Brand familiarity in Latin America: a new three-dimensional conceptualization and measure

Abstract

Brand familiarity is a construct often used in marketing and consumer behavior for explaining buyer behavior and marketing effects. Advertising agencies and marketing managers use brand familiarity as a measure of marketing and advertising effectiveness. The literature suggests alternative definitions of familiarity focusing on recognition, brand knowledge and experience. In this paper we propose a three-dimensional conceptualization of brand familiarity including: recognition, general knowledge and closeness, which fully captures the concept domain. Through six empirical studies we develop and validate a new measure of brand familiarity, and we propose ways to use it for further theoretical development and managerial purposes.