KOREASCHOLAR

The target of this paper is to introduce a general brand experience measurement scale that can be used to measure brand experiences of the stakeholders of a company. It is proposed that also stakeholders’ brand experiences can be measured with a measurement scale developed for consumer marketing research. In literature, there are various different kinds of individual brand constructs and measurement frameworks that have been developed for tracking consumers’ brand perceptions; however, these models have not been frequently used to measure brandrelated aspects outside consumer-centric situations. The tracking of stakeholders’ brand experiences can help companies to position their brands better in the tightening global competition where also stakeholders have a critical role and can influence the performance of the company (Hult, Mena, Ferrell, & Ferrell, 2011). Brands are experienced via stimuli that can be either controlled by the company, including, for example, advertisements, logos, sales environments, sales packages, and services, or then they are out of their control, for example, brand related information can spread freely on the social media or by word-of-mouth (Brakus, Schmitt, & Zarantonello, 2009; Keller, 2013). Thus, it can be said that the measurement of brand experiences can give valuable information to the company on what is the status and reputation of the brand. However, it is not only the customers or consumers that have brand experiences, also stakeholders encounter brands and the way they experience them on the personal level can have a major impact on how they interact and promote the brand in other contexts. Some B2B marketing theories have brought up the importance of understanding long-term relationships between buyers and sellers, including experiences associated with the relationship (Hadjikhani & LaPlaca, 2013) as well as purchase risks (Brown, Zablah, Bellenger, & Johnston, 2011). Brands are experienced via stimuli that can be either controlled by the company, including, for example, advertisements, logos, sales environments, sales packages, and services, or then they are out of their control, for example, brand related information can spread freely on the social media or by word-of-mouth (Brakus, Schmitt, & Zarantonello, 2009; Keller, 2013). Thus, it can be said that the measurement of brand experiences can give valuable information to the company on what is the status and reputation of the brand. However, it is not only the customers or consumers that have brand experiences, also stakeholders encounter brands and the way they experience them on the personal level can have a major impact on how they interact and promote the brand in other contexts. Some B2B marketing theories have brought up the importance of understanding long-term relationships between buyers and sellers, including experiences associated with the relationship (Hadjikhani & LaPlaca, 2013) as well as purchase risks (Brown, Zablah, Bellenger, & Johnston, 2011). Brand experiences can be measured, for example, with a measurement scale (Brakus et al., 2009) that has been extended with an eco-friendliness dimension (Saari, 2016). This model has been tested with consumers, and this paper argues that the same scale can be useful for monitoring the brand experiences of other stakeholders as well. The extended brand experience scale can be used to monitor whether consumers and stakeholders experience a certain brand to be ecofriendly, and how positively or negatively they are inclined towards the eco-friendliness of the brand experiences. With the raising focus on stakeholders’ important role in solving environmental problems, the role of stakeholder marketing becomes more critical for a company (Homburg, Stierl, & Bornemann, 2013). And in this situation it becomes also more crucial to follow up what are the brand experiences of stakeholders. The stakeholders’ brand experiences can give a strong indication is the company implementing its strategy correctly and are all the essential elements transparently and authentically communicated to the stakeholders, especially with regard to the environmental development activities that are reflected in the eco-friendliness dimension of brand experiences.

• Ulla A. Saari(Tampere University of Technology, Finland)
• Saku J. Mäkinen(Tampere University of Technology, Finland)