Brand and Customer Relations

Questions/Tasks Susan Fournier (1998) argues that customers have relationships with brands. Do Customers have relationships with Brands? Yes or No? Defend your position. Either way, if they have relationships or do not have relationships with brands, so what? In order to answer these questions and complete these tasks, you are required to select a movie studio (service only) and ONE brand from the remaining two product categories shown below and explore the idea that consumers have relationships with the products, paying particular attention to the implications of whether or not having a relationship might have for marketing managers in the management of and the development of marketing strategies for those brands, (the "So what?" in the above question). The three product categories are: Good & Service – eg Cell phone service (e.g. brands such as Verizon, Sprint, AT&T.) Good Only – eg Hand gun (e.g. brands such as Colt, Beretta, Smith & Wesson, Glock); Motorcycle (e.g. brands such as Honda, Harley Davidson, Yamaha); or Newsmagazine (e.g. brands such as Business Week, Forbes, and Fortune) and Service Only – eg Movie studios (e.g. brands such as Paramount, 20th Century Fox, Disney.). Note that since one of the choices (a movie studio) is fixed, you need to choose your product from one of the remaining product categories cover both goods and goods with services. In terms of selecting ONE brand from the TWO remaining product categories, you should choose a good and service (eg, cell phone brand, say Verizon, or a good only (eg, a hand gun brand, say Colt; a newsmagazine, say Business Week; or a Motorcycle brand, say Harley Davidson). The brands shown above are only examples. You can select others not shown if you prefer, but they must be either a Good only or a Good & Service. The Situation Some authors argue that consumers have relationships with brands. Others argue that a relationship with a brand is not possible because a relationship has to be 2-way. In other words, brands can't respond to consumers Expectations Note that it is not assumed that you will agree with Dr. Fournier that people have relationships with brands, (nor is it assumed that you will necessarily disagree). Clearly marketing scholars disagree about this so you can too! You might choose two brands, examine them, examine what it means to "have a relationship with a brand" and conclude that this idea does not hold water and has no benefits for marketers, in the process explaining why Dr. Fournier is wrong in your opinion. On the other hand you might conclude that her idea holds for one of the brands you have examined and not for the other, or perhaps holds for some people and not for others. In that instance, contrasting the two is very important. Or you might conclude that it holds for both. Note how the case you will make in favor or against the issue of people relating to brands takes you beyond the basics of product management to thinking about branding, product meanings, the roles brands play, the views customers have of brands developed through marketing and non-marketing influences, and the implications of these for marketing managers. Note that this last is the primary focus of this case. Note also that the materials describing the situation introduce you to three of the major journals in marketing, the Journal of Marketing, the Journal of Brand Management, and the Journal of Consumer Behavior. In that regard, I believe it important that you be introduced to some "academic" research which you should find both interesting and easy to understand. The topics covered in these articles (brand relationships and brand communities) are important and relatively new ones in Marketing and I hope you'll find them stimulating enough to feel that at some point in the future you might try reading more articles in these journals. There are other sources which present new ideas in Marketing in a more "managerially friendly" form, such as the Harvard Business Review, Sloan Management Review, and California Management Review, to name but three. Now that you know these sources exist try to use them as you build your case and continue to use them, even after graduating. The resources describing the situation include Susan Fournier (1998) in which, amongst other things, she argues that consumers have relationships with brands. Others have stated that they don't, (e.g. Vargo and Lusch (2004) state that "inanimate items of exchange cannot have relationships"). Perhaps they do but only under certain circumstances? I leave that for you to consider. I stress, that I want you to address the implications that brand relationships might have for marketing managers in the management of brands. Hint: you are to consider TWO brands (a movie studio which falls in one of the three product categories, the other in either one of the other two product categories). I am forcing this issue to give you the opportunity to see if a relationship is formed based on the product category therefore allowing you to compare the results your analysis between brands in differing product categories. I stress that it is not sufficient simply to write about customers and their relationships with the brands. That's relatively easy. You need to do that to set the stage for your thinking about how marketers might use such insights. Fell free to be creative. Sources of information for this case may include: Introspection - you should NOT rely solely on anecdotal evidence. Questioning friends and colleagues - you should NOT rely solely on anecdotal evidence. Researching background information on the Internet and in magazines - strongly recommended. While you may be tempted to simply rely on anecdotal information and write about your own relationship (or non-relationship) with a chosen brand, you will learn a lot more by broadening your horizons and thinking like a marketer, which means setting aside your own perceptions and understanding the way others perceive products. If you are in an Internet-constrained environment simply say so in your assignment and focus on Fournier S. (1998)) and Vargo, S. L. & Lusch, R. F. (2004) When using the comments of friends and colleagues, reference them as sources. You should also bear in mind that a fundamental goal, as with all the cases you build in MKT501, is to stimulate your learning. Your answers should therefore aim to demonstrate that learning. In preparing your CASE2, ensure that you demonstrate your learning of the marketing concepts and frameworks for analysis outlined in the modular learning objectives. Note that this assignment does NOT require you to prepare a detailed essay. Instead use section headings for each of the topics you address in your paper followed by a discussion of that topic. For example, make sure that you list the brands you examine. If you wish to include supportive or illustrative materials, feel free to include these in an appendix (e.g. uploaded as an additional file) of no more than three pages. Make sure that you refer to this material in the body of the paper. Case-related articles in the academic press Fournier, S. (1998, Mar). Consumers and their brands: Developing relationship theory in consumer research. Journal of Consumer Research. 