Preferred Brand Research Articles

Brand personality, self‐congruity, and preference: A knowledge structures approach

AbstractUsing the construct of brand personality to measure automobile and soft drink personalities, two studies represented self‐congruity by combining brands and the self‐image into Pathfinder associative networks (Schvaneveldt et al., 1989). Self‐congruity, the number of links between the self and each brand, was predictive of preference and ideal brand. Because brand personality and self‐image are knowledge structures, and facets of brand personality also describe the self, self‐congruity can be represented and measured in networks. This approach could be helpful to marketers studying how the self is related to each brand and how brands interrelate. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A Study on Consumer Brand Preference on the Consumption of Cooking Oil of Various Income Groups in Chennai

Indian markets from low-involvement to high-involvement product categories have been experiencing sweeping changes in the past decade. Changing lifestyles, fragmented market segments and consumer preferences, and intense competition from the brands of multinational corporations (MNCs) have made branding strategies a prerequisite for marketing success. India has been going through radical changes in the marketing arena in the last decade. Globalization in terms of multinational corporation (MNC) brands entering Indian markets, the emergence of young professionals in urban areas, the opening up of luxury and leisure markets, the impact of mass media and the influence of Westernization are some of the critical aspects which have forced Indian marketers to adopt branding strategies. These strategies have been formulated against the backdrop of an Indian culture which is strongly entrenched in the consumer psyche, and amidst changes in the social environment. Each year, India consumes over 10 million tonnes of edible oils. Edible oils have a high penetration of 90% in India. However, per capita consumption of edible oils is around 11 kg per year. The Indian edible oil market is the world’s fourth-largest after the USA, China and Brazil. A growing population, increasing rate of consumption and increasing per capita income are accelerating the demand for edible oil in India. This paper analyses the trend in edible oil consumption and also attempt has been made by the researcher to assess the consumer behavior on consumption of edible oils from various income groups. In India, most vegetable oil is purchased by household or industrial buyers (food processors, restaurants and hotels) for frying or baking needs and is sold as loose oil or vanaspati (partially hydrogenated vegetable oil). Only a small percentage of edible oils are sold in branded form at the retail level. Therefore Efforts will be made by the researcher to find out what kind of edible oil people consume, since there are varieties of edible oil like Palm oil, soya bean oil, mustard oil, groundnut oil, rice barn, and cotton seed oil and so on. For this purpose the researcher would be undertaking a survey taking using a pre planned structured questionnaire to test the influence factors of the customers to buying a particular brand of oil, to buy particular edible oil, amount of consumption, point of purchase and so on. Cluster sampling technique will be followed as customers of edible oil from high income, middle income and low income will be considered for this study. Based on the responses the researcher will have an idea about the fastest moving and the most preferred brand of edible oil , choice of a particular variety of edible oil , amount of consumption of edible oil and so on , most importantly all these information will be gathered based on the demographic profile of the consumers based on income composition .

Determinants of customer loyalty and purchasing behavior for full-service and limited-service hotels

This study investigated factors that influence consumer purchasing decisions for two hotel segments: full-service and limited-service. Results from an online survey indicated that full-service hotel guests were more likely to be reward program members and be emotionally attached to their preferred brand. Price was the most important factor for limited-service guests’ purchase decisions, while both price and utility were important for full-service guests. Limited-service guests had lower switching costs, that is, they required less of a discount to switch to a non-preferred brand than full-service guests. The findings have implications for hotel pricing and marketing strategies.

The new WTP: Willingness to participate

A key concept underlying competitive strategy is that of WTP, representing the consumer's ‘willingness to pay’ a premium price for goods or services. Through branding and other efforts, companies strive to push their message out and create a high willingness to pay, whereby consumers feel there are few or no substitutes for what these companies are selling. Social media, however, are making push-based marketing anachronistic. Users of social media typically eschew professional communications forced on them by faceless and impersonal organizations, in favor of more personal conversations. These individuals seek greater engagement with their preferred brands, and involvement—with or without the company's approval—in creating brand personalities. Their affinity for these preferred brands might well auger the dawn of a new WTP: willingness to participate. This article presents a model of consumer engagement through social media, and argues for re-conceptualizing WTP by utilizing a series of examples which show how companies that engage consumers via social media (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, YouTube) stand to reap the benefits of long-term competitive advantages.

