How Global are Global Brands? An Empirical Brand Equity Analysis

The term 'global brand' has become widely used by the media and by consumers. Business week publishes annually its widely known ranking of the 'Best Global Brands' (with Coca-Cola as number 1 in the past years) and consumers on summer vacations purchase brands such as Heineken or Marlboro they are familiar with from their home country. Although media and consumers call these brands 'global' and centralized marketing departments manage these brands globally - are these 'global brands' really global? Are they really perceived everywhere in the same way by the customers? Can we talk about truly global brand equity? And if there were brand image differences between countries, which factors causes them? The authors conducted an empirical research during May and June 2009 with similarly aged University students (bachelor students at business school) in Germany (n=426) and Mexico (n=296). The goal was to identify if brand awareness rates differ between Germans and Mexicans, if the brand image of Apple iPod is perceived in the same way in Germany and in Mexico and what influencing factors might have an impact on any brand image discrepancy between the countries. Results prove that brand recall rates differ between the two countries (with higher rates in Mexico) as well as brand image attributes vary significantly (28 out of 34 brand image attributes are significantly different between Germany and Mexico), with Mexico showing higher levels of favorable brand image attributes. Key influencing factors on the different brand image perceptions are perceived quality, satisfaction and the influence of reference groups (such as friends and family). The results suggest that so-called 'global brands' are not perceived the same way in Germany and Mexico. As a consequence, brand management using standardized marketing instruments for its presumable 'global brands' might be better off with a more differentiated approach that takes account a specific local brand image

Local Adhesive Surface Properties Studied by Force Microscopy

Scanning force microscopy was used in the contact mode to determine the adhesion force between a mica surface and a silicon nitride tip. The measurements were performed in an aqueous solution of sodium and calcium chlorides. The adhesion force according to the Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey- Overbeek theory depends on the competition between two kinds of forces: van der Waals and electrostatic "double layer". Two different curves of adhesion force versus salt concentration were obtained from the experiment with monovalent and divalent ions. The tip-surface adhesion force was determined from a statistical analysis of data obtained from the force vs. distance retracting curves

ACTA PHYSICA POLONICA A LOCAL ADHESIVE SURFACE PROPERTIES STUDIED BY FORCE MICROSCOPY

Scanning force microscopy was used in the contact mode to determine the adhesion force between a mica surface and a silicon nitride tip. The measurements were performed in an aqueous solution of sodium and calcium chlorides. The adhesion force according to the Derjaguin-Landau-VerweyOverbeek theory depends on the competition between two kinds of forces: van der Waals and electrostatic "double layer". Two different curves of adhesion force versus salt concentration were obtained from the experiment with monovalent and divalent ions. The tip-surface adhesion force was determined from a statistical analysis of data obtained from the force vs. distance retracting curves

Scanning Force Microscopy Studies of Implanted Silicon Crystals

Scanning force microscope has been applied to investigate wear tracks produced during friction coefficient measurements of hard steel ball against ⟨111⟩ silicon crystals implanted with Ar ions. Such treatment causes the stable and significant decrease in friction, despite the total removal of implanted species from the wear track during friction. Scanning force microscope measurements of wear tracks topography supported the former hypothesis assuming the formation of post-implantation dense microcracks structure and subsequent propagation of this structure into the bulk. Such process assures small size of wear particles and a low friction coefficient value. Additionally the microfriction force measurement method was applied to determine the friction coefficient of Si$\text{}_{3}$N$\text{}_{4}$ cantilever and a wear track in Si crystal