Parent brands’ influence on co-brand’s perception: a model-based approach

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to investigate what influence the perceptions of two parent brands have on the perception of a newly formed co-brand. Furthermore, it elaborates whether respondents’ evaluations of the parent brands, their familiarity towards the parent brands and their usage of the parent brands affect this influence. Design/methodology/approach Building on both cognitive consistency and information integration theory, this paper proposes a model-based approach to quantify the parent brands’ influence on the co-brand’s perception. Using an empirical study with 317 respondents collected by a professional online market research firm, this paper highlights the benefits of this model-based approach. Findings The results indicate that the perception of a co-brand arises from a weighted merge of the parent brands’ perceptions. The findings further reveal that the better (worse) a parent brand’s evaluation is in contrast to the other parent brand’s evaluation, the more (less) familiar a parent brand is in contrast to the other parent brand, and the more (less) frequent a parent brand is used in contrast to the other parent brand, the larger (smaller) is its influence on the co-brand’s perception. Originality/value The findings shed light on the formation of a co-brand’s perception which can be crucial when selecting the right co-branding partner. Additionally, by quantifying the parent brands’ influence on the perception of the co-brand, this model-based approach helps brand managers to analyze co-brand pairings beforehand and select the best pairing in accordance with their goals.

Guest editorial

“…Branding has been a core topic in marketing for decades (Böger et al , 2018), with the belief that a strong brand can lead to a competitive advantage (Keller, 2001). There are three key dimensions of a company’s brand portfolio strategy that impact competitive advantage: scope (i.e.…”

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“…Researchers have revealed that consumer perceptions of different brands in PL brand portfolios influence each other (Böger et al , 2018; Geyskens et al , 2010; Palmeira and Thomas, 2011) and recognized that such perceptions relate to the formation of the PL brand image (Braak et al , 2014; Geyskens et al , 2010; Kumar et al , 2023; Steenkamp et al , 2010; Valaskova et al , 2018). Brand image refers to the perceptions and associations (Aaker, 1996; Anselmsson et al , 2007; French and Smith, 2013; Keller, 1993) “formed in the mind of a member of the external audience about the brand after one real or mental encounter with the brand”, and the accumulation of brand images constructs brand reputation, “an aggregate and compressed set of public judgments about the brand” (Veloutsou and Delgado-Ballester, 2018, p. 257) over time.…”

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“…While in the field of technology, Apple Watch collaborates with Nike which notably expands the customer segment of the Apple Watch into sport-enthusiast consumers. In the same way, HnM, as a fast-fashion company, has collaborated with luxury brand designers which expand the product into luxury yet limited edition (Böger, Kottemann, & Decker, 2018). The application of different brand sectors has been applied between Reebok (sports outfits) and Pepsi (soft drinks) to do joint sales promotion which no combined product exists (Helmig et al, 2008).…”