Model of Brand Salience of Consumer Skincare Soap Products

Abstract

Brand salience is the eminence of a brand in the consumer memory and is linked to the brand choice and purchase by consumers. Brand salience is the brand’s propensity to get noticed and influenced by consumers in buying situations. This research is aimed at proposing a model of brand salience for fast-moving consumer goods products, which incorporates brand awareness, brand salience, and brand image leading to the purchase intention. Brand awareness was measured with the dimensions of brand knowledge, brand recall, and brand association. Results of the data analysis conducted using partial least square method with structured equation modelling found empirical evidence of a model of brand salience where there was a significant relationship between brand salience and purchase intention. It was found that predominant brand awareness and brand image substantiated to building brand salience. The evidence supported building a primary brand salience to build the depth and breadth of the brand’s associations in consumer memory. The practical implication of the study is that a marketer can build sufficient brand salience; it increases the probability of purchase intention, which in turn is the most important aspect for any company to increase product sales through enhanced customer equity, customer loyalty, and relationship marketing.

Keywords

Brand salience brand awareness brand association brand image purchase intention relationship marketing

Introduction

Brand salience is the extent to which a brand visually stands out prominently from its competitors, is vitally critical in creating a competing differentiation on the shelf, and yet is not easy to achieve in practice.¹ The combinatorial effects of enduring and momentary mechanisms of cultural identity salience on identity-based apparel brand choices of three Hispanic acculturation segments (Hispanic-dominant, mainstream-dominant, and balanced-bicultural) were empirically tested among Hispanic students at a Midwestern University in the USA. Results revealed that the influence of cultural primes (momentary salience of the cultural identity) on subsequent brand choices of Hispanic consumers is moderated by their bi-dimensional acculturation (enduring salience of the cultural identity).² The use of a subtle brand logo salience is a signal that high-status brands employ as a sign of product quality (i.e., the product should speak for itself) wherein the costs associated with decreased visibility and attention are recouped through quality inferences.³

Brand salience occupies the first slot in the six brand building blocks, which contribute towards strong customer relationship and building brand equity.⁴ Brand equity is the added value endowed on products and services, which may be reflected in the way consumers think, feel, and act concerning the brand, as well as in the prices, market share, and profitability the brand commands. Customer-based brand equity (CBBE) approaches brand equity from the perspective of the consumer, as to what they have seen, read, heard, learned, thought, and felt about the brand over time.⁴ Brand salience is the ability of the brand to bring in top-of-mind brand awareness from the consumer memory of a particular brand when consumers are in a purchase situation. Brand salience can be termed as the probability of a brand being recalled from a consumer’s consideration set to the exclusion of competing brands. If an organization can build or enhance the salience of a brand, the consumer may recall that brand earlier in the decision process, and this may lead to greater purchase likelihood.⁵ Thus, the salient brand has a higher chance of a recall to the exclusion of competing brands.⁶ This article discusses the definitions of brand salience, proposes a model of brand salience for fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG)—specifically in the context of skincare products—and discusses the antecedents to brand salience and the role of brand salience within the larger model of brand equity. This study is to understand the different factors that contribute to brand salience which in turn contribute to purchase decision. Thus, the impact of brand salience, as a strong contributor towards purchase intention is measured, which boosts the brand equity. Apart from looking at the impact of brand salience on purchase intention, this study also focuses on the factors that lead to brand awareness which is measured using three sub-variables: brand knowledge, brand recall, and brand association. Brand salience ultimately leads to brand equity, which is measured by five components: brand loyalty, brand awareness, perceived quality, brand associations, and other proprietary assets.⁷ Further, the impact of brand awareness and brand image as a contributor to brand salience is also measured in this study.

Over the past two decades, there has been a large amount of research work dedicated to the area of branding and brand equity in particular. Much of the work on brand equity has dealt with the measurement of the consequences or outcomes of brand equity. This dissertation work concentrates on the sources of brand equity and, in particular, the role of brand salience in the understanding of the activities that lead to brand preference of an organization’s customers, especially in formulating further branding strategy. Also, the different factors that lead to brand awareness are measured to find the extent to which it is leading to brand salience. Along with brand awareness, brand image is also measured in this study to determine as to what extent this contributes to brand salience, which ultimately leads to the purchase intention and brand equity of product brands. There are only a few studies conducted on the relevant importance on the aspect of brand salience across the world. Moreover, there are no recent studies available, which are worth mentioning on the importance of brand salience, beyond the year 2010 across the world. Moreover, none of the studies was conducted in the Indian context on brand salience. Thus, the relevance of the study was to bring into light the prominence of brand salience, the impact of brand image and brand awareness on brand salience. Other disciplines such as brand recall, brand knowledge, and brand associations were also taken into consideration to measure brand awareness. Further, it measures the impact of these variables on purchase intention. The research work attempted to bring out a comprehensive model connecting the antecedent factors influencing brand salience and its influence on purchase intention.

