Rejoinder to commentary on Chien, Cornwell, and Pappu (2010): Advancing research on sponsorship portfolio effects

Abstract

This article responds to the issues Bibby (2010) raises in his recent commentary essay on Chien, Cornwell, and Pappu (2010). The rejoinder focuses on brand meaning's definition, measurement, construct delineation and operationalization, and cautions against outright rejection of Aaker's (1997) brand personality scale applied to the sponsorship context. Further, criticism by Bibby of employing Aaker's scale in Australia seems unwarranted given similarities in cultural values between Australia and the United States. Bibby (2010) also questions the legitimacy of event personality fit effects but the questions potentially misinterpret the construct used by Chien et al. (2010). While this rejoinder admits to the challenges of brand personality measurement, theory-testing goals of Chien et al.'s (2010) research are not compromised by the measures employed.