Branding and brand equity measurement in the beer industry of Thailand

The objective of this research is to investigate a new concept model of brand equity measurement in the economy beer industry of Thailand by using five factors of brand equity which are brand awareness, brand liking, brand purchase intention, brand satisfaction and brand loyalty along with the consumer behavior. The respondents are 379 males and females who have at least occasionally had a beer during the past few years. The findings show that males are more likely to drink beer regularly and in larger quantities. The average respondent seems to drink beer in order to relax and socialize at parties. Respondents recognize Leo beer more than the other two brands in this study. Descriptive statistics and statistical analysis are presented for individuals, managers, as well as for advertising and marketing professionals. Suggestions and links for personal brand building are also offered.

The Effect of Word of Mouth in Customer Equity and Brand Equity

In this paper the author examines the extent to which word of mouth （WOM） impact on customer equity and brand equity, two of the most popular metrics of marketing productivity. WOM is the most ancient and effective communication tool because its low cost affects the efficiency in the allocation of marketing resources. After an extensive literature review, the author proposes several propositions to be tested in the future concerning how WOM might affect each element of brand equity and customer equity.

How to Measure Sports Brand Equity： A Proposal for Football Industry

As in many other industries, strong brands play an important role in football industry inducing sales for the clubs that own it. Brands financial values are not quantified in balance sheets, so quantifying them provides important financial data. This is the research topic. The research questions are： （i） How is the importance of the brand in the revenues of football clubs and （ii） what is the financial value of the brands Futebol Clube do Porto （FCP）, Sport Lisboa e Benfica （SLB）, and e Sporting Clube de Portugal （SCP）？ This investigation was based on an adaptation of the inter brand equity model. This model considers equity as the economic value generated as net profit of the company, which can be apportioned to the brand. The data was collected from the financial maps of these three clubs between 2005/2006 and 2009/2010 seasons. In order to adapt the model to the football industry, a panel of five experts of professional football club managers was questioned. These experts claim that in football industry, brand management contributes with 16% of the economic value, sport management with 63%, financial management with 16%, and other factors with 5%. The conclusion is that FCP has the most valuable brand, with about 54.5 m , followed by SLB with about 51.6 m , and finally by SCP with about 39.5 m.

Customer Satisfaction and Hotel Brand Equity： A Structural Equation Modelling Study

In this paper, a structural equation modelling technique was used to examine the effect of brand equity on customer satisfaction in the Egyptian hotel industry. Brand equity was separated into four constructs （brand loyalty, perceived quality, brand awareness and brand associations）, and each one was examined individually. A sample of hotel guests, who accommodated at four- and five-star branded hotels, in four tourism destinations in Egypt, was selected. A structured questionnaire that included established scales was then used to measure brand loyalty, perceived quality, brand awareness, brand associations and customer satisfaction. Data were collected from 280 usable questionnaires answered by hotel guests, and the relationships among the four variables of brand equity and customer satisfaction were examined using correlation analysis and structural equation modelling. The study found that brand loyalty, brand awareness and brand associations all had a significant positive effect on customer satisfaction. Perceived quality, however, did not have any effect. These findings suggest that customer satisfaction is a reasonable measure for the success of branding activities, and that branding managers should focus on brand loyalty, awareness and associations to raise their customers＇ satisfaction.

Using SEM to Verify the Impacts of Accumulated Intellectual Capital on Organizational Performance of Taiwan Listed Biotechnology Companies With the Moderator of Brand Equity

The main purpose of this study is to verify the influence of accumulated Intellectual Capital （IC） on the organizational performance of biotechnology companies listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, with brand equity being the moderating variable. Financial and marketing section chiefs or employees of higher levels at Taiwan listed biotechnology companies were interviewed, with the companies＇ ROE （return on equity） data obtained from the Taiwan Economic Journal （TEJ） database. While convenience sampling was used to yield knowledge from the population, the linear Structural Equation Modeling （SEM） was adopted to verify the goodness-of-fit effects among the overall model, structural model, and measurement model. Findings from this study show that, at Taiwan listed biotechnology companies, IC accumulation and increased brand equity have significantly interactive influences on organizational performance.

