attitudes towards extension product through attitude certainty and perceived fit than hard haptic perception. It develops a conceptual framework to anticipate that not all extension product judgements are equally affected by nondiagnostic haptic cues. Consumers' attitudes are less affected by nondiagnostic haptic cues when the extension product is from a close brand extension. The study examined the conceptual framework of four studies. Results of this work have many implications for package and offline stores design while contributing to the research in brand extension, cognition, and embodiment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brand extension is considered to be a highly plausible and essential factor for the success of new products. It is an elusive concept that adds value to the offered products and gives a competitive advantage for strategical positioning of new products in the consumers' minds. This study carefully considers the influential factors for the evaluation of brand extension for products targeting young customers. This study analyzed the three important characteristics of consumers by employing a new and proposed nomological network to assess the brand extension and its strategies. First, the brand extension was directly regressed with the need for uniqueness and with innovativeness. After observing the significance of the regressed model, the model was finally analyzed with the intervening variable of need for variety. Six hypotheses were developed, and the proposed theoretical model was assessed through structural equation modeling (SEM) with the help of SmartPLS. Data was collected from 331 university students of southern Punjab, Pakistan. It was found that all three personal characteristics of young consumers (need for uniqueness, innovativeness, and need for variety) are highly significant with the evaluation of brand evaluation. The proposed model explained more than 30% variation in the observed phenomenon. It was observed that the need for variety partially mediates the relationship between the need for uniqueness, innovativeness, and brand extension. As per the results of this study, it was found that the variety of products matters a lot for young customers so, marketers must consider the variation in the products while extending their product line. Theoretically, this study contributed and enhanced the nomological network of brand extension for young consumers. Practically, the study would help the decision-makers understand the preferences of the young generation to devise the new strategies of brand extension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review describes the use of phospholipid excipients to make Pharmaceutical Form (Dosage Form) Line Extensions of existing drugs as part of a Product Life Cycle Management. Product examples and development candidates, which show the versatility of phospholipids as key excipients in formulations to develop line extension drug products for any administration route by reformulating existing products, are provided. The resulting patented products enable the application of a drug substance for another administration route or show an increased efficacy and/or reduced toxicity of the formulated drug substances, or enable a more convenient use, through reduction of dosing frequency, or adapt a product for regulatory requirements for specific patient populations. Parenteral line extensions for lipophilic drugs using non‐toxic phospholipid‐based solubilising formulations are clearly an alternative to products with solubilising synthetic detergents with the risk for allergic and anaphylactic reactions. This review draws the attention to academic and industrial formulation scientist to consider using phospholipid excipients to reformulate existing products to improve the product properties by an active product life cycle management. Phospholipids are suitable for this purpose because they are biocompatible, biodegradable, non‐toxic, and available at large scale and of pharmaceutical grade. Besides, they are well known to regulatory authorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Firms often use upward product line extensions to achieve gains in brand evaluations and in overall demand. Despite the prevalence of such extensions, previous research has provided little guidance about how upward line extensions influence overall revenue when they are launched as a core product as opposed to a peripheral product. The purpose of this study is to fill this research gap. Design/methodology/approach: Using data from the quick service restaurant industry, this study looks at the effects of upwardly extended core and peripheral products on product line revenue. The empirical study uses a quasi-experiment to compare customer purchases across the pre- and post-launch of upward line extensions. Findings: The results of this study reveal that launching core and peripheral products as upward line extensions can each increase total product line revenue. In addition, findings illustrate that as compared to a core launch, this total product line revenue increase is substantially higher in the case of a peripheral launch. Research limitations/implications: First, the estimated model does not include supply availability and competition. Second, the data span only six months and this restriction prohibits us from investigating alternative sources of the causal effect. Third, the empirical setting in this study is limited to financial data in the quick service restaurant industry as a proxy of actual behavior. Finally, given that customers are not randomly assigned to treatment and control groups, the author is unable to definitively rule out the effect