Abstract:

A common theme across international markets is increasing brand competitiveness. The share wars between giant global brands, such as Coke and Pepsi, are well-publicised but, in all markets, researchers are being asked by clients to provide data with more focus on the impact of competitors. To date, the concept of brand share has been applied mainly to marketplace, or behavioural variables e.g. share of purchases, stocks, distribution and the like. However, share wars are fought in consumers' minds as well as in markets. The author shows how a continuous brand tracking system, initiated in Australia and developed in the Asia Pacific region, injects this competitive focus into the research measures of brand attitude and image, allowing marketeers to think in terms of brand shares of consumers' minds and to compare these to their marketplace share equivalents. Furthermore, the author outlines the thinking behind the new mind share measures and points to their usefulness on a general basis. When presenting this paper to the conference, the author will illustrate the practical aspects to a greater extent, using actual data from markets in south east Asia.