Nicotine Metabolite Ratio Predicts Smoking Topography and Carcinogen Biomarker Level

Variability in smoking behavior is partly attributable to heritable individual differences in nicotine clearance rates. This can be assessed as the ratio of the metabolites cotinine and 3'-hydroxycotinine (referred to as the nicotine metabolism ratio; NMR). We hypothesized that faster NMR would be associated with greater cigarette puff volume and higher levels of total 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanol (NNAL), a carcinogen biomarker. Current smokers (n = 109) smoked one of their preferred brand cigarettes through a smoking topography device and provided specimens for NMR and total NNAL assays. Faster nicotine metabolizers (third and fourth quartiles versus first quartile) based on the NMR exhibited significantly greater total puff volume and total NNAL; the total puff volume by daily cigarette consumption interaction was a significant predictor of total NNAL level. A heritable biomarker of nicotine clearance predicts total cigarette puff volume and total NNAL. If validated, the NMR could contribute to smoking risk assessment in epidemiologic studies and potentially in clinical practice.

The Influence of Reward Program Membership and Commitment on Hotel Loyalty

This research evaluated the role of reward membership and commitment on switching costs, defined as the price at which consumers would switch to a nonpreferred hotel brand. Online survey respondents were classified by reward tier and two types of commitment: value (reward program benefits) and affective (emotional attachment to brand). The results showed that all reward program members exhibit value commitment but upper tier members are more likely to develop an emotional bond. Participants rated likelihood to switch in response to 20 pricing scenarios that varied base price for the preferred brand and discount for a nonpreferred brand. Value commitment was associated with greater price sensitivity, whereas affective commitment produced less differentiation between prices and discounts. Findings indicate that value commitment and lower tier membership are associated with a utilitarian perspective, whereas high-tier members or those with high affective commitment value intangible benefits and are less susceptible to discounting by competitors.

Effect of Perceived Overseas Cosmetic Brand Personality on the Preference

The purpose of this study examines women in 20s~30s who start applying adult makeup and are sensitive to cosmetics and makeup techniques to understand the influence of overseas cosmetic brands' personality on their preference to provide overseas cosmetic brands with unique personality marketing resources. The following summarize the findings of this study: first, overseas cosmetic brands' personality factors were aesthetics, performance, interest, competency, and boldness. Second, among imported brands, the most preferred brand was Christian Dior, followed by Bobbi Brown, Chanel, SK-II, and Estee Lauder. Third, the subjects preferred Chanel when they perceived its aesthetics, performance, and competency and Christian Dior when they perceived its aesthetics and performance and did not perceive its boldness as much. They preferred Estee Lauder when they perceived its aesthetics and competency and Bobbi Brown when they perceived its aesthetics, performance, and competency and did not perceive its boldness as much. In case of SK-II, they preferred it when they perceived its aesthetics, performance, interest, and competency.

Self-reported price of cigarettes, consumption and compensatory behaviours in a cohort of Mexican smokers before and after a cigarette tax increase

ObjectiveTo assess the impact of a 2007 cigarette tax increase from 110% to 140% of the price to the retailer on cigarette price and consumption among Mexican smokers, including efforts...

Why do Older Consumers Buy Older Brands? The Role of Attachment and Declining Innovativeness

The authors compare three mechanisms that may explain why older consumers tend to prefer older brands. Data are from the French perfume market, in which some market leaders are decades old while hundreds of new entrants launch yearly. The authors reveal monotonically increasing differences across age ranges. Younger consumers have a greater propensity to change their preferred brand, a form of innovativeness that benefits relatively recent entrants, whereas older consumers exhibit a propensity to remain attached for a longer duration to the same preferred brand. Nostalgia for options encountered during an early “formative period” has only a limited impact. Furthermore, strong heterogeneity emerges: At all ages, some consumers frequently change their preferred brand, whereas others remain attached to it for long periods. It is the proportion of these two behaviors that varies across age ranges. The resultant managerial implications indicate that mature consumers are attractive targets because they likely remain attached to a brand longer, that long-established products may still attract new consumers, and that the success of a new brand among young consumers may be ephemeral.

