THE EFFECTS OF BRAND ASSOCIATIONS ON CONSUMER RESPONSE

INTRODUCTION

Branding is not a product and not just a logo. It is a 'process' involved in creating

unique names and images for products in the minds of consumers, especially through

consistent theme advertising campaigns.

Branding is intended to create a significant and distinct presence in attractive and

retaining markets loyal customers. Branding and marketing need to use

communication tools to create perceptions and values in the minds of your targeted

customers.

Your company name, logo and symbols usually serve as centerpieces for

branding efforts. Your goal is to create an image echoing and playing around in the

minds of customers. When they see your brand they continue to identify your

company's sign.

Brands can differentiate your brand with other brands as examples of your high

quality, Most innovative, best-of-the-product, nutritious, most exclusive or most

popular.

This paper studies the dimensions of brand image, focusing on the functions or

value of the brand as perceived by consumers. In this way, four categories of

functions are identified: guarantee, personal identification, social identification and

status.

1
 The creation of a brand implies communicating a certain brand image in such a

way that all the firm's target groups link such a brand (and thus the products sold

using its name) with a set of associations.

The issue of brand equity has emerged as one of the most critical areas for

marketing management. Despite strong interest in the subject, however, to date little

research has been conducted in order to investigate which brand associations have the

strongest effects on consumer behavior.

Brand positioning is that when a brand manufacturer finds the customer has a

look like the manufacturer wants to see what the brand is described. The advantages

they will find are they will think of the brand when presented or described. Strong

brands symbolize unique, credible, always-available and quality in the customer's

eyes.

2
 LITERATURE REVIEW

Definition of Brand Associations

Since branding is very challenging for businesses to engage in service, you need

to combine proactive strategies related to unique elements in the mix of service

marketing is a good strategy.

You hire high-quality people, train them to be consistent, service quality, and

encourage the value of your people. Emphasize aspects of your service processes that

benefit your customers.

One way to distinguish between brand associations is by their level of abstraction,

that is, by how much information is summarized or subsumed in the association.

Benefits are the personal value consumers attach to the brand attributes, that is, what

consumers think the brand can do for them. Brand attitudes are consumers' overall

evaluations of a brand.

A further specific feature of the functions is that they have a positive nature, that

is, the brand value is greater, the higher the level. For these reasons, and given the

3
interest of working with a multidimensional measure of brand associations, we will

examine the associations concerning the functions.

Dimensions of Brand Functions

Brand interests are not limited to a wide range of scope such as international

sporting events, but it has a huge impact on everyday life. Some users prefer brand

names rather than quality. Consumers today are more concerned with quality than

prices as they are aware of the quality of brand selection in line with the increased

research and development (R & D) products of the product. R & D is critical to

continuing to compete and consumers will continue to use their brand products even

though there are many competitors in the market.

Many small companies forget about the brand and the quality of the goods. They

are more comfortable using price factors in maintaining customer loyalty. Such

methods will not last long as competitors will make the same ways and methods.

Branding creates a memory in the minds of the public. When people remember

the brand and get used to it and others in it, they will come back. Customers will

continue to invest in the business. People are willing to pay more for the product or

service they like. When your business has been distinguished by branding, your entire

marketing efforts will be easier. Developing an undeniable brand takes time and effort,

but in the long run it's a free marketing strategy forever.

Product functions are associations related to the physical or tangible attributes,

and so are present in all products, even in those sold without a brand or with an

unknown brand. Brand functions, on the other hand, are associations related to

4
intangible attributes or images added to the product thanks to its brand name, that is,

they represent benefits that can only be obtained from products with a brand.

The personal identification function is related to the fact that consumers can

identify themselves with some brands and develop feelings of affinity towards them.

The social identification function is based on the brand's ability to act as a

communication instrument allowing the consumer manifesting the desire to be

integrated or, on the contrary, to dissociate himself from the groups of individuals that

make up his closest social environment.

The status function, just like the social identification function, is revealed thanks

to the need of individuals to communicate certain impressions to people in their social

environment. However, the difference between the two functions lies in the fact that

the social identification function is related to the desire to be accepted by and feel

members of certain groups.

