To dress in used clothes is no longer considered as unfashionable. The acceptance of thesecond hand market has increased over the years. Vintage clothing has becomefashionable because you get the opportunity to create your own individual style. Vintagehas been given status. It has become a trend. You no longer call second hand clothing“second hand”; people tend to call it vintage even though it’s not.Our aim with this study is to determine whether or not vintage is a brand. We start fromthe consumer’s perspective when we examine the status and image as vintage received byconsumers. Later we compare the image of vintage with theories about brands and brandbuilding. Our aim is to find out if vintage can be named as a brand.Our study is qualitative and we have chosen to conduct qualitative interviews withvintage consumers in the state of New York. The essay has a hermeneutic and ahypothetical deductive research approach. The hypothetical deductive research approachsuited us well because we assumed that vintage is actually a brand name.We found that vintage is actually a brand name. The benefits the consumers consider thatvintage gives them can be compared with the added value a brand gives the consumer. Itis difficult to find a suitable definition of what a brand is. Even with the big marketingauthors disagree. According to Grönroos, Aaker and Kotler et al definition we believethat vintage is a brand and that is also our conclusion. Finally we think that thedefinitions of a brand are outdated and should be updated. This essay is conducted inSwedish. / Program: Textilekonomutbildningen

Som en följd av globaliseringen, har antalet aktörer inom den textila sektorn ökat drastiskt. På så vis har konkurrensen mellan företag hårdnat och varumärket har utvecklats till ett viktigt konkurrensmedel. Nyetablerade företag har numera svårt att skapa en långvarig position på marknaden. Med detta som grund utvecklades uppsatsens syfte att studera hur nyetablerade företag arbetar för att bygga ett starkt varumärke och en varumärkesidentitet. Studien har utgått från en kvalitativ metod där två fallföretag studerats. För att utvinna relevant information har semistrukturerade intervjuer genomförts.I den teoretiska referensramen beskrivs varumärkesplattformen av Frans Melin samt David Aakers modell för varumärkesidentitetens byggstenar. Dessutom behandlas Aakers fyra uppställda identitetsfällor. Våra fallföretag, Sail Racing och Cheap Monday, är båda nyetablerade på marknaden, därav lämpar de sig bra för vår studie. Intervjuer med fallföretagen har sammanställts i det empiriska kapitlet, för att tillsammans med teorin ligga till grund för analysen.I analysen jämförs företagens arbetssätt med teorins lagar och samband utvinns, det visade sig att Sail Racing följer många av våra behandlade teorier till punkt och pricka. Cheap Monday, däremot, går emot teorierna och bygger sitt varumärke fritt från lagar. Avslutningsvis mynnar uppsatsen ut i ett antal slutsatser som grundats i uppsatta frågeställningar. Sammantaget skiljer sig företagens syn på varumärket åt, då Sail Racing arbetar aktivt med sin identitet medan Cheap Monday har en mindre fokuserad syn på sina marknadsaktiviteter. / Program: Textilekonomutbildningen

