Researching international “brand equity”: a case study

Looks at the implications of building brand equity in a marketing rather than balance sheet sense. Uses the case example of Chivas Regal to illustrate how the global brand of a multinational organisation can be developed and whether a “global” advertising campaign can be built. Examines the role of marketing research in this process. In order to determine how a brand’s equity can be developed, the core and local values of a global brand as seen by consumers need to be clearly identified. However, running a global advertising campaign is expensive for the organisation. Pre-testing in international marketing research helps in reducing risks with the positive effects of obtaining feedback and informing those involved. The discussion in the paper covers the pre-testing of a global advertising campaign, in particular the appropriateness of qualitative and quantitative pre-testing methods and then the measures used for post-campaign assessment. The discussion also includes the appropriateness of single measures of brand equity.