Microsoft Word 2007 ichrie conference Proceedings Final-Final 06-06-07. doc

 
Key Words
:
 
brand association; brand knowledge; updated expectation of brand value (UEBV) 
 
INTRODUCTION 
Attending conferences involves high perceived risks arising out of intangible attributes (e.g., education and 
social networking). A key to success in service marketing is to "tangiblize the intangible" (Berry, 1986, p. 6). An 
effective way of increasing the tangible nature of a service is to use a brand as an extrinsic cue or an icon. It is 
widely recognized that well-branded tradeshows, conferences, or other meetings will develop participant trust and, 
thus, ensure committed repeat attendance (PCMA, 2002). Brand equity has been used as a barometer of brand 
strength through its logo, symbol, or name (Farquhar, 1989; Morgan, 2000). Strong brands contribute to tangiblizing 
the intangible goods and enhancing consumer trust of the intangible purchase by assisting customers in visualizing 
the intangible aspects of the service product (Berry, 2000). A conference with high brand equity would be assumed, 
therefore, to enhance brand loyalty, thereby maintaining high revenues and competitive positioning in the meeting 
market. Brand equity research provides a more comprehensive picture of consumer behavior because it spans 
various brand factors, including brand awareness, brand associations, brand image, brand trust, brand personality, 
and brand loyalty (Berry, 2000). Conference brand equity from the perspective of attendees is therefore expected to 
capture a richer portrait of attendee consumption experiences than the extant literature. Based on customer-based 
brand equity (Keller, 1993), this study has three objectives. The first is to identify key brand associations in brand 
knowledge. The second is to investigate attendee behaviors through the flow from brand knowledge to the 
differential effect of brand knowledge. The final objective is to provide in-depth research about and managerial 
implications of attendee behaviors from which sound conference management might be suggested.