Background: Today, for firms to engage with customers, it takes more than traditional advertisements, enticing prices and celebrity endorsements. Customers now rely on and expect to become an active rather than passive participant in the firm’s branding and marketing activities. Due to this change in the marketing environment firms have moved towards utilizing social media influencers and brand co-creation activities to drive the level to which customers connect their self-concepts with the brand.      Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to explore the unique ways in which NA-KD uses their influencer marketing strategy and brand co-creation activities to drive the social identities of their customers and to create a model that visualizes this process. Method: An exploratory study has been conducted by the authors to investigate the influencer marketing and brand co-creation activities of the firm as to address the purpose of this paper. A single case study was performed where NA-KD was the primary subject of research. Semi-structured interviews with key employees working within marketing, collaborations and content creation was the primary source of data collection.    Conclusion: The empirical findings demonstrated the processes which employees at NA-KD created to develop their influencer marketing and brand co-creation strategies. The findings showed that the social identities of customers in an influencer-born firm are able to be directed through the activities within influencer marketing and brand co-creation. From these findings a conceptual model representing the process and management of social identity direction and producer-consumer relationship formation. This process includes influencer marketing, brand co-creation and brand experience, managed by methods of CRM and circle mapping to allow for self-brand connections and continued firm growth to occur.

Purpose: This paper seeks to examine whether the follower extensions with superior alignable differences can overcome the pioneer extensions with regard to brands. Design/methodology/approach: Three laboratory experiments were conducted to test hypotheses. Findings: Findings suggest that the effect of superior alignable differences on consumer evaluations of followers vs pioneers is moderated by two factors - the perceived fit between the parent brand and extensions, and order of market entry. High fit followers with superior alignable differences easily overcome pioneers; however, such alignable differences do not help low fit followers to overcome pioneers. Although the low fit followers with better quality and superior alignable differences can overcome the low fit pioneer, they cannot overcome the high fit pioneer. Research limitations/implications: The limitation of the study is that it does not explore how low fit followers can overcome high fit pioneers. Practical implications: Managers can better determine whether and how to introduce brand extensions as a pioneer or follower. Originality/value: The originality and value lie in first examining whether follower extensions can overcome pioneer extensions.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of loyalty in consumers’ selection of brand extensions in the presence of familiar competitors. The findings show that fit may not have a linear relationship with the choice of an extension when loyalty and brand familiarity are considered. Loyal consumers’ likelihood to choose high-fit and moderate-fit extensions is not much lower than their likelihood to choose products from familiar competitors. We also find an inverted-U-shaped relationship between choice behavior and degree of perceived fit for loyal and moderately loyal consumers. Moreover, brand concepts can make a brand more elastic and extendable, increasing loyal and moderately loyal consumers’ likelihood to choose moderate- and even low-fit extensions. However, disloyal consumers are highly unlikely to choose extensions over products from familiar competitors regardless of fit and types of similarity. Finally, the effect of similarity on consumers’ choice of extensions is fully mediated by loyalty and perceived risks.

Upon Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the outbreak of war in early 2022, brands around the world took a stand to mark their position against Russia and in support of Ukraine. Even brands that did not have any direct ties to Russia or any involvement in the conflict distanced themselves from being associated with Russia by ceasing operations, stopping sales, or changing brand names. Brands engaging in sociopolitical issues, i.e., brand activism, has become more prevalent in recent years and thus become a topic of research. Previous research on brand activism focuses heavily on the corporate perspective, and only recently have scholars studied the effects on consumers. Guided by the research question “How do consumers perceive brand activism and what role does brand authenticity play in their evaluation of genuine brand activism?”, this study aims to offer a deeper understanding of consumers’ views on brand activism and how they evaluate its genuineness using qualitative methods. With a starting point in a recent event that brands have engaged in, namely the war in Ukraine, the study reveals that consumers' views on brand activism vary greatly, and for the majority, brand activism is not a decisive factor in their choice of brand. However, consumers still have a positive attitude towards brands engaging in brand activism and some find it somewhat important that brands do it. Despite this, consumers do not find it necessary for brands to engage in sociopolitical issues. Further, the study found that, in evaluating the genuineness of brand activism, consumers tend to refer to the existing associations with a brand, how authentic they perceive the brand prior to the brand taking a stand, and how well the brand associations align with the sociopolitical issue the at hand.

