Research Of Time-honored Brands Revitalization Based On Consumer Cognition

“Time-honored brand” is the magnificent achievement of Chinese commercialcivilization and the treasure of Chinese nation’s traditional culture. However, undertoday’s fierce market competition,“time-honored brand” actually is losing its formerdays’ magnificence--sales volume dropping and the market share withering. Given noproper management,“time-honored brand” is facing a serious crisis which may cast athreat on its survival. By that time, what we lose are not only the brands that arevanishing, but also the intangible asset and culture staying behind which have beenaccumulated over hundreds of years. The withdrawals of these brands from the marketwill be a heavy loss to the entire market of national brands.The existing literature on “time-honored brand” researches is mostly conductedthrough the observation method and the empirical method, or through directcomparison between modern and old enterprise’s brand management, obtaining theiradvantages and disadvantages. Even though, the conclusions are almost the same andthey lack sufficient data support.This article is based on brand activation theory and studies the consumer’scognition, nostalgia and purchase behavior to “time-honored brand” as well as thecorrelation between these three elements. It tries to make consumers much clearerabout their cognition and purchase behavior to “time-honored brand” through theconstruction of a purchase behavioral model based on the consumer cognition to“time-honored brand”. In the methods of interview, the questionnaire survey and thedata analysis, this article discovered that the consumer’s nostalgia to “time-honoredbrand” serves as a positive promoter to “time-honored brand” development. On theone hand, the stronger consumer’s nostalgia is, the more positive their cognition to“time-honored brand” will be, and the higher their sensation appraisal to it; On theother hand, stronger consumer’s nostalgia could bring about more purchase behavior.Next, consumer’s general recognition can affect their sensation appraisal to oneparticular brand and their cultural emotion approval could promote the purchasebehavior. At the same time, it is found that factors as consumer’s age and the schooldegree also have some connection with consumer’s nostalgia and purchase behavior.Therefore, we can take advantage of consumer’s nostalgia feelings, enhanceoverall image of the old, to strengthen cultural brand and emotional connection between consumers and other ways to activate “time-honored brand”.