Brand Awareness and Brand Popularity: A Malaysian Perspective

Abstract

This paper seeks to shed light on the nature of the relationship between brand awareness and brand popularity, in the context of a relatively small township in Malaysia, namely Bukit Baru. After a pilot study involving convenience sampling, face-to-face survey questionnaires were randomly distributed regarding biscuit-based snack foods. The questions focused on six companies, three of which were Malaysian, with two being American and one British. The results suggest that local brand popularity, local brand awareness and perceived local brand popularity are jointly associated with perceived foreign brand popularity. Furthermore, support is found for a causal and direct relationship between foreign brand awareness and foreign brand popularity. However, no support is found for a causal and indirect relationship between local brand awareness and foreign brand popularity. Moreover, no support is found for a causal and indirect relationship between local brand popularity and foreign brand popularity. The evidence gathered may be of use to scholars and practitioners, especially international marketers, regarding the popularity of various relevant brands and associated products in foreign markets. In particular, this article may be of interest to foreign snack food companies concerned to both explore and exploit the potential of the Malaysian snack food market.