Legal and Regulatory Instruments to Address Collusive Practices in Healthcare Delivery

The Competition Act, 2002 (as amended up to date) was enacted with an object, keeping in view economic development of the country, to ensure that anticompetitive practices do not occur within different markets and to ensure that consumers get the benefits of the new market economy. It replaced the archaic MRTP Act, which excessively relied on structure, conduct and performance. The new Competition Act was enacted to bring about substantial changes in ways that anticompetitive agreements, monopolies and combinations in several sectors are treated. One among various sectors prone to rampant anticompetitive practices is the healthcare sector. The healthcare sector is one of the most sensitive of all since it is marred by greater degree of information asymmetries when compared to other sectors. It is critically so in case of pharmaceutical and therapeutics where the doctor chooses and the consumer pays - more so in the case of ethical drugs or prescription drug markets. One unique situation in pharmaceuticals is that the costliest brand is also the highest preferred brand. This has led to a host of practices being followed right from how reach the supply chain and how doctors tend to prescribe a particular brand. Unfortunately, laws dealing with supply chain practices are quite lax. The problem is also with lack of adequate enforcement of ex-ante regulatory systems. Much is expected of the ex-post legal regime of Competition law. The Competition Act, 2002, also, prohibits both vertical and horizontal practices in relation to cartelisation and collusion. The presentation will basically deal with situations that normally arise in the health care delivery system in India and how ex-ante regulatory framework and Competition law could to a certain extent take care of situations so as to minimise the adverse impact of lack of competition in pharmaceutical drug markets on consumers in India.

Impact of cost sharing on prescription drugs used by Medicare beneficiaries

Background Incentive-based prescription drug cost sharing can encourage seniors to use generic medications. Little information exists about prescription drug cost sharing and generic use in employer-sponsored plans after the implementation of Medicare Part D. Objectives To compare prescription drug cost sharing across prescription insurance type for Medicare beneficiaries after Medicare Part D, to assess the impact of that cost sharing on the number of medications used, and to examine how generic utilization rates differ before and after Medicare Part D and across the type of insurance. Methods This longitudinal study of Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 years and older used Web-based surveys administered in 2005 and 2007 by Harris Interactive ® to collect information on prescription drug coverage and medication use. Co-payment plans were categorized as low, medium, or high co-payment plans. Multiple regression was used to assess the impact of co-payment rank on the number of prescription drugs. t-Tests and analysis of variance were used to compare generic use over time and between coverage types. Results One thousand two hundred twenty and 1024 respondents completed the baseline and follow-up surveys, respectively. Among 3-tier co-payment plans, brand drug co-payments were higher for Part D plans ($26 for preferred brand and $55 for nonpreferred brand) than employer-based plans ($20 for preferred brand and $39 for nonpreferred brand). Co-payment was not a significant predictor for the number of prescription drugs. Generic use was lowest among beneficiaries in employer plans both before and after Part D. In 2007, generic use among beneficiaries with Part D was not significantly different from the generic use for beneficiaries with no drug coverage. Conclusions Medicare beneficiaries in Part D had higher cost sharing amounts than those with employer coverage, but higher cost sharing was not significantly linked to lower prescription use. Generic use for Part D beneficiaries was higher than that for beneficiaries with employer coverage but the same as that for beneficiaries without drug coverage.

