Niklas SchaffmeisterFiteffekte bei Markenallianzen

About this book deutschenglish

Brand diversity, market saturation, as well as high communicative pressures in many global markets have led to a situation where up to 90 percent of new product introductions have failed. In this context brand alliances, the deliberate combination of two or more independent brands in a marketing context, have gained increased attention from practitioners and marketing researchers alike. Brand alliances or "co-branding” has become an important strategic option for brand management. From a strategic point of view, the extension of business potential, entering new market segments, generation of cost synergies and the transfer of relevant brand associations from one brand to the other have been identified as key motivators for brand alliances.

This book deals extensively with the phenomenon of brand alliances and its four variants (co-products, co-advertising, co-promotion and ingredient branding). The investigation is focused on consumer-sided effects caused by the context-specific combination of partner brands and their implications for the success of the brand alliance. Special consideration is given to the construct of "perceived fit” of the partner brands and the different cognitive bases consumers use to perceive or attribute a high level of fit (e.g. similarity, compatibility or common technology). The concept of perceived fit can be regarded as one of the key success factors for brand alliances. Attribution Theory, Balance Theory, as well as Concept-Combination and Categorization-Theory are used as major theoretical foundations. These behavioral theories are then integrated into a framework that can be tested against the effects of specific fit bases on the global fit perception. Moreover, the framework also tests the attitude towards the brand alliance. The empirical study is based on an analysis of 214 existing brand alliances in Germany and a consumer survey experiment.

The study confirms the high relevance of global fit and specific fit bases for the formation of a positive attitude towards a brand alliance across different industries and types of brand alliances. It is also evident – in contrast to brand extension strategies – that complementary use is the most important basis for the perception of a high fit and a formation of a positive attitude in a co-branding context. At an emotional level, the mechanics of perceived fit are different. At this emotional level it emphasizes the striving for cognitive consistency that makes the similarity of the brand personalities of the partner brands another important success factor. While high perceived similarity is important at an emotional level, it shows to be only of limited relevance at a functional level. This highlights the conceptual differences between brand alliances and simple brand extensions strategies where high similarity between the brand and the target category is regarded as the main success factor. On this basis, implications for marketing management and theory are discussed and additional suggestions for future research are given.

The author

Niklas Schaffmeister, born in 1976, studied Business Administration at the Free University of Berlin. As Vice President, he is responsible for the Asia-Pacific region for the business consultancy BBDO Consulting.

Ihr Werk im Verlag Dr. Kovač

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