The Influence of Affective Brand Experience Dimension on Brand Equity of the Smartphone Millennial Users in Malaysia

This study intends to highlight the power of affective brand experience dimension and link how it can influence brand equity of smartphone users in Malaysia. Measurement items for affective brand experience dimension and brand equity were developed by integrating existing literature and qualitative in-depth interviews with students who own and use a smartphone. Therefore, 359 usable questionnaires were returned. Data were analyzed using PLS-SEM to test the influences of affective brand experience dimension on brand equity. The study found that affective brand experience dimension is an important factor influencing brand equity of smartphone users in Malaysia. The study provides evidence that the affective brand experience dimension positively influences brand equity. The distinctive contribution of this research is that it examines the influence of affective brand experience dimension on customer-based brand equity in the context of smartphone brands in the Malaysian emerging markets. Such work is essential in understanding the importance of experiential marketing in an emerging economy such as Malaysia for building a strong smartphone brand.

A Review on Apparel Fashion Trends, Visual Merchandising and Fashion Branding

Visual merchandising encourages customers to enter the store by making it appealing to them and influencing their perception of it. It is the art of putting together effective display designs and ideas in order to boost store traffic and sales. It’s also a way to engage with customers and influence their purchasing decisions. A fashion trend occurs when a particular item, silhouette, color, or other new look rises in popularity. It changes with the seasons, and the store serves as a hub for communicating these changes to potential customers. Because items must be sold within a certain time frame, several display tactics are used to best present the merchandise and communicate the current fashion trends to customers. Visual merchandising becomes a key aspect of difference from merchants in the same category as retail firms, particularly fashion brands, try to compete in an already saturated market. Effective branding is now a vital success component for all types of fashion firms. Fashion brands may use effective branding tactics to build equity, promote consumer brand loyalty, and increase profitability. Visual merchandising is critical for inferring various customers’ perspectives and adding value to businesses. Its major goal is no longer to make items appealing in order to sell them quickly;it is rather to stand out, develop the correct brand image, and give the greatest possible customer experience. Visual merchandising aspects, when employed correctly, can infiltrate the buyer’s brain and prompt them to generate a favorable opinion of the store, allowing it to leverage its brand image. In this context, this research review focuses and aims to study the link between visual merchandising and Apparel Fashion trends, to study the relationship between visual merchandising and fashion branding and to find out the research gaps and scope for future research directions in the area of visual merchandising applied in fashion apparel industry.

A Research on QFD-＂House of Brand＂ in Fashion Industry

Fashion continues to be an area that reflects the increasing popularity of different theoretical and practical approaches of researchers from different disciplines. Due to the rapid cycles of fashion, sustainable products and processes in terms of technical creativity and innovative approach are needed. In this context, fashion marketing emerges as an integrative marketing application with its both technical and social aspects by taking potential customers center that symbolize rapid change and creativity of fashion products. In this study, QFD-House of Brand was designed with Quality Function Deployment （QFD） approach. In this context, the experts （focus group） in Fashion Industry evaluated the selected fashion brand and its selected products by prioritizing the criteria. These evaluations were used in QFD-House of Brand. Thus, technical and social aspects of fashion industry were analysed together. By this technique, QFD-House of Brand established in relation to products and brand was interpreted and optimization suggestions were presented in accordance with the findings of the research. In addition, suggestions on sustainability and optimization of brand equity in fashion industry were provided.

The Brand ＂Made in China＂ as a Part of the Growth of the China＇s Competitive Advantage

In the eyes of consumers, each product has some kind of origin （its country, region, and continent）. The image of the place of origin influences the assessment of products and brands （brand image） they come from. Traditionally, consumers extrapolate the characteristics of the country and its inhabitants on the characteristics of the product. Chinese products are very common and they can be purchased almost anywhere. The consumer does not have to take any special efforts to acquire products ＂made in China＂. Many of these products do not have specific characteristics that allow them to be considered as the unique. Products, whose names indicate the place of origin, are witnessing an increasing popularity. In the case of products ＂made in China＂, the matter is different. Often, consumers do not admit that they purchase goods produced in China. Research on consumer behaviour in the market of chines products, conducted among Polish citizens, indicated that these products are readily bought. This article presents the results of the research on consumers＇ attitudes towards regional ＂made in China＂ which was conducted in April 2015 among Polish citizens. Furthermore, the article will include the comparison of attitudes towards Chinese products between consumers from Poland and other European countries.