The objectives of the research work were the following:

To determine the influence of brand awareness on the brand salience of consumer skincare soap products.

To determine the influence of brand image on the brand salience of consumer skincare soap products.

To determine the influence of brand salience on purchase intention of consumer skincare soap products.

To determine the mediating relationship of brand salience between brand image and purchase intention of consumer skincare soap products.

Brand Salience

Brand salience has been defined as something more than a mere brand awareness in a product category and is vital for a brand to remain in consumer memory and consideration set.⁸ Brand salience has been linked to a range of marketing benefits, including improving the effectiveness of advertising⁹; improving a brand’s position in the consideration set^10,11; higher brand purchase intention¹²; higher purchase likelihood¹³; and increased purchase behaviour.

The theoretical background of the study was based on Keller’s model of brand equity. The model is also known as the CBBE model. Kevin Lane Keller developed the model and published it in his textbook on strategic brand management.^4,14 When firms have strong brand equity, their customers will buy more frequently from them and will recommend their brands to other people; they’re more loyal, and firms are less likely to lose their loyal customers to competitors.⁴ The model illustrated brand building blocks such as brand salience to identify the brand, performance and imagery to convey brand meaning to customers, judgements and feelings to evoke positive customer response towards the firms’ brands, and finally building brand resonance for a lasting customer relationship.⁴ For example, a consumer may recall Coca-Cola branded soft drink for parties, summer, and drinks with friends, as an alcoholic mixer, or just for a relaxing cola with lunch. A model of brand salience should contain a range of attributes and measures of recall relative to competitors, focusing on how the brand is thought of rather than seeking to evaluate how it is favourably judged.¹⁵ The summary measure of brand salience is expected to have higher correlations with measures of brand familiarity. Besides, salient information gains disproportionate amounts of attention compared to information about other goods being evaluated,¹⁶ inhibit recall of information on competing choices/brands,⁶ and reduces the probability of defection.¹⁵

Brand salience was broader than mere brand awareness, and it was not itself an adequate measure to capture the salience of a brand.¹⁷ Brands earn a differential advantage in memory in terms of top-of-mind recall and have a greater probability of being activated from memory when consumers are considering purchasing from a product category. Associative strength can be assessed as to how early a brand is named by customers when they are directed to list all members of a product category.¹⁸

The various definitions that capture the elements of a salient brand is discussed in Table 1.

Brand Awareness

Brand awareness is the extent to which consumers are familiar with the qualities or image of a particular brand of goods or services. The brand awareness is considered as a multidimensional variable, consisting of brand knowledge, brand associations, and brand recall. Brand knowledge is a combination of two things: brand awareness and brand image.⁴ Brand associations consist of brand image, brand knowledge, and brand awareness.¹⁴ The author further stated that brand associations include perceptions of brand quality and attitude towards the brand. Consumers use brand associations to process, organize, and retrieve information in memory to aid in making purchase decisions.²⁴ Thus, brand awareness, created through effective and efficient brand marketing communications, leads to the positive reinforcement of brand knowledge and brand recall, resulting in a positive brand salience.⁴ A salient brand would be expected to have more total brand associations, as well as a greater number of positive and unique brand associations, resulting in enhanced brand equity, when compared to brands that follow.⁴ The associative network model of semantic memory theory²⁵ dealt with the traces or linkages established in memory every time information is coded into long-term consumer memory, which is recalled when necessary at the time of purchase. This association with relevant information in memory is thought of as establishing a link in long-term memory to facilitate easier retrieval later, which contributes towards brand salience.²⁵ The basis for brand salience is brand awareness,²⁶ and product knowledge forms the basis of brand awareness. For a brand to be salient, customers should have product knowledge (category and brand), have higher order awareness, and richness of information associated with each brand in their consideration set.¹⁸

Thus, hypothesis H₁ was formulated.

H₁: There is a positive relationship between brand awareness and brand salience.