Branding, in conclusion, is a sentiment and perspective placed by society on our

business. The three key elements that matter in a branding after name selection are

known, favored and trusted. If these three elements are in one brand, then this brand is

on the right track to succeed.

Effects of Brand Functions on the Consumer Response

Brand personality competencies are the most important among all brands that also

show consumer perceptions related to brand personality traits are different.

With this study, companies can enhance their marketing strategies to enhance

customer satisfaction and improve their customer base. Additionally, by identifying

5
the brand personality that attracts consumers, companies can show the features that

customers are looking for in a product, which can then be used to enhance the brand

image (Gupta, V. 2013: 3).

Perception according to Erna Ferrinadewi (2008) is according to customer's initial

response to the product purchased or adopted. Purchase of products by customers due

to several factors such as product use, good advertising and according to the latest

styles.

For Aaker (2000) evaluates that brand awareness has played a very important role

in consumer perceptions especially when their purchasing patterns are still

undetermined. Branded goods are also said to be more confident. In addition, media

and advertising are an effective tool for raising awareness in influencing consumer

perceptions (Kazmi, S.Q. 2012).

Brand equity as the differential effect that brand knowledge (awareness and

associations) has on consumer response to the marketing of the brand (in terms of

consumer perceptions, preferences and behavior. The effect of brand functions on

consumer response constitutes a highly important subject when analyzing the value

the brand has for the firm.

Actually brands have the strongest attraction among consumers. If managed

effectively, the brand symbolizes the level of capability of a product to the customer.

In another study conducted by Hamish and William Gordon in 2001, they found the

brand has an element of agreement between a product and its users.

The agreement was also proposed covering the entire process of product

preparation as well as the overall ability of the workers involved in providing the

product.

6
 This is also mentioned as a brand civilization. Therefore the brand needs to be

managed effectively. In general, brand management is based on two main components

of function and image. These two components are two main thrusts that all brand

managers must understand before a brand program is run.

The lameness of one of these components will often result in a brand

management imbalance. Consequently, users will be confused and this will affect the

acceptance of products in the market. However, the situation is quite different in

brand management for products and companies or organizations. This is because the

product has tangible values that can be used (if merchandise) or otherwise

experienced (in the case of service) by the user.

As for the company, it looks more like a mix of value from all aspects of business

that includes product management, management and control of corporate properties,

how corporate performances, promotion methods and services provided by company

employees to consumers. Usually this concept will be in line with the features of the

product or company. At the same time, it must be sealed with the taste of each target

group.

Based on the idea that brand functions generate an added value for the consumer,

we aim to test whether those variables depend positively on brand functions.

Customer’s Response

Conventional market research data often relies on subjective comments and user

observations. The problem is that users can say one thing and want to do something

else. Users may say they will recommend the product to a friend, but never do it.

Users may say they will try the product or service, but never follow.

7
 That is, information marketed by marketers, advertisers, and publishers about

users based on what users are saying. Users state what they think, feel, and do with

the brand. But consumers may not realize that they think and feel the brand. And

users are often incorrectly true about what their purpose and actions are.

It's fair to say that most consumers who tell market researchers are close enough

to what they will do or what they really think. However, as neuromarketing reveals,

attitudes and behaviors are not always strongly associated in the human mind. Several

market research models have been developed to address the various ways users think

of their purchasing decisions.

The consumer's willingness to accept possible brand extensions has been obtained

through a single item. Adapting the proposal of Hutton (1997), the respondents were

requested to evaluate to what extent they would buy other products of the same brand

other than those that had been commercialized to date.

The consumer's willingness to recommend the brand to others was measured

based on the contributions of Selnes (1993), Andreassen (1994) and Hutton (1997). In

line with these authors, the respondent was asked to what extent he would recommend

the purchase of the brand.

It has been found that it is interesting for firms to analyze the different

dimensions that make up the brand image. Each of these can have a different

incidence on the possible consumer responses that determine the advantages that the

brand can provide the firm with.

The social identification function has a positive effect on price premium and the

acceptance of brand extension. On the other hand, the personal identification and

status functions influence recommendation and extension respectively.

8
 CONCLUSION

The twentieth century saw a change in the role of brands in the marketplace.

