Brand Knowledge

2. Using the ‘2011 Ranking of Top 100 Brands’ table to test the level of BoK of at least five people (excluding myself), the short reflections below captures the extent of how their knowledge varies with their lifestyles.

Testing the ‘2011 Ranking of Top 100 Brands’ table on five people indicated that most people are not aware of the origins of the major brands in the world. Canon, Sony, Phillips, Nokia and Blackberry were used to test individuals’ knowledge of the brand’s origin. All five individuals tested thought Phillips to be a US manufacturer and all five were not aware that Blackberry is manufactured in Canada. Four out of the five individuals tested thought that Canon was a US manufacturer, rather than a Japanese brand. All five tested was correct in answering the brand of origin for Sony and Nokia.

The five people tested varied in stages in life; my dad 70, husband 35, sister 42, nephew 22, and friend 29.

My dad is a seventy year old who is nearing retirement. His knowledge of brands is limited to just those products he purchases – daily essentials on a weekly basis, food products on a weekly basis, and major purchases of an appliance, television, electronics, about three to four times per year. His brand origin knowledge was weak; scoring two out of the five correct. He knew that Sony and Nokia were brands manufactured in Japan, however, thought Canon, Phillips and Blackberry were all US manufacturers.

My husband is a college educated male, who is employed at a large big box retail store that sells major electronics and appliances. Therefore, he sees many of these manufacturer names on a daily basis. He is a frequent purchaser of many products from these manufacturers. His brand origin knowledge was the strongest of the five individuals tested. He was able to get country of origin for Sony, Canon and Nokia, however, thought Phillips is a US manufacturer, and Blackberry to be a Japanese manufacturer.

My nephew is a 22 year old college...