Antecedents and Mediators for Building and Integrated Research Framework towards Successful Brand Revitalisation

The true identity of brands fades with changes in the market environment. Growing concerns regarding the decline of long-established brands have caught the attention of academicians and practitioners both. There is undivided attention witnessed in literature to develop a research framework to identify antecedents and intervening factors and their impact on Brand Revitalization. The primary aim of the study is to categorise identified variables into different approaches and integrate intervening variables to propose a research framework for empirical validation. Based on the systematic literature review approach, 93 studies from more than three decades (1984 to 2021) were undertaken after applying inclusion and exclusion criteria. 62 per cent of qualitative research and 27 per cent of empirical and mixed research papers were obtained. A total of 63 variables from 18 empirical studies were categorised into two approaches 'Brand re-enchantment' and 'Brand modernity', which significantly influenced brand revitalisation. 9 mediators and 12 moderators were obtained from which 'Advertising' was introduced as a mediator for effective brand revitalisation. The research paper provides a scope to empirically validate the proposed research framework in different sectors and industries to carry the domain of brand revitalisation to an advance level.Implications for Central European audience: According to Eurostat , the Annual inflation rate in the Euro Area increased from 4.1% in 2021 to 8.9% in 2022. Price has been accelerated for food, beverages, industrial goods and services. This has declined the purchasing power of consumers while making goods and services more expensive. As a result, demand-side is slowing down and consumers are shifting to low or no-frills brands making it challenging for brands to capture the likely brand decline. However, mature or declining brands often enjoy strong brand equity and there is residual salience which can be leveraged to retain existing consumers. The study offers guidelines to recognize the acute and latent signs of brand decline and provide possible revitalization strategies to increase market share, aid in internationalization, and strengthen the perceived brand image of Central European brands. Advertising illustrates the brand's features, benefits, and uses, which may help in conveying the desired image of brands to the audience of central European countries.