An Exploratory Qualitative Study of Brand Associations as a Means for Brand Extensions: Part 1

Brand extension has been regarded as a means to achieve growth by capitalising on the reputation of an established brand. However, the extent to which brand extensions can benefit from or even detract from the original brand, is determined by various factors. This study focuses on brand associations as means to extend the original brand. A qualitative study was used to elicit an unbiased picture of consumers’ associations of a brand. The qualitative study, in contrast with the quantitative nature of most previous studies, enables further probing on the comments made by respondents. The study examined consumers’ reactions to a variety of fictitious extensions for four different popular brands (Coca-Cola, Benetton, Yamaha, and Kellogg’s). The main purpose of this study was to explore in what ways the associations consumers have with a brand name influence the way in which they evaluate brand extensions. Six propositions were investigated. Because of the considerable extent of the findings, the research is reported in two parts. The findings on three propositions are described in this first part of the reported research.