A Study of Brand Equity in a Commodity Market

Most previous studies of the factors that influence brand equity have focused on non-commodities. This study examines the factors that influence brand equity for a commodity – branded beef. Branding remains in a fairly nascent state within the Australian domestic beef market. Several brands have begun to emerge in recent years including Certified Angus, 1824, Hereford Prime, Stockyard Beef and Diamantina. However, these primarily cater for the food service markets rather than household trade. This is in contrast to other countries, such as the US, where branded beef makes up a large proportion of the domestic market. Using conditional and random parameter logit models, we examine the willingness of consumers to pay for one type of branded beef, as well as specific beef attributes, in a regional area of NSW. We find that there is evidence that segments of the population would be willing to pay for branded beef. We also investigate whether brand equity for beef is moderated by self-image congruence, perceived quality and consumer involvement. Both perceived quality and self-image congruence were found to significantly moderate brand equity.