Eureka! Institutional Repository

Cobrands (or brand alliances) are increasingly popular as a viable strategic option for commercial success. Yet the impact of perceptions towards the parent brands’ positioning strategies on consumer evaluation of the cobrands has not been investigated so far. Our study examines the role of positioning strategies in consumer evaluation of cobrands. Employing an experimental design, we create three cobranding scenarios in different product categories (tablets, cosmetics and smart phones). The data are collected via structured questionnaires resulting in 160 valid responses. In line with the conceptual model and research objectives, consumer evaluation of cobrands is tested in relationship to the prior positioning of the parent brands, product fit and brand fit. The results confirm brand positioning as a robust indicator of consumer evaluation of cobrands. Our finding suggests that post-positioning strategies of parent brands are influenced by positioning of the cobrand, which in turn is influenced by the positioning of the parent brands in the alliance. Parent brands were found to ‘adopt’ the positioning perception of its partner. The findings have managerial implications for designing appropriate positioning strategies for cobrands. The study identifies a number of further research areas.