Ett varumärke är en stor del av företagsstrategin för ett framgångsrikt företag och det är viktigt att skydda och bevara sitt varumärke. För att skapa och utveckla ett varumärke krävs en tydlig varumärkesstrategi, där den viktigaste delen är varumärkesidentiteten som är riktlinje för företagets arbete med varumärket. Varumärkets image syftar på hur konsumenter uppfattar ett varumärke genom dess produkter, service och kommunikation. Därför är det viktigt att företaget vet vad de vill förmedla till marknaden och hur de ska förmedla det. Då varumärken är precis som sin omgivning, under ständig förändring, behöver ett företag alltid vara förändringsbart för att kunna växa. En ompositionering av varumärkesprofilen kan innebära att varumärket förbättras och bli mer relevant gentemot konsumenternas perspektiv, men även det egna företagets och konkurrenternas perspektiv. Det är viktigt att ett varumärke upplevs som aktuellt, men en förändring av ett varumärke skapar inte bara möjligheter utan även risker. Vi har undersökt två textil- och modeföretag – Oscar Jacobson och Hemtex. Valet av företag grundade sig i att företagen nyligen har genomgått en ompositionering av varumärke, dock behöver processen inte vara avslutad, och att företagen var verksamma inom textil- och modebranschen. Undersökning är kvalitativ och baseras på intervjuer med en representant från varje företag. Vi fann att varumärkesidentiteten kan påverkas på många olika sätt genom olika värdebyggande aktiviteter i ompositioneringen av varumärkesprofilen och att varumärkesimagen följaktligen påverkas beroende på hur de här aktiviteterna utförs och vilken effekt de har. Varumärkesimagen påverkas således av resultatet av hur bra den önskade identiteten når fram till konsumenten.Vi fann vidare att riskerna med en ompositionering av varumärkesprofilen är befintliga och båda de undersökta företagen har uppenbara svårigheter att tacklas med redan från ompositioneringens början. De undersökta företagen arbetar på liknande sätt med ompositioneringen av varumärkesprofilen. Eftersom en ompositionering är en långsiktig process, är det svårt att se ett tydligt resultat av företagens respektive förändringar. Det som är viktigt för företagen är att de konsekvent arbetar för att nå de långsiktiga målen och att de inte försöker skapa en snabb lösning för en kortsiktig ökad lönsamhet.A brand is a large part of a successful company’s strategy, and it is vital to protect and maintain the value of the brand. To create and develop a brand, the company needs a coherent strategy for which the brand identity is the core representation of the brand. The brand image represents how the customer perceives the brand through its products, services and communication. It is therefore important for the company to have a clear picture of what they want to communicate on the market, and how they can accomplish that.A brand is like its surroundings, under constant change, and therefore a company always needs to be capable to adapt to be able to grow. The repositioning of a brand can result in an improved brand, which is more relevant both from the consumers’ point of view as from the own company’s and its competitors’ point of views. It is important that a brand is up to date. However, a repositioning of the brand can also come with risks.We have researched two companies in the fashion- and textile industry – Oscar Jacobson and Hemtex. We chose these companies on the basis that they recently repositioned their brands, even if the process is not yet finished, and that they practice in the fashion- and textile industry. Our study is qualitative and based on interviews with representatives from each company.We found that the brand identity can be affected by many activities building brand value, in the reposition process. Following, the brand image is affected by how well these activities are carried out and what outcome they have. The brand image is thus affected of how well and in what way, the consumer perceives the new brand identity.Moreover, we found that the risks with a repositioning of the brand are many and both the companies researched faced obvious difficulties already from the beginning of the repositioning. The researched companies have similar ways of working with the repositioning of the brand. However, it is difficult to see any clear results of the changes, since repositioning is a long-term process. What are important for the companies are to work consistently to reach the long-term goals, and that they are not looking for an easy solution for a short-term growth. / Program: Textilekonomutbildningen

Brands have for a long time been used to identify and distinguish organizations, companies and products, it can be compared to as the soul of a company. A brand extension is a clear channel for product innovation, which can be a powerful tool to hold a competitive advantage. Product innovations can create differentiation; raise the brands characteristic-values, extend the area of use and block competitors.For 25 years, Panos Emporio has had a leading position in the swimwear industry and in spring of 2011 the company launched their first clothing collection for men and woman, and has recently launched an online store. The company is extending their brand and now that they have a new product category they are facing a challenge, which is underlying in our research question: How can Panos Emporio, a swimsuit brand, expand their brand image and identity to their new clothing line? The purpose of this report is to highlight important factors within brand extension that could be of value to Panos Emporio and other companies facing a brand extension.The report is a qualitative study using an abduction methodology where empirical findings have been studied parallel with the theories and vice versa. We have conducted interviews and observations, and have also collected quantitative data in form of a customer interview, to gain an understanding of the reality. We have chosen to examine and observe the brand Panos Emporio by asking questions regarding the company‟s organization, brand identity and image, as well as customer attitudes. The theoretical framework is underlying in our research study, with the initiation of portraying a brands meaning, importance and structure. Furthermore theories of brand extension with an emphasis on approach strategy and its advantages and disadvantages. The empirical chapter includes, information concerning the company´s brand, collections, costumer and retailers, as well as marketing strategies, which is a part of our data presentation.Out of our theoretical and empirical part we came to the conclusion that Panos Emporio should consider making the consumers more aware of the clothing collection before launching more products within a new product category, since the lack of awareness can throw a shadow over the main product and bring down the brand image which in terms affects the brand equity. Having good knowledge regarding the brands attribute, personality, purpose, identity and the relationship with consumers is more important than whether they should extend the brand or not. Companies need to focus on building their brand equity and image, towards the customers first. Authors believe that companies can take great advantages if a strong brand name and relationship is established at first. / Program: Master in Fashion Management with specialisation in Fashion Marketing and Retailing

