How Does a Sudden Repositioning Strategy Impact the Brand Power of Well-Known Products on Consumer - Research Paper Example

 How does a sudden repositioning strategy impact the brand power of well-known products in the eyes of the consumer? INTRODUCTION From a business leader’s perspective, managing the day-to-day functions of a company include activities such as cost control, staffing, organisational structure development, and analysing long-term strategic market orientation. Included in these executive functions, for businesses which develop and promote consumer products, is to maintain a solid marketing team as part of brand management. Brand management can best be defined as a series of internal staff behaviours and activities which contribute to assessing the most appropriate market position for the product, apply an appropriate pricing strategy, and all other efforts related to the promotion and final sale of the product. Measuring consumer reactions to different advertising literature and promotional materials is also included in this business function to ensure that the product is positioned properly to establish perceived value for the consumer. Why would a senior business leader be concerned with consumer perceptions of brand value? Companies which product consumer products derive significant volumes of revenue from a consumer brand which provides meaning to the buyer in terms of emotional attachment, having derived a sense of camaraderie with the brand. These consumer responses are generally measured in the level of brand recall, brand recognition, brand preference, and ultimately, for companies which can market successfully, brand loyalty. All of this suggests that the consumer is so tightly connected to the marketing function in terms of ensuring revenue that brand management becomes a major business function within companies creating consumer products of different varieties. There are far too many research studies and expert opinions which clearly indicate that consumer buying behaviour can be impacted positively or negatively based on brand perception to explore them all. Depending on how a company has positioned its product, based on price, quality, or lifestyle (to name only a few), certain market segments which are being targeted for promotion will either accept or reject the product or create certain product or company biases in this process. AIM AND OBJECTIVES Having described the impact of brand positioning on consumer buying behaviour, which suggests that brand positioning can impact consumer willingness to buy, this proposed study aims to identify what the potential impact will be when a sudden repositioning of a well-known brand is presented to consumers. Specifically, the question as to whether brand preference or brand loyalty is affected will be researched. The study has three main objectives: 1. To identify if a sudden repositioning of a product, such as from price to quality, impacts the consumer willingness to buy. 2. To discover the extent to which consumers currently feel attraction to certain well-known brands. 3. To attempt to uncover how consumers form biases for and against certain consumer brands. REVIEW OF LITERATURE Because marketing is so closely linked to business strategy and consumer revenue, it is important to identify how positioning impacts today’s businesses and profit expectations. Thomadsen (2007) offers that price competition between rival firms tends to create a transparent attempt to differentiate competing products. In difficult economic conditions, such as those being felt globally today, price competition is likely of considerable concern to executive-level strategists who are looking for a way to provide value in the face of price increases. Differentiation of competing products would then require different positioning tactics to change the consumer view of how one similar product provides better overall value than competition. With these positive or negative consumer perceptions being built based on current competitive marketing strategies, and with price competition occurring, systematic differentiation tactics are most likely necessary to gain consumer loyalty. Thomadsen’s recognition of differentiation as an outcome of price strategy between rival firms illustrates why research into whether consumer attitudes are changed dramatically in the face of repositioning strategies would be of considerable interest to firms which market in this manner. Miniard, Barone, Rose and Manning (2006) offer similar opinion about the process of competitive, comparative advertising. The authors highlight a recent research study which identified that “indirect comparative advertising is more effective than direct comparative advertising” (Miniard et al, p.54). This means that advertising which does not directly compare product features to competing products has more effective consumer results than advertising which does compare direct features or benefits. Positioning is a form of providing indirect comparison to other products in similar markets, therefore the professional recognition that consumer attitudes are changed more effectively in the face of different positioning strategies makes this proposed study of further value to today’s marketing organisations. Kayande, Roberts, Lilien and Fong (2007) offer a consumer phenomenon known as product incoherence in which a consumer develops inaccurate perceptions of different product attributes which, essentially, can change the levels of preference for a particular brand. The authors even offer a new model by which to recognise product incoherence when it is discovered with a particular brand or set of competing brands. Without