Brand Image

In marketing literature, great attention is focused on the brand image which is studied from the company’s and consumer’s perspectives. Brand image is defined as perceptions reflected by the brand association held in consumer memory, resulting in positive brand salience enhancement.²⁷ The approach of a firm is directed towards the improvement of marketing activity, connected with strategies of positioning and retaining a positive brand image. The approach is based on the consumer’s attitude towards the interpretation of the brand image and brand equity.¹⁴ Brand image is about consumers’ perceptions of a brand. Images are multidimensional and they reflect characteristics of a product or service or aspects independent of those.⁴ Marketing programmes that link strong, favourable, and unique associations to the brand in memory is what it takes to create a positive brand image, which contributes towards enhanced brand salience.⁴ Table 2 provides the various concepts and interpretations of the brand image.

Table 1.

Various Definitions of Brand Salience

Definitions	Sources
Brand salience has been defined as the prominence or level of activation of a brand in memory.	Alba and Chattopadhyay⁶
Salience is seen to be prominence and awareness attained by brands in consumer minds.	Eastman and Newton¹⁹; Johnstone and Dodd²⁰
Salience is seen as top-of-mind awareness.	Nedungadi and Hutchinson²¹; Sutherland and Galloway²²
Salience is information at the forefront of conscious thought that is prompted by the immediate situation in which they find themselves. Salience is composed of natural prominence and comparative distinctiveness.	Higgins and King²³
Brand salience is the presence and richness of memory traces that result in the brand coming to mind in relevant choice situations.	Romaniuk and Sharp¹⁵
Salience, or presence, is the degree to which a given brand comes to consumers’ minds in the context of a specific purchase or consumption occasion, entering the consumers’ evoked set.	Moran¹¹
Salience concerns the “size” of the brand in one’s mind that allows the brand to come forward for the wide range of recall cues in purchase occasions.	Ehrenberg et al.⁸

A positive brand image, which describes the consumer’s thoughts and feelings towards the brand, will positively influence in creating a higher brand knowledge and brand salience.³¹ Brand image is the overall unique mental image that consumers have of a brand, resulting in better brand knowledge and salience.³² The brand image represents the personal symbolism that consumers associate with the brand, which comprises of brand-related evaluative information and positive brand salience.³³ When consumers have a favourable brand image, the brand’s messages have a stronger influence in comparison to competitor brand messages, which supports building a positive brand salience.³⁴ Therefore, brand image is an important determinant of a buyer’s behaviour to create a positive brand association and positive fulfilment of brand salience.³⁵

Consumers use brand associations to help in the process, organize, and retrieve information in memory to aid in making purchase decisions.²⁴ A salient brand would be expected to have more total brand associations, as well as a greater number of positive and unique brand associations when compared to brands that follow. The summation of all brand associations is the brand’s image.³⁶

Table 2.

Conceptions and Meaning of the Brand Image

Conceptions of Brand Image	Main Meaning	Sources
Brand image is not a simple phenomenon of understanding, affected by the communication activity of the company. This is a consumer’s understanding of a complete brand set, developed by a company.	Functional, symbolic and experience image	Park, Jaworski, MacInnis²⁸; Smith and Park²⁹
Brand conception, reflecting associations of a consumer’s conscious.	Conception	Keller^14,27
How is a brand conceived by a consumer?	Associations	Keller and Aaker³⁰

Thus, hypothesis H₂ was formulated.

H₂: There is a positive relationship between brand image and brand salience.

Purchase Intention

Purchase intention is the implied promise to one’s self to buy the product again whenever one makes the next trip to the market.^37,38 The interest of marketing scholars on purchase intentions comes from its relation to brand buying behaviour, resulting in positive messages from brand image, brand knowledge, and brand salience.³⁷ Several studies have reported a positive correlation between purchase intentions and purchase behaviour, resulting from enhanced brand salience and loyalty.³⁹ Studies have reported an indirect effect of values⁴⁰ and a direct effect of consumer satisfaction, emanating from positive contribution from brand knowledge and brand salience,^41,42,43 on the brand purchase intentions. Some scholars have found a direct relationship between perceived quality, higher brand salience, and purchase intentions,⁴² whereas some others have reported an indirect relation mediated by brand salience and satisfaction.⁴⁴ A related research work established that identified cognitive components such as global brand attitude, the strength of preference, brand knowledge, brand salience, and brand heuristics are important determinants of CBBE.⁴⁵ In a research study,⁴⁶ it was stated that the effect of brand equity on brand knowledge focused on the reciprocal effects of brand extensions on the brand to remove this watermark.

A salient brand will be more accessible, which means that there is greater ease in processing brand information, which leads to higher product evaluation, purchase likelihood, and intention. Thus, a brand that is more accessible and has more brand associations should have higher brand salience, which should have an influence on purchase likelihood and then should lead to purchase. Brand salience may be affected by the last brand purchased in a product category, which may enter the consideration set or the rejected set of the consumer. If the consumer had a satisfactory experience with the last brand purchased, it may enter into the consideration set for a future purchase, and have a higher likelihood of recall under a large range of situations, and have a higher probability of influencing other brands recalled.⁵

Thus, hypotheses H₃, H₄, and H₅ were formulated.

