Determinants of Brand Association in FMCG Industry- A Case of Soft Drink Industry in Pakistan

Abstract

Brand association is an essential term in order to develop the relationship of customers towards any brand. It is necessary for any brand to find out the association of their consumers towards their brand and what are the main essentials on the basis of which consumer can feel himself associate with any brand. The purpose for conducting this research is to find out the reasons or what are the determinants on the basis of which consumer feel themselves associated with any soft drink brand particularly in Pakistan or what are the reasons of prioritizing a particular brand. Brand loyalty, brand perception and a word of mouth communication of any soft drink are used to find out the relationship with brand association. This paper put forward the result that all determinants (quality, uniqueness, favorability and availability) have a strong relationship with brand association and are necessary to build loyalty, positive perception and a positive word of mouth communication. In order to make customers of Pakistan associated with any brand a soft drink company should provide a great quality, some uniqueness, favorable options like pet bottles, free sampling or free glass etc. and ease of availability to their consumers or in order to attract new customers. Young generation of Pakistan are the main consumers of soft drink and majority of them consume their favorite drink by making no compromise because they feel themselves loyal with that soft drink brand and a main source of developing positive word of mouth communication. A soft drink company should keep these variables in mind before launching or before market any of their soft drink in order to satisfy their consumers or to attract more customers.