getting into the technical details of the study, it was important for support for this study to recognise that the consumer decision-making process appears to be wrought with complicated variables and conceptions/misconceptions which create biases and, in turn, drive buying behaviours. If brand-building and brand loyalty take consistent consumer messages over a specified period of time to build, and consumer attitudes are consistently incoherent, then understanding the impact of sudden repositioning becomes of considerable interest. If small-scale changes in a brand promote consumer frenzy, it might be reasonably hypothesised that spontaneous redevelopment of a well-known brand image should cause considerable consumer behavioural and attitude changes. Merrilees (2005) would seem to agree with this position by offering that in order to create a successful rebranding strategy, the organisation must rebuild brand vision, brand orientation, and brand strategy. What does this suggest for today’s company’s needing to reposition products quickly in order to adapt to competitor moves in similar market environments? Again, many consumer-related variables impact the business and marketing decision-making process as it would appear that the impact of rebranding (or brand redevelopment) can create significant consequences, either negative or positive, for the organisation based on consumer reaction to these changes. The fact that studies which measure this consumer phenomenon exist makes the topic of sudden repositioning outcomes even more interesting. One professional offers an interesting opinion on the concept of branding with brands being identified as “holistic entities with many characteristics of living beings” (Hanby, 1999, p.12). Are consumers viewing brands as personified representations of themselves, or as individuals with free thought and attitude, or are consumers viewing brands solely in how they perceive it connects with lifestyle and beliefs? If consumers have a view of certain well-known brands with this deep of sentimental or other emotional connection, then if loyalty exists, there is the possibility that sudden repositioning of this brand could cause consumers to feel they have lost a trusted friend; or perhaps an undesired foe. In any event, if such loyalty is present and consumers have gained this level of connection, the outcome of repositioning could be quite radical and measurable. All of the presented research evidence suggests that consumers are impacted significantly in the face of changes to brands. There appears to be emotional connection which is impacted as well as certain biases created about how consumers evaluate product attributes with other competing products. These changes toward a brand impact the business at the profitability level, thus they are important business concepts for today’s professionals and this research study maintains the ability to answer questions which have not fully been explored by research studies. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY This study will gather both qualitative and quantitative research data in order to identify the impact of sudden brand repositioning in the form of print advertisement and promotional materials. Qualitative analysis is subjective in nature and is interpretative, relying on the practical skills of the researcher in other domains of business and human behaviour to make accurate assessments of behaviour. Therefore, this study will be observational in design and will make use of consumer questionnaires to measure consumer responses. The quantitative portion of the study will make use of consumer surveys with structured responses to measure the level to which brand preference has been reduced or improved in the face of repositioning strategies. One expert in scientific studies identifies that “qualitative modeling sacrifices precision for realism and generality by abandoning quantitative accuracy and focusing on qualitative relations between model variables” (Justus, 2004, p.1). This is a rather generalised research statement which suggests that qualitative analysis is not as significant as qualitative data (which suggests hard statistics) and provides for inaccurate windows into the tangible aspects which drive human responses. However, despite this analysis being subjective, qualitative approach and analysis will rely on a certain amount of researcher instinct and expertise to explore social responses to brand repositioning. Responses from 50-75 random consumers will be gathered, with this sample being recruited as they are approached by the researcher who will be establishing a temporary research station outside of a local supermarket which received widely-different consumer demographic shoppers. This is the most budget-conscious method of recruitment which will guarantee a broader mix of consumer values, motivations, lifestyles and attitudes. Consumers will be exposed to four different well-known product brands, using different printed brand advertisements. By well-known, they will be products which have either a long-standing multinational presence or have become household names through years of dedicated promotion. Prior to examining the materials, the participants will be asked to document their demographic information such as age, career, gender, and education. After providing the information, the consumers will look at each brand advertisement individually and then provide the researcher specific information about their feelings of the individual brand in terms of emotional attachment, preference levels, lifestyle identification, and other relevant questions related to the product’s current marketing position. These questions