Company

LOGO

Brand Mergers: Examining Consumers’Responses To Name And Logo Design

Presented By

Abhra Mukherjee 11MBA0026

• This Research Article has been written by:– Joana Ce´sar Machado (Catholic University of

Portugal, Porto, Portugal)– Leonor Vacas-de-Carvalho (E´vora University,

E´ vora, Portugal)– Patrı´cio Costa (School of Health Sciences,

Minho University, Braga, Portugal)– Paulo Lencastre (Catholic University of

Portugal, Porto, Portugal)

OBJECTIVE

• We all know that in case of a merger, the management of corporate identity, corporate names and logos becomes an important issue.

• In the selected paper the researchers aimed to explore how name and logo design characteristics influence consumer preferences in the context of a brand merger.

INTRODUCTION

• Name and logo are key components of brand identity, since:– They are the most pervasive elements in corporate and brand

communications– They provide instant recognition of the brand

• It is observed that brand name and logo are altered/changed in the case of a merger between two or more companies.

• In this aspect researchers believe relatively little academic attention has been paid to the different name and logo options available to a new corporate entity.

• Accordingly they seek to address this research gap, by exploring consumers’ brand identity preferences in the context of a merger.

LITERATURE REVIEW

• The study provides literature review on three basic areas:– Brand and brand identity signs

• Keller and Richey, 2006; Merrilees and Miller, 2008

– Brand logo• Henderson and Cote, 1998; MacInnis et al., 1999

– Brand logo design and response towards the brand

• Henderson and Cote, 1998; Henderson, 2003; Janiszewski and Meyvis, 2001; Klink, 2001, 2003

METHODOLOGY

• The paper uses a research design which involves providing questionnaire which gives respondents freedom to choose their preferred solution.

• The researchers believe that by this method the richness of the results is enhanced.

• The results should guide managers in their evaluation and choices regarding post-merger branding strategies.

Contd.

• This research focused on the banking sector. Because:– A large number of mergers and acquisitions have taken place

between banking brands.

• For the main study, four Portuguese banking brands (Caixa, Millennium, BES and BPI), and two international brands (Barclays from the UK and Banco Popular from Spain) were selected by the researchers.

• They conducted an exploratory study using three names and three logos of European banks-– that did not have branches in Portugal – that had a low probability of being recognised

• This was done during the data collection (Erste Bank, HBOS and UniCredit), in order to identify the option that elicited the highest level of preference.

Contd.

• This study was conducted using an online survey with a total of 207 participants.

• First, the respondents were asked introductory questions regarding their recall and recognition of banking brands and their identity signs (name and logo), along with stating which banks they use, and their main bank.

• In the final part of the questionnaire, the respondents were presented with the target stimulus depicting the corporate brands’ merger scenario, and then asked questions concerning the corporate identity redeployment alternative that they preferred.

RESULTS

Revision of the typology of identity structures available• The analysis of consumers’ preferences led to a revision

of the typology of corporate identity structure alternatives.

• The researchers identified: monolithic and combined structures.

• With respect to the monolithic structure, researchers identified four different response typologies.

• With regards to the combined structure that combine elements of brands’ identities, researchers found a wide array of response typologies.

Contd.

Relation between the typology of identity options and the main bank

• The researchers used chi-squared tests to test the existence of any dependency relation between the respondents’ main bank and their choice regarding the different corporate identity structures (monolithic, differentiated or combined).

• There were no significant differences between the responses of clients and non-clients.

• Thus it is not possible to conclude that there is a dependency relation between being or not being a brand’s client and the choice of the corporate identity structure.

Contd.

Relation between being a brand client and the preference for the brand logo

• Researchers used chi-squared tests to examine the existence of a dependency relation between being a brand’s client and the preference for the brand’s identity signs, in the context of a merger.

• The analysis of the results suggests that for the majority of the brands there is no relation between these two variables.

Contd.

Relation between logo design and the identity options• With regards to the choice of logo, the results suggest

that the distinction between abstract and figurative logos has a significant influence on consumer preferences in a merger situation.

• Can be even more important than the brand’s position in the market.

• With respect to the choice of brand name, the preference ranking clearly reflects the market share and the brand recall ranking.