Brand Name Change Research Articles

Does the impact of corporate brand name changes differ between online and offline channels? The case of McDonald’s China

Does the impact of corporate brand name changes differ between online and offline channels? The case of McDonald’s China

Consumer responses to rebranding to address racism.

In 2020, following the death of George Floyd and the renewed national focus on racism, many food brands with racist names and packages announced they would rebrand. Brands differed in their extent of rebranding (some only removed an image, whereas others also changed a brand name) and differed in the reasons they gave for the rebranding in PR statements and news interviews. At this point, little is known about how consumers responded to these branding changes. To address this, we conducted an online experiment using the case of Aunt Jemima pancake mix to evaluate how changes in the extent of rebranding and the reason for rebranding impact consumers' likelihood of purchase, expected taste, brand liking, and brand trust. We find that removing the image of Aunt Jemima brought moderate reductions to likelihood of purchase and expected taste and no changes to brand liking or brand trust. When the brand name was also changed to Pearl Milling Company we find larger reductions to likelihood of purchase and expected taste and reductions to brand liking and brand trust. Additionally, we find that informing consumers the change was done to address racism partially mitigated losses in likelihood of purchase following renaming the brand but provided no protection when only the image was removed. The information also had no impact on expected taste, brand liking, or brand trust following either image removal or brand name change. Last, we find evidence of heterogeneity in consumer responses across political ideologies, with liberals reacting more positively to the rebranding and conservatives reacting more negatively.

Rebranding a corporate spin-off: Can a new brand name inherit global brand reputation?

Corporate brand name changes are often involuntary as a result of mergers, acquisitions and spin-offs. In these cases the rebranding campaign aims at transferring the substantial brand equity of its established brand name to a new brand name. On the basis of the case of the spin-off of Holcim’s subsidiary in Vietnam, this paper identifies the success factors of collateral rebranding. After the cement maker Holcim left the Vietnam market, it spun off its subsidiary, which needed to change its brand name. The ensuing rebranding campaign showed that a trusted global brand can be substituted with a new brand name without loss of brand premium. This paper identifies three key drivers of successful collateral rebranding of a global brand: a total focus on the message of consistency of the branded entity, a consistent tangible representation of the brand entity and a global positioning of the new brand. It proposes that perception of consistency of the brand entity can be communicated through the visual similarity of the old and new brands, the maintenance of distributors and facilities and the continuation of management and sales staff.

Prospective longitudinal study of tobacco company adaptation to standardised packaging in the UK: identifying circumventions and closing loopholes

ObjectivesUK standardised packaging legislation was introduced alongside pack size and product descriptor restrictions of the European Union Tobacco Products Directive to end tobacco marketing and misinformation via the pack. This...

Brand deletion: How the decision-making approach affects deletion success

Literature on brand deletion (BD), a critical and topical decision within a firm's marketing strategy, is extremely scarce. The present research is concerned with the decision-making process and examines the effect on BD success of three different approaches to decision-making – rational, intuitive and political – and of the interaction between the rational and political approaches. The moderating effect of the type of BD – i.e., total brand killing or disposal vs. brand name change – is also analyzed. The model is tested on a sample of 155 cases of BD. Results point to positive effects on BD success of both rationality and intuition, and a negative effect of politics. Findings also indicate that the negative impact of political behavior on BD success is minimized in the absence of evidence and objective information and when the BD is undertaken through a brand name change.

Mio Amore: surviving brand change in transition economy

Subject area This case is about a food brand with franchisee stores which has implemented a brand change initiative in the Indian emerging market. Study level/applicability This case is suitable for MBA level students in courses like strategic brand management, marketing in emerging markets and retail management. Issues relate to brand name change management, building and securing channel cooperation in brand change, channel peculiarities in emerging markets and franchisee institutional support systems in emerging markets like India. Case overview The case documents the process followed by Switz Foods Private Limited (SFPL) in planning for and implementing a “brand-name” change across its 150-plus stores retailing fresh bakery products. The switch away from a 20-year-old food brand that had carved out a place in the popular culture of the community in Kolkata was risky. While opinion inside the organization was divided on whether to use mass media to communicate the brand-name change to its customers, the company finally decided to rely only on in-store signage and product packaging. SFPL took into confidence the franchisee retail store owners, a key stakeholder group with whom it enjoyed a long-term trusted business relation, and relied on their support to implement a smooth transition. It shows how in the context of the bazaars in transition economies, trust-based business relations and word-of-mouth reputation can often provide frugal managerial alternatives. Expected learning outcomes The three main learning objectives are: planning for a brand name transition, which includes three parts: generating consumer insights and using the data to aid decision-making in choosing a brand name and developing a brand campaign; overcoming network or business partner resistance/uncertainties associated with a brand name transition; managing customer perceptions before and after brand-name transition. Second learning objective included understanding risks in a franchisor–franchisee relationship. Third included appreciating the significance of trust-based relationships in managing transition economies. Subject code CSS 8: Marketing.