of unobservable attributes. Practical implications: The findings suggest that firms should prioritize peripheral upward line extensions but use both types considering resource constraints (cost and human resources) and strategic importance to the firm. Originality/value: This study bolsters the extant literature related to upward product line extensions by providing an empirical framework that evaluates the causal effect of upward line extension on total revenue, using field data in a real-life setting (as opposed to survey or lab experiment data) and actual firm revenue (as opposed to a perceptual outcome measure such as behavioral intentions). In addition, findings contribute to the new product development literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studying the optimal production and pricing strategies of a luxury brand manufacturer (in this paper, the "manufacturer" is in fact also the "retailer"), we consider the following situation. First, consumers exhibit a prestige‐seeking (snobbish) behavior that values product exclusivity. Their utility decreases as more consumers possess the product. Second, consumers show a forward‐looking (strategic) behavior. They make shop visit decisions based on predicted product availability. Third, the manufacturer's production policy is unobservable to consumers. Given these basic premises, we consider a traditional newsvendor inventory system and analytically derive the equilibrium production and pricing strategies within the rational expectation framework. We then propose two improvement strategies, each using a well‐established channel policy, to steer the game participants to reach a better equilibrium than the one for the traditional system. First, under the limited edition strategy with consumer returns, the firm uses the consumer return policy as a proxy for the limited edition strategy that aims to increase product exclusivity. Second, under the product line extension strategy, the firm applies product line extension as a means to guide the game participants to simultaneously increase product availability and product exclusivity. Finally, we extend the study by incorporating a variety of modeling variations and examine robustness of the research findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Internet has become a competitive platform from which organizations can market their services and consumers can garner information through electronic word of mouth (eWOM). While eWOM has been examined in many different contexts, little research has been done on the impact of eWOM in a sport setting. This study examined the persuasiveness of eWOM on the attitudes and behaviors of consumers through online reviews of the Chicago Bears Bar, a hypothetical brand extension of the Chicago Bears. Through an online experiment with the elaboration likelihood model providing a theoretical framework, 2 major findings emerged from this research. First, it was found that the attitudes of highly identified fans are influenced by high-quality reviews. Second, the behaviors of highly identified fans were significantly influenced by high-quality reviews. Both findings suggest that highly identified fans prefer to align with messages that are reflective of their attitudes toward a brand and its extensions. The results of the study provide significant theoretical and managerial implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study contributes to the scant literature considering brand extensions in a competitive context and investigates whether the correlation between consumers’ beliefs about a brand’s attributes and the number of its buyers described in previous research occurs with regard to fit perceptions of brand extensions, extension evaluation and post-extension brand image. In a scenario experiment with real brands and fictitious extensions, members of a commercial UK panel evaluated high and low-fit extensions and post-extension brand images of competing brands of pet food. The relativesizeof each brand in terms of the number of its buyers was used as a benchmark in the analysis. For all extensions, results reveal a positive correlation between post-extension brand images, extension evaluations, fit perceptions and the number of brand buyers. Results have implications for interpreting consumers’ perceptions of fit, evaluation of extensions and post-extension brand images of competing brands. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This research examines how core consumers of selective brands react when non–core users obtain access to the brand. Contrary to the view that non–core users and downward brand extensions pose a threat to the brand, this work investigates the conditions under which these non–core users enhance rather than dilute the brand image. A distinction between two types of non–core users based on how they are perceived by current users of core products is introduced: “brand immigrants” who claim to be part of the in-group of core users of the brand and “brand tourists” who do not claim any membership status to the brand community. A series of studies show that core consumers respond positively to non–core users when they are perceived as brand tourists. The brand tourism effect is mediated by core users’ pride and moderated by brand patriotism and selectiveness of the brand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on various brand strategies, featuring case studies and assessments. Topics include brand purpose, strategies for educating consumers on recycling, the rebranding of an eco-friendly B2B brand, the impact of emotional intimacy in brand engagement, and the sequential relationships between a brand extension and its parent brand.

