Assume that you are the newly appointed Marketing Manager for any of the products listed below. To quickly bring you up to speed on your product or retailer, your VP of Marketing has asked you to prepare a short report that answers the following question: Do Consumers have positive relationships with (the product or retailer you chose) or negative relationships with the (the product or retailer you choose)? Defend your position. Either way, if they have a positive, negative, or no relationship, what does having a relationship or not having a relationship mean for marketing (the product or retailer you chose)?

Automobile or Truck Fact Food Restaurant Laundry Detergent

The Situation: Some authors argue that consumers have relationships with brands. People are brand loyal. Others argue that a relationship with a brand is not possible because a relationship has to be 2-way. In other words, brands can't respond to consumers. Others argue that the relative importance of the brand, quality of the product, distribution intensity, and price vary by product.
Susan Fournier (1998) argues that customers have relationships with brands. Either way, if they have relationships (people are loyal) or do not have relationships with brands (people are not loyal), so what? When you explore the idea that consumers have relationships with products, pay particular attention to the implications of whether or not having a relationship might have for marketing managers in the management of and the development of marketing strategies for those brands, (the "So what?" in the above question).

The Task: Thus, in response to Fournier (1998), using the information you gather, you are to answer the question:

Do Consumers have positive relationships with the brands they choose and negative relationships with the brands they do not choose?

Defend your position. Either way, if they have a positive, negative, or no relationship, what does having a relationship or not having a relationship mean for marketing (the product or retailer you chose)?

Explain fundamental marketing concepts related to products, both goods and services, including what each of these are, as well as brands, and the Product Life Cycle.

Analyze whether customers develop relationships with brands and the implications of this for brand management.

Identify and research top Marketing Journals and explain some the cutting edge marketing issues of brand relationships and brand communities.