Use of Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique (ZMET) To Analyze Brand Gap Case Study on a Footwear Company – BATA, India

Abstract

Brand image is the set of beliefs that a customer carries for a particular brand. It is the psychological output that all companies want to achieve after the extensive branding exercises that they carry out. However, the most important part of any branding process is to create a brand identity. Brand identity, as coined by Kapferer, is what the company wants to project to the consumers through its physicality, i.e. brand, design logo, pricing and its emotionality, which is the emotional attributes the company attaches to its product. This process in turn creates a certain position of the brand in the form of a distinct space in the consumer’s mind. Positioning is hard to achieve, but once positioned, repositioning is even tougher. How much successful the company has been in its endeavor can be gauged by analyzing the brand gap, which is the difference between brand identity and brand image. There are many tools to analyze the brand gap. Zaltman metaphor elicitation technique (ZMET) is one of them. ZMET was developed by Dr.Gerald Zaltmanof Harvard Business School in early 90s. This technique explores the non-literal expressions of people to bring out both conscious and especially unconscious thoughts in order to have better understanding of the brand. It involves collection of visual images along with personal interviews that helps create an overall picture of what the consumer thinks about the brand in question.