It was meaningful to predict the customers' decision-making behavior in the field of market. However, due to individual differences and complex, non-linear natures of the electroencephalogram (EEG) signals, it was hard to classify the EEG signals and to predict customers' decisions by using traditional classification methods. To solve the aforementioned problems, a recurrent t-distributed stochastic neighbor embedding (t-SNE) neural network was proposed in current study to classify the EEG signals in the designed brand extension paradigm and to predict the participants' decisions (whether to accept the brand extension or not). The recurrent t-SNE neural network contained two steps. In the first step, t-SNE algorithm was performed to extract features from EEG signals. Second, a recurrent neural network with long short-term memory (LSTM) layer, fully connected layer, and SoftMax layer was established to train the features, classify the EEG signals, as well as predict the cognitive performance. The proposed network could give a good prediction with accuracy around 87%. Its superior in prediction accuracy as compared to a recurrent principal component analysis (PCA) network, a recurrent independent component correlation algorithm [independent component analysis (ICA)] network, a t-SNE support vector machine (SVM) network, a t-SNE back propagation (BP) neural network, a deep LSTM neural network, and a convolutional neural network were also demonstrated. Moreover, the performance of the proposed network with different activated channels were also investigated and compared. The results showed that the proposed network could make a relatively good prediction with only 16 channels. The proposed network would become a potentially useful tool to help a company in making marketing decisions and to help uncover the neural mechanisms behind individuals' decision-making behavior with low cost and high efficiency.

It was meaningful to predict the customers' decision-making behavior in the field of market. However, due to individual differences and complex, non-linear natures of the electroencephalogram (EEG) signals, it was hard to classify the EEG signals and to predict customers' decisions by using traditional classification methods. To solve the aforementioned problems, a recurrent t-distributed stochastic neighbor embedding (t-SNE) neural network was proposed in current study to classify the EEG signals in the designed brand extension paradigm and to predict the participants' decisions (whether to accept the brand extension or not). The recurrent t-SNE neural network contained two steps. In the first step, t-SNE algorithm was performed to extract features from EEG signals. Second, a recurrent neural network with long short-term memory (LSTM) layer, fully connected layer, and SoftMax layer was established to train the features, classify the EEG signals, as well as predict the cognitive performance. The proposed network could give a good prediction with accuracy around 87%. Its superior in prediction accuracy as compared to a recurrent principal component analysis (PCA) network, a recurrent independent component correlation algorithm [independent component analysis (ICA)] network, a t-SNE support vector machine (SVM) network, a t-SNE back propagation (BP) neural network, a deep LSTM neural network, and a convolutional neural network were also demonstrated. Moreover, the performance of the proposed network with different activated channels were also investigated and compared. The results showed that the proposed network could make a relatively good prediction with only 16 channels. The proposed network would become a potentially useful tool to help a company in making marketing decisions and to help uncover the neural mechanisms behind individuals' decision-making behavior with low cost and high efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of loyalty in consumers' selection of brand extensions in the presence of familiar competitors. The findings show that fit may not have a linear relationship with the choice of an extension when loyalty and brand familiarity are considered. Loyal consumers' likelihood to choose high-fit and moderate-fit extensions is not much lower than their likelihood to choose products from familiar competitors. We also find an inverted-U-shaped relationship between choice behavior and degree of perceived fit for loyal and moderately loyal consumers. Moreover, brand concepts can make a brand more elastic and extendable, increasing loyal and moderately loyal consumers' likelihood to choose moderate- and even low-fit extensions. However, disloyal consumers are highly unlikely to choose extensions over products from familiar competitors regardless of fit and types of similarity. Finally, the effect of similarity on consumers' choice of extensions is fully mediated by loyalty and perceived risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aims to investigate functional involvement of brain areas in consumers' evaluation of brand extension that refers to the use of well-established brand for launching new offerings. During functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanning, participants viewed a beverage brand name followed by an extension goods name selected from the beverage or household appliance categories. They responded acceptability to given brand extension. Both acceptability responses and reaction time revealed a noticeable pattern that participants responded to acceptable stimuli more carefully. General linear model (GLM) analyses revealed the involvement of insular activity in brand extension evaluation. Especially, insular activity was lateralized according to valence. Furthermore, its activity could explain behavioral response in parametric modulation model. According