H₃: There is a positive relationship between brand salience and purchase intention.

H₄: Brand salience will mediate the impact of brand awareness on purchase intention.

H₅: Brand salience will mediate the impact of brand image on purchase intention.

Based on the literature study, objectives, and theoretical review, a summary of the hypotheses are listed below.

H₁: There is a positive relationship between brand awareness and brand salience.

H₂: There is a positive relationship between brand image and brand salience.

H₃: There is a positive relationship between brand salience and purchase intention.

H₄: Brand salience will mediate the impact of brand awareness on purchase intention.

H₅: Brand salience will mediate the impact of brand image on purchase intention.

The Conceptual Model for the Study

The theoretical model for the study of the factors influencing purchase intention of skincare products is shown in Figure 1.

Materials and Methods

The design chosen for the research study was conclusive research design. The descriptive research method was chosen for detailed study. The research question was to address if brand salience was important for the purchase intention decision while choosing for FMCG skincare products such as soaps by the consumers. From a theoretical perspective, there would not be any difference in what would affect brand salience and purchase intention for any FMCG product category. However, for the ease of reference and facilitating faster connectivity with the consumers, soap product category was chosen, as the respondents would be in a position to provide accurate responses, by correlating with their faster recall of branded choices. The author assimilated the variables under the study through a detailed review of the available literature and identified the variables.

Figure 1.

Source: Generated by the author, based on outputs from data analysis.

Measurement of Variables

In this study, there are four main variables: brand awareness, brand salience, brand image, and purchase intention. Brand image and brand awareness are considered as independent variables. Brand salience is treated as the mediating variable, while purchase intention is the dependent variable. In this study, brand awareness is measured using the dimensions of brand knowledge, brand associations, and brand recall. The scales used to measure the variables for the study are listed in Table 3. The Juster scale used to measure the purchase intention was found to be superior to traditional intention scales.⁴⁷ The 5-point Likert scale ranging from “strongly disagree” to “strongly agree” was used to measure the variables.

Table 3.

List of Variable Measurements and Sources

Variables	Dimensions	Source
Brand image	Brand commitment, store accessibility, brand reputation, brand trustworthiness	Krishnan³⁶; Keller⁴
Brand salience	Brand awareness, brand symbol, brand varieties, recognition, recall, advertisement	Romaniuk and Sharp¹⁵
Brand knowledge	Familiarity, expertise	Alba and Hutchinson⁴⁸
Brand association	Beauty, product quality, wide availability, multinational brand, film stars, freshness, value for money	Low and Lamb²⁴
Brand recall	Memory, product attribute, brand-specific attributes	Anderson²⁵
Purchase intention	Purchase likelihood, purchase willingness, special efforts	Juster^49,50

Questionnaire Design and Data Collection

The population chosen were people located in the federal state of Kerala, in southern India. Sample data was received from 301 respondents. Convenience sampling method was used because of their convenient accessibility and proximity to the researcher. However, to ensure adequate randomness, every third respondent from a list, which was obtained from a local retail store, were picked up for the survey. The subjects were selected just because they were easiest to recruit for the study. This method is fast, inexpensive, and easy, and the subjects are readily available. To conduct the descriptive study and for primary data collection, a detailed questionnaire was formulated for quantitative data collection and analysis. Questionnaires were filled in by the respondents without any influence from the researcher. Respondents were asked to base their responses on the different branded skincare products they used and to complete the questionnaires by choosing the most appropriate answer from the Likert scale with five-end points, ranging from strongly disagree (1 point) to strongly agree (5 points). Online Google forms were used for the data collection. The questionnaires were sent through online e-mail services, with specifically designed Google forms, as URL attachments. The high response rate could be because of personal rapport with the respondents. The author ensured further follow-up through e-mails and personal contacts to establish a personal rapport with the respondents for a better response rate.

Usage of Statistical Tools

The collected data were examined, for accuracy and reliability, and thereafter, was fed into WarpPLS software for analysis and interpretation. The researcher sought partial least square (PLS) method to identify dominating factors. The technique of PLS analysis with WarpPLS was applied to test the measurement model through determining the internal consistency and reliability of the multiple-item scales used to operationalize its variables.⁵¹ PLS was favoured to covariance-based structured equation modelling (SEM) because it can handle multicollinear nature in independent variables; provides healthy results of cross-products, involving response variables; can handle small sample size; is a distributional free method; can handle a variety of variables (nominal, ordinal, and continuous); and allows model’s estimation with dissimilar reflective indicators.⁵¹ The SEM software was also used to analyse the mediating effect of brand equity between the relationship of social media marketing efforts and consumer response as well.

