Abstract
Brand equity or -value is the result of the design and implementation of brand building, – measurement and – management programs. Brand building focuses on three interdependent tiers: selecting brand elements, choosing certain marketing activities and programs, and linking the brand to secondary brand associations. A brand holder’s first instinct may be, when it decides to evolve to the Internet, to maintain the status quo of its offline brand equity or value, by building a uniform online/offline brand. However, from the literature it is evident that authors are not united in their support of building uniform online/offline brands. Although building a uniform online/offline brand present certain tangible advantages, uniformity or non-uniformity proves not to be a binary decision, but dependant on the strategic imperative of the three tiered online/offline brand building initiative. To research three tiered online/offline brand building from a South African perspective, the uniformity and non-uniformity of brand name selection within the South African online/offline retail environment is firstly investigated. The advantages of building uniform online/offline brands are secondly elucidated as presented by the marketing programs – and activities of selected South African retail brands. Secondary brand associations, as part of the three tiered brand building phase or as separate strategic imperative, and the role it plays in non-uniform online/offline brand building, is thirdly examined. Findings are summarised, conclusions are drawn that elucidate the uniform and non-uniform brand building strategies of South African online/offline retailers and recommendations are made for future research.
Highlights
Brand buildingAaker (1991: 7; 17) defines a brand as ‘...a distinguishing name and/or symbol intended to identify the goods or services of either one seller or a group of sellers, and to differentiate those goods or services form those of competitors.’ He proceeds to explain that brand equity (1991: 15) is the ‘...set of brand assets and liabilities linked to a brand, its name and symbol, that add to or subtract from the value provided by a product or service to a firm and/or that firm’s customers’
Authors are not united on the subject of building a uniform online/offline brand, arguing on the one hand that consumers want to see familiar offline brands in the unfamiliar online environment, while on the other hand stating that offline brands could be damaged if inflated beyond its potential to the online environment
An online/offline brand name uniformity profile of South African online retailers indicated a high proportion (86.8%) of online/offline brand name uniformity
Summary
Brand buildingAaker (1991: 7; 17) defines a brand as ‘...a distinguishing name and/or symbol (such as a logo, trademark, or package design) intended to identify the goods or services of either one seller or a group of sellers, and to differentiate those goods or services form those of competitors.’ He proceeds to explain that brand equity (1991: 15) is the ‘...set of brand assets and liabilities linked to a brand, its name and symbol, that add to or subtract from the value provided by a product or service to a firm and/or that firm’s customers’. Aaker (1991: 7; 17) defines a brand as ‘...a distinguishing name and/or symbol (such as a logo, trademark, or package design) intended to identify the goods or services of either one seller or a group of sellers, and to differentiate those goods or services form those of competitors.’ He proceeds to explain that brand equity (1991: 15) is the ‘...set of brand assets and liabilities linked to a brand, its name and symbol, that add to or subtract from the value provided by a product or service to a firm and/or that firm’s customers’. Lindström (2001: 367) explained the Europeans’ affinity for brand uniformity in the physical and virtual environment: most offline brands have already earned and built the consumer’s trust over years, and the consumer will welcome online interaction with such a brand. The aforementioned best practices of crossover marketers only became applicable if the brand name was uniform in both the physical and virtual environment
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