Consumer perceptions about brand extension strategy in the super sport cars segment: the case of Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A.

In the last decades, among the issues related to brand management, it has been registered an increase in the interest towards the brand extension strategy. This term refers to the use of an already existing and established brand whose firm decides to exploit its brand equity for the introduction of new products in categories more or less distant from the original one. This paper will be developed starting from an introduction in the first chapter concerning the meaning and importance of the brand and the elements that characterize it, to then analyze in detail the brand management process in the second chapter to understand how to create, support and maintain brand equity over time. Thereafter, there will be a focus on the customer-based branded equity in the third chapter which will allow for a more in-depth study of consumer perception about the brand and its related strategies. Once these topics have been discussed, there will be an analysis of the brand extension strategy and its characteristics in the fourth chapter, to then investigate what are the factors that can influence the perception of consumers towards it. Once these have been identified, the survey's literary references and its methods of administration will be explained. This survey is main based on my direct experience in the brand extension department of Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A company, and it is made to investigate the consumer perception about the Lamborghini brand and its extensions in clothing and travel accessories fields. Finally, the results obtained from this survey will be analyzed in the fifth chapter in order to then explain the possible future implications deriving from this study.