Dec'22
The IUP Journal of Brand Management
Focus
The second paper, "Balancing Business Jargon with Research Results in Brand Portfolio Management" by Henrik Uggla, focuses on the subject of bridging the gap between industry and academia in the field of brand management. It considers different academic concepts and ideas, and explores how these are viewed and implemented in actual practice. It suggests means of balancing the two, particularly in the area of brand portfolio management.
The next paper, "Antecedents and Effects of App-User Satisfaction: Empirical Evidence from Greece" by Meletios Niros, Irene Samanta, Yannis Pollalis and Angelica Niros, is based on a survey of 4100 app-users in Greece. It concludes that emotional attachment and app design are the most important determinants of app-user satisfaction. Further, while app satisfaction has no impact on the intention to upgrade to a premium service, it stimulates positive word-of-mouth publicity for the app.
The last paper, "Smart Clothing and Wearables: A Review of Fashion Technology" by Fauzia Jamal and Vibha Kapoor, provides detailed coverage of the emergence of smart clothing and wearables, thus providing interesting and informative reading on a new topic.
Consulting Editor
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| Article | Price (₹) | ||
| 'Category of One' Branding: A Clear Competitive Advantage? |
100
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| Balancing Business Jargon with Research Results in Brand Portfolio Management |
100
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| Antecedents and Effects of App-User Satisfaction: Empirical Evidence from Greece |
100
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| Smart Clothing and Wearables: A Review of Fashion Technology |
100
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'Category of One' Branding: A Clear Competitive Advantage?
The paper aims at understanding to what extent consultant Brad VanAuken's claim that "Category of One" is a unique brand category could be true. Examples he offers, such as Uber, Netflix, Hallmark and Cirque de Soleil, need no supporting arguments. We can also recognize that creating a new category also creates a first-mover advantage, and depending on how fast one can scale up, may provide significant economies of scale and network effects. This creates tremendous financial advantages for the "category of one" brand and barriers to entry for me-too brands and other subsequent competitors", he argues. Perhaps, these thoughts represent an unspoken truth in branding, however, the authors set out to ascertain this "truth" by examining some strong, some weak, the old and the very new, one of which we are actually testing out in the real world, notably, the world of natural diamonds (natural commodities are not easy to brand).
Balancing Business Jargon with Research Results in Brand Portfolio Management
Brand portfolio strategies are an essential prerequisite for the long-term success of multi-brand companies. The paper focuses on the intersection of consultancy jargon, academic research and pedagogic work in brand portfolio management. These three fields benefit from modifying and using each other's metaphorical content, and capitalize on rather than cannibalizing each other. Given that brand portfolio management is one of the strongest and most influential in the world of marketing, this study provides valuable insights to marketers.
Antecedents and Effects of App-User Satisfaction: Empirical Evidence from Greece
In this digital age, numerous mobile apps catering to diverse needs are instantly available. However, keeping customers engaged and ensuring they are satisfied with the value of apps is no easy task. The paper explores the antecedents and effects of mobile app satisfaction. A survey was conducted using "positivism" approach, in which 4100 app-users participated to answer the research instrument. Emotional attachment and app design are the most influential antecedents of app satisfaction, whereas safety of personal data and user identification are also found to be important. However, app satisfaction has no effect on intention to upgrade to premium service, showing that the basic revenue stream still derives from advertising and sponsorships. On the other hand, word-of-mouth communication is stimulated by app-user satisfaction. This finding shows that satisfaction is the vehicle to spread the value of the app to other users cheaply and with more credibility. The findings of the study will be of use to digital marketing practitioners in building strong service brands using a mobile app as a distribution channel.
Smart Clothing and Wearables: A Review of Fashion Technology
The fashion industry has continued to expand its operations by embracing technology to design products that create a whole new concept of convenience and style, combining fashion and science into innovative ideas and garments. Various fashion brands have been challenged to provide innovative products to cope with the society's demands. More importantly, the industry has also embraced the idea of not just 'building' and 'creating' wearable items but also providing consumers with meaningful and relevant experiences using UX and UI designs. The paper aims at answering the following questions: (1) How do fashion brands and apparel adapt to the emerging trends of wearable technological devices? (2) How does the fashion industry provide consumers with the optimum retail experience? (3) How can leaders be agile and responsive to the community's changing needs and meet the expectations of multi-generational and geographically-dispersed stakeholders? The study provides comprehensive insights on how the current fashion brands and apparel retailers are adopting the trend of technological wearable items and how they can provide the consumers with optimum retail experience in the digitalized world.