The importance of brand heritage as a key performance driver in marketing management

Corporate branding plays a crucial role in building a sustainable bond between the branded company and its customers. Because consumers corporate brand image develops over time, previous experience with a company and its products/services are of particular importance. During recent years, the question of brand heritage and how past, present and future merge to create corporate brand image has gained growing interest in both marketing research and managerial practice. The aim of the present study is to probe the importance of brand heritage on consumer brand image construction based on attitudinal components of brand strength. Using a conceptual model focusing on the antecedents of brand heritage and its effects on attitudinal components of brand strength, we present the methodology and the results of our empirical study based on a PLS-PM approach. The results support the assumption that consumers search for authentic brands with genuine history in an increasingly global and dynamic marketplace. © 2011 Macmillan Publishers Ltd.