Facets of brand equity and brand survival: a longitudinal examination

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to explore how brand equity influences brand survival in the wine industry. Specifically, the aim is to investigate the influence of two key facets of brand equity (brand awareness and perceived quality) on brand survival. Design/methodology/approach - Two types of data were used: consumer survey data and longitudinal data on brand survival over a 16-year period. Perceptions of quality and brand recognition data were collected via survey at the beginning of the time frame (1991), longitudinal data regarding the brand survival were obtained for the years through 2006 and survey data were again collected in 2006. Twenty-seven brands from wineries of a specific region were used for the study. Brand survival (measured in years) was analyzed using logistic regression with brand recognition and perceived quality as the predictors. Findings - A slightly positive relationship between consumer ratings of perceived quality and the probability of brand survival was found. However, a strong positive relationship was found between brand recognition and probability of brand survival. Originality/value - The results offer insights into long-term brand management and what marketers can do over time to reinforce brand equity and brand survival. Specifically, brand awareness is a better predictor of brand survival than perceived quality for these emerging brands.