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DOI: 10.5817/CZ.MUNI.P210-6840-2014-114
KNOWLEDGE OF REGIONAL BRANDS IN MORAVIANSILESIAN
REGION
ZNALOST REGIONÁLNÍCH ZNAČEK V MORAVSKOSLEZSKÉM
KRAJI
ING. MICHAL STOKLASA
DOC. ING. HALINA STARZYCZNÁ, PH.D.
ING. KATEŘINA MATUŠÍNSKÁ, PH.D.
Katedra marketingu
Obchodně podnikatelská fakulta v Karviné
Slezská univerzita v Opavě
Department of Marketing
School of Business Administration in Karviná
Silesian University in Opava
* Univerzitní náměstí 1934/3, 733 40 Karviná, Czech Republic
E-mail: stoklasa@opf.slu.cz, starzyczna@opf.slu.cz, matusinska@opf.slu.cz
Annotation
This article deals with regional brands in the Moravian-Silesian region in the Czech Republic.
Research was focused on finding out if consumers know regional brands and how this knowledge
depends on demographic factors. The data were obtained by questionnaire survey and analysed by
IBM SPSS. From the thousands of respondents the representative sample of 719 for MS region was
created based on demographic factors of gender, age, education and income. The research analysis
disclosed that consumer knowledge of regional brands in MS region depends on education and
income and is independent on gender and age.
Key words
regional brands, demographic factors, brand awareness, brand recall
Anotace
Tento článek se zabývá regionálními značkami v Moravskoslezském kraji v České republice. Výzkum
byl zaměřen na zjištění, zda spotřebitelé znají regionální značky a jak tato znalost závisí na
demografických faktorech. Údaje byly získány dotazníkovým šetřením a analyzovány pomocí IBM
SPSS. Z tisíců respondentů byl sestaven vzorek 719 respondentů z MS kraje reprezentativní na základě
demografických faktorů pohlaví, věku, vzdělání a příjmu. Analýza výzkumu odhalila, že znalost
regionálních značek spotřebiteli v MS kraji závisí na vzdělání a příjmu a je nezávislá na pohlaví a
věku.
Klíčová slova
regionální značky, demografické faktory, znalost značky, vybavení si značky
JEL classification: M31
Introduction
Regional branding and local products are the hot trend in the Czech Republic but no one has done a
research on a representative sample for Moravian-Silesian region to find out the actual brand
awareness of customers and demographic factors influencing it. Thus the aim of the article is to
research the knowledge of regional brands in the MS region, with focus on how it depends on
demographic factors.
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Regional brands are in the Czech Republic part of product protective marking. This brand program is
however not regulated by government. It functions on a basis of voluntary rules that should ensure
customers about higher quality of the products. That is why this article defines the terms: brand,
regional brand, brand programs and brand awareness as a part of brand value for a customer
1. Theoretical background of Regional Brands
American Marketing Association (in Vysekalová et al., p. 136) defines brand as follows ‘A brand is a
name, character, creative expression, or a combination of previous elements. Its purpose is to
distinguish goods or services of one seller or group of sellers from goods or services of competing
retailers.’ This definition is used by many authors (Kotler and Keller, 2007; Keller, 2007; Pelsmacker,
Geuens and Bergh, 2003). The brand is a product or service and its features differentiate it in some
way from other products or services that are intended to satisfy the same needs (Kotler and Keller,
2007).
The marketing concept of ‘brand’ is not clearly established in the Czech legislation. Only the term
‘trademark’ is established. It is governed by Act No. 441/2003Sb., about Trademarks. The law is clear
that each trademark is a brand, but a brand is a trademark only if it was registered as a trademark.
Brands guaranteed by the state can be seen as the beginning of integrated systems of product branding,
so-called multi-level brand, which is used to connect various fragmented systems of product quality
marking. More effective joint marketing communication could help individual protective marking,
whether it is for any kind of product (food, toiletries, textiles, art products, souvenirs, etc.).
(Doležalová, 2007)
Brand programs are made up of several previously separate brands that use the same criteria. Thus
facilitating the consumer market orientation, that is currently uneasy due to a wide range of brands.
Paradoxically, consumers today know the meaning of fewer brands because of their excessive
quantities (Hesková, 2006). These brands then cannot affect consumer behaviour, as was the intention
of the creators of the brand. This happens due to the lack of marketing communication of brands, lack
of consumer education and problems with the guarantee of quality for the consumer (Hesková, 2006).