Table 4.

Descriptive Statistics Showing the Mean, Median, Mode, Standard Deviation, and Variance

	Brand Image	Brand Salience	Brand Knowledge	Brand Association	Brand Recall	Purchase Intention
Mean	3.7753	3.9913	3.7024	4.0684	3.7827	3.4200
Median	3.8675	4.0000	3.8000	4.0000	4.0000	3.6000
Mode	3.69	4.00	4.00	4.00	4.00	3.00
Std. Deviation	0.59053	0.65594	0.59912	0.66448	0.82701	1.05011
Variance	0.337	0.430	0.359	0.442	0.684	1.103

Source: Generated by the author, based on outputs from data analysis.

Results

Sample Demographics

The total number of respondents contacted for the survey was 450. PLS-based SEM can handle small sample sizes, along with a few other advantages, as explained in “Usage of Statistical Tools” section. The number of completed responses received was 301, with the response rate being 75.25 per cent. The sample size achieved aligns with the requirements of an adequate multiple of the total number of questions covered in the Likert scale in the questionnaire. The high response rate could be attributed to the effective follow-up done by the researcher. Of the 301 responses received, 161 were unmarried and 140 were married. The educational profile of the respondents showed that⁴² were high school graduates, 80 had a bachelors degree, 173 had a masters degree and 4 had a PhD. Out of the 301 respondents, 25 were less than 20 years of age, 127 were aged 21 to 30 years, 57 were aged 31 to 40 years, 52 were aged 41 to 50 years and the remaining 40 were above 50 age bracket.

Descriptive Statistics

The descriptive statistics of the responses were tabulated using SPSS. The results are shown in Table 4. From Table 3, it can be seen that the mean value of the responses to the questions of each of the indicator variables is above 3, which is the central value of the Likert scale range.

Reliability of Data

Reliability of the variables used in the model was established using a composite reliability ratio and Cronbach’s alpha values. An acceptable value of 0.70 is considered to be the cut-off point for the variables to establish a strong validity of the variables.⁵¹ The composite reliability ratio and Cronbach’s alpha values for all variables were also well above the cut-off value of 0.70, as shown in Table 5. Thus, it can be interpreted that all the variables exceeded the acceptable values of 0.70, indicating a good internal consistency for all the variables under consideration. It implies that the indicators used to measure the variables returned as coherent and consistent values. Thus, the values showed that the measurement scale is reliable and consistent and, hence, demonstrates high data reliability.

Discriminant Validity

The diagonal elements shown in bold in Table 6 are the square roots of the average variance extracted, which are the highest across the respective rows and columns. Hence, discriminant validity has been proved. This proves that the measured variables had a good psychological separation between them. The discriminant validity furthermore confirms that under lower correlation between them, the respondents were able to psychologically distinguish and discriminate the variables distinctly separate.

Table 5.

Composite Reliability Ratio and Cronbach’s Alpha Values of the Variables

Variable	Cronbach’s Alpha	Composite Reliability	Acceptable Value
Brand image (BI)	0.721	0.828	0.70 or above
Brand salience (BS)	0.917	0.952	0.70 or above
Purchase intention (PI)	0.953	0.966	0.70 or above
Brand association (BA)	0.921	0.971	0.70 or above
Brand knowledge (BK)	0.759	0.831	0.70 or above
Brand recall (BR)	0.903	0.931	0.70 or above

Source: Generated by the author, based on outputs from data analysis.

Table 6.

Discriminant Validity of the Variables

Variables/The The Square Root of Average Variance Extracted	BA	BS	BI	PI
BA	0.697	0.529	0.395	0.281
BS	0.521	0.686	0.443	0.248
BI	0.420	0.471	0.734	0.184
PI	0.346	0.310	0.213	0.859

Source: Generated by the author, based on outputs from data analysis.

Note: The diagonal elements shown in bold are the highest in their respective rows and columns.

