Measuring brand equity of a performing artist : a new instrument

Abstract

Music can be seen as one of the most popular elements in the event sector, forming part of the tourism industry. However, the competition is strong among artists and, for an artist to be successful and his/her concerts to be sold out, therefore having a competitive advantage. Branding can play an important role in the marketing of tourism products and services as well as for artists. One should therefore not view an artist’s brand merely as a name or symbol, but as an entire value offering or experience which, in turn, represents certain benefits and/or level of brand equity. The lack of a suitable measuring instrument that measures the brand equity of an artist within the event sector is evident. The purpose of this article is to empirically measure the brand equity of a selected performing artist in South Africa based on a newly developed instrument. A local South African artist was selected, and his fan base was quantitatively surveyed (n=352 questionnaires) in 2018. The most significant findings were that brand equity for artists relies on brand loyalty, brand awareness, brand image and experience and brand satisfaction of which brand awareness is the most important dimension. The items (aspects in the questionnaire) measuring each of these dimensions are unique to the artist context. Furthermore, the instrument developed for this research is the first of its kind and can be used in future studies.

Keywords

• brand equity
• brand image
• brand experience
• brand association
• measuring instrument
• brand loyalty
• customer-based brand equity
• brand satisfaction
• artist’s brand
• brand awareness
• music industry