24(4). PDF available via EBSCOhost on 5 November 2009 at Go to http://libary(dot)tuiu(dot)edu Click on <Webfeat> Your Webfeat username is: your TUI username Your Webfeat password is: your TUI password Click on <Click Here> to link to Webfeat In the shaded area near the search box, click on the box [ ] beside >EBSCO Research Databases< In the boxes enter [Consumers and their brands] as the title, [Fournier] as the author, and [Journal of Consumer Research] as the third keyword. Your EBSCO username is: s3642728 (note that s is a lower case s) Your EBSCO password is: welcome (note that welcome is entirely in lower case letters) Click on <PDF>. For assistance, go to http://support(dot)tuiu(dot)edu Vargo, Stephen L & Lusch, Robert F (2004, January). Evolving to a New Dominant Logic for Marketing. Journal of Marketing. 68(1) 1-17. PDF available via EBSCOhost on 5 November 2009 at Go to http://libary(dot)tuiu(dot)edu Click on <Webfeat> Your Webfeat username is: your TUI username Your Webfeat password is: your TUI password Click on <Click Here> to link to Webfeat In the shaded area near the search box, click on the box [ ] beside >EBSCO Research Databases< In the boxes enter [Evolving to a New Dominant Logic for Marketing] as the title, [Vargo] as the author, and [Journal of Marketing] as the third keyword. Your EBSCO username is: s3642728 (note that s is a lower case s) Your EBSCO password is: welcome (note that welcome is entirely in lower case letters) Click on <PDF>. For assistance, go to http://support(dot)tuiu(dot)edu Albert, Noël; Merunka, Dwight; & Valette-Florence, Pierre (2008). When consumers love their brands: Exploring the concept and its dimensions. Journal of Business Research 61 1062–1075. PDF available via Science Direct on 5 November 2009. Go to http://library(dot)tuiu(dot)edu/ Click on <Webfeat> Your Webfeat username is: your TUI username Your Webfeat password is: your TUI password Click on <Click Here> to go to Webfeat In the boxes enter [When consumers love their brands] as the title, [Albert] as the author, and [Journal of Business Research] as the third keyword. Click on the box [ ] beside >Science Direct College Edition< Click on <submit> Your ScienceDirect username is: touro-international (note that touro-international is entirely in lower case letters) Your ScienceDirect password is: welcome (note that welcome is entirely in lower case letters) Click on <PDF> For assistance, go to http://support(dot)tuiu(dot)edu Chaudhuri, Arjun & Holbrook, Morris B. (2002, September). Product-class effects on brand commitment and brand outcomes: The role of brand trust and brand affect . Journal of Brand Management, 10(1). 33-59 PDF version available in EBSCOhost on 5 November 2009 at Go to http://libary(dot)tuiu(dot)edu Click on <Webfeat> Your Webfeat username is: your TUI username Your Webfeat password is: your TUI password Click on <Click Here> to link to Webfeat In the shaded area near the search box, click on the box [ ] beside >EBSCO Research Databases< In the boxes enter [Product-class effects on brand commitment and brand outcomes] as the title, [Chaudhuri] as the author, and [Journal of Brand Management] as the third keyword. Your EBSCO username is: s3642728 (note that s is a lower case s) Your EBSCO password is: welcome (note that welcome is entirely in lower case letters) Click on <PDF>. For assistance, go to http://support(dot)tuiu(dot)edu Grubb, Edward L & Grathwohl, Harrison L (1967, October 1). Consumer Self-Concept, Symbolism and Marketing Behavior: A Theoretical Approach. Journal of Marketing. 31(4). 22-28. PDF available via EBSCOhost on 5 November 2009 at Go to http://libary(dot)tuiu(dot)edu Click on <Webfeat> Your Webfeat username is: your TUI username Your Webfeat password is: your TUI password Click on <Click Here> to link to Webfeat In the shaded area near the search box, click on the box [ ] beside >EBSCO Research Databases< In the boxes enter [Consumer Self-Concept, Symbolism and Marketing Behavior] as the title, [Grubb] as the author, and [Journal of Marketing] as the third keyword. Your EBSCO username is: s3642728 (note that s is a lower case s) Your EBSCO password is: welcome (note that welcome is entirely in lower case letters) Click on <PDF>. For assistance, go to http://support(dot)tuiu(dot)edu Quick Links to RESOURCES on TD2 Keller, Kevin Lane (1993, January). Conceptualizing, Measuring, and Managing Customer Brand Equity. Journal of Marketing. 57(1). 1-22. PDF available in EBSCOhost on 5 November 2009 at: Go to http://libary(dot)tuiu(dot)edu Click on <Webfeat> Your Webfeat username is: your TUI username Your Webfeat password is: your TUI password Click on <Click Here> to link to Webfeat In the shaded area near the search box, click on the box [ ] beside >EBSCO Research Databases< In the boxes enter [Consumer Conceptualizing, Measuring, and Managing Customer Brand Equity] as the title, [Keller] as the author, and [Journal of Marketing] as the third keyword. Your EBSCO username is: s3642728 (note that s is a lower case s) Your EBSCO password is: welcome (note that welcome is entirely in lower case letters) Click on <PDF>. For assistance, go to http://support(dot)tuiu(dot)edu Ries, Al (2009, September 7). Slowly But Surely, Line Extensions Will Take Your Brand Off Course: Beer Category Shows Cannibalization of Core Brands. Advertising Age. Crain Communications.