Målgruppens betydelse för feedbackeffekten
En studie om hur en riktad varumärkesutvidgning påverkar feedbackeffekten i ett EMVs olika målgrupper
THE ROLE OF TARGET GROUPS IN FEEDBACK EFFECTSBrand extension is one of the most commonly used brand strategies since it reduces some of the risks involved in introducing a completely new brand. There are, however, several challenges associated with brand extensions. One of these challenges is the impact of a new brand extension on the parent brand image, which is known as feedback effect. Feedback effects are the changes in parent brand associations that are caused by a new brand extension, these effects can be both negative and positive. Several previous studies have investigated feedback effects and the antecedents of these effects. In this study we continue building on these studies by exploring feedback effects in the context of private labels. One main thing that separates private labels from national brands is the fact that private labels are stretched to multiple categories and must therefore appeal to a much broader group of consumers than national brands. In our study we investigate a brand extension of a private label that is targeted to a specific group of consumers. The purpose is to see if the feedback effects this creates differ depending on whether the consumer is part of the specific target group of the extension or not. The results show that the extension creates positive feedback effects, not only in the target group, but also among those consumers who are not part of the target group. We also find that with a congruent extension the impact of perceived fit on the feedback effect diminishes, indicating that perceived fit is only relevant for the feedback effect up to a certain point. Within the target group personal relevance and the attitude towards the brand extension are the most important antecedents of the positive feedback effect. For the consumers not included in the target group the attitude towards the brand extension is the most important factor influencing the feedback effect. However, further studies are needed to fully understand the positive feedback effect among these consumers.