Leveraging a Brand by Linking It to a Place

摘要

The cognitive psychological paradigm observes branding to result from consumers acquiring knowledge about a brand. This knowledge comes from information that is developed and distributed by "branders" (e.g., marketers) and subsequently learnt by "brandees" (e.g., consumers) (Keller 1993). The process of information diffusion, and of consumers learning by being exposed to this information, affords marketers a chance to construct and manage knowledge structures to support consumers' perceptions of a brand. More importantly, marketers can positively leverage the brand in consumers' minds by associating the brand with elements that are external to the brand. One such external element is "place." Theorists like Keller (1993) have proposed that "place" elements can be used to positively leverage some brands. They suggest that marketers should link these receptive brands to strong place-entities in order to borrow or draw equity from the place's brand.