Aaker on Branding. David Aaker

an innovative technology firm, even when the product in question may not be the most advanced.

      The value proposition of a new offering is often based on the claim that it contains a breakthrough advance that can too often sound like puffery. A perception of an innovative organization can help support such a claim. Kevin Keller of Dartmouth and I conducted an experiment to explore the impact of corporate image on customer acceptance of a new product outside the current range of a firm’s products.¹ Four different corporate images—innovative, environmentally conscious, community minded, or neutral—were created in four settings—baked goods, personal care products, dairy products, and over-the-counter drugs. An innovative corporate image was found to be markedly more effective at making prospective new products be perceived as not only more innovative but of higher quality.

       How Organizational Associations Provide Differentiation

Figure 3

      Provides Credibility as Endorser

      A brand representing an organization, even when it is acting as an endorser rather than an offering brand, can provide credibility. Kashi, Schwab, and Google, for example, can enhance the credibility of claims that an endorsed offering brand like GoLean, OneSource Select List, and Gmail is making. An endorser brand is especially important when a new and different offering is introduced under an unfamiliar brand name. It can make a big difference in a new product innovation program by reducing customer “risk.”