Contribution of individual to collective brands

Traditionally, literature estimates the equity of a brand or its extension but it pays little attention to collective brand equity even though collective branding is increasingly used to differentiate the homogenous products of different firms or organizations. We propose an approach that estimates the incremental effect of individual brands (or the contribution of individual brands) on collective brand equity through the various stages of a consumer hierarchical buying choice process in which decisions are nested: “whether to buy”, “what collective brand to buy” and “what individual brand to buy”. This proposal follows the approach of the Random Utility Theory, and it is theoretically argued through the Associative Networks Theory and the cybernetic model of decision making. The empirical analysis carried out in the area of collective brands in Spanish tourism finds a three-stage hierarchical sequence, and estimates the contribution of individual brands to the equity of the collective brands of “Sun, Sea and Sand” and of “World Heritage Cities”.

Differentiated effect of advertising: Joint vs. separate consumption

In a context of intense competition, cooperative advertising between firms is critical. Accordingly, the objective of this article is to analyze the potential differentiated effect of advertising on two basic consumption patterns: individual products (i.e. hotel, restaurant) vs. bundle (i.e. hotel + restaurant). This research adds to the extant literature in that, for the first time, this potential differentiated effect is examined through a hierarchical modelling framework that reflects the way people make their decisions: first, they decide whether to visit or not a region; second, whether to purchase an advertised product in that region; and third, whether to buy products together or separately at the region. The empirical analysis, applied to a sample of 11,288 individuals, shows that the influence of advertising is positive for the decisions to visit and to purchase; however, when it comes to the joint or separate consumption, advertising has a differentiated effect: its impact is much greater on the joint alternative (“hotel + restaurant”) than the separate options (“hotel” and “restaurant”). Also, the variable distance moderates the advertising effect.