THE INFLUENCE OF BRAND EQUITY ON

CUSTOMER PURCHASE DECISION:

Paul Olola
paulolola@hotmail.com

Background to the study

Nature based tourism is a large global industry. Much of this form of
tourism is dependent upon the attributes of the natural environment and
takes place in parks, reserves and other forms of protected areas (Pingram
& Jenkins, 2006).
Positive brand equity created during the colonial period was stimulated by
development of a vibrant tourism industry augmented by exposure
created by Big Game Hunting.
Present day Kenya has undergone through changes in conservation and
wildlife protection leading to the abolition of game hunting and
establishment of more than 60 protected areas covering 8% of land area.
Kenyas vision 2030 emphasized on a yield branding strategy
complemented by expansion of underutilized parks with the aim of making
parks and reserves memorable, impressive, distinctive and valuable to
specific segments.
Up to date, 18 national parks and reserves have been branded.
However, with the branding efforts in place, the Travel and Tourism
Competitive Index (2015) reported a decline in the ranking of Kenyas
tourism sector.
In the 21st century, branding ultimately is the only unique differentiator,
brand equity on the other hand is now a key asset (Clifton & Simmons,
2003).

Research Problem
Despite enormous publicity and branding initiatives carried out in
parks and reserves of Kenya, visitors are still faced with uncertainty
when making purchase decisions.
Numerous studies undertaken on brand equity and customer
purchase decision have promoted understanding of brand equity
on customer purchase preference and customer perceptions on
product quality.
The influence of brand equity on customer purchase decision in the
tourism industry remains insufficiently exploited and more so in
branded parks and reserves of Kenya.
The main motivation of the study is the insufficient evidence
indicating the influence of brand equity on customer purchase
decision and subsequently rises in sales volumes in branded parks
and reserves of Kenya.
The study looks into the phenomenon to shed more light and
provide more insights by seeking to answer the main question:
How does brand equity influence customer purchase decision
of branded parks and reserves in Kenya?

Research Objectives
General Objective
The study intends to establish the influence of brand
equity on customer purchase decision in branded parks
and reserves of Kenya.
Specific Objectives
To establish the influence of customer awareness on
consumer choice of branded parks and reserves in
Kenya.
To establish the effect of brand associations on
customer purchase decision in branded parks and
reserves of Kenya.
To establish the influence of proprietary assets on
customer purchase decision on branded parks and
reserves of Kenya.

Value of the study

The study will be useful towards ensuring that :
Better insights are gained on the influence of brand
equity on customer purchase decisions in Kenyas
tourism industry.
More wealth in knowledge is added to Kenyas tourism
practitioners, businesses, destination marketing
organizations.
Promote better decision making in marketing naturebased tourism products in Kenya and building focus on
customer driven marketing strategies in parks and
reserves of Kenya leveraging on Brand Equity as a key
asset.
The approaches and concepts that will be adopted, and
the results that will be found will assist future
researchers investigating similar phenomena by testing
the theories used and developing new ones to meet

Theoretical foundations of the study

Brand Equity plays a significant role in the
understanding of the objectives, mechanisms and net
impact of the holistic impact of marketing (Reynolds &
Phillips, 2005).
Measures capturing facets of brand Equity have become
part of a set of marketing performance indicators
(Ambler, 2003).
In this study on the Influence of Brand Equity on
Customer Purchase Decision of Branded Parks and
Reserves of Kenya, it will be guided by the Signal
Detection Theory and the Lovemarks Theory.

Signals Detection Theory (SDT)

The factors that determine the likeability and awareness of a brand

can be understood using SDT.

The success of SDT analysis in a large number of human perceptual

judgment situations suggest the theory may be useful in evaluating
consumer reactions to a variety of products (Cradit, 1994).
SDT assumes that the target and distractor advertisements
generate overlapping evidence distribution with the mean of target
adverts distribution higher on familiarity continuum than the mean
of distractor adverts distribution.
This suggests that though majority of target adverts may result in
feelings and familiarity stronger than those elicited by majority of
distractor ads, there are cases in which a distractor advert can
elicit a strong feeling of familiarity (Cradit, Tashian & Hofacker,
1994).
SDT further assumes that the customer sets a decisional
criterion/threshold on the familiarity continuum whereby if
feelings/familiarity exceeded the criterion, the customer reports
recognition of the ad, and if the feelings fail to exceed the criterion,
the customer reports no recognition of the advert.

