Brand awareness: revisiting an old metric for a new world

Purpose - Brand awareness is a pivotal, but often neglected, aspect of consumer-based brand equity. This paper revisits brand awareness measures in the context of global brand management. Design/methodology/approach - Drawing on the method of Laurent et al. (1995), this cross-sectional longitudinal study examines changes in brand awareness over time, with sample sizes of approximately 300 whisky consumers per wave in three countries: United Kingdom, Taiwan and Greece. Findings - There is consistency in the underlying structure of awareness scores across countries, and over time, extending the work of Laurent et al. (1995). Results show that a relevant operationalisation of brand awareness needs to account for the history of the brand. Furthermore, the nature of the variation of brand awareness over time interacts with a brand's market share. Research limitations/implications - When modelling the impact of brand awareness researchers need to consider two factors - the brand's market share and whether a more stable or volatile measure is sought. This avoids mis-specifying the country-level contribution of brand awareness. Practical implications - Global brand managers should be wary of adopting a "one size fits all" approach. The choice of brand awareness measure depends on the brand's market share, and the desire for higher sensitivity or stability. Originality/value - The paper provides one of the few multi-country investigations into brand awareness that can help inform global brand management.