Consumer-based brand equity measurement: lessons learned from an international study

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the performance of Aaker’s dominant conceptualization of consumer-based brand equity (brand awareness, brand associations, perceived quality and brand loyalty) in a multi-national and multi-sector European context and highlights important lessons vis-à-vis the measurement of brand assets across countries. Design/methodology/approach – Cross-category data was collected through a survey over a period of two months from a representative sample of consumers in three European countries (n=1,829), the UK (n=605), Germany (n=600) and Greece (n=624). Findings – The findings suggest that Aaker’s dimensions of consumer-based brand equity cannot be clearly separated. More specifically the dimensions of brand awareness, brand associations and brand loyalty could not be always clearly discriminated in all national contexts. Originality/value – The paper contributes to the limited amount of cross-national research on brand equity by assessing the most widely used conceptualization of consumer-based brand equity. Contrary to previous research, this study has used data from real consumers who evaluated a range of brands across product categories (including goods, services and internet).