Arry Tanusondjaja, Giang Trinh, Jenni Romaniuk
This research examines the retrospective buying behaviour of customers acquired by a new brand, both at category and brand level. New brand launches are risky endeavours for marketers, as many fail to attract a sustainable customer base. We examine new brand launches in six packaged goods categories in the UK, across a wide range of brand and category conditions, including premium brands and private labels. The results show that, in the pre-launch period, buyers of a new brand are more likely to have been heavier (more frequent) category buyers and, where applicable, heavier buyers of a parent brand. However, despite disproportionately drawing from heavy category buyers, the buyers of new launches tend to become only light brand buyers. This suggests that new brands are more likely to 'slip' into the repertoire of heavy category or parent brand buyers. This research contributes to our understanding of repertoire formation in packaged goods categories. It also has implications for the pre-testing of new launches and the scheduling of marketing activities.