¶ … Brands: A Goal Fluency Account of Brand Evaluation
The topic approached by Labroo and Lee is highly relevant in today's dynamic and challenging environment, even more so when modern day marketing campaigns focus on strengthening and promoting the brand. The basis of the article is constituted by two studies, revealing as such an increased reliability of the results. The palettes of subject were however formed from students, meaning that an improvement could have been made if more diverse categories of individuals would have participated to the studies, even more so when students seldom make major purchase decisions for themselves or for the household.
The first study concluded that whenever compatibility between regulatory goals and previous campaigns was present, the subjects revealed positive attitudes towards the brand, but the attitudes changed to negative perceptions when conflicts aroused. The second study came to strengthen these conclusions and presented some more specific findings (Labroo and Lee, 2006).
The article is written in a formal style, using specialized formulations and vocabulary, which means not only that the writers are professionals, but also that the number of readers it addresses is reduced. In terms of the messages it transmits, these have a triple value -- to customers, to organizations and to the academicians. To customers, it transmits that demand for certain products can be increased or decreased through marketing efforts. To economic entities, it sends the message that consistency across marketing endeavors is crucial for ultimate success. For the academic community, it constitutes a new angle for assessment of marketing efforts.
An extension of the study could go deeper and assess if there exists a link between customer perceptions related to goal fluency and the type of product sold, not just brand. It could assess different categories of products, such as every day commodities or luxury products.
Reference:
Labroo, a.A., Lee, a.Y., 2006, Between Two Brands: A Goal Fluency Account of Brand Evaluation, Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 43, pp.374-385
