Executive summary of “How consumers’ use of brand vs. attribute information evolves over time”

Citation

(2014), "Executive summary of “How consumers’ use of brand vs. attribute information evolves over time”", Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 31 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/JCM-05-2014-0993

Executive summary of “How consumers’ use of brand vs. attribute information evolves over time”

Article Type: Executive summary and implications for managers and executives From: Journal of Consumer Marketing, Volume 31, Issue 4

This summary has been provided to allow managers and executives a rapid appreciation of the content of the article. Those with a particular interest in the topic covered may then read the article in toto to take advantage of the more comprehensive description of the research undertaken and its results to get the full benefit of the material present.

Greater awareness of how consumers rate branded offerings is highly important to both managers and marketers alike. Seminal work proposed that consumer evaluation is derived from two different sources. These operate at macro and micro levels in the respective shape of information about the overall brand and detailed knowledge of relevant product attributes.

The notion is that brand and attributes serve different purposes in the consumer evaluation process. To illustrate this point, the Porsche auto brand is cited. Porsche auto brand is cited. Since Porsche is positioned mainly on performance characteristics, it is mooted that customers will rely on overall brand information to evaluate such as acceleration. However, when it comes to non-performance features such as safety, people will likelier use attribute-rated knowledge to make their assessment.

Certain scholars believe that consumers new to a particular brand will initially interpret communications at overall brand level. Some transformation subsequently takes place, as people further their knowledge and experience through direct usage of the brand. The result is that the message origin shifts to attributes that might include ingredients, recipes or features which individually or collectively generate specific benefits. Awareness of what information consumers primarily depend on is critical if marketers are to transmit the right messages in advertising and effectively position brand offerings.

Different studies support the notion of these two “mental sources” of brand ratings. Global and attribute levels of brand performance are accordingly reflected by the terms “general brand impressions (GBI)” and “brand-specific associations (BSA)”. Consumers store brand-related information in their memory for later use, and it has been variously noted that recall of this information can be achieved through either high-level brand associations or lower-level associations with the product or category.

Such findings enable identification of what has been labeled “differential brand effects”. Prior to this, research essentially adopted the position that a more general brand effect existed. There is some conviction that the newer perspective provides some insight as to what information consumers utilize to generate particular brand ratings.

One thing as yet unclear is whether the respective use of these two sources remains constant or whether a process of evolution takes place over time. Investigating this is a key purpose in the present study conducted by Raggio et al. They cite an example of the softening quality of laundry detergent to illustrate their goal to ascertain how much of a consumer’s evaluation of the benefit is down to overall brand information and how much is the result of “thoughtful consideration” of the product’s attributes or constituent parts.

Three different theoretical approaches confirm that the two mental sources of information do exist. Some scholars believe that consumers become familiar with a brand and then create a “summary evaluation” that subsequently provides a mechanism for swift appraisal of various brand benefits. It saves them from having to conduct detailed attribute evaluation relating to the benefit under consideration.

Another body of research refers to the categorization effect, whereby brand knowledge is assigned to the individual product. When this is not possible, “piecemeal processing” at attribute level has to be carried out. The issue has also been examined with regard to brand extensions. The notion of “fit” is central here, and it is purported that more detailed analysis of attributes becomes necessary if comparability between extension and parent brand is not readily discernible at brand level.

Raggio et al. challenge the view forwarded in previous research. They suggest that consumers will first rely more on detailed attribute information, as a brand name will have little meaning to them in terms of the benefits provided. This is even more the case with new brands. Only when consumers accrue sufficient knowledge and experience of the brand would they feel confident enough to trust the brand name alone. In the authors’ view, the evolution is thus likelier to occur in the opposite direction to that earlier supposed.

It is, however, conceded that some circumstances may see this normal pattern disrupted meaning that consumers will rely more on one information source than the other. Situations which force people to alter their usual purchasing behaviors meet the criteria here. Instead of using overall brand information, shoppers may feel the need to closely assess certain features or ingredients of the product concerned. However, the authors do anticipate a trend, whereby consumers gradually rely more on overall brand information when said brands are managed efficiently.

These suppositions were tested first with consumers of the Kodak brand. Questions were related to ease of use, design, innovation and brand trust in respect of their experience of the firm’s brands within different product categories. The second part involved analysis of data obtained from consumers of different brands of cleaning products in the US and Canadian markets in 2007, 2009 and 2011. The subjects answered various questions concerning product performance.

The four categories in which the Kodak brand operates are featured in the first part of the study and were chronologically organized using the time Kodak had spent in each category. Results showed that dependence on the brand increased, while dependence on attributes became less. Data were collected during the year that Kodak entered the market for inkjet printers, and consumers relied relatively more on attributes in a category that was new to the company at the time. This provides support for the notion that consumers will use the overall brand for evaluating a brand extension only when perceived fit between extension and parent brand is high.

It was evident that the impact of overall brand on product benefits ceased to carry on growing beyond a certain time within the traditional camera and film categories Kodak is more widely associated with. This prompted Raggio et al. to suggest the possible existence of a “ceiling effect”.

In the category of surface cleaners, the respective reliance on overall brand and attribute sources was similarly indicated. However, brand effects did not show a continuous increase across the three survey points. This was largely attributed to macro events which occurred during this period, namely, the global financial crisis of 2008 and the H1N1 flu pandemic two years later. Cuts to advertising budgets were a typical response to the former, with one result being reduced prominence of certain brands in consumer minds. It appears that people then increased their reliance on attribute-level information. With the flu outbreak raising health concerns, it was noted that people might have used brand information for those brands positioned on their germ-killing credentials.

On this evidence, marketers should identify the level of brand experience of the target consumer segment and consider the brand benefit being emphasized. This knowledge should be used to determine whether communication needs to focus more on brand or attribute-level information. There might also be a need to consider sensitivity to external shocks like those discussed here in relation to surface-cleaning products. According to the authors, an understanding of which source consumers most rely on can help inform brand managers as to the strength of a brand’s position with regard to a specific benefit and relative to competing brands. They feel that the greater the reliance on overall brand information, the stronger the position at that time.

To read the full article enter 10.1108/JCM-01-2014-0832 into your search engine.

(A pre′cis of the article “How consumers’ use of brand vs. attribute information evolves over time”. Supplied by Marketing Consultants for Emerald.)