Brand Network Booster: A New System for Improving Brand Connectivity
J. Cancellieri W. Didimo A. Fronzetti Colladon F. Montecchiani
This paper presents a new decision support system offered for an in-depth
analysis of semantic networks, which can provide insights for a better
exploration of a brand's image and the improvement of its connectivity. In
terms of network analysis, we show that this goal is achieved by solving an
extended version of the Maximum Betweenness Improvement problem, which includes
the possibility of considering adversarial nodes, constrained budgets, and
weighted networks - where connectivity improvement can be obtained by adding
links or increasing the weight of existing connections. We present this new
system together with two case studies, also discussing its performance. Our
tool and approach are useful both for network scholars and for supporting the
strategic decision-making processes of marketing and communication managers.