Version 1.0, October 2026. 98 constructs in 18 families across 7 eras, with 18 imported theories below. Selecting a cell reveals its family, era, block, tier, and anchor works, each anchoring reference linking to the publisher’s page. Explore the 18 Family Deep Dives for granular sub-tables, or visit Resources to use the four interactive analytical tools.
Each cell: number, influence pips, block code, then symbol, construct, and anchor works
open frontier position
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Detached series · Theories imported from adjacent fields, each set near the families it feeds
Series
T
Imported Theories
8IN
Bi
Brand Image
Family
12. Brand and Market-Based Assets (IV · Customer and Brand Assets)
Era
Period 1: Foundations, to 1969
Block
IN · Inputs: resources and assets
Tier
Major
Cell card
Description
Gardner and Levy argued that a brand is a public object with a social and psychological character beyond its physical attributes, so that consumers respond to the total image a brand conveys, establishing image as an asset to be managed.
Managerial Implications
A brand is a set of meanings in customers' minds, built over years and spent in moments. Decide what the brand should stand for beyond product features, and ensure that every touchpoint, including service calls and packaging, reinforces it. Image is an asset: protect it from short-term promotions and line extensions that dilute the meaning, and measure it, not just awareness, in tracking studies.
How to read. Down a column follows one research stream through time. Across a row shows what the field studied in an era. Color marks the strategy domain, after Morgan et al. (2019). Pips give an influence tier. Numbers run by era, then family. Placements, anchors, and tiers are editorial judgments, and anchors are entry points rather than a complete record of any stream. Anyone who uses or adapts this table is responsible for verifying its contents against the original works.
