PurposeThe present research aims to improve the measurement of consumer‐based brand equity. Current measurement of consumer‐based brand equity suffers from limitations, including: a lack of distinction between the dimensions brand awareness and brand associations, the use of non‐discriminant indicators in the measurement scales and of student samples.Design/methodology/approachBased on the recommendations of extant research, the scale constructed to measure consumer‐based brand equity in this study included brand personality measures. Brand associations were measured using a different set of items. Unlike many of the previous studies that had used student samples, the present study used a sample of actual consumers from an Australian state capital city. Confirmatory factor analysis employing structural equations modelling was used to measure consumer‐based brand equity in two product categories and across six brands.FindingsResults support the hypothesised four‐dimension model of consumer‐based brand equity across two product categories and six brands. Brand awareness and brand associations were found to be two distinct dimensions of brand equity as conceptualised in the marketing literature. The present study contributes to the understanding of consumer‐based brand equity measurement by examining the dimensionality of this construct.Originality/valueThe principal contribution of the present research is that it provides empirical evidence of the multidimensionality of consumer‐based brand equity, supporting Aaker's and Keller's conceptualisation of brand equity. The present research also enriched consumer‐based brand equity measurement by incorporating the brand personality measures, as recommended by previous researchers. While earlier studies were conducted using US and Korean samples, the present study also used a sample of Australian consumers.

Geleneksel iletişim yöntemlerinin İnternet ile tanışmasıyla tüm kurum ve kuruluşlar hedef kitleleri ile doğrudan iletişim kurma fırsatını elde etmiş, dolayısıyla tüm iletişim biçimleri yeniden tanımlanmıştır. Web 2.0 üzerine inşa edilen, yer ve zaman kısıtlaması olmaksızın, paylaşımın, tartışmanın ve bilgi alışverişinin temel alındığı yeni bir iletişim şekli olan sosyal medya, kurumlar ve kamularının etkileşime geçmek için kullandığı kanalların bütünü olarak da ifade edilmektedir. İnternetin ve sosyal medyanın günlük hayatımızın büyük bir parçası olmalarıyla birlikte, markaların pazarlama yöntemleri de değişmeye başlamıştır. Kulaktan kulağa pazarlama yönteminin internet ortamına uyarlanmış hali olan viral pazarlama; mal, ürün ya da hizmetlerin tüketiciler arasında gündem olmasını sağlayan etkili bir yoldur. Markaların sıklıkla başvurduğu tanıtım yöntemlerinden biri olan ünlü onayı ile pazarlama, sosyal medyanın etkisiyle tüketici onayı ile pazarlama halini almıştır. Markaların karakterine uygun ünlülerin tanıtımlarda kullanılması maliyet, imaj ve sürdürülebilirlik krizleri gibi sorunları beraberinde getirmektedir. Bu riskleri en aza indirmek isteyen markalar, rotalarını ünlülerden tüketicilere çevirmişlerdir. Sosyal medyada yüksek takipçi ve etkileşime ulaşan "sıradan" insanlar, tek tıkla on binlere ulaşabilen birer "influencer" haline gelmiştir. Markalar da viral pazarlama tekniklerini bu kişiler vasıtasıyla kullanarak tüketiciye ulaşmayı hedeflemektedirler. Bu çalışmada, "influencer" olarak nitelendirilen fenomenlerin, bir fotoğraf paylaşım uygulaması olan Instagram aracılığıyla yaptıkları faaliyetlerin biçim ve içerikleri ile mevcut durumları yarı yapılandırılmış görüşmelerle değerlendirilmiştir. Buna göre, günümüzde viral pazarlamanın en yaygın örneği haline gelen fenomen odaklı tanıtım kampanyalarının yasal ve mali zorunlulukların yanı sıra bu uygulamaların işleyiş çerçevelerinin çizilmesi noktasında da eksikliklerin olduğu ve bu boşluklar nedeniyle çeşitli sorunların yaşandığı anlaşılmıştır.

This paper examines the relationships between consumers’ country-level and product-level images of a country, and the equity they associate with a brand from that country, using canonical correlation analysis. Results from mall-intercept surveys conducted in an Australian state capital city indicated that the consumer-based equity of a brand was significantly associated with both the macro and micro images of the country of origin of the brand. The relationship between these two sets of constructs was found to be positive as well as product category specific. Furthermore, each consumer-based brand equity dimension contributed differently to the relationship according to the product category, while the contribution of both country image dimensions (macro and micro) was also product category specific. Results also showed that cars, as a product category, are more sensitive to country image than televisions. These findings have direct and important implications for international marketers. Journal of International Business Studies (2007) 38, 726–745. doi:10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8400293

Purpose -The objective of the present research is to examine the impact of the country of origin of a brand on its consumer-based equity. Design/methodology/approach -Brand equity was conceptualized in this paper as a combination of brand awareness, brand associations, perceived quality and attitudinal brand loyalty. A doubly multivariate design was incorporated in a structured questionnaire to collect data via mall intercepts in an Australian capital city. Findings -Multivariate analysis of variance of the data indicated that consumer-based brand equity varied according to the country of origin of the brand and product category. This impact of country of origin on brand equity occurred where consumers perceived substantive differences between the countries in terms of their product category-country associations.Research limitations/implications -An important direction for future research would be to examine how the consumer-based equity of a brand would be affected, if the country of origin were changed from a country with weaker association with the product category to a country with strong association with the product category. The results would be useful to MNCs contemplating international manufacturing. Practical implications -Marketing managers operating in the international context must identify the sources of brand equity, and understand the importance of incorporating country of origin into their brand equity measurement. Further, the results suggest that, when a brand offers a variety of product categories, brand managers should monitor and track the brand's consumer-based equity for each product category. Originality/value -The present study is one of the first to empirically examine and confirm the impact of country of origin on the consumer-based equity of a brand.

Despite considerable interest in the topic of country equity, attempts at its measurement have been scarce. This research contributes to the literature by providing a consumer-based measure for country equity, and it improves country equity measurement by addressing some of the limitations associated with previous approaches. This research also contributes to our understanding of this area by providing empirical evidence of the multidimensionality of the country equity construct. We define country equity from a consumer perspective, as the value endowed by a source country onto products originating from that country. We conceptualize country equity based on consumers' memory based associations, using the associative network memory model, as a five-dimensional construct, comprising country awareness, macro country image, micro country image, perceived quality, and country loyalty. The paper reports the results of an empirical study of a sample of shopping mall consumers (N = 719) from Australia. The proposed model is tested in two product categories (cars and televisions). Results confirm the hypothesized five-dimensional structure. Our findings extend Aaker's (1991) and Keller's (1993) conceptualization of brand equity to country brands, as well as Yoo and Donthu's (2001) consumer-based brand equity measurement to the measurement of country equity. The results have implications for government agencies, industry groups and firms interested in branding a country in target international markets.