Comparing prompted and unprompted methods for measuring consumer brand associations

Abstract

A common method used to measure brand associations is a free choice, ‘ pick any ’ approach. This is where a battery of attributes is provided and consumers are asked which brands they associate with each attribute. One issue that arises using this method is whether to prompt for brand names or ask people to recall brands. In tests across two different markets, it was evident that while the brand ranks for prompting or not prompting were similar, an unprompted approach was less likely to elicit associations from nonbrand users and smaller share brands. Unprompted methods were also more prone to priming and inhibition effects over the duration of the attribute battery. Therefore, using an unprompted approach will risk under-reporting consumer knowledge structures from these lower accessibility groups. This is problematic for marketing managers seeking to monitor smaller share brands and particularly new entrants into a marketplace, as well as for those seeking to grow via acquisition of nonbrand users.