to these results, we speculate that insula activity is relevant to emotional processing. Finally, we divided neural activities during brand extension into separated clusters using a hierarchical clustering-based connectivity analysis. Excluding two of them related to sensorimotor functions for behavioral responses, the remaining cluster, including bilateral insula, was likely to reflect brand extension assessment. Hence, we speculate that consumers' brand extension evaluation may involve emotional processes, shown as insular activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper will analyse the issue of the digital game as a modern art and as a brand. In the first part of the paper, the construct of culture in the context of popular culture will be preliminarily determined. Then, culture in a broader interdisciplinary sense will be considered, starting from William’s theory of culture, Eagleton's perspective of culture, and Griswold's theory of the cultural object. The second part will analyse Huizinga’s theory, which shows the game as the basic core of human expression, and Barthes' theory of myth on the example of the digital game The Walking Dead. Digital games are viewed from the aspect of marketing semiotics where they are presented as cultural brands, cultural objects, and cultural signs. Ultimately, we will implement Kapferer’s theory of brand identity on digital game identity. The digital game is thus viewed as a brand, and its main characters as brand extensions. The aim of this paper is to present, research and analyse the phenomenon of digital game as an art, but also as a cultural brand. The contribution of the work is manifested in the interdisciplinary approach of cultural theory, media pedagogy, semiotics, and marketing. Digital game is viewed in the context of art where mimesis is understood as an artistic experience of reality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding tourists' future behavior is significant for local tourism profits. This paper aims to examine the interrelationships among experiential quality, tourist satisfaction, experiential trust, sharing tourism experience on social media, and extension effect. 796 responses were collected in the 66th MGP (Macau Grand Prix) via questionnaires. The results reveal that four dimensions (physical environment quality, access quality, outcome quality, and enjoyment quality) have positive effects on experiential quality. In addition, the results also indicate the following relationships: Experiential quality has a significant effect on tourist satisfaction; experiential quality and tourist satisfaction positively influence experiential trust; tourist satisfaction and experiential trust have significant effects on behavior of sharing tourism experience on social media, and both tourist satisfaction and experiential trust positively influence extension effect. This paper identifies the dimensions of experiential quality in sport tourism events and it plays a leading role in extending literature on tourists' behavioral intentions of sharing behavior on social media and extension effect. The findings assist practitioners to implement marketing strategies of MGP, which enhance the extension effect and the new marketing promotions through social media. They also help various stakeholders such as destination managers and travel agents to trigger and increase local tourism profits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hamdard, a 100 years old brand of India, has decided to enter into ready-to-drink fruit juice by creating a brand extension of Rooh Afaza, with the name Rooh Afaza Fusion, in June 2020 Indian market. The company test-marketed the product in 2016 and launched the product in five flavours after understanding the consumers' preferences. The company is trying to influence the consumers with its brand name. Still, the competitors like Dabur with Real Juices, PepsiCo with Tropicana, and Coca-Cola with Minute Maid are posing a strong threat before Hamdard. The Case Study presents a picture of the unique proposition offered by Hamdard for the product-Rooh Afaza Fusion and an analysis of the factors shaping the industry's new rules. The consumers in India for this product category are also very demanding and diverse in their choices and preferences. Therefore, the company needs to address the issues for the newly launched product. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to analyze the problem of optimal product line design in marketing channels where consumers are heterogeneous in both horizontal and vertical dimensions. Design/methodology/approach: This paper develops a model to evaluate when it is preferable for a firm to extend the product line in a vertical or horizontal direction. Consumers are modeled as being vertically heterogeneous with respect to their valuation of quality and horizontally heterogeneous with respect to their preference on the esthetic component of the product. These model characteristics allow us to consider a broader set of product line extension strategies. By considering both a vertically integrated channel and a decentralized channel, this study investigates how channel structure influences optimal product line design. The problem with supplemental numerical analyses is mathematically analyzed. Findings: The analysis shows that a horizontal product line extension strategy that offers the customized product can be used as an alternative to a vertical product line extension strategy. If the fixed cost is not too high, offering the customized product with low quality may be preferred to the quality-based segmentation strategy. Furthermore, the analysis shows that the channel structure is influential as the preference for the horizontal product line extension strategy is