Valuation of debris flow mitigation measures in tourist towns:a case study on Hongchun gully in southwest China

The estimation of the value on the engineering project in tourist towns is usually very challenging and controversial. In this study, an attempt has been made to evaluate the economic value of the debris flow control engineering in tourist towns by integrating both welfare and disaster economics. The total value of debris flow prevention and control engineering in tourist towns(VDFE) includes investment cost(IC), disaster mitigation benefit(DMB), and loss of brand value(LBV). Here DMB is assessed by the cost-benefit method. The LBV is estimated by incorporating brand equity and costbenefit methods. The engineering for debris flow control in the Hongchun Gully of southwest China was built to protect Yingxiu tourist town and was assessed as an example. The IC for the engineering is180 million RMB, however, the VDFE reaches as high as 3401 million RMB, of which the LBV is 169 million RMB, and the input-output ratio is 1:18. Thus, the LBV cannot be neglected in case of VDFE estimation process. The more developed the tourism in one town or city is, the greater the LBV and the higher the VDFE are.

Creating the Foundation of a Healthcare Research Project

The research topic of this paper develops a case study approach that builds on the foundations of Yin＇s ＂linear model＂ and ＂the best practice＂ used in theoretical case studies at international research literature. It discusses the case study method and its role and focusing on research questions like healthcare branding, research design, and methodic. Also presents the case study research theory for a research case study. The methods used in this paper are based on hypothesis of a generic hospital branding strategy for the Romanian Private Hospital and also may apply to the Romanian strategy of development of public healthcare entities and partnerships between public and private healthcare entities. An empirical test of the relationships among branding loyalty and awareness, customer satisfaction, trust and relationship commitment suggests that Romanian hospitals can be successful in creating an image and positive brand equity if they can manage their customer relationships well. This can be done through a coordinated strategy of management and marketing development of healthcare entities. The results highlight the dominance of case-study research in qualitative marketing healthcare and highlight the importance of customer relationships in the branding practice of healthcare marketing. It also shows that marketing managers can succeed in creating positive brand equity and image if they can manage relationships with their customers well.

A system dynamics model for the assessment of the effects of advertising and sales promotion on profitability

Advertising and sales promotion have significant impact on raising customer awareness. They are tools by which customers become acquainted with new and innovative products and services of the companies. Despite the importance of these tools in increasing sales, it is not easy to evaluate their effect on sales. One of the problems confronted by the marketing managers is the determination of a clear relationship between the effectiveness of advertising and sales promotion on profitability. In this article, considering the relationship between these tools and brand equity, we have attempted to determine the relationship between effectiveness of these two factors and profitability. Next, a system dynamics model for representing the effects of marketing communication tools on company profitability is offered. Finally, using the data from a corporation and the numeric values related to each of the elements in the model, an attempt has been made to determine a number representing the magnitude of the effect of advertising and sales promotion on the corporation＇s revenue and profitability and to draw the respective curves related to the effects of these two factors.

CUSTOMER EQUITY: MAKING MARKETING STRATEGY FINANCIALLY ACCOUNTABLE

The article presents an overview of the literature on customer equity and how customer equity provides an opportunity for marketers to make marketing strategy financially accountable. Traditionally, Return on Investment (ROI) models have been used to evaluate the financial expenditures required by the strategies as well as the financial returns gained by them. However in addition to requiring lengthy longitudinal data, these models also have the disadvantage of not evaluating the effect of the strategies on a firm’s customer equity. The dominance of customer-centered thinking over product-centered thinking calls for a shift from product-based strategies to customer-based strategies. Hence, it is important to evaluate a firm’s marketing strategies in terms of the drivers of its customer equity. The article summarizes a unified strategic framework that enables competing marketing strategy options to be traded off on the basis of projected financial return, which is operationalized as the change in a firm’s customer equity relative to the incremental expenditure necessary to produce the change.