Abstract:

This paper introduces a new approach to the diagnosis of (psycho- logical) brand positions on the market and to the assessment of the effects of marketing communications upon those. The method operationalizes the American concept of Consumer Franchise. While for all practical purposes it is admissable to equate complete Consumer Franchise with Spontaneous Brand Awareness, this indicator in itself is not the most efficient one to diagnose psychological brand positions or to assess the effects of marketing communications. Structural analysis of Spontaneous Awareness shows much more promise in this regard. NSS TARGET MONITOR is a hierarchical model of Consumer Franchise, comprising five levels (core model) or nine levels in its most expanded form. The model is of particular value to analyse brand positions for fast moving consumer goods, and it is based upon a conditioning type of theory of advertising effect. The method incorporates some earlier approaches to the problem, but also some innovative features. It can be applied to various problems in brand- and marketing communication research as the examples of research will demonstrate.