Increasing competition, the increasing role played by advertising, and the availability

of growing numbers of similar products produced a need to increasingly differentiate

one’s products from those of competitors (Franzen & Moriarty, 2009).

9
 Concerning the ways of stimulating the users of a brand to recommend it to

others, it would be fitting to basically resort to the functions of guarantee and personal

identification. The development of these functions therefore entails for the firm a

means of generating positive communications towards the brand. Just as we argued

above, the recommendation of the brand seems to be determined by the consumers'

own perceptions of it, rather than by the image and social prestige of the brand.

We obtain an estimation of the incidence of the brand functions in both the long

and short run. Hence, in the market studied the data point to the fact that the guarantee

and social identification functions offer firms the opportunity to obtain advantages of

growth and profitability, whereas the functions of personal identification and status

generate advantages of growth.

Regarding the field work, the sample is made up of individuals who have

purchased and used the brands analyzed. This has produced a greater reliability in the

responses and homogeneity in the sample, but in this way the perceptions of potential

clients of the brands have not been recorded. On the other hand, only three aspects of

the consumer response have been analyzed. This means that the value of the brand for

the firm has been partially measured as it would be fitting to add other variables, such

as the intention to purchase or demonstrated brand loyalty.

Within this environment, providing consumers with building blocks to build their

selves and to construct desired realities becomes a primary focus of marketing

activities (Cooper, McLoughlin, & Keating, 2005). When examining the marketplace,

what is of primary importance, therefore, are the images associated with the products,

not the products themselves (Neuner, Raab, & Reisch, 2005).

10
 Given that brands are inherently symbolic carriers of meaning, brands can be a

primary means by which image is associated with products.

The importance of brands, however, significantly increased during the mid to late

nineteenth century (Lury, 2004). With the industrial revolution came increased

production and the need to obtain widespread distribution, and brands provided a

mechanism for advertising and creating demand (Atkin, 2004; Hilton, 2003).

REFERENCES

11
Aaker, D. (1991), Managing Brand Equity: Capitalizing on the Value of a Brand

Name, The Free Press, New York, NY.

Aaker, D. (1996), Building Strong Brands, The Free Press, New York, NY.

Anderson, J.C. and Gerbing, D.W. (1998), ``Structural equation modeling in practice:

a review and recommended two-step approach'', Psychological Bulletin,

Vol. 103 No. 3, pp. 411-23.

Andreassen, T.W. (1994), ``Satisfaction, loyalty and reputation as indicators of

customer orientation in the public sector'', International Journal of Public

Sector Management, Vol. 7 No. 2, pp. 16-34.

Atkin, D. (2004). The culting of brands: Turn your customers into true believers. New

York: Portfolio.

Cooper, S., McLoughlin, D., & Keating, A. (2005), “Individual and neo-tribal

consumption: Tales from the Simpsons of Spring- ¿HOG ´Journal of

Consumer Behaviour, 4, 330-344.

Gupta, Vandana. 2013. A Study on Consumer Perception and Brand Personality

Traits for Making Cosmetic Purchase Decisions. Journal of Management,

Volume 5, Issue 1: 1 – 22.

12
Hilton, S. (2003). The social value of brands. In R. Clifton & J. Simmons (Eds.),

Brands and branding (pp.47-64). London: Pro- ¿OH%RRNV

Hutton, J.G. (1997), ``A study of brand equity in an organizational-buying context'',

Journal of Product & Brand Management, Vol. 6 No. 6, pp. 428-39.

Kazmi, S.Q. 2012. Consumer Perception and Buying Decisions (The Pasta

Study).International Journal of Advancements in Research & Technology,

Volume 1, Issue 6, November-2012: 1 – 10.

Lury, C. (2004), Brands: The logos of the global economy. London: Routledge.

Neuner, M., Raab, G., & Reisch, L. A. (2005). Compulsive buying in maturing

consumer societies: An empirical re-inquiry. Journal of Economic

Psychology, 26, 509-522.

Selnes, F. (1993), ``An examination of the effect of product performance on brand

reputation, satisfaction and loyalty'', European Journal of Marketing, Vol.

27 No. 9, pp. 19-35.

13