Brand Mind Share Evolution among a Developing Country’s Urban Migrants: What are the Impacts of Intra-Country Economic, Cultural, and Social Distances?

Although developing countries have been a growth priority for marketers for years, they have also become a highly competitive battlefield where international, national, and local brands fight to attract consumers. One key trend in developing countries with important implications for global marketers is the rapid growth in urban migration. Hundreds of millions of consumers are migrating into cities in developing countries where they potentially encounter new brands and face new marketing environments. Does such a major life transition result in changing brand preferences? If so, do these changes represent opportunities or threats to brands? To address these and related questions, we focus on a foundational driver of brand equity—brand mind share or top-of-mind brand awareness—and track its evolution in six product categories among 469 urban migrant consumers in China over nearly three years. We find that nearly half of urban migrants’ top-of-mind brands change during this time, with the most pronounced changes happening in the first three months. Furthermore, we find that changes in brand mind share are <em>negatively</em> related to <em>intra</em>-country economic, cultural, and social distances. Our study has important managerial implications and opens up numerous opportunities for future research.