Private Labels have transformed from value purchases into powerful brands. This paper develops a framework based on the four strategic dimensions of brand breadth, positioning, segmentation, and relationship with the store brand that retailers can uniquely draw upon to organise their brand portfolios. It examines the case of German retailer Rewe that successfully organises its private label portfolio along these dimensions. This paper argues that maintaining multi-tiered and multi-segmented private label portfolios can be important tools for retailers enabling them to cover broader markets, fulfil current consumer needs, build brand equity, and strengthen customer loyalty.
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Brand portfolio strategies are an essential prerequisite for securing long-term success for multi-brand companies. Only by focusing on the entire portfolio can it be ensured that all brands “act in concert” to achieve superordinate objectives. Thereby, an increasing vertical competition caused by private labels calls for a new approach, by which brand manufacturers integrate private labels into their portfolio management. This paper presents a planning model that is embedded in the company’s strategic management and demonstrates how brand-related objectives/strategies can be linked with superordinated objectives/strategies. By including vertical marketing goals into portfolio strategy, brand manufacturers may gain from extending the planning scope to private label brands.
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In the grocery retail sector a systematic approach of brand portfolio strategy for own label brands has gained relevance in recent times. In this context, brand portfolio strategies can be considered common practice for retailers for brand architectures which should visualise a coordinated approach between private label brands and retail brands. This paper examines the brand architectures of four grocery stores in each Germany and the Netherlands. By using a model of Laforet & Saunders, the results show significant differences in the applied architectures of retailers compared to FMCG suppliers. It is the type of retail format that has the most significant impact on the type of brand architecture being applied in the grocery retail sector.
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The aim of this paper is to investigate which portfolio extension option: either a cheaper subbrand or a private label endorsed by the national brand is better from the consumer perspective. Two hypothetical product concepts from a leading beer brand were tested among Dutch consumers. The findings show that consumers are equally likely to try the options and form a positive or negative opinion about the manufacturer after the extension. However, when looking at the ability for a brand to cover a price conscious segment and thereforeincrease penetration, the cheaper national sub-brand performs better. Given that the manufacturer will be not restricted in distribution of such a brand, our findings are in favour of a cheaper sub-brand rather than an endorsed private label.
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Consumers currently place increasing importance on the values that companies represent. Modern values such as transparency, benevolence to society, sustainability and fairness are becoming more relevant, as noted by many major consulting firms among which are Nielsen (2013), the World Federation of Advertisers (2013) and the Boston Consultancy Group (2013). Modern values are grounded in social, political and economic developments and represent the new values of this era. As a consequence, a company’s value to consumers no longer has to lie solely in its products and services. This new, broader scope of value may include the entire business process and organizational culture, ranging from the management’s integrity to values being found in the company’s contributions to society. Although the role of values in human behaviour has been extensively discussed in the psychology literature since the beginning of the 1900s (e.g. Feather 1995; Hofstede 1980; Olson and Maio 2003; Rokeach 1973; Schwartz 2012), limited attention has been dedicated to values in marketing literature. This was the conclusion of a systematic literature review that we conducted on this subject (Voorn et al. 2016). As a follow-up, we organized an online survey (n = 1109) to empirically investigate the role of values in the brand selection process. In this paper, we report on the relationship between values and brand purchase intentions through the concept of value congruence and in relation to several product categories representing services, durables and consumables. Overall, the results confirm the relevance of value congruence as a predictor of brand purchase, in particular in services and durables. Our study shows that companies can benefit from incorporating values into their marketing strategies, especially those values that are congruent with (higher-order) personal goals, rather than more (instrumental) category-specific values. This offers new marketing perspectives, especially for brands. Brands are – by definition – more than just one product or service, which means they can serve as an umbrella for the incorporation and propagation of new values. However, an important question remains for the brand manager: the extent to which values have an advantage over brand personality traits and functional attributes, since investing in values is not only about communication – it means that an organization needs to embody them in the very fibre of its being; otherwise it may be perceived as ‘green washing’, which can undermine brand trust.
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The purpose of this study is to provide a better insight into the impact of rebranding on stakeholders; the case for this study is the rebranding of the Hotel Management School (HMS). This research has explored how the stakeholders have experienced rebranding and how the rebranding has affected the brand identity, image and loyalty. A qualitative research method was used and data was gathered conducting semi-structured, face-to-face interviews with the students, staff and industry partners. The data illustrates that due to effective internal communication the employees were not affected by the rebranding. Nevertheless, the brand identity, image and loyalty did not have the same effect on the students and industry partners. Thus, it is recommended that HMS pay more attention to improving the communication, rebuilding and expansion of the brand identity.
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Expos, festivals and events have become increasingly important as tools of urban developmentin recent decades. The competitive drive to put cities on the global map has led many to adoptevent-based strategies, including the creation of ‘eventful cities’, ‘festival cities’ and ‘eventportfolios’. World Expos have taken on a particular significance as ‘pulsar events’ that canshape the host city through urban development, increased tourism and place branding. Eachhost city also uses the event in a different way, and gives it a unique flavour that tempers theeventual effects. This paper reviews the literature on World Expos and their effects, identifyingthemes including Place branding, Tourism flows, Resident attitudes and Architecture and urbandevelopment. It then analyses the experience of Barcelona, twofold Expo host and a‘paradigmatic’ example of a city developed through mega events.
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The aim of this paper is to investigate the Chinese branding landscape. First, the strongest Chinese brands are analysed. This analysis offers explanations for typical Chinese brand strategy and establishes current trends in Chinese brand management practice from a corporate perspective. The research includes an empirical study on the motivations of Chinese consumers investigating their preferences of Chinese- over foreign brands. While the discipline of brand management has a relatively short tradition in Chinese boardrooms, the outcomes of Chinese consumer preferences towards their favorite brands are both revealing and unexpected. The paper will conclude with the formulation of four Chinese branding trends that are likely to shape the Chinese branding landscape in the future.
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