Creating Value

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at http://www.emerald-library.com/ft

Creating value through brands: the ZESPRITM kiwi fruit case
Michael Beverland
Department of Marketing, Faculty of Business and Economics, Monash University, Victoria, Australia
Keywords Fruit, Brands, New Zealand, Relationship marketing, Supply-chain management Abstract Agricultural products are generally characterised by their commodity status. After years of poor returns, the New Zealand kiwi fruit industry developed the ZESPRITM branding program in an attempt to position New Zealand kiwi fruit as an upmarket fruit category that appealed to today’s consumers. The brand has recently been released in New Zealand. This research assesses the effectiveness of ZESPRI’s strategy and explores the implications for branded fruit produce in general. The level of brand awareness of ZESPRI was found to be low among consumers, however brand awareness could be increased through a relationship marketing program involving targeted marketing and supply-chain management.

Creating value through brands

383

Introduction Aaker and Joachimsthaler (2000) stated that the development of brands was the only way to remove oneself from commodity status and price competition. Gardner and Levy (1955) defined a brand as ``[a] complex symbol that represents a variety of ideas and attributes. It tells the consumer many things, not only the way it sounds (and its literal meaning if it has one) but, more important, via the body of associations it has built up and acquired as a public object over a period of time’’ (p. 35). Brand equity consists of awareness, recognition, and top of the mind awareness of the product amongst consumers; positive brand associations; perceived quality and brand loyalty. Brand equity will result in price premiums, consumer and trade loyalty, trade co-operation and joint marketing efforts and pride of ownership among the company (Aaker and... [continues]

Read full essay