Small and medium enterprises usually lack a marketing department and a thorough strategy so a
unified brand programme can make a big difference (Bednarčík, 2012, p. 372).
Brand value is a ‘set of benefits (assets) and disadvantages (liabilities) associated with the name and
symbol of the brand, which increases or decreases the value that the product or service delivers to
enterprise and / or customer (Aaker, 2003).’ This value consists of five categories (Aaker, 2003, p. 8):
knowledge of the brand, loyalty to the brand, perceived quality, associations connected with the brand,
other proprietary brand assets.
Brand awareness includes two categories, brand recognition and brand recall. Brand recognition is the
ability to confirm earlier acquaintance with the brand (Keller, 2007), others call it brand identification
(Aaker, 2003). Brand recall is the ability to recall a brand for a product category (Keller, 2007).
The EU began to use the geographical branding after 1995 (Germany, the Netherlands and Ireland) to
support some lagging sectors (Hall, 2004). The main idea of using the concept of brands for regions is
the utilization of closer cooperation and integration of often fragmented cities, communities, regions
and neighbouring countries that target to create a synergy effect for the factors of competitiveness,
thus overcoming obstacles of differences and budgetary constraints (Kaufman and Durst, 2008).
To understand the regional branding it is important to realize that the perception of the brand as
something that is created and managed by managers is insufficient. Brands are not owned by company
or brand managers, but are shaped and created by consumers in dialogue with marketers, within the
cultural context. Therefore, to explore the potential of regional brands, it is important to capture the
view and understanding of consumer brands in their context. (Cayla and Arnould, 2008)
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We need to differentiate between brands of regions and regional brands (Kirchgeorg, 2003). Both are
showing the same motivation to help the region, but both do it in a different way. Regional brands
promote specific products or services from the region and generally remain in the region, while the
brands of regions represent the region on the outside (Kirchgeorg, 2003). There are very few studies
dealing with regional brands, only Asian country have in this sense a positive trend with overcoming
the negative associations with country of origin and trying to capitalize on newfound pride in their
cultural heritage (ethnocentrism) (Cayla and Arnould, 2008).
Regional brands support local businesses (especially small farmers, artisans, small businesses) due to
promotion, diversification of economic activities in the country and reviving local economies. For the
local population it increases regional solidarity and initiates various forms of cooperation in the region
between entrepreneurs, public authorities, the voluntary sector and nature protection. From an
environmental point of view it supports local production and consumption in terms of reducing traffic
load, support of friendly production and expansion of opportunities for sustainable tourism. (Asociace
regionálních značek, 2013, online)
2. Methods and Sample
For the own primary research quota sampling was used (based on data from the Czech Statistical
Office), four demographic factors were taken into account: gender, age, education and income.
Overall, there are 1.048.000 inhabitants in Moravian-Silesian Region in the category of 15 and older,
so with a 5 % error the minimum number of questionnaires is over 384.
In total, 1.956 questionnaires were collected in several phases. From these, representative sample has
been formed (according to demographic criteria of gender, age, education and monthly net cash
income) for the Moravian-Silesian region consisting of 719 questionnaires. Demographic
characteristics of the sample are shown in Tab. 1. For each demographic factor the values shown are:
target value (as determined by the Czech Statistical Office for the whole region), the actual relative
value and absolute value. The highest deviation of the sample is 0.2 %, for example in the category of
net monthly cash income of 30.001 CZK and more, that is in absolute terms one respondent.
Tab. 1: Demographic characteristics of the Sample
Factor Category Target (in %) Actual relative (in %) Actual absolute
Gender Female 51 51.2 368
Male 49 48.8 351
Age 15-24 14 13.9 100
25-34 16.4 16.6 119
35-44 18.1 18.2 131
45-54 15.9 15.7 113
55-64 16.4 16.4 118
65-74 11.8 11.9 86
45+ 7.4 7.3 52
Education Primary or none 18.3 18.1 130
Secondary 37.1 37.3 268
Secondary diploma 31.7 31.7 228
Tertiary 12.9 12.9 93
Income 10.000 CZK 39.7 39.5 284
10-20.000 CZK 53.6 53.7 386
20-30.000 CZK 5.8 5.8 42
30.000 CZK+ 0.8 1.0 7
Source: own research, 2013
The whole questionnaire consisted of 11 questions structured into 5 areas based on brand value for
customers by Aaker (2003). For this article, only the first three questions focused on brand awareness
are used. The first one is focused on general knowledge (awareness) of regional brands, the second
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tries to identify, whether respondents actually mean regional brands or if they confuse them with other
protective marking, and third question test brand recall.
