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Geylani-ImageReinforcementImpairment-2008

Image Reinforcement or Impairment: The Effects of Co-Branding on Attribute Uncertainty

Authors and Publication

  • Authors: Tansev Geylani, J. Jeffrey Inman, Frenkel Ter Hofstede

  • Published in: Marketing Science, Jul. - Aug. 2008, Vol. 27, No. 4, pp. 730-744

  • Stable URL: JSTOR Article

Introduction to Co-Branding

  • Definition: Co-branding is a strategy where two or more brands are simultaneously presented to consumers.

  • Examples:

    • Advertising multiple brands (e.g., Shell & Ferrari).

    • Jointly branded products (e.g., Lexus Coach Edition).

  • Co-branding is growing rapidly, with a reported annual growth rate of 40% during the late 1990s.

  • Approximately 43% of credit cards in circulation are co-branded.

  • Motivation for Co-Branding: Access new markets and signal quality that may not be observable.

Effects of Co-Branding on Brand Image

  • Co-branding can enhance or impair brand images through:

    • Reinforcement: Positive co-branding can strengthen the partner brands' images (example of Renault-Twingo KENZO).

    • Impairment: Negative associations from one partner can have spillover effects (e.g., Intel's Pentium issues).

  • Companies should strategically select partners to avoid image impairment.

Conceptual Framework

  • Attribute Beliefs: Defined as two-dimensional constructs:

    • Expected value of an attribute (its location).

    • Certainty about the attribute (its reliability).

  • These dimensions are updated during co-branding assessments.

Propositions and Experimental Testing

  1. Proposition on Partner Selection:

    • Choosing a partner with moderately higher performance can be more beneficial than the best performance partner.

    • A higher performance partner might induce inconsistency, causing consumers to maintain prior beliefs.

  2. Research Design and Findings:

    • Developed an analytical model linking co-branding to attribute uncertainty.

    • Co-branding can lead to both location improvements and increased uncertainty.

    • Key findings showed that co-branding might improve expected values but also heighten uncertainties.

Implications for Practice

  • For Brand Managers:

    • Not always beneficial to partner with the highest-performing brands.

    • Co-branding needs to be evaluated against potential image impairment risks, especially for already reliable brands.

  • For Researchers:

    • Need to further explore the dynamics of co-branding and its varying effects across different contexts.

Key Research Questions

  1. How does co-branding affect consumers' uncertainty about the co-branded product?

  2. What characteristics define a "right" partner for co-branding aimed at image reinforcement?

Conclusion

  • The research contributes to understanding co-branding implications, emphasizing the importance of strategic partner selection to mitigate the risks of uncertainty and image impairment.