The Effects of Brand Expansions and Ingredient Branding Strategies on Host Brand Extendibility

ABSTRACT - A new product decision of increasing importance is how ingredient attributes that make up a new product should be labeled or branded, if at all. This research conducted a laboratory experiment to consider how ingredient branding affected consumer acceptance of an initial novel line extension (i.e., not introduced before), as well as the ability of the brand to introduce future category extensions. Two particular types of novel line extensions or brand expansions were studied: 1) Slot filler expansions, where the level of one existing product attribute changed (e.g., a new to the laundry detergent category scent in Tide detergent) and 2) new attribute expansions, where an entirely new attribute or characteristic was added to the product (e.g., cough relief liquid added to Life Savers candy). Two types of ingredient branding strategies were examined by branding the target attribute ingredient for the brand expansion with either a new name as a self-branded ingredient (e.g., Tide with its own EverFresh scented bath soap) or an established, well-respected name as a co-branded ingredient (e.g., Tide with Irish Spring scented bath soap). The results indicated that with slot filler expansions, a co-branded ingredient facilitated initial expansion acceptance, but a self-branded ingredient led to more favorable subsequent category extension evaluations. With more dissimilar new attribute expansions, however, a co-branded ingredient led to more favorable evaluations of both the initial expansion and the subsequent category extension.

Citation:

Kalpesh Kaushik Desai and Kevin Lane Keller (2001) ,"The Effects of Brand Expansions and Ingredient Branding Strategies on Host Brand Extendibility", in NA - Advances in Consumer Research Volume 28, eds. Mary C. Gilly and Joan Meyers-Levy, Valdosta, GA : Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 178.

Advances in Consumer Research Volume 28, 2001     Page 178

THE EFFECTS OF BRAND EXPANSIONS AND INGREDIENT BRANDING STRATEGIES ON HOST BRAND EXTENDIBILITY

Kalpesh Kaushik Desai, State University of New York at Buffalo

Kevin Lane Keller, Dartmouth College

ABSTRACT -

A new product decision of increasing importance is how ingredient attributes that make up a new product should be labeled or branded, if at all. This research conducted a laboratory experiment to consider how ingredient branding affected consumer acceptance of an initial novel line extension (i.e., not introduced before), as well as the ability of the brand to introduce future category extensions. Two particular types of novel line extensions or brand expansions were studied: 1) Slot filler expansions, where the level of one existing product attribute changed (e.g., a new to the laundry detergent category scent in Tide detergent) and 2) new attribute expansions, where an entirely new attribute or characteristic was added to the product (e.g., cough relief liquid added to Life Savers candy). Two types of ingredient branding strategies were examined by branding the target attribute ingredient for the brand expansion with either a new name as a self-branded ingredient (e.g., Tide with its own EverFresh scented bath soap) or an established, well-respected name as a co-branded ingredient (e.g., Tide with Irish Spring scented bath soap). The results indicated that with slot filler expansions, a co-branded ingredient facilitated initial expansion acceptance, but a self-branded ingredient led to more favorable subsequent category extension evaluations. With more dissimilar new attribute expansions, however, a co-branded ingredient led to more favorable evaluations of both the initial expansion and the subsequent category extension.

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