Effects of Generic Marketing on Brand Sales: The role of Generic Websites, Generic Publicity, and the Interplay of Generic and Brand Advertising
(A2024-119573)

AUTHORS

Nhat Le, Norwegian School of Economics; Magne Supphellen, Norwegian School of Economics

ABSTRACT

A dynamic error-correction model is used to estimate the independent and interactive effects of brand advertising, generic advertising, and generic publicity on the sales of the 168 food brands in the red and white meat categories. The results show that (1) the number of visits to a generic website for consumer inspiration and recipes has a significant effect on short-term brand sales, (2) generic advertising has short-term indirect effects on sales via website image and number of visits, in addition to a direct long-term effect on brand sales, (3) generic advertising reinforces the effect of brand advertising on sales, and (4) generic publicity has a significant effect on brand sales in the short run. The sum of direct and indirect effects in this study suggests that generic marketing has a stronger potential to stimulate brand sales than previously assumed in the research literature. The findings provide unique insights on how to exploit this potential.