The Buying Behavior of Knitwear according to Appearance Management Attitude of the Male College Students

【This study examines the appearance management attitude factor of male college students and groups them according to their characteristics. Then this research analyzes their interest in knitwear, buying behavior, and characteristics to see what kind of differences exist. The results of the research are as follows: First, after conducting a factor analysis to identify the appearance management attitude of male college students, 3 factors emerged(sought personality, pursued trends, and appearance interest). Second, as a result grouping the students according to their attitude. It is created 3 groups(fashionista group, personality group, and appearance interest group). Third, for the interest in knitwear, the fashionista group had the highest interest in knitwear, with a preferred brand when purchasing. Fourth, the fashionista group that values personality and latest trends was more likely to purchase knitwear than the personality group or the appearance interest group. Finally, the majority preferred solid colors. Over 50% of the students preferred knits without any patterns. Also, the most preferred 100% cotton. As this survey was only surveyed in Seoul and Gyounggi areas. The next research requires to be surveyed in a more comprehensive area. Additionally, male college students must more effectively be segmented and surveyed to get accurate results.】

대학생의 축산물 브랜드 충성도에 관한 연구

대학생 408명을 대상으로 대학생의 성별, 부모직업별, 생활지역별, 부모 소득별로 축산물 브랜드 중 특정브랜드의 구입여부, 브랜드 충성도, 브랜드 충성도 이유, 브랜드 불충성도 이유, 선호 브랜드 프리미엄 지불 의사 등의 축산물 브랜드 충성도에 관한 사항을 설문조사하여 생산자와 소비자를 만족시킬 수 있는 축산물 브랜드의 발전방안을 제시하고자 수행한 연구결과를 요약하면, 농축산물 특정 브랜드를 구입하지 않는 경우가 74.3% (303명)로 많았으며, 여학생(33.6%)이 남학생(21.4%) 보다 더 많이 특정브랜드를 구입하였다(p<0.01). 브랜드 충성도는 성별로는 남학생이 3.83점으로 높았고, 부모 직업별에서는 농업에 종사하는 대학생의 자녀가 가장 높게 4.17점으로 평가하였다(p<0.05). 브랜드 충성도 이유로는 여학생이 품질76.6% (36명), 그 다음으로는 여학생은 가격을 12.8% (6명), 남학생은 브랜드 지명도를 26.4% (14명)로 중요하게 생각하였다(p<0.05). 부모 소득별로는 5,000만원이상의 소득계 층 자녀는 품질을 100.0% (5명), 2,500만원~3,500만원미만의 소득계층 자녀는 브랜드 지명도를 100.0% (5명) 선택하였고, 3,500만원~5,000만원미만과 2,500만원미만의 자녀는 품질을 각각 82.6% (19명), 72.7% (8명)에 이어 브랜드 지명도를 각각 8.7% (2명)와 27.3% (3명)가 선택하였다(p< 0.001). 브랜드 불충성도 이유는 공무원의 자녀 64.3% (9명)와 기타 자녀 55.6% (15명)는 가격을, 자영업 55.7% (54명)과 농업 52.7% (29명) 및 회사원 51.3% (40명)의 자녀는 구입불편을 가장 큰 이유로 들었다(p<0.001). 부모 소득별로도 구입불편이 48.3% (70명)로 가장 높았고, 가격 36.6% (53명), 품질 11.0% (16명) 이었다(p<0.01). 선호 브랜드의 프리미엄 지불의사는 가부가 비슷하였고, 소득별로는 연간소득 2,500만원~3,500만원미만에서 72.2% (39명)로 높은 반면에, 저소득층인 2,500만원미만은 39.3% (22명)로 브랜드 프리미엄 지불의사가 유의하게 낮았다(p<0.001). 대학생의 축산물 브랜드 충성도는 브랜드의 구매 경험이 충성도를 높이는 요인이었으며, 축산물의 구매에 미치는 영향은 품질과 가격이 중요하나, 구매를 어렵게 하는 주요 요인은 구매장소와 가격이다. This study was conducted to investigate the experience of purchasing a specific livestock farm product brand, loyalty to a brand, reasons of loyalty, reasons of nonloyalty and intension of paying a premium for a preferred brand according to gender, occupation of parents, a place of residence and income of parents with 408 university students by using a questionnaire and to provide measures for development of livestock farm product brands satisfying both to producers and consumers. According to the results, only the students (25.7%, 105) had bought a specific livestock farm product brand and more female students (33.6%) had purchased a specific brand than male students (21.4%) (p<0.01). For loyalty to a brand, males were more loyal by recording 3.83 points, and students whose parents were farmer showed the highest or 4.17 points (p<0.05). As reasons of loyalty to a brand, female students answered quality (76.6%, 36) and a price (12.8%, 6) in that order and male students considered its name value as the most important reason (26.4%, 14) (p<0.05). In conclusion, experience of buying a livestock farm product brand was found to be a factor increasing university students‘ loyalty to a brand. Although quality and a price affected largely the purchase of a brand, a place to buy it and a price were major factors hindering the purchase.

