In 25 Years, Across 50 Categories, User Profiles for Directly Competing Brands Seldom Differ: Affirming Andrew Ehrenberg's Principles

It has been claimed that the user profiles of directly competing brands seldom differ. This surprises many in marketing, leading to some doubts about the validity of the claim.

In 25 Years, Across 50 Categories, User Profiles for Directly Competing Brands Seldom Differ: Affirming Andrew Ehrenberg’s Principles

Mark Uncles

University of New South Wales

Rachel Kennedy and Magda Nenycz-Thiel

Ehrenberg-Bass Institute

Jaywant Singh

Kingston University

Simon Kwok

University of New South Wales

Management slant

  • Market research shows that user profiles of directly competing brands seldom differ.
  • The evidence is consistent for different time periods, sources, countries and product categories, for brands, private labels, and variants.
  • Consumers see these directly competing offerings as substitutable, despite attempts by marketers to differentiate brands and provide customized features for distinct groups...

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