Convergent Validity

Normalized factor loading results are used to establish convergent validity. For this purpose, the ideal value for factor loading of the indicators, which were used to measure the variables, is acceptable at 0.70. The value 0.70 or above is considered to be the cut-off point as per the research findings⁵¹ to establish strong validity of the variables. Normalized combined loadings and cross-loadings are provided in Table 7. The result expected here is that for reflective latent variables, loadings—which are shown using bold letters, will be higher—and cross-loadings will be lower. Factor loadings show how much each item measures the corresponding variable and its intensity. The more the value of it, the more is the intensity. From Table 7, it can be seen that the values highlighted are all above 0.70, which meets the required criterion, thus showing enough convergent validity of the variables used in the model. Moreover, it can be observed that the factor loadings of some of the indicator variables are quite high from the threshold value of 0.70, which is the minimum requirement for convergent validity. These indicators show that they measure the corresponding variables more intensely, which is showing that those variables are measured more adequately than normally expected. Thus, from these values, it is furthermore implicated that the variables which are under consideration are effectively and adequately measured using the indicators.

Measurement Model ﬁtness

The assessment of the measurement model included an estimate of item reliability, internal consistency, and convergent validity and discriminant validity of the first-order constructs of the study, indicating the strength of the measures used to test the model. Model fitness and quality indices, derived from WarpPLS, represented the internal quality indices, which were treated as the prima facie indices of statistical stability. These fitness indices are shown in Table 8. From Table 8, it is evident that the model meets all the model fit parameters and passes the litmus test for statistical stability.

Table 7.

Indicator/Factor Loading of Normalized Combined Loadings and Cross-loadings

	BI	BS	BA	PI
Brand commitment	0.961	1.670	1.429	1.545
Store accessibility	0.869	1.670	0.162	–2.407
Brand trust	0.768	–0.718	–0.355	–0.431
Brand reputation	0.869	1.543	1.429	1.545
Brand trustworthiness	0.869	0.603	1.179	0.952
Brand awareness	–1.704	0.989	–1.372	0.359
Brand symbol	–0.260	0.705	0.162	–0.629
Product fragrance	0.147	0 .708	–0.105	0.754
Brand varieties	–1.094	2.310	–0.105	–0.431
Brand benefits	0.758	1.272	0.929	–0.629
Brand recall	–2.112	1.244	–0.355	–1.419
Brand recognition	0.758	0.874	0.162	0.557
Advertisements	0.462	1.145	0.162	0.359
Brand distinguishability	0.036	0.708	0.412	–0.431
Memory	–2.019	0.912	–0.855	–1.815
Familiarity	–2.945	0.708	–3.405	–0.036
Overall awareness	0.036	0.893	–0.605	–1.024
Newspaper	–0.057	–0.234	1.670	–0.101
Radio	–0.057	0.145	0.762	–0.750
TV	–0.779	–0.989	1.122	–1.419
(Word-of-mouth)	0.147	0.078	0.905	–0.431
(Point-of-sales)	–0.982	–0.846	0.912	–1.024
Beauty	0.462	0.205	0.712	0.161
Product quality	–0.779	–0.951	0.805	–1.024
softness	–1.815	1.145	0.762	0.557
Wide availability	–0.668	0.348	1.678	–0.036
Multinational brand	–0.372	–1.912	0.762	–0.827
Film stars	–0.890	0.078	2.638	–2.407
Glamour	0.462	1.001	0.862	0.161
Value for money	–0.575	–1.244	0.862	–0.827
Freshness	–0.668	0.348	0.929	–1.617
Family use	0.554	–0.718	0.855	0.161
Memory	–0.890	–0.718	0.855	–1.024
Product attribute	–1.704	–2.183	0.855	–2.407
Brand-specific attribute	0.462	1.145	0.762	1.150
Purchase intention	0.147	0.078	–0.105	0.731
Purchase interest	0.758	1.272	0.929	0.759
Special efforts	0.758	0.603	0.412	0.754
Purchase likelihood	–0.890	–0.193	0.412	0.359
Purchase willingness	–2.112	–0.989	–0.855	1.545

Source: Generated by the author, based on outputs from data analysis.

Table 8.

Fitness Indices Derived for the Model

Fitness Indices	Actual Value	Expected Value
Average block VIF (AVIF)	1.444	ideally ≤3.3
Sympson’s paradox ratio (SPR)	1.000	ideally =1
R-squared contribution ratio (RSCR)	1.000	ideally =1
Statistical suppression ratio (SSR)	1.000	acceptable if ≥0.7
Nonlinear bivariate causality direction ratio (NLBCDR)	1.000	acceptable if ≥0.7

Source: Generated by the author, based on outputs from data analysis.

Assessment of Derived Structural Modal

The structural model was derived using WarpPLS software and is shown in Figure 2. As per Figure 2, the value of R-square was 0.66 in the case of brand salience. Thus, the model explains 66 per cent of the total variations in brand salience, based on the proposed variables of brand image and brand awareness. This means that the remaining 33 per cent variation in brand salience may be explained due to the other variables/factors which are not discussed in this study. While R-square value for purchase intention was 0.22 which means only 22 per cent of the total variations in purchase intention due to brand salience, and hence other factors may lead to the rest of the 78 per cent.

