Abstract: The issue of the brand extension has been widely studied since the 1970’s. Based on the review of pilot researches, two cognitive models —affect-transfer model and association-demand model—were introduced to describe the mechanism of the parent brand effect towards brand extension. The affect-transfer model assumes that consumers will transfer the positive attitudes of the parent brand directly to its extension, but the association-demand model regards the brand-specific associations the most important factor in extension evaluation. The two models highlight the cognitive process in the formation of the extension evaluation.

Key words: brand extension, extension evaluation, affect-transfer model, association-demand model, fit, categorization