more pronounced in the decentralized channel than in the centralized channel. Research limitations/implications: The analysis presented in this paper is limited by the consideration of full market coverage. Further research is needed to see how the results can be generalized to the case with partial market coverage. Practical implications: The analysis suggests that a firm may consider product customization as part of its product line strategy. Information regarding market characteristics and channel structure is important when deciding on the optimal product line design. Originality/value: The model reflects a more realistic marketing strategy and channel structure than previous studies that typically consider product line extension in only one direction and focus on the centralized distribution channel. Combining the standard product line extension and customization strategies also represents an important contribution to the literature. These extensions produce interesting new results and insights into a firm's optimal product line design strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A research method is developed to effectively identify associations that significantly influence the perceived fit of brand extensions. Contrary to extant brand extension studies that mainly focus on the fit of associations, the current study considers the ambiguity of associations. The proposed measure of association ambiguity, defined as the level of uncertainty based on the perceived conflict of a particular association in a brand extension indicated by the similarity and intensity level of perceived association distance to the parent brand and extension category, was tested and validated using several brand extension cases. Identifying an association's level of ambiguity and the magnitude of its impact on the perceived fit will allow advertisers to adjust their advertising messages and increase consumer receptiveness toward brand extensions. Implications for advertising practitioners and future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

New brand extensions can push a brand outside its typical boundaries. In this article, the authors argue that people's acceptance of such extensions depends on their feelings of control. Across several studies, the authors demonstrate that when feelings of personal control are low, consumers and managers seek greater structure in brands and thus reject brand extensions that do not seem to fit well with the parent brand. The authors also identify important boundary conditions that illustrate when consumers are most likely to punish a brand for poor-fitting brand extensions and how the effect can be mitigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research examines the effects of extension mode (online to online vs. online to offline), web-brand concept (function oriented vs. experience oriented) and extension similarity (high vs. low) on consumer web-brand extension evaluations, attitude, perceived quality, and purchase intention of the extension brands. The analysis reveals two significant interaction effects: (1) the positive effect of brand extension similarity on consumer evaluations is stronger when the parent brand is function oriented compared to the experience-orientated ones; (2) the positive effect of brand extension similarity on consumer evaluations is more pronounced when the web-brands extend to offline markets rather than to online markets. Implications for marketing theory and practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article extends the concept of virtual direct experience (VDE) from a product to an attribute as video gamers can virtually experience an attribute within a gaming environment. Using a 2 (VAE: present versus absent) x 2 (order of brand presentation: first or second) between subjects experimental design, we find that associating a brand with virtual attribute experience (VAE) by exposing consumers to the brand name and the virtual experience simultaneously has a positive effect on brand recall, brand extension acceptance, overall attitude, and purchase intention. In addition, our results demonstrate a significant interaction between VAE and telepresence on brand recall. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prior research indicates that extension fit and parent brand quality are the key determinants of extension evaluations in non-competitive contexts. However, the very nature of the retail environment means that extensions are introduced into competitive contexts. Therefore, this research reinvestigates the influence and relative importance of key drivers of brand extension success within competitive scenarios. It also tests whether perceptions of purchase risk associated with extensions underlie these effects. In two studies, we examine the effects of extension fit with parent brand, parent brand quality, and extensions’ relative brand familiarity on extension preferences and perceived risk. When there is competition, extension fit and parent brand quality are less crucial than an extension's relative brand familiarity in determining extension evaluations, especially with respect to consumer choice. Moreover, perceptions of extension risk mediate the effects of these factors. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Brand characters are ubiquitous in marketing. Previous studies establish their relevance in advertising. Surprisingly, little research exists on how to build and sustain brand characters. Adopting a case-study approach, this paper explores the brand management strategies of Sanrio's iconic character Hello Kitty, a cat epitomising cuteness and innocence. Findings indicate that eight tactics help to build and sustain the Hello Kitty brand: keep it simple, character licensing, third-party collaboration, capitalising on nostalgia, product-line extensions, brand extensions, sustaining consumer interests, and harnessing technology. The paper also identifies some challenges facing Hello Kitty. