Attendee-based brand equity

In designing the marketing and management of association meetings, associations are increasingly concerned with attendee behaviors. This study investigated CHRIE conference attendee behaviors from the perspective of brand equity defined as “the differential effect of brand knowledge on consumer response to the marketing of the brand” [Keller, K. L. (1993). Conceptualizing, measuring, and managing customer-based brand equity. Journal of Marketing, 57(1), 1–22]. Structural equation analyses indicated that professional education, staff service, site selection, and social networking were positively related to brand satisfaction, whereas brand awareness was negatively associated with it. Positive relationships existed on each path for brand satisfaction–UEBV (updated expectation of brand value), UEBV–brand trust, brand satisfaction–brand trust, and brand trust–attitudinal brand loyalty. Professional education was the strongest brand association to predict brand satisfaction, and UEBV served as a partial mediator on the brand satisfaction–brand trust path. The findings suggested significant implications for practitioners and academics.