News You Can Use: Fluoroquinolones; brand-name change for Brintillex to Trintellix; Carter in Congress; DEA takeback day; AF patients and anticoagulants for stroke risk; 3D-printed drug hits U.S. market

News You Can Use: Fluoroquinolones; brand-name change for Brintillex to Trintellix; Carter in Congress; DEA takeback day; AF patients and anticoagulants for stroke risk; 3D-printed drug hits U.S. market

Overcoming resistance to product rebranding

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to understand how and why consumers resist or accept product rebranding. It seeks to identify and to quantify the drivers of attitudes toward this marketing practice to guide marketing managers in the execution of an effective changeover. Design/methodology/approach – The research is conducted in three stages. First, a qualitative study is run among 45 consumers to identify variables that might influence attitudes toward product rebranding. Second, a review of literature on the emotion of surprise is carried out to specify the relationships between the variables previously identified and to formulate hypotheses. Third, a quantitative study is conducted among 480 consumers to test the hypotheses and to quantify the impact of each variable. Findings – Surprise impacts attitudes toward product rebranding through a three-way process (automatic, higher-order cognitive, higher-order affective): a direct negative effect, an indirect effect mediated by incomprehension about the reasons for the change and an indirect effect mediated by the negative emotions generated by the change. Moreover, trust in firms diminishes the negative effects of anger, fear and sadness on attitudes toward product rebranding. Research limitations/implications – The research offers a better understanding of processes involved in the building of consumer attitudes toward brand name change. However, it only constitutes a first step in the attempt to understand the phenomena. Practical implications – This practice of brand name change is increasingly popular, but marketing managers are skeptical about the best way to implement it. The paper provides a better understanding of consumer reactions to product rebranding, so that marketing managers can make better decisions. It reveals guidance for successful brand name changes. Originality/value – This paper is the first to propose and to test a comprehensive model of the mental processes involved in the building of consumer attitudes toward product rebranding.

The impact of consumer resistance to brand substitution on brand relationship

Purpose– The purpose of this research is to propose and test a model that aims to identify key determinants which could alleviate the loss of brand trust and loyalty caused by brand name change using the resistance to change theory (RCT).Design/methodology/approach– Because of the causal nature of the research, the quantitative research methodology was considered as best suitable. An online questionnaire was administered on a sample composed of 313 consumers.Findings– The paper provides empirical insights regarding the fact that consumers’ resistance to the brand name substitution is the main determinant of the transfer of consumers’ trust from the old to the new brand. Finally, loyalty transfer heavily relies on trust transfer.Research limitations/implications– Because of the convenience sample used, the research results may lack generalisability. Furthermore, researchers are encouraged to test the proposed hypotheses based on different brand name change cases.Practical implications– The paper includes implications for the alleviation of consumers’ resistance to the brand name substitution, a main determinant for the loss of brand trust and loyalty in the case of brand name change.Originality/value– This paper fulfils an identified need to study how consumers’ resistance to the brand name change can be diminished. Overall, our research supports the use of the RCT for a better understanding of brand name change-related issues.

Consumer reaction to service rebranding

The aim of this research is to understand consumers׳ reactions to brand name changes in the service sector. To this end, a quantitative study was conducted of 320 customers and eight cases of service rebranding. The results show that three variables explain the change in attitudes toward the service after its rebranding: (1) proximity between the new brand name and the service, (2) difference in image between the old and the new brand names, and (3) attachment to the service place. These results help us to identify the key factors for successful brand name substitution in services.

Deliver knowledge or touch the mind? The effect of informational and emotional advertisement strategy on fashion sportswear brand attitude and recall

The purpose of the present study is to investigate the effect of advertisement strategy (informational, positive emotional, negative emotional) and brand awareness (high, low) on brand name recall and change in brand attitude. The study extends previous research by focusing on fashion sportswear brands and including personal involvement toward fashion sportswear as a moderating variable. Online survey participants were divided into two groups; one group viewed ads featuring high-awareness brands' logos and the other viewed ads from a low-awareness brand. Results indicated that compared to informational ad strategy, emotional ad strategies led to greater change in brand attitude. Also, positive and negative change in brand attitude after viewing positive and negative emotional ads depended on the brand awareness. The findings of the present study emphasize the importance for brands of raising brand awareness and utilizing emotional advertisement strategies.