will be presented in the questionnaire research instrument and will be associated with each individual brand in the series of four. After examining the set of different brand advertisements, the brands selected will then be repositioned, with a set of researcher-constructed advertisements which present the same product in a completely different advertising concept and scheme. Based on the products chosen for the research, changes may include (but are not limited to) new slogans, new logos, and different color schemes. After viewing each ad change, consumers will then give their feelings about this product, based on initial reaction to sudden repositioning, to measure whether preference or intention to purchase has changed. The final short survey, as part of the quantitative design, will address to what level consumers experienced change in different emotional categories related to each product reposition. Any research observations made throughout this study, such as cues from non-verbal behaviour or other social phenomenon will be documented in a research chronicle for later analysis. Various psychology and sociology textbooks will be consulted as a guide for supporting researcher conclusions drawn from observations to improve study reliability. Another objective of the study is to determine how consumers form biases against product brands, both negative and positive. As part of the observational approach, since this research experiment is likely to draw social attention, it will be observed as to whether certain social pressures or opinion appear to sway consumer responses when the product ad is repositioned. This could assist in determining to what extend consumer opinion is swayed and how biases are formed if they are observed in the social environment. This will again require consultation with different sociological and psychological texts for analytical and evaluative support to improve researcher efficiency in analysing any potential observations. Data analysis will consist of coordinating the responses from participants into meaningful groups by demographic characteristics. Based on individual responses to the originally-positioned brand advertisements, it will be determined whether correlations exist in levels of brand preference or loyalty for the original well-known brand promotional material by demographic group. As part of the analysis process, questionnaire results will be linked with the secondary questionnaire distributed to determine whether certain demographic groups maintain the highest potential to experience rapid changes in attitude toward the brands after spontaneous repositioning. These correlations, if any are discovered, can be charted appropriately for presentation in the study’s results section upon completion of the research investigation. ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS Though copyright laws allow for the use of materials such as print advertisements for the pursuit of academic studies and research, all of the brands chosen for the research will be granted anonymity. This is true also for the recruited participants. The brand anonymity is only to protect the identities of different marketing companies in the event of minimising potential risk to the study. The intention of the study is not to identify specific loyalty levels toward specific product brands but only to measure the reactions and responses of consumers to a sudden change in marketing focus and image. This satisfies ethical commitment as well by ensuring that consumers and brand names will not be identified by name. Approvals must be granted by the different leaders of local consumer shopping centres prior to establishing an appropriate research station. The project will require the utilisation of an appropriate-sized display table and serve as an adequate work station for making observational notations. These might pose budget restrictions for the student, thus this research proposal may request budget assistance from school leadership if tools procurement becomes a roadblock to research completion. TIMETABLE FOR COMPLETION Research Stage Duration Completion Consult secondary sources 4 weeks May 30 Construct research instruments 2 weeks June 15 Perform consumer research 3 days June 18 Analyse findings 2 weeks July 1 Consult additional secondary sources 1 week July 8 Draft final research project 4 weeks August 4 Submit final project --------- August 10 Excluding any unintended disruptions to performing research, the proposed study is expected to involve approximately 14 weeks of commitment with a final submission of August 10, 2009. BIBLIOGRAPHY Hanby, Terry. (1999). Brands—dead or alive? Journal of the Market Research Society, London. 41(1), pp.7-19. Justus, James. (2004). Qualitative Scientific Modeling and Loop Analysis. University of Texas at Austin. http://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/archive/00001963/01/PSA_2004_submission.pdf. (accessed 20 Apr 2009). Kayande, U., Roberts, J., Lilien, G. and Fong, D. (2007). Mapping the bounds of incoherence: How far can you go and how does it affect your brand? Marketing Science. 26(4), pp.504-515. Merrilees, Bill. (2005). Radical brand evolution: A case-based framework. Journal of Advertising Research, New York. 45(2), p.201. ABI/INFORM Global Database. (accessed 24 Apr 2009). Miniard, P., Barone, M., Rose, R. and Manning, K. (2006). Further assessment of indirect comparative advertising claims of superiority over all competitors. Journal of Advertising, Armonk. 35(4), pp.53-65. Thomadsen, Raphael. (2007). Product positioning and competition: The role of location in the fast food industry. Marketing Science, 26(6), pp.792-806. Read More