Corporate Social Responsibility, CSR, kan förklaras som ett företags frivilliga samhällsansvar, där grunden för ett lyckat arbete handlar om att finna balans mellan ekonomiskt, miljömässigt och socialt ansvarstagande. Företagen ska inte bara fokusera på dess lönsamhet, utan också bidra till etisk social och miljömässig förbättring, faktorer som idag har blivit en självklarhet för att bidra till en hållbar utveckling men också för att bygga, stärka och bevara varumärket. Ett varumärke anses ofta vara ett företags främsta tillgång vilket också kan skapa värde för ett företag och på så sätt ses som en konkurrensfördel. Företagets varumärkesimage är i sin tur kundens uppfattning om varumärket och är något kunden skapar på en egen hand. En varierande bild av företaget kan då uppstå, eftersom individer har olika uppfattningar om ett varumärke.Gina Tricot är det företag som ligger i fokus för studien då vi anser att de är ett välkänt varumärke inom fast fashion branschen. Fast fashion är en affärsstrategi vars mål är att reducera ledtiderna från idé till butik och strategin syftar till att tillfredsställa kundernas behov av de senaste trenderna på mycket kort tid.Syftet med rapporten är att få en fördjupad förståelse för vad CSR innebär men också hur CSR kan bidra med positiva effekter och gynna Gina Tricots varumärke och dess varumärkesimage. Rapporten har både kvalitativa och kvantitativa utformningar, där datainsamling har skett genom intervjuer med medarbetare på Gina Tricot och en marknadsundersökning utformad som en enkät till tänkbara konsumenter. Den insamlade empirin har analyserats utifrån de litterära och elektroniska källorna vi använts oss av samt vetenskapliga artiklar. Källorna har behandlat CSR, kundbeteende, varumärke, varumärkesimage och fast fashion branschen. Vi kan utifrån resultatet urskilja en något motsägelsefull ställning till hållbarhet och miljömedvetenhet. Att intresset och den rätta attityden finns framkommer i resultatet, men då ingen av respondenterna anser att man medvetet väljer etiskt och ekologiskt tillverkade plagg, framkommer det även att det finns en problematik och ett glapp mellan attityd och handling. Ytterligare en slutsats vi kan dra utifrån empirin är att CSR kan ge både positiva och negativa effekter på ett företag, där det är viktigt för ett företag att se CSR som ett strategiskt tillbehör till den övriga affärsverksamheten och inte som en genväg till framgång. För att Gina Tricots CSR-arbete ska kunna stärka deras varumärkesimage, krävs både ett välutarbetat CSR arbete men också att Gina Tricot är medvetna om kundernas upplevda varumärkesimage.Corporate Social Responsibility, CSR, can be explained as a company´s willingness to contribute in society where the foundations for a successful job is about finding the balance between economic, environmental and social responsibility. Companies must not only focus on its profitability, but also contribute to ethical social and environmental improvement, factors which has become second nature to contribute to sustainable development but also to build, strengthen and maintain the brand. A trademark is often considered a company's greatest asset, which can also create value for a company and thus be seen as a competitive advantage. The company's brand image is the customer's perception of the brand and is something the customer creates on his own. A different picture of the company may then occur because individuals have different perceptions about a brand.Gina Tricot is the company that is the focus of this study since we believe that they are a well-known brand within the fast fashion industry. Fast fashion is a business strategy that aims to reduce lead times from concept to store and a strategy aimed at satisfying customer needs for the latest trends in a very short time.The purpose of this report is to gain a deeper understanding of what CSR means but also how CSR can contribute to a positive impact and benefit the Gina Tricots brand. The report has both a qualitative and quantitative design where data collection was done through interviews with employees at Gina Tricot and a market research designed as a survey for potential consumers. The collected empirical data is analyzed from literature, scientific articles and electronic sources. The sources have dealt with CSR, customer behavior, brand, brand image and the fashion industry.We can discern from the results somewhat contradictory position on sustainability and environmental awareness. That the interest and the right attitude is evident in the results, but none of the respondents consider to deliberately choose ethically and ecologically produced clothing, it becomes clear that there is a problem and a gap between attitude and action. Yet another conclusion we can draw from the empirical data is that CSR can give both positive and negative effects on a company, where it is important for a company to see CSR as a strategic tool to the rest of the business and not as a shortcut to success. If Gina Tricots CSR work is to strengthen their brand image, it requires both a well-defined CSR work but also that Gina Tricot is aware of customers' perceived brand image. / Program: Butikschefsutbildningen