Figure 2.

Source: Generated by the author, based on outputs from data analysis.

Hypotheses Testing

As shown in Figure 3, the path from brand awareness (BA) to brand salience (BS) represents H₁, the path from brand image (BI) to BS represents H₂, and the path from BS to purchase intention (PI) represents H₃. Table 6 shows the hypotheses testing values and results. From Table 9, it is established that H₁, H₂, and H₃ were accepted. The positive beta values in H₁, H₂, and H₃ indicated the positive nature of the relationships, and the p-values indicated relationships at a 5 per cent significance level.

Table 9.

Beta and P-Values of the Hypotheses Testing Results

Description	H₁ (BA to BS)	H₂ (BI to BS)	H₃ (BS to PI)
Beta value	0.57	0.34	0.47
P-value	<0.01	<0.01	<0.01
Result	Accepted	Accepted	Accepted

Source: Generated by the author, based on outputs from data analysis.

Mediation Effect of Brand Salience

In the study, the hypothesis H4 stated that brand salience will mediate the impact of brand awareness on purchase intention and the hypothesis H5 stated that brand salience will mediate the impact of brand image on purchase intention. The test for mediation was carried out as per the study conducted by Baron and Kenny.⁵² According to them, the following three conditions must hold to establish mediation: (a) a significant relationship exists between the independent variable and the dependent variable; (b) a significant relationship exists between the independent variable and the presumed mediator; and (c) in the presence of a significant relationship between the mediator and the dependent variable, the previous significant relationship between the independent variable and the dependent variable is no longer significant or the strength of the relationship is significantly decreased.

Figure 3 shows the direct relationship between BA and PI, without considering the mediating effect of the BS variable. From Figure 3, it can be seen that the relationship between BA and PI is still significant, even when BS is not taken into account and the Beta value being 0.46. However, the combined Beta value of BS as a mediating variable is lower at 0.57 × 0.47 = 0.27 from Figure 2 when considered along with the BA variable. It can be thus concluded that BS partially mediates the relationship between BA and PI. Therefore, it is evident that H₄ can be partially accepted.

From Figure 3, it can be seen that the relationship between BI and PI is insignificant, even when BS is not taken into account, as the Beta value is 0.07. However, the Beta value is higher at 0.34 × 0.47 = 0.16 from Figure 2 when considered along with BS as a partially mediating variable. It can be thus concluded that BA fully mediates the relationship between BI and PI. Therefore, it is evident that H₅ can be accepted.

Figure 3.

Source: Generated by the author, based on outputs from data analysis.

Major Findings

The following were the findings of the study:

Brand awareness has a positive and significant impact on brand salience.

Brand image has a positive and significant relationship with brand salience.

Brand salience has a positive and significant relationship with purchase intention.

Brand salience has a partially mediating effect between brand awareness and purchase intention.

Brand salience has a full mediating effect between brand image and purchase intention.

From the study, it is found that the dimensions of brand recall, brand knowledge, and brand association jointly contributed to the impact of brand awareness. Brand awareness and brand image have positive relationships with brand salience and, therefore, contribute jointly to create brand salience. Finally, brand salience leads to the purchase intention of skincare products. Brand salience mediates between brand awareness, the brand image on one side, and finally leading to the purchase intention of consumer skincare products. Thus, brand salience can eventually lead to an increase in sales and, therefore, boosting the brand equity.

Discussion

Theoretical Implications

The findings of this study empirically proved that brand salience has a positive impact in generating purchase intention in the consumers of fast-moving skincare products such as body washing soaps. From the study it can be interpreted that brand salience is an important concept, allowing for an understanding of the role of knowledge and brand associations and recall by the consumer. The number of brand associations will be higher for the first brand recalled in the product category, which indicates that to have a brand recalled earlier in the process means that they have more chances to be present in the mind and recalled in the purchase situation.

