The double jeopardy phenomenon and the mediating effect of brand penetration between advertising and brand loyalty

In a study of the Double Jeopardy (DJ) phenomenon and the mediating effect of brand penetration between advertising and brand loyalty, we integrate a survey of 19,335 consumers on their buying behavior of 187 brands across two fast moving consumer goods categories, shampoo and detergent, and a database of advertising expenditures on these brands in four major cities in China. We find that (1) smaller brands are punished twice for being small, following the well-known DJ pattern, which says that brands with larger market penetration tend to enjoy higher repeated purchases and smaller brands attract fewer buyers who also buy less; (2) brand penetration plays a mediating role in the relationship between advertising and brand loyalty; and (3) there is an asymmetric effect of market penetration on brand loyalty for small and big brands.