This thesis examines a relationship between specific marketing activities of the company Red Bull Czech Republic and their impact on consumers (change in brand perception, change in the purchase decision-making). Further more it examines general knowledge of brand communication activities implemented by Red Bull Czech Republic. The theoretical part of the thesis describes terms such as marketing communication concepts and their forms, a brand, SWOT analysis, market segmentation. The second part identifies in detail company Red Bull and its communication activities. The third part described the competitive environment within the Czech market of energy drinks which was also a part of the following SWOT analysis. The basis of the last part of the thesis is analysis of author's own questionnaire research which was a basic source of data for the support of the paper's main objective.

Background: It is important to have a coherent brand identity and brand image, as that facilitate the communication process for the brand. It specifically becomes an issue when consumers do not understand what the brand stands for.Purpose: The purpose of this thesis was to investigate to what extent the brand image of Fjällräven among Swedish consumers is coherent with its brand identity.Method: To fulfil the purpose of this study, the researcher applied a mixed method, indicating that both quantitative and qualitative methods were used. The collection of qualitative data investigating brand identity was retrieved from an interview, along with complementary information from Fjällräven’s official brand book. The quantitative data investigating brand image, was retrieved from Swedish consumers that were aware of the brand. In order to investigate the concepts of brand identity and brand image, an abductive research approach was used, generating a broad overview of the topic. To justify an appropriate target population, a non-probability judgmental sampling technique was used.Conclusion: By combining the results from brand identity along with brand image, the researchers have found that the two concepts are coherent to a medium-strong level. This means that consumers and the company share the same thought about Fjällräven as a brand.

Since its conception, the concept of ‘market orientation’ has been largely regarded as an employee-perceived phenomenon due to its focus on employees as the unit of analysis. The examination of market orientation from customer perspective (‘perceived market orientation’) remains an under-researched topic, particularly within the non-profit sector. The present study seeks to address this research gap through an investigation of the role of ‘perceived market orientation’ in affecting ‘customer participation’ with churches as the research context. The use of churches as a research context has become increasingly common in studies of non-profit and services organisations. Although the implementation of marketing techniques in the church context has been extensive, there has been little examination of the effectiveness of these methods in encouraging church participation. Consequently, previous studies in this area have failed to contribute to a theoretical understanding of how marketing can be used to motivate participation. It is thus apparent that there is a need for more research in this area to examine the potential role of concepts such as ‘perceived market orientation’ and ‘brand image’ in affecting church participation. This research incorporated two stages of research design in the form of qualitative and quantitative techniques. The qualitative phase involved in-depth interviews with Church Goers (CGs) and Non Church Goers (NCGs). Insights gained from the interviews helped the present author to incorporate relevant constructs as predictors of church participation in the conceptual framework. The quantitative phase involved the distribution of self-administered questionnaires using convenience sampling technique. CG respondents were approached through Assemblies of God (AOG) church leaders in Melbourne metropolitan and suburban areas whereas NCG respondents were recruited through newspaper advertisement. A total of 564 usable questionnaires were obtained representing 42% of the total number of respondents approached in both groups. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) were employed to establish construct reliability and validity as well as measurement invariance. Subsequently, the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) technique was employed to analyse the hypothesised relationships between key constructs in the conceptual framework. The results of the study indicate that ‘perceived market orientation’ plays an important role in affecting the church participation of both CG and NCG respondents. An examination of corollary hypotheses reveals that ‘interfunctional coordination’ performs the strongest effect on church participation. Further, ‘customer orientation’ was only found to be significantly associated with church participation in CG group whereas ‘competitor orientation’ was not found to be positively associated with church participation in either group of respondents. The ‘brand image’ construct in the present study was developed to examine the church’s ability in creating a unique brand identity (uniqueness), monitoring brand values (reputation), and managing brand communications (orchestration) from the perspectives of existing (CG) and prospective (NCG) members. The analysis found that ‘brand image’ is a unidimensional construct which is positively associated with ‘perceived market orientation’, ‘perceived benefits’, and ‘church participation’ in both sample groups. The study also examines the significance of ‘perceived benefits’ in affecting church participation. The construct was found to be significantly associated with church participation in both sample groups. Among the three dimensions of ‘perceived benefits’, the construct of ‘social benefits’ was found to perform the strongest effect on church participation in both sample groups. The present study offers significant practical implications for non-profit managers in general and church leaders in particular. Due to the significance of market orientation and brand image in encouraging customer participation, it is recommended that non-profit managers and church leaders embrace market orientation and brand orientation to reach out their target segments more effectively.

