Existing co-branding research indicates that “fitness” is one of the major factors to influence co-brand evaluation. We divided “fitness” into four variables, including “brand personality fitness”,” the fitness of leading brand to cobranding production”, ”the fitness of partner brand to co-branding production” and “total fitness”, then we examined the relationship between the first three fitness and total fitness, and the relationship between total fitness and co-brand evaluation. Especially we followed Monga and Lau-Desk’s footsteps, exploring the influences of “self-construal” and “self-complexity” on co-branding evolution with co-branding personality combination as a moderator.
This study included six pre-tests and two experiments, and we chose 240 university students as our subjects. Experiments 1 investigated 2(self-construals: independent, dependent)x2(co-brand personality: single, double) experimental design. Experiment 2 conducts 2(self-referencing: low, high)x2(co-brand personality: single, double) experimental design. Our research sifted Moto brand as a leading brand, and Nike brand as a partner brand from three pre-tests. Then we exposed the simulating co-brand “Moto-Nike” cell phone to 240 university students by plane advertisement.
We can conclude five results from these two experiments. 1. The positive relationship between the first three fitness and total fitness is significant. 2. The positive relationship between total fitness and co-brand evaluation is significant. 3. Different self-complexities do not significantly affect total fitness. 4. When the independent self is primed, subjects evaluate the double personality more favorable than double; when dependent self is primed, subjects evaluate the single personality more favorable than double. 5. On the situation of high self-complexity, there are not significant differences between single and double personality co-brand evaluation. Nevertheless, on the situation of low self-complexity, facing single personality co-brand subjects have higher co-brand evaluation compared with double personality co-brand.
