NESTLÉ: BRAND ALLIANCES IN DEVELOPING MARKETS Ｅｕｌｄｑ Ｄ１ Ｙｄｑｇｈｕ Ｖｆｋｈｈ／ Ｄｘｕｒｕｄ Ｘｑｌｙｈｕｖｌｗ｜ Ｗｌｐｒｗｋ｜ Ｚ１ Ｄｘｕｄｑｇ／ Ｑｒｕｗｋｈｕｑ Ｌｏｏｌｑｒｌｖ Ｘｑｌｙｈｕｖｌｗ｜ Ｗｕｈｑｈｌｆｈ Ｓｌｆｎｈｑｖ／ Ｑｒｕｗｋｈｕｑ Ｌｏｏｌｑｒｌｖ Ｘｑｌｙｈｕｖｌｗ｜ Ｐｄｕ｜ Ｐｄ／ Ｑｒｕｗｋｈｕｑ Ｌｏｏｌｑｒｌｖ Ｘｑｌｙｈｕｖｌｗ｜ Ｄｑｄｑｇ Ｕｄｗｑｄｎｄｕ Ｊｌｕｄｓ／ Ｑｒｕｗｋｈｕｑ Ｌｏｏｌｑｒｌｖ Ｘｑｌｙｈｕｖｌｗ｜ ABSTRACT Ｅｕｄｑｇｌｑｊ ｆｒｑｆｈｓｗｖ ｒｉｗｈｑ ｉｌｑｇ ｄ ｓｏｄｆｈ ｌｑ ｌｑｗｕｒｇｘｆｗｒｕ｜ ｐｄｕｎｈｗｌｑｊ ｗｈ｛ｗｅｒｒｎｖ１ Ｋｒｚｈｙｈｕ／ ｊｌｙｈｑ ｗｌｐｈ ｄｑｇ ｖｓｄｆｈ ｆｒｑｖｌｇｈｕｄｗｌｒｑｖ／ ｆｒｙｈｕｌｑｊ ｗｋｒｖｈ ｆｒｑｆｈｓｗｖ ｚｌｗｋ ｄ ｆｒｐｓｕｈｋｈｑｖｌｙｈ ｌｑｇｘｖｗｕ｜ ｓｈｕｖｓｈｆｗｌｙｈ ｌｖ ｗ｜ｓｌｆｄｏｏ｜ ｘｑｄｆｋｌｈｙｄｅｏｈ１ Ｗｋｘｖ／ ｖｘｓｓｏｈｐｈｑｗｌｑｊ ｗｈ｛ｗｅｒｒｎ ｆｒｑｗｈｑｗ ｚｌｗｋ ｅｕｌｈｉ ｆｒｐｓｄｑ｜ ｆｄｖｈｖ ｆｄｑ ｋｈｏｓ ｖｗｘｇｈｑｗｖ ｊｄｌｑ ｄ ｅｈｗｗｈｕ ｄｓｓｕｈｆｌｄｗｌｒｑ ｉｒｕ ｗｋｈ ｐｄｗｈｕｌｄｏ ｚｌｗｋ ｐｈｄｑｌｑｊｉｘｏ ｄｓｓｏｌｆｄｗｌｒｑ１ Ｗｋｌｖ ｓｄｓｈｕ ｓｕｈｖｈｑｗｖ ｄ ｖ｜ｑｒｓｖｌｖ ｒｉ ｅｕｄｑｇ ｄｏｏｌｄｑｆｈ ｆｒｑｆｈｓｗｖ ｄｓｓｕｒｓｕｌｄｗｈ ｉｒｕ ｌｑｗｕｒｇｘｆｗｒｕ｜ ｐｄｕｎｈｗｌｑｊ ｖｗｘｇｈｑｗｖ１ Ｌｗ ｗｋｈｑ ｊｒｈｖ ｒｑ ｗｒ ｓｕｒｙｌｇｈ ｖｈｙｈｕｄｏ ｈ｛ｄｐｓｏｈｖ ｒｉ ｋｒｚ ｗｋｈ Ｑｈｖｗｏｰ Ｆｒｐｓｄｑ｜ ｘｖｈｖ ｗｋｈｖｈ ｄｏｏｌｄｑｆｈｖ ｄｖ ｄ ｆｒｐｓｈｗｌｗｌｙｈ ｄｇｙｄｑｗｄｊｈ ｓｄｕｗｌｆｘｏｄｕｏ｜ ｌｑ ｇｈｙｈｏｒｓｌｑｊ ｐｄｕｎｈｗｖ１ Ｗｋｈ ｆｒｑｆｏｘｖｌｒｑ ｌｑｆｏｘｇｈｖ ｔｘｈｖｗｌｒｑｖ ｉｒｕ ｆｏｄｖｖ ｇｌｖｆｘｖｖｌｒｑ ｗｒ ｖｗｌｐｘｏｄｗｈ ｉｘｕｗｋｈｕ ｘｑｇｈｕｖｗｄｑｇｌｑｊ ｄｑｇ ｄｑｄｏ｜ｖｌｖ ｒｉ ｅｕｄｑｇ ｄｏｏｌｄｑｆｈｖ ｌｑ ｗｋｈ ｐｄｕｎｈｗｓｏｄｆｈ１ INTRODUCTION With increasing frequency, companies are undertak- ing brand alliance partnerships. This is where two differ- ent companies pair their respective brands in a joint marketing effort (Kapferer 2008). Co-branding in partic- ular is often used as a strategy to establish a competitive advantage. It can strengthen the brand portfolio, leverage established brand equity, provide a mechanism for the brand to enter future growth categories and reach impor- tant consumer segments. Co-branding has demonstrated its place as a competitive advantage as reflected by the Interbrand top 100 listing the most valuable global brands (Uggla and Åsberg 2010). The Nestlé Company knows this well and has made great strides to capitalize on the merits of solid brand alliance efforts. Good Food, Good Life sums up Nestlé’s philosophy as it creates inroads with nutrition and health. Today Nestlé is evolving with