The study results support the findings of Qureshi, Batool, and Shamim⁵³ who scrutinized the positive impact of brand salience on consumer perception. In the article by Vieceli and Shaw,⁵ brand salience was found to have no impact on purchase intention construct, whereas in this study, the author found empirical support that brand salience has a positive relationship to the purchase intention. The differential results obtained in the current study could be attributed to the cultural differences that exist in consumer behaviour in the context of the Indian subcontinent. Brand salience was found to have an impact on influencing purchase decision.^54,55 As per the studies, the researchers found evidence that consumers will use the information most salient to them when problem-solving, when making a purchase decision. The information that comes to mind most readily is that which is used most readily due to the reduced information processing effort required on the part of the customer. Taylor and Fiske⁵⁶ indicated that salience might not affect the volume of recall, merely how the information is recalled. Besides, salient items might be recalled first, but the actual volume of information recalled by the customer is not necessarily decreased. The findings in this research indicate that if a consumer can access a salient brand and salient brand information early in the recall process, then the volume of recall should increase subsequently.

One point of contention deals with the most desirable number of associations that a brand may have in the study conducted by Krishnan.³⁶ A large number of associations may be desirable as customers might recall the brand from many cues and situations, increasing the accessibility of the brand in memory, and the memory structure for the brand becomes richer, but also more complex. However, concerning the literature on inhibition, increasing the number of associations might decrease memory for a brand as the level of interference increases.⁵⁷ Hence, brands recalled earlier in the consideration set had more brand associations, as well as a greater number of unique and favourable brand associations. The investigation of an optimal number of brand associations may provide an interesting area of future research.

Practical Implications

The results obtained in the research study will facilitate and support both academic researchers and brand marketing practitioners to explain, understand, and elucidate the product purchase intention of customers in the branded consumer skincare products such as soaps. This would also support product and brand managers to formulate strategies to expedite the positive and effective use of various media marketing communication strategies to evoke positive brand salience and, thus, contribute towards building efforts to improve CBBE, and thereby generate positive customer response. Indian customers are culturally more conservative and would prefer to purchase salient and familiar products and brands. They are also traditionally more priceconscious. Therefore, building brand salience is of prime importance for marketers to win over Indian consumers. However, consumers across the other parts of the world could be culturally different and might not be too traditional in approach. However, building brand salience is essential to build familiarity of branded products to customers across the world. Thus, as a generalization, the results could be used by branded skincare product companies, not only in India but across the world, to customize their marketing strategy focused on building brand salience.

The key to building brand salience is understanding how consumers build product knowledge. The use of advertising and media to build brand and category knowledge and brand associations will influence how consumers treat brand information. Brands that have a higher level of product knowledge and brand associations tied to them are likely to be recalled early and are likely to be more brand salient. Building a consumer’s level of knowledge and expertise in the brand category may assist the brand in gaining a higher level of salience with consumers. A more knowledgeable consumer has more brand associations that he or she may generate for a particular brand. Managers need to move their brand to an early recall position in the consumer’s consideration set. Arguably, the marketer should attempt to build the breadth and depth of product knowledge, thereby contributing towards building a strong brand knowledge and brand awareness, and this will lead to influenced brand salience for a product. The marketer may need to build the breadth of associations and the situational factors for the brand, as this will allow the consumer to recall the brand under various circumstances and recall episodes. Increased brand salience will lead to higher brand equity and customer loyalty. In turn, this may influence repeated purchase intention for the product category, better brand management, and incremental customer relationship marketing benefits. The results could be extrapolated to all FMCG products and services, not only in India but across the world. Creation of incremental brand knowledge is critical for any organization or a brand, as it is important to build better brand salience, customer loyalty, increase sales, generate profits, and higher brand equity. On a long-term perspective, building brand equity can create a competitive advantage and long-term customer relationship management for the organization.

Limitations and Future Recommendations

The role of brand attitudes has not been included in the model of brand salience tested in this study, but future research may investigate the links between brand attitude and brand salience. Moreover, in future, the model of brand salience may be tested for other FMCG, as well as for services and durable categories. It was found that brands recalled earlier in the consideration set had favourable brand associations. The investigation of an optimal number of brand associations may provide an interesting area of future research.

Conclusion

The basic model of brand salience for skincare soap products is supportive, but the brand salience alone does not have a significant impact to purchase intention. This research clarified the concept of brand salience and the factors that contribute to increasing a brand’s salience. This research developed a model of brand salience beyond the mere awareness model that has existed previously by taking the contribution of brand image and brand awareness. Besides, the current study provides empirical support for the construct of brand salience and shows the importance of building brand image and brand associations in generating brand salience. The key to building brand salience is understanding how consumers build product knowledge. The goal of building brand salience is to contribute to brand equity or the value of a brand to the consumer. If an organization understands the antecedents to brand salience, then it may build upon the value of the brand in the consumer’s mind. This will allow the organization to build upon the platform to brand equity and may allow the organization to make brands stronger in the mind of the consumer. Brand salience is an important concept for marketers to understand the management of their brands.

Footnotes

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

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