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Brand extension is a powerful marketing strategy that allows firms to offer new product categories, taking advantage from the original brand name and its positive associations (Evangeline and Ragel, 2016). It helps firms to launch new products without the risks connected to the introduction of a new brand in the market. Firms have repeatedly adopted this marketing strategy, not always with success (De Chernatony et al., 2003). Moreover, a bad brand extension performance might have negative consequences on the original brand/product, both in terms of brand reputation and market positioning. Indeed, consumers perceived fit, namely the perceived similarity between the core brand product and its extension, has a crucial impact on brand extension acceptability by the market (Aaker and Keller, 1990; Bottomley and Doyle, 1996). Because of the important role of consumers’ judgment, the identification of constructs that might support a good similarity perception can help firms to choose appropriate brand extension strategies. This paper presents an exploratory study focused on three products hypothetically introduced on the market by Coca Cola with the same core brand, in order to investigate the role trust might have to foster consumer perceived brand extension acceptability. The experimental set is based on an energy drink, that can be considered as part of the same product category, chips and a chocolate bar, belonging to food category. For each product, consumers acceptability depends on product category fit and brand level fit, both these last two constructs depending in turn on brand trust (Martini et al., 2016; Tedeschi et al., 2017). The results show that cognitive brand trust can sustain a high product category perceived fit, whereas affective brand trust supports high brand level fit.

Purpose – The objective of this paper was to explore which branding strategy (brand extension versus new brand) is most convenient for healthy products, by taking into account the effect that the perceived fit between the nutritional attributes of the regular products of the parent brand and the healthy extensions have on the credibility of the latter. Design/methodology/approach – The required information was obtained through personal interviews with 107 consumers resident in the metropolitan area of Mexico City. The type of study was exploratory-descriptive and focused on the manufactured snacks that are sold in Mexico. Findings – Reformulations of traditional snacks that are commercialized under the name of the parent brand have low credibility with respect to their nutritional value due to the high association between non-healthy attributes and the image of the parent brand. The snacks categorized as healthy are products with well differentiated ingredients but with low brand familiarity. Originality/value – The branding of healthy brands is an incipient area of research in marketing, and thus this paper contributes to the theoretical development of strategies for the commercialization of these brands.

Purpose: This study aims to examine the impacts of brand structure (i.e. brand cohesiveness and similarity) on brand perceptions and the adverse effects of brand extensions. Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected online via Amazon Mechanical Turk. Overall, 188 US residents participated in the 2 (extension typicality: typical and atypical) × 3 (brand cohesiveness: high, medium and low) between-subject experimental design. Findings: Narrow brands are favored over cohesive broad brands, and cohesive broad brands are favored over incohesive broad brands. When new extensions are typical, brand cohesiveness dominates brand similarity in terms of adverse extension effects. Negative extension information exerts more salient adverse effects on narrow brands and cohesive broad brands than on incohesive broad brands. Conversely, when new extensions are atypical, brand similarity dominates brand cohesiveness on adverse extension effects. Negative extension information exerts more salient adverse effects on narrow brands than on cohesive and incohesive broad brands. Research limitations/implications: Brand cohesiveness is more impactful than brand similarity on brand perceptions. The identical adverse effects of typical extensions on narrow, and broad brands exist only when the portfolio products of the broad brands are cohesive. Practical implications: Cohesive broad brands have the advantages of being more favored than incohesive broad brands and being less vulnerable to negative atypical extension information than are narrow brands. Originality/value: This study advances brand research by examining the interplay between brand structure (i.e. category cohesiveness and similarity) and extension typicality on adverse extension effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Color carries distinct psychological meanings and thus it may induce a different cognitive processing style. Adopting this conceptual framework, the current research investigated the influence of color on brand extension evaluation. For color manipulation, participants were given the picture of a brand extension product (e.g., notebook) on a blue versus red background on a sheet of paper. Then participants evaluated the brand extension product. The finding revealed that participants in the blue‐background condition evaluated the extension product more favorably than those in the red‐background condition. This research further demonstrated that processing style mediated the effect of color