Comparing methods of brand image measurement

This study compared rating, ranking and 'pick-any' measures of brand image associations. The pick-any technique is a free response measure, where respondents are given an attribute as a cue and asked which brands they associate with it. It is a free response in that respondents can link any, all or no brands with each attribute. It only captures the association, however, with no indication of relative strength. The study confirmed past findings that the three measures are highly correlated at brand level (average correlation of 0.90). Further analysis at individual level found that individuals utilised the three measures in a consistent manner, suggesting that the measures are virtually interchangeable. The main exception to this is when respondents rank brands; low ranks may simply be a reflection of unfamiliarity rather than poor performance on the attribute. When examining the time taken to administer each technique, however, there are clear benefits in a pick-any approach, which takes about half the time of the other methods to collect image data.