Consumer-based brand equity: improving the measurement - empirical evidence

Purpose - The present research aims to improve the measurement of consumer-based brand equity. Current measurement of consumer-based brand equity suffers from limitations, including: a lack of distinction between the dimensions brand awareness and brand associations, the use of non-discriminant indicators in the measurement scales and of student samples. Design/methodology/approach - Based on the recommendations of extant research, the scale constructed to measure consumer-based brand equity in this study included brand personality measures. Brand associations were measured using a different set of items. Unlike many of the previous studies that had used student samples, the present study used a sample of actual consumers from an Australian state capital city. Confirmatory factor analysis employing structural equations modelling was used to measure consumer-based brand equity in two product categories and across six brands. Findings - Results support the hypothesised four-dimension model of consumer-based brand equity across two product categories and six brands. Brand awareness and brand associations were found to be two distinct dimensions of brand equity as conceptualised in the marketing literature. The present study contributes to the understanding of consumer-based brand equity measurement by examining the dimensionality of this construct. Originality/value - The principal contribution of the present research is that it provides empirical evidence of the multidimensionality of consumer-based brand equity, supporting Aaker's and Keller's conceptualisation of brand equity. The present research also enriched consumer-based brand equity measurement by incorporating the brand personality measures, as recommended by previous researchers. While earlier studies were conducted using US and Korean samples, the present study also used a sample of Australian consumers.