This paper is about the main factors that determine a brandâs long-term value, factors that enable them not only to constantly extend their market share, but also to strengthen consumer loyalty and to generate price premiums, thus increasing revenue for their firms on a long term basis. The data and conclusions presented should help explain the relationships between consumers and the major brands in Europe and give insights as to formulas for success, corporate brand management problems and solutions. The results are based on a broad European survey (five main countries) and result in a data bank that includes 800 different brands of which 150 were researched in all the five countries.
The search for quality has been gaining ground in the last decade, not only in industry but also in services, in public organisations as well as in private firms. The following paper explains how, in France, regional authorities have also felt an increasing need for evaluation, for instance of their social or health care policies. On a specific case : that of specialised institutions for elderly people, we will show which evolutions have been taking place in the evaluation theories and methodologies of the public sector, from experts-based quality evaluation to pure satisfaction oriented surveys among users. The paper will also present a precise case-study and stress difficulties to overcome when dealing with institutionalized elderly people.
Following other European countries, France has now its own system monitoring the tourism behaviours of the french market. The paper will explain why and how we in SOFRES launched this French Travel Monitor in April 1990. Emphasis will be put on some methodological specificities of our tracking system. Then it will present the results of an analysis of the holiday and leisure stays market, bringing into light the different patterns of behaviours of various segments of population ; this segmentation takes into account three main factors : age, social status, size of community of residence. We will see how combination of these three factors lead to quite different ways of taking one's holidays.