Prolonged exposure to denicotinized cigarettes with or without transdermal nicotine

Sensorimotor smoking stimuli are important determinants of cigarette use. The present study aimed to determine whether denicotinized cigarettes lose their reinforcing and/or subjective effects over a 9-day outpatient period when they are smoked with or without concurrent transdermal nicotine. After a preferred brand baseline, 68 participants were randomized into one of four conditions based on the dose (mg) of transdermal nicotine and the type of cigarettes (dose/cigarette): 0/nicotine, 0/denicotinized, 7/denicotinized, and 21/denicotinized. Under placebo patch conditions, participants smoked a similar number of nicotine and denicotinized cigarettes and no group differences emerged over repeated testing. The total volume of smoke inhaled was lower in the denicotinized group, although this decrease dissipated over time. Denicotinized cigarettes were rated as having low positive and high negative subjective effects. Compared to placebo, transdermal nicotine decreased the number of denicotinized cigarette smoked, produced a lasting decrease in the total volume of denicotinized cigarette smoke inhaled, but had little effect on the subjective effects of denicotinized cigarettes. Transdermal nicotine attenuated withdrawal during initial smoking abstinence; however, once participants were allowed to smoke withdrawal symptoms were relatively low regardless of patch condition. The persistent use of denicotinized cigarettes may result from the presence of nicotine withdrawal and/or the degree to which smoking becomes somewhat independent of the outcome of the behavior (i.e., habit learning). Additional studies would be useful to determine what factors drive continued use of denicotinized cigarettes, whether their use subsides as withdrawal dissipates, and whether they address motives for smoking distinct from current pharmacotherapy.

Exposure order effects and advertising competition

This paper applies the theories of exposure order effects, developed in the psychology literature, to an industrial organization model to explore their role in advertising competition. There are two firms and infinitely many identical consumers. The firms produce a homogeneous product and distribute their brands through a common retailer. Consumers randomly arrive at the retailer and buy their most preferred brands. The order in which a consumer sees the advertising messages affects his brand preferences. Under the primacy effect the consumer prefers the brand he first saw advertised, under the recency—the last encountered brand. The equilibrium of the advertising game is characterized separately under the primacy and the recency effects. In the first setting all consumers are initially unaware of the product existence. The equilibrium advertising intensities, remarkably, do not depend on the type of exposure order effect. In the other two settings some consumers have already formed their brand preferences. The primacy and the recency effects give rise to different equilibrium outcomes.

The Effect of Brand Commitment on the Evaluation of Nonpreferred Brands: A Disconfirmation Process

This research finds that high- and low-commitment consumers use different information-processing strategies when exposed to competitive brand information. High-commitment consumers use a disconfirmatory processing strategy, focusing on the dissimilarities between their preferred brand and the competitor brand. Low-commitment consumers focus on the similarities between the advertised brand and their preferred brand. These processing differences lead to differences in the evaluation of a competitive brand between high- and low-commitment consumers. However, priming high-commitment consumers to focus on the similarities and low-commitment consumers on the dissimilarities between their preferred brand and a competitor brand mitigates the effects of the different processing strategies.

