Corporate Endorsement, the reciprocity between the corporate- and the product brand

Recently, companies within the FMCG branch have engaged in corporate branding activities to leverage the firm behind their product brands. By means of token endorsement, companies such as Unilever and P&G aim to connect the corporate brand with their product brands to create a positive halo effect on their product brand portfolio. This study examines the effectiveness of such strategy and additionally introduces the reciprocal relationship between the corporate –and product brand. Moreover, the element of storytelling is included which is assumed to enhance the effectiveness of this branding strategy. A quantitative experiment was conducted in which different groups, receiving different corporate endorsement manipulations, are compared. Several brand constructs were used to examine the corporate –and product brand evaluations. A total of 286 responses was collected via the online survey software Qualtrics. It was found that just token endorsement has no significant positive influence on both the product- and corporate brand evaluations, whereas token endorsement in combination with corporate storytelling has. The results of this study contribute to existing literature by focussing on the consumer perspective within the corporate branding area, moreover it is helpful for practioners within the FMCG branch in pursuing an effective corporate branding strategy.