The Host of Brand Extensions

Recent research on consumer reactions to brand extension has mainly focused on the judgmental effects of the similarity between the established brand and the brand extensions. The present paper extends this research by investigating the effects of four types of characteristics of the category into which a brand is extended: (1) the awareness set size (2) the perceived similarity among existing brands, (3) the perceived category knowledge, and (4) overall category attitudes. Results from two studies suggest that brand extensions are judged more favorably when (a) the awareness set size is small, (b) the perceived similarity among brands in the extension category is high, and especially when (c) the attitude towards the extension category is positive. The results underscore the importance of the extension category as the host of brand extensions. Key words: Brand Extensions, Characteristics of the Extension Category

Citation:

Leif Hem, Nina Iversen, and Elin Bolann (2008) ,"The Host of Brand Extensions", in LA - Latin American Advances in Consumer Research Volume 2, eds. Claudia R. Acevedo, Jose Mauro C. Hernandez, and Tina M. Lowrey, Duluth, MN : Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 196-197.