brand alliances while remaining loyal to its heritage as it develops from the world’s leading food company into the world’s leading food, nutrition, health and wellness company in estab- lished and developing markets (Nestlé Management Report 2003). BRAND ALLIANCE CONCEPTS Branding A brand is defined as a combination of name, symbol, term and/or design that identifies a specific product (Ferrell and Hartline 2010). A brand gives a product a unique identity that differentiates the product from other compet- ing products in the marketplace. It lessens the risk of purchasing the product in the minds of customers and also signifies quality. Customers remain loyal and committed to a brand as long as the perceived value creates a sense of satisfaction and benefit. For the company, a brand becomes an asset that can be leveraged to gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace (Armstrong and Kotler 2011). Brand Alliances A brand alliance can be defined as a cooperative association between two or more companies based on joint branding strategies. Brand alliances can result in co-brands, co-opetition, new brands or joint ventures to name a few (Ferrell and Hartline 2010). Co-opetition occurs when competitors co-operate to achieve mutually beneficial goals (Kotzab and Teller 2003). New brands often come from two companies collaboratively entering a new product category (Armstrong and Kotler 2011). Joint ventures are created when two companies pool resources to form a new company with shared ownership (Grewal and Levy 2010). A key factor in the success of any brand alliance is selecting the right partner. Although selecting the right market, product, and adapting to local preferences are worthy of notation, successful brand alliances are pre- mised on a natural fit between the companies and their brands. This is particularly the case for co-branding where Ｍｒｘｕｑｄｏ ｉｒｕ Ｄｇｙｄｑｆｈｐｈｑｗ ｒｉ Ｐｄｕｎｈｗｌｑｊ Ｈｇｘｆｄｗｌｒｑ ﾱ Ｙｒｏｘｐｈ ４；／ Ｖｘｐｐｈｕ ５３４４ ６５