Editorial

Citation

Leventhal, R.C. (2009), "Editorial", Journal of Product & Brand Management, Vol. 18 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/jpbm.2009.09618baa.001

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: Journal of Product & Brand Management, Volume 18, Issue 2

What does it take for a product/brand to succeed in the marketplace? We know from past experiences that an in-depth understanding of the consumer and his/her environment(s) would be most helpful in maintaining a competitive advantage when it comes to achieving your marketing goals. However, what we are seeing is that the consumer is not static in terms of the products/services that they buy and use, as well as the buying situations that they find themselves in. Since marketing has now become an exercise of global proportions, it is necessary to develop specific marketing strategies for each country/culture that is entered and to further refine said strategies as changes take place amongst those consumers that comprise your marketplace.

In our “Beyond product’s brand management” section you will read how one company is able to link product innovations to seasonal events, which turns out to be a rather unique way to manage your brands.

Gofman, Moskowitz and Mets posit that innovation cannot come without an in-depth understanding of both products and consumer perceptions of it. The authors show the approach for consumer-centric re-development strategy, from design of the experiment to execution, analysis, modeling and strategies for implementation. The authors found that a disciplined experimentation, based on statistically sound experimental designs, produces much better food products with increased acceptability by consumers as a result.

Trinh, Dawes and Lockshin examine whether different stock keeping unit (SKUs) based product variants appeal to buyers with different demographic characteristics. The authors examined such variants as size, formulation and type of a range of brands in six consumer goods categories. The authors found that there are many differences in the market shares of product variants among different demographic groups of buyers. The largest differences are found extensively within the age and employment status variables. The authors also found that functionally different product variants attract different segments of buyers, which may indicate that target marketing is implementable at the product variant level.

Souiden and Pons examine the impact of recall crisis management on the manufacturer’s image, consumers’ loyalty and future purchase intentions. The authors found that recalls contested by manufacturers have a significant negative impact on manufacturer’s image, as well as on consumers’ loyalty and purchase intentions. Conversely, voluntary recalls or improvement have a significant positive impact on image, consumers’ loyalty and purchase intention. Thus, proactive strategies are the best solution to avoid a loss in consumer loyalty to the manufacturer during a recall crisis. The authors make recommendations as to what recall strategies might be appropriate so as to limit possible negative effects of product recalls.

Gehlhar, Regmi, Stefanou and Zoumas have developed a series of case studies on firms with leading market positions of different types to better understand motivations for product innovation and brand leadership. Process innovation support product innovations as firms implement strategies to differentiate their products. Responses to a changing demand are a disciplined response where firms exploit their specialized resources using superior product knowledge and branding power. And leadership positions are maintained not only by responding to changing demand but steering the market using innovative products and consumer education.

Ayers, Menachemi, Ramamonjiarivelo, Matthews and Brooks examine the role of network effects in the adoption of electronic medical records (EMR) systems. These systems have experienced slow adoption rates but promise to improve the efficiency of the healthcare system by facilitating information exchange among physicians caring for the same patients. The authors found that network effects play a role in the EMR adoption among physicians. Decision-makers wanting to influence adoption should target defined market segments in an effort to build a critical mass of adoption then move to adjacent segments once network effects take hold.

In this issue you will also find our section on “Pricing strategy & practice,” a case study that describes how a social enterprise can use product innovation and management to succeed in its mission, as well as our book review section.

Richard C. Leventhal