Brand type: Does it affect extension attitudes?

Abstract

Brand extensions become increasingly attractive as competition and consumer brand attitudes make introducing a new brand risky and very expensive. Studies in brand extension research have established that original brand quality perceptions, product category fit, consumers' perception of the product category complementarity and substitutability, plus the transferability of design and manufacturing capability all significantly influence extension attitude formation. However, these studies fail to differentiate between brand types. Using a national survey we show that brand type (prestige, functional) and extension category are important variables in consumer brand extension attitude formation. Perceived quality influences functional brands more than prestige brands as prestige brand attitudes assume quality.