3. Results and Discussion
Question No. 1 ‘Do you know the concept of regional brand’ examines brand awareness. The premise
from research done by other authors (Stoklasa, 2014) was a high ignorance of the concept of regional
brands by consumers. The outcome of 52.6 % of respondents who say that they know regional brands
was very surprising (in absolute terms it's 378 respondents), followed by 37.1 % (267) that do not
know the brands and 10.3 % (74) not sure.
The first question was followed by question No. 2 ‘If yes, please indicate which regional brands you
know.’ The premise was that the respondents only think that they know the regional brands, but in
reality they confuse them with other protective marking systems. Of the 378 positive responses to
question one, 59.8 % of respondents knew the regional branding (226). Another 32 % of respondents
(121) stated a consumer brand (KLASA, Bio) as a regional brand, 8.2 % of respondents (31) stated
geographic protective marking (Olomouc cheese, Štramberk ears), see Tab. 2. Relative to the entire
research sample, the actual knowledge of regional branding is only 31.4 %, with 68.6 % of
respondents not knowing regional brands.
Tab. 2: Actual Knowledge of Regional Brands
Type of brand Frequency absolute Frequency relative to
Q. No. 1 (%)
Frequency relative to the
whole sample (%)
Regional branding 226 59.79 31.43
Consumer brands 121 32.01 16.83
EU protective marking 31 8.2 4.31
Source: own research, 2013
Question No. 3 ‘Regional brand is - (explanation) - do you know any?’ involved the description of the
regional branding according to a prepared text and logos. This question examined brand recall. The
result is 56 % of the respondents know regional brands (403) and 44 % do not (316). A number of
respondents stated after the explanation: ‘I saw that on TV / newspapers / printed materials, only I did
not connected it with the term regional brands’.
Verification of this hypothesis was carried out using chi-square test, a statistical test of independence.
Tested is brand awareness (recall) from the question 3, and demographic factors: gender, age,
education and net monthly cash income. The starting point is the observed frequency and the expected
frequency. A test is performed at the significance level α = 0.05, i.e. 5. The output of the statistical
program IBM SPSS for chi-square test may have 2 variants: Sig. (Significance) < α meaning that
variables are related, Sig. > α meaning that variables are not related. The value of Pearson Chi-Square
test then indicates the criterion. If it falls within the field of adoption, at a significance level of 5 % the
null hypothesis (H0) on the independence of the characters not reject. If it does not fall into the field
of adoption, the alternative hypothesis (H1) can be accepted.
To determine the influence of gender on the knowledge of regional brands we have formulated
following two statistical hypotheses:
§ H0: Knowledge of regional brands does not depend on gender.
§ H1: Knowledge of regional brands depends on gender.
The results of the test are shown in Tab. 3. The value of Sig. 0.313 is greater than the specified value
level of significance, the variables are related. The test criterion is 0.315 and thus falls within the field
of adoption, at a significance level of 5 % the null hypothesis (H0) on the independence of the
characters is not reject. We can say that: knowledge of regional brands (recall) does not depend on
gender.
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Tab. 3: Chi-Square Tests Knowledge * Gender
Value df Asymp. Sig. (2-sided)
Pearson Chi-Square 0.315a
1 0.313
Likelihood Ratio 0.315 1 0.313
N of Valid Cases 719
A. 0 Cells (0,0 %) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 154.26.
Source: own research, 2013
To determine the influence of age on the knowledge of regional brands we have formulated following
two statistical hypotheses:
§ • H0: Knowledge of regional brands does not depend on age.
§ • H1: Knowledge of regional brands depends on age.
The results of the test are shown in Tab. 4. The value of Sig. 0.620 is greater than the specified value
level of significance, the variables are related. The test criterion is 4.417 and thus falls within the field
of adoption, at a significance level of 5 % the null hypothesis (H0) on the independence of the
characters is not reject. We can say that: knowledge of regional brands (recall) does not depend on
age.