Lovemarks Theory
The Lovemarks theory suggests that a company must go beyond
creating a brand to creating Lovemarks in order to build strong
customer loyalty (Roberts, 2004).
A consumer that is already in love with a brand feels that the brand
in some way ignites the imagination, pleases the senses and
arouses a deep relevance (Roberts, 2006).
Satisfaction alone is not enough to keep the customer loyal, many
satisfied customers switch to competitor brand (Reichheld, 1996).
Satisfaction may result in loyalty if it sustains for a longer period of
time, few satisfied customers tend to love a brand.
It is the emotional and passionate love with a brand that is a
predictor of brand loyalty (Carroll & Ahuvia, 2006).
In this era of intense competition between brands and customer
indifference, brands must be converted into Lovemarks in the eyes
of the customers in order to survive. (Roberts, 2004).

Research Methodology and Design

Research Design
The study will adopt descriptive research design as it
seeks to describe the degree to which brand
awareness, brand associations and proprietary assets
influence customer purchase decision of branded parks
and reserves in Kenya.
Single cross-sectional design will be adopted during
data collection with the survey employing
questionnaires to collect information.
The questionnaires will be distributed to a sample of
individuals whom will then provide their intentions,
attitudes, opinions and motivations.

Target Population
The target population of the study will be seventy five
(75) customers of branded parks and reserves in Kenya.
The target population will be drawn from customers
with Kenyan citizenship and foreign visitors with at least
a minimum age of eighteen (18) years and with a
history of visits to any branded park or reserve in Kenya
within the last twelve (12) months.
The target population of seventy five (75) respondents
will be derived from three (3) prime parks ; The Nairobi
National Park, Lake Nakuru National Park and The
Impala Park.
A duration of three (3) weeks will be used for collection
of data due to the target population spreaded out
across a large geographic region of Kenya.

Sampling Design
Probability sampling will be adopted for the study as it
offers the key components of randomization,
generalization and
The study will apply cluster sampling as the population
of the study will be dispersed across a wide geographic
region.
Random sampling will then be used in the study so that
the yield generated from the samples will be
generalized to a larger population in Kenya. Different
elements of the population will also get a chance of
selection as a member of the sample.

Data Collection
Primary and secondary sources of data will be used in
the study.
Primary data will comprise information that will be
collected in the field using questionnaires administered
to the target population.
The use of questionnaires will allow for collection of
data from a large sample while upholding
confidentiality.
The questionnaires will be both open and closed-ended.
A pre-test will be carried out on a small sample to
ensure the effectiveness of the questionnaire in
measuring what they are intended to measure.
Secondary data will involve data obtained from already
published literature on brand equity, customer
purchased decision and, tourism and travel. E.g.
UNWTO (World Tourism Barometer, Travel and Tourism

Data Analysis
Quantitative methods of data analysis will be used in
the study.
Data analysis will involve editing, coding and preparing
the data for analysis
Data collected will be measured using numerical values
in form of mean and standard deviations.
Cross-tabulations will be used to make comparisons
between different subgroups and identify differences.
Correlation analysis will be used to measure the
strength of the relationship between various variables of
brand equity and customer purchase decision.

References
Aaker, D. (2004). Brand Portfolio Strategy. New York: The Free
Press.
Chernatony, L., & McDonald, B. (2001).Creating Powerful Brands
in Consumer, Service and Industrial Markets. Oxford:
Butterworth-Heinemann.
Maingi, S.H., Ondigi, A.N, & Wadawi, J.K. (2015), Market Profiling
and Positioning of Park Brands in Kenya (Case of Premium and
Under-Utilized Parks). International Journal of Tourism Research,
John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. DOI: 10.1002/jtr.20136.
OSullivan, D. and Abela, A.V. (2007) Marketing Performance
Measurement Ability and Firm Performance, Journal of
Marketing, 71 (2): 79-93.
Reynolds, T. J., & Phillips, C. B. (2005). In search of true brand
equity metrics: all market share ain't created equal. Journal of
advertising research, 45(2): 171.
Yi, Y., & La, S. (2004). What influences the relationship between
customer satisfaction and repurchase intention? Investigating
the effects of adjusted expectations and customer loyalty.

Thesis Proposal
presented to the
University of
Nairobi
By

Paul Olola
paulolola@hotmail.com