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Purpose:                       The purpose of this study is to identify, define and describe the challenges of sustaining positive brand equity gained as an outcome of Cause-brand alliances. Therefore, this study is conducted from the perspective of companies engaging in Cause-brand alliances, with the aim to provide academic and managerial implications of managing brand equity over time following a Cause-brand alliance. Methodology:              This thesis performs qualitative research and uses a longitudinal research design in order to conduct exploratory research. A case study is conducted on Gina Tricot’s CBA with UNICEF. Data is collected through the use of both primary and secondary data sources. Primary data collection is conducted through semi-structured interviews that are formed and analysed through open coding and grounded theory. The secondary data is collected through an analysis of Gina Tricot’s social media, reports, external media and sustainability reports from the company participating in this case study. Empirical findings: The empirical findings demonstrate that Gina Tricot has issues capitalizing on their CBA with UNICEF. A result of some of the challenges Gina Tricot is facing in sustaining brand equity following a CBA, including difficulty in gaining coverage in the media, unreliability in motives, fear of consumer criticism, ineffective communication strategy, intangible projects and lack of marketing prioritization from top management. Conclusions:                The present study found indications that the benefits of CBA’s are not applicable to all industries. In order to gain brand equity, and sustain it following a CBA, it is of highest importance to overcome fear of public criticism and thus communicate the CBA to consumers by implementing an effective CSR communication strategy. Doing so requires prioritization from top management which can be challenging unless the CBA has proven results.

This research examines the growing phenomenon of cross-border brand alliances and the potential factors that influence consumers' attitudes toward these alliances. Building on an existing framework, it establishes country of origin fit as a new variable that influences consumer attitudes toward brand alliances and examines its relationship with brand fit under various conditions of brand familiarity. The results of two studies replicate previous research findings and demonstrate a new relationship between country of origin fit and brand fit in predicting consumer attitude towards cross-border brand alliances. These results extend research in understanding the relationship between the fit variables and the strength of their effects on brand alliance evaluations. / Master of Science

Yes / The current research is concerned with identifying and testing the role of three main predictors: consumer involvement, consumer participation, and self-expressive brand on the customer brand engagement (CBE). The customer brand engagement is treated in the current study as multidimensional constructs comprising three main aspects: cognitive processing (CP), affection (AF), and activation (AC). It was also proposed a direct influence for these three aspects of CBE on consumer-based brand equity (CBBE). Using online surveys, we gathered data from fans/followers of mobile phone service providers, via Facebook fan pages in Jordan. The data were analysed using structural equation modelling. Based on structural equation modelling analyses (SEM), it was supported that CBE aspects were largely predicted by the role of consumer involvement (INV), consumer participation (COP), and self-expressive brand (SEB). However, we find that activation impact one dimension of the CBBE dimensions, namely, brand loyalty. Further, we find that brand awareness/associations affect perceived quality but not brand loyalty. To validate the CBE scale, future studies could investigate the impact of the scale using other social media platforms for different brands. The limited amount of empirical research on CBE was the motivation behind this research. In particular, there is no study that has investigated the main predictors of CBE and its consequences over developing context by proposing and testing the association between the antecedents of CBE with the dimensions of CBE, which in turn affect the dimensions of CBBE.

Brand activism is an increasingly significant theme in business and marketing research. The purpose of this study was to explore consumers' perceptions and expectations of authentic brand activism and to provide a practical guide for brands considering incorporating brand activism into their strategies. This study drew upon the theories of brand authenticity and brand activism, and employed a qualitative research methodology, using focus groups with consumers to gain in-depth insights. The findings reveal that consumers' perceptions of authentic brand activism are shaped by three key antecedents: the brand’s heritage and reputation, the transparency of information provided about the brand's activism efforts, and the inclusion of a clear call-to-action. These findings suggest that brands can enhance the perceived authenticity of their activism efforts by ensuring consistency with their established values and history, prioritizing transparency in their communication, and incorporating a clear call-to-action. Brands can use these insights to develop more effective brand activism strategies, thereby increasing their chances of resonating with consumers and avoiding potential backlash.