Brand extension naming strategies: An exploratory study of the impact of brand traits

Wilfried Vanhonacker ()

Marketing Letters, 2007, vol. 18, issue 1, 72 pages

Abstract: When a known brand extends into a product category that involves sophisticated and state-of-the-art technology, consumers face uncertainty and perceive a financial risk when considering the extension for purchase. This study explores how the brand's perceived expertise in the extension category and various brand traits (predictability, dependability, and faith) affect that consideration decision and how these interact with particular extension naming strategies (direct versus brand-bridging). Exploratory results from a field study give three insights. First, a consumer's faith in a brand appears to improve the extension consideration independent of what naming strategy is adopted. Second, brands with good predictability seem to benefit only by using a direct naming strategy in the brand extension. Third, a perceived lack of expertise appears to reduce the extension consideration even when a brand-bridging strategy is adopted. A discussion of these insights and their implications is provided. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2007

Keywords: Brand extension; Extension naming; Consideration; Brand-bridging; Trust (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2007
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DOI: 10.1007/s11002-006-9008-4

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