Brand Equity

	A "brand" is defined as "a name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or combination of them which is intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competitors" (Kotler 1991, p. 442).
	Erdem and Swait (1998) have argued that the equity endowed by consumers to a brand arises from the value the brand provides them in terms of reduced search costs and decision simplification. This brand equity can be measured using existing choice modeling and related methods.

References

Erdem, T., Swait, J. (1998) Brand Equity as a Signaling Phenomenon. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 7(2):131-157.