The role of brand architecture on brand equity: Pestana Hotel Group case study

• Autor(a) principal: Malcato, Joana Dias
• Data de Publicação: 2023
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10071/30570
• topic: Brand management; Brand equity; Integrated marketing communication plan; Gestão da marca; Equidade de marca; Plano de comunicação integrada de marketing

Pestana Hotel Group (PHG) is the largest Portuguese hotel chain, with a remarkable journey over its fifty years of success and a vast market offering organized into four unique sub-brands capable of satisfying a variety of demands. The current brand architecture strategy aims at leveraging brand awareness and equity through the fundamental role played by the name "Pestana". Given the fact that it is a recent brand strategy, it is essential to analyze its performance, as well as its perception on the market. Considering brand knowledge as one of the underlying factors of brand equity as well as a source of brand architecture understanding, this study attempts to investigate the role brand architecture might play in brand equity using the PHG case study. To conduct this study, an online questionnaire was developed which yielded 283 valid responses for analysis. Complementary to this data, interviews were conducted with the sub-brands brand managers, aiming at obtaining a more intrinsic perspective of the sub-brands. The data analysis revealed a statistically direct, positive, and strong relationship between brand architecture and brand equity, as well as with brand knowledge components. Based on this data collection, it was possible to assess the three proposed research hypotheses, resulting in their rejection failure. Furthermore, the results demonstrated the need to propose strategies to promote sub-brands’ knowledge as well as evidenced opportunities and challenges for them. As recommendations for all the challenges and opportunities encountered, an integrated marketing communications plan was proposed.