on the evaluation of the brand extension product by using a visual matching task. In addition, this research showed the moderating effect of brand slogan on brand extension evaluation. Participants in the blue‐background condition evaluated the extension product (i.e., digital camera) more favorably when they were exposed to the abstract brand slogan, whereas participants in the red‐background condition evaluated the extension product more favorably when they were exposed to the concrete brand slogan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study tests and verifies the main factors influencing consumers' intention to purchase and the marketing strategy of remanufactured new-energy automobile parts in China. The revised model of Theory of Reasoned Action is used to study the factors influencing consumers' intention to purchase. The main factors influencing consumer purchase intention of remanufactured new-energy automobile parts in China are identified through correlation analysis of factors including subjective norms, attitudes, face consciousness, brand extension, and perceived risk. Through market segmentation, consumers in China are divided into three types: passive-accepted, brand-driven, and green-consuming; the marketing strategy is developed accordingly. This study provides theory and decision-making basis for remanufactured new-energy automobile parts markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This case is developed to discuss options related to strategy in general and marketing strategy in particular that were implemented by an iconic brand—Old Monk—in the compelling attempt to revive the its brand value and relevance. The protagonist in the case is Mr Hemanth Mohan, the Director of this brand who is faced with serious challenges in resurrecting the brand in a hypercompetitive, ever-changing lifestyle alcoholic beverages market in India. The most significant of the challenges faced by Mr Mohan are changing tastes and preferences of the consumer, new foreign brands entering into the market, strong regulation, close monitoring from the government, and the monopoly of state-managed liquor retail chains. This case addresses and provides for the evaluation of various strategic options available for the brand in terms of repositioning itself in the relevant markets. The case presents questions related to how effectively a traditional brand can carry forward the legacy to redeem its brand value in the light of changing tastes and customer preferences. The case proposes to bring to light the importance of strategic decisions to be made around managing brand extensions in addressing the dilemma of brand value being spread too thin versus capitalizing on the past glory of the brand in finding life for the newly launched products under the known umbrella. This case is developed with an intent to be discussed among students pursuing undergraduate and/or graduate education in management discipline. The case is well aligned to be relevant for discussing concepts related to brand management, marketing strategy, strategic management, and consumer behavior. The content of this case is designed to be discussed and delivered in a typical 90-min class session, allowing students 120 min of pre-reading time and 120 min of post-discussion report preparation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to investigate how emotional brand attachment contributes to attitude toward brand extension. Data were collected from 1236 users of Apple and Samsung Smartphones using structured questionnaire and analyzed by structural equation modeling using AMOS. First, emotional brand attachment significantly affects attitudinal loyalty, commitment, and customer satisfaction. These attitudes, in turn, have positive effects on attitude toward brand extension of which the impact of customer satisfaction on attitude toward the brand extension is noticeable. These effects, however, are different across different groups of customers (i.e. gender, marital status, and education). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of the paper is to prepare a strategic brand development plan for a hypothetical brand proposed to be marketed in the real-life Indian context. The scope of work includes presenting the relevance and context for getting into the proposed business and explaining the brand concept, the proposed brand's identity elements (i.e., its name, logo, etc.), brand positioning, marketing programs, plans for the future including possible brand extensions and plans for wider geographical coverage and distribution. The paper addresses these aspects for a hypothetical brand 'Miliraa', which is proposed as a brand that provides food based on traditional and forgotten Indian recipes, as a service to restaurants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Smartphones, whose product lifespan is relatively short, still call for a better understanding of the role played by the brands when it comes to the customer's buying decision. The objective of the present investigation is to test, in terms of validity, an extension of the Brand Love Model by Caroll and Ahuvia (2006); more specifically for the smartphone category, with the inclusion of the constructs Brand Switching Cost and Operational System Switching costs. In this direction, a survey was carried out and 453 users of smartphones responded. The analysis or the result was done by means of structural equation modeling and the results indicated that most of the relations predicted in the model proposed were confirmed, with an emphasis placed on significant influences of Brand Switching Cost on Loyalty. Other findings and their theoretical and general contributions of the investigation were discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]