Statistically Derived Factors of Varied Importance to Audiologists When Making a Hearing Aid Brand Preference Decision

To determine the amount of importance audiologists place on various items related to their selection of a preferred hearing aid brand manufacturer. Three hundred forty-three hearing aid-dispensing audiologists rated a total of 32 randomized items by survey methodology. Principle component analysis identified seven orthogonal statistical factors of importance. In rank order, these factors were Aptitude of the Brand, Image, Cost, Sales and Speed of Delivery, Exposure, Colleague Recommendations, and Contracts and Incentives. While it was hypothesized that differences among audiologists in the importance ratings of these factors would dictate their preference for a given brand, that was not our finding. Specifically, mean ratings for the six most important factors did not differ among audiologists preferring different brands. A statistically significant difference among audiologists preferring different brands was present, however, for one factor: Contracts and Incentives. Its assigned importance, though, was always lower than that for the other six factors. Although most audiologists have a preferred hearing aid brand, differences in the perceived importance of common factors attributed to brands do not largely determine preference for a particular brand.

Developing human laboratory models of smoking lapse behavior for medication screening.

Use of human laboratory analogues of smoking behavior can provide an efficient, cost-effective mechanistic evaluation of a medication signal on smoking behavior, with the result of facilitating translational work in medications development. Although a number of human laboratory models exist to investigate various aspects of smoking behavior and nicotine dependence phenomena, none have yet modeled smoking lapse behavior. The first instance of smoking during a quit attempt (i.e. smoking lapse) is highly predictive of relapse and represents an important target for medications development. Focusing on an abstinence outcome is critical for medication screening as the US Food and Drug Administration approval for cessation medications is contingent on demonstrating effects on smoking abstinence. This paper outlines a three-stage process for the development of a smoking lapse model for the purpose of medication screening. The smoking lapse paradigm models two critical features of lapse behavior: the ability to resist the first cigarette and subsequent ad libitum smoking. Within the context of the model, smokers are first exposed to known precipitants of smoking relapse (e.g. nicotine deprivation, alcohol, stress), and then presented their preferred brand of cigarettes. Their ability to resist smoking is then modeled and once smokers 'give in' and decide to smoke, they participate in a tobacco self-administration session. Ongoing and completed work developing and validating these models for the purpose of medication screening is discussed.

Brand Communities and New Product Adoption:The Influence and Limits of Oppositional Loyalty

Abstract Brand communities have been cited for their potential not only to enhance the loyalty of members but also to engender a sense of oppositional loyalty toward competing brands. However, the impact of brand community membership on actual new product adoption behavior has yet to be explored. This study examines the effects of brand community participation and membership duration on the adoption of new products from opposing brands as well as from the preferred brand. Longitudinal data were collected on the participation behavior, membership duration, and adoption behavior of 7506 members spanning four brand communities and two product categories. Using a hazard modeling approach, the authors find that higher levels of participation and longer-term membership in a brand community not only increase the likelihood of adopting a new product from the preferred brand but also decrease the likelihood of adopting new products from opposing brands. However, such oppositional loyalty is contingent on whether a...

Brand Communities and New Product Adoption: The Influence and Limits of Oppositional Loyalty

Brand communities have been cited for their potential not only to enhance the loyalty of members but also to engender a sense of oppositional loyalty toward competing brands. However, the impact of brand community membership on actual new product adoption behavior has yet to be explored. This study examines the effects of brand community participation and membership duration on the adoption of new products from opposing brands as well as from the preferred brand. Longitudinal data were collected on the participation behavior, membership duration, and adoption behavior of 7506 members spanning four brand communities and two product categories. Using a hazard modeling approach, the authors find that higher levels of participation and longer-term membership in a brand community not only increase the likelihood of adopting a new product from the preferred brand but also decrease the likelihood of adopting new products from opposing brands. However, such oppositional loyalty is contingent on whether a competitor's new product is the first to market. Furthermore, in the case of overlapping memberships, higher levels of participation in a brand community may actually increase the likelihood of adopting products from rival brands. This finding is both surprising and disconcerting because marketing managers usually do not know which other memberships their brand community members possess. The authors discuss how managers can enhance the impact of their brand community on the adoption of the company's new products while limiting the impact of opposing brand communities.