This study explores the relationship between two theoretical constructs: brand image and brand equity in the context sports sponsorship. The sporting context for the study was the 2003 Rugby World Cup held in Australia. The research focused on the sponsorship relationship between the New Zealand All Blacks and their major sponsor and co-branding partner, adidas. Keller's (1993, 2003) customer-based brand equity models were the conceptual inspiration for the research, with Faircloth, Capella and Alford's (2001) conceptual model - adapted from the work of Aaker (1991) and Keller (1993) - the primary conceptual model. Data was collected from two independent samples of 200 respondents, utilizing simple random sampling procedures. A bivariate correlation analysis was undertaken to test whether there was any correlation between changes in adidas's brand image and adidas's brand equity as a result of the All Blacks' performance in the 2003 Rugby World Cup. Results support the view postulated by Keller (1993, 2003) that brand image is antecedent to the brand equity construct. Results are also consistent with the findings of Faircloth et al (2001) who found that brand image directly impacted brand equity.

<p>Background: In the XX Winter Olympics 2006 in Torino the Swedish Olympic Team succeeded by winning 14 medals. The best result that Sweden has ever made during a Winter Olympics. The happiness was shortly after mixed with disputes between the Swedish Olympic Committee and Swedish companies. There were companies who wrongly had used the trademark ‘OS’ in their marketing campaigns. The disputes happened because the use of the protected trademarks concerning the Olympic Games are reserved only to the Swedish Olympic Committee’s sponsors.</p><p>Title: Seeking Opinions Concerning… - the Swedish Olympic Committee and its Trademarks.</p><p>Problem: What attitudes do people hold towards the Swedish Olympic Committee after the XX Winter Olympics 2006?</p><p>Purpose: The study aims to get an understanding about if people’s attitudes towards the SOC and its trademarks have changed after what has been written and said in media after the XX Winter Games 2006. In order to reach this understanding I will look at people’s knowledge about the SOC’s trademark, their prior knowledge and thoughts and finally their prior knowledge about the ‘Olympic pizza’.</p><p>Theory: By going from an initial description of the factors that make up a good brand and the different meanings to the word ‘brand’, the reader is taken through different steps to finally in the end see how attitudes are created.</p><p>Method: The study was done with a quantitative method through questionnaires, looking at the problem from the perspective of the Committee who are the ones affected by the results of the study. The collection of data was done through a non-random convenience selection in the community of Storuman with a total number of 76 respondents. Further, the study has a positivistic view and a deductive approach.</p><p>Result: The results were that the respondents’ first thought about the Swedish Olympic Committee was mostly indifferent, it seems like they did not have an opinion. Digging deeper it seems like after what has happened in the media the respondents’ attitudes have changed. There was not a big difference however in the number of people who had had an attitude change after the ‘Olympic pizza’ story compared to those who had not. The ones who had experienced attitude changes had had them towards the negative side.</p>