Defining the identity-image gap: an analysis of a collective wine brand
International Journal of Wine Business Research
ISSN: 1751-1062
Article publication date: 10 November 2023
Issue publication date: 7 February 2024
Abstract
Purpose
The brand identity–image gap is a well-known marketing field. However, very little academic work has been done within the wine industry regarding collective brands. With the aim of filling this gap, this paper analyzes and describes the relationship between identity and the image of Bordeaux wines. It is intended as a collective wine brand.
Design/methodology/approach
From a positivist–functionalist perspective, a 45-question survey has been administered online to N = 53 internal brand operators (winery owners or managers) and to N = 655 external consumers (mainly focusing on 18–25 year-old segment). Nonprobabilistic sampling techniques have been used. Questions were structured within a semantic opposition.
Findings
Data analysis has shown that the nine-dimension model (physical, personality, culture, self-image, reflection, relationship, positioning, vision and heritage) is capable of collecting a richer and more pertinent set of information concerning the brand identity; statistically significant gaps have been found in 25 out of 45 items; counterintuitively, the consumers have a very different opinion about the brand compared with existing ideas. Direct implications are that internal brand operators may suffer from imposter syndrome; information asymmetry may play a central role in brand perception; and the brand lacks symbolic and inspirational functions.
Originality/value
Providing an original model to analyze and evaluate the brand identity–image gap, specifically adapted for collective wine brands, this work contributes to the literature by increasing the knowledge about brand identity issues.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors thank the Bordeaux Wine and Spirits chair (Bordeaux University and Inseec Business school, Bordeaux) for the financial support; Florian Reyne and Stéphanie Sinoquet from the AOPs Bordeaux-Bordeaux Supérieur management body (organisme de gestion [ODG]), for their valuable help on data collection.
Citation
Spiga, A. and Cardebat, J.-M. (2024), "Defining the identity-image gap: an analysis of a collective wine brand", International Journal of Wine Business Research, Vol. 36 No. 1, pp. 40-60. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJWBR-10-2022-0039
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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