Correlation between brand longevity and the diffusion of innovations theory

Abstract

This article attempts to apply the diffusion of innovations theory to the current concepts of branding of products and services that have roots in both marketing and communication. The authors attempt to analyse the diffusion of innovation theory and to draw correlations between the fundamental principles of diffusion and those of branding of products and services in practice. The following research question was posed: What are the correlations between the diffusion of innovations theory and branding principles and practices today? The concepts of ‘diffusion of innovations’ and ‘diffusion of information’ are used interchangeably throughout this article. The rationale for this is that in some cases, a technology may be almost entirely composed of information although a methodological problem in such studies is that their adoption cannot be so easily traced or observed in a physical sense. The innovation–decision process is essentially an information-seeking and information-processing activity in which the individual is motivated to reduce uncertainty about the advantages and disadvantages of the innovation.