Brand name change: Can trust and loyalty be transferred?

In this article, the authors propose and test a model that aims to identify key determinants that could alleviate the degradation of consumer trust and loyalty to a brand in the case of a brand name change (examples of brand name change: Marathon changed to Snickers, Raider became Twix, Taillefine replaced Belvita and so on). The results identify five key influencing factors that marketing managers can use to reduce the degradation of trust and loyalty. Namely, (1) the consumers’ degree of acceptance of the brand name change, (2) the perceived similarity between the old and new brand, (3) the degree of attachment to the initial brand, (4) the presence of an umbrella brand, and (5) consumers’ awareness of the brand substitution. Each of these five key determinants has a direct or indirect impact on the transfer of perceived quality and trust towards the new, substitute brand. Furthermore, the transfer of the consumers’ relationship to the new brand appears to be a sequential process. First, it is important to make sure that the perceived quality has been transferred so that the transfer of trust can be carried out effectively. Finally, a successful transfer of trust implies an efficient transfer of the consumers’ loyalty.

Consumer response to brand renaming as part of an international standardisation strategy

This article deals with the problem of changing names of fast moving consumer products as it is often inevitable when pursuing international brand standardisation. The authors focus on the crucial question of how customers cope with such brand name changes and present a new model of consumer reactions. In order to gain a better understanding of the underlying psychological processes when consumers are confronted with name changes, annoyance about the name change is introduced as an intervening variable, with perceived fit between original and new brand name and attachment to the brand as determinants. An empirical investigation in two fast moving consumer good categories in Germany, using structural equation modelling, largely supports the hypotheses. On the basis of the empirical findings, practical implications and future research directions are presented.

Corporate brand name changes and business restructuring: is the relationship complementary or substitutive?

Corporate brands are strategic assets for organizations, but it is difficult to understand the value added by corporate brand name changes because they often occur simultaneously with business restructuring initiatives. The authors test a framework that delineates the informational relationship between corporate name changes and business restructuring initiatives. The hypothesis is tested on a sample of jointly announced corporate name changes and business restructuring initiatives. The results show that jointly announced corporate name changes and business restructuring are significantly more informative than the sum of their individual effects. The results further suggest that the information complementarity arises because corporate brand name changes resolve uncertainty and help in coordinating business restructuring initiatives. The results do not support the view that corporate brand name changes are cosmetic and/or primarily signals for business restructuring. The study offers a promising research foundation for understanding the value of marketing actions announced jointly with other corporate events.

Substitution d’enseignes : quelle création de valeur pour le distributeur et pour le client ?

Retailers might decide to change the store name of their dif- ferent formats in a global corporate-brand-guarantee stra- tegy. As for a brand name change, this decision can have impacts on consumer value. This work aims at analyzing how frequent customers react to the substitution of their Champion store name into Carrefour Market new labeling. Several qualitative approaches have been used in a two- step methodology: before the change and a few weeks after it. The image of the new store inherits attributes from both parents and several sources of consumer value are dis- closed. The analysis highlights some key factors of success to manage such a challenge.

Substitution d’enseignes : quelle création de valeur pour le distributeur et pour le client ?

Retailers might decide to change the store name of their dif- ferent formats in a global corporate-brand-guarantee stra- tegy. As for a brand name change, this decision can have impacts on consumer value. This work aims at analyzing how frequent customers react to the substitution of their Champion store name into Carrefour Market new labeling. Several qualitative approaches have been used in a two- step methodology: before the change and a few weeks after it. The image of the new store inherits attributes from both parents and several sources of consumer value are dis- closed. The analysis highlights some key factors of success to manage such a challenge.

Branding Next-Generation Products

We study the effect of brand name selection on consumer perceptions and adoption of next-generation product innovations. In four experiments, participants evaluated next-generation offerings whose brand names either continued or interrupted the existing naming sequences. The first set of results show that while consumers anticipate enhanced performance on existing product features (i.e., alignable improvements) irrespective of the branding decision, a name change triggers significantly higher expectations of new features (i.e., nonalignable improvements). Next, we examined the implication of this finding for purchase intentions. The added layer of innovation inferred from a brand name change led participants to believe they were exposed to greater risk as well as greater reward. As a result, in the last two experiments we found that situational and dispositional factors influencing the relative salience of these conflicting beliefs ultimately determined whether a particular naming option stimulated or hindered demand.

Brand name changes help health care providers win market recognition.

As the healthcare industry continues to recognize the strategic implications of branding, more providers will undertake an identity change to better position themselves in competitive markets. The paper examines specific healthcare branding decisions, the reasons prompting brand name decisions and the marketing implications for a change in brand name.