Tab. 4: Chi-Square Tests Knowledge * Age
Value df Asymp. Sig. (2-sided)
Pearson Chi-Square 4.417a
6 0.620
Likelihood Ratio 4.443 6 0.617
N of Valid Cases 719
A. 0 Cells (0,0 %) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 22.85.
Source: own research, 2013
To determine the influence of education on the knowledge of regional brands we have formulated
following two statistical hypotheses:
§ H0: Knowledge of regional brands does not depend on education.
§ H1: Knowledge of regional brands depends on education.
The results of the test are shown in Tab. 5. The value of Sig. 0.012 is less than the specified value
level of significance, the variables are related. The test criterion is 10,876 and thus does not fall into
the field of adoption, at a significance level of 5 % the null hypothesis (H0) on the independence of
the characters is rejected and we accept the alternative hypothesis H1, that there is some dependence.
We can say that: dependence of regional brands knowledge (recall) on education is statistically
significant.
Tab. 5: Chi-Square Tests Knowledge * Education
Value df Asymp. Sig. (2-sided)
Pearson Chi-Square 10.876a
3 0.12
Likelihood Ratio 10.989 3 0.12
N of Valid Cases 719
A. 0 Cells (0,0 %) have expected count less than 5. The Minimum expected count is 36.48.
Source: own research, 2013
To determine the influence of income on the knowledge of regional brands we have formulated
following two statistical hypotheses:
§ H0: Knowledge of regional brands does not depend on income.
§ H1: Knowledge of regional brands depends on income.
The results of the test are shown in Tab. 6. The value of Sig. 0.002 is less than the specified value
level of significance, the variables are related. The test criterion is 14.554 and thus does not fall into
the field of adoption, at a significance level of 5 % the null hypothesis (H0) on the independence of
the characters is rejected and we accept the alternative hypothesis H1, that there is some dependence.
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We can say that: dependence of regional brands knowledge (recall) on income is statistically
significant.
Tab. 6: Chi-Square Tests Knowledge * Income
Value df Asymp. Sig. (2-sided)
Pearson Chi-Square 14.554a
3 0.002
Likelihood Ratio 14.556 3 0.002
N of Valid Cases 719
A. 1 Cells (12,5 %) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 3.97.
Source: own research, 2013
Additional testing revealed that higher education and income mean higher regional brands knowledge.
These results are exactly the same as the results in our concurrent research on consumer
ethnocentrism, where we found out that consumer ethnocentrism (CE) in MS region depends on
education and income. Higher education and income mean stronger CE. These results are completely
unique for MS region. Only a few studies have been done on CE and regional brands in Central
Europe and none of them on a scale such as ours (representative sample of 719). But the few that have
been done indicated dependency on age and income, or age and education. This knowledge enables us
to create new and working strategies for regional brands in our region.
Conclusion
The first part of the questionnaire investigated knowledge of regional brands in the Moravian-Silesian
region in two categories, brand recognition and brand recall. The premise was a majority of
respondents do not know regional brands. The outcome of the research is surprising because 52.6 % of
respondents say that they know regional brands. However, after further investigation it became clear
that they confuse regional brands with other systems of protective marking and the actual knowledge
is only 31.4 % (brand recognition). After thoroughly explaining what a regional brand is and a
demonstration of logos and pictures, 56 % of respondents answered that they know regional brands
(brand recall). The brand recall is very good for such a young system of protective marking (regional
brands of ‘Gorolsko Swoboda’ and ‘Moravske Kravarsko’ were established in 2007 and region
‘Beskydy’ in 2005). If we take into account practically non-existent budget for marketing
communication (compared with an estimated 250-300 million CZK of competing protective system
‘Regionalni potravina’), it is a great success.
The dependency of regional brand knowledge on demographic factors has been verified for the factors
of education and net monthly cash income, has not been verified for the factors of gender and age.
These results are exactly the same as in our concurrent research where we analysed the statistically
significant influence of demographic factors on consumer ethnocentrism in MS region. The idea is
that a strong consumer ethnocentrism in a region forms a good environment for regional brands
(consumers prefer local products – regional brands certify only local products). Thus, it was shown
that knowledge of regional brands and consumer ethnocentrism in the MS region are dependent on the
same demographic factors. If ethnocentric consumers buy more regional products, then there is
confirmed influence of factors of education and income on this buying decision. This understanding
enables us to create new communication strategy for regional brands (Stoklasa, 2014).
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This paper was supported by the project ‘Innovation of Educational Programs at Silesian
University, School of Business Administration in Karvina’ no. CZ.1.07/2.2.00/28.0017.