Buying Name Brands in Argentina
The classic book (Aaker (1991)) on the subject of brand equity gives the definition of brand equity as the "set of brand assets and liabilities linked to a brand, its name and symbol, that add to or subtract from the value provided by a product or service to a firm and/or to that firm's customers." These brands and assets are grouped into four categories:
Brand loyalty
Name awareness
Perceived quality
Brand associations
Aaker states that "people will often buy a familiar brand because they are comfortable with the familiar. Or there may be an assumption that a brand that is familiar is probably reliable, in business to stay, and of reasonable quality. A recognized brand will thus often be selected over an unknown brand. The awareness factor is particularly important contexts in which the brand must first enter the consideration set --- it must be one of the brands that are evaluated. An unknown brand usually has little chance."
We will now cite some survey data from the TGI Argentina survey conducted by IBOPE Argentina. In this survey, a total of 18,241 persons between the ages of 12 and 75 were interviewed during 1999 and 2000. The respondents were shown the statement: "I would not buy an unknown brand just to save money." 25% of them answered that they completely agree with this statement.
Who are these people? The following table shows their demographic characteristics:
| Demographic Characteristics | % completely agree with "I would not buy an unknown brand just to save money" |
| Age/Sex Male 12-19 Male 20-24 Male 25-34 Male 35-44 Male 45-54 Male 55-64 Male 65-75 Female 12-19 Female 20-24 Female 25-34 Female 35-44 Female 45-54 Female 55-64 Female 65-75 |
20% 20% 25% 27% 31% 21% 31% 17% 25% 22% 30% 26% 33% 31% |
| Socio-economic Level ABC1 C2 C3 D1 D2 |
24% 26% 26% 25% 24% |
| TOTAL | 25% |
(Source: TGI Argentina, IBOPE Argentina)
Perhaps the question of who they are is less important than what are their brand loyalties. The following table shows the percentages of people who agree with that statement among those who own or use the best known global brands. These brand users all believe in buying name brands. This is a very simple, straightforward measure of the impact of brand name awareness and perceived quality.
|
Brand usage behavior |
% completely agree with "I would not buy an unknown brand just to save money" |
| Bought Adidas sports shoes in last 12 months Bought Nike sports shoes in last 12 months Bought Reebok sports shoes in last 12 months Bought Levi Strauss jeans in last 12 months Owns IBM home computer Owns American Express credit card |
28% 28% 28%
38% 41% |
| TOTAL | 25% |
(Source: TGI Argentina, IBOPE Argentina)
REFERENCES:
David A. Aaker (1991). Managing Brand Equity: Capitalizing on the Value of a Brand Name. Free Press: New York
David A. Aaker (1996). Building Strong Brands. Free Press: New York
David A. Aaker and Alexander Biel (eds) (1993) Brand Equity and Advertising: Advertising's Role in Building Strong Brands. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
David A. Aaker and Scott Davis (2000) Brand Asset Management. Jossey-Bass: San Francisco.
David A. Aaker and Erich Joachimsthaler (2000) Brand Leadership : Building Assets in the Information Society. Free Press: New York.
(posted by Roland Soong on 12/8/00)
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