In an era where Instagram is the new dominating social media platform to reach and communicate with consumers, the demands on companies to differentiate their social media content have increased. Executives seem to avoid social media due to absence of how to manage and learn from it. Therefore, additional in-depth knowledge of how to place apparel products in favourable contexts through images could make marketing efforts more efficient on Instagram. The path this dissertation follows is qualitative with an abductive approach, since the aim of this dissertation is to create an in-depth understanding of what image attributes influence and motivate consumers on Instagram. Primary data have been produced through three semi-structured focus group interviews along with secondary data collected from five apparel brands’ Instagram accounts. This thesis takes its ground in consumer behaviour and theories of visual content, but does not rely on theory alone, as it would have prevented findings of new insights. Findings of previous research on how visual content influence consumers reinforced our research study even when displayed in the forum of Instagram. Additionally, the results of this dissertation stress the importance of placing the product in a relevant context, to a visually appealing background and preferably shown on a human being. These findings may be useful as guidance for apparel companies using Instagram as a promotional tool, as well as for companies who are planning to do so.

The current market for apparel retail goods is continuously getting more competitive due to the increasing amount of actors in the field. In order to stand out in the complex and dynamic market branding has emerged to be companies’ top priority because brands are increasingly becoming more valuable assets to companies’ business performance. However, the topic of brand management usually lacks the consideration regarding practical aspects because of the questions of academics’ access and exposure to the field. Also, it has been said that one of the common obstacles in the Finnish apparel and textile industry is the lack of knowledge in branding and thus, more should be known about branding and the common perceptions of individuals who are working with branding. In light of the above, the purpose of this thesis is to discover and expand knowledge on how Finnish apparel brand managers currently perform branding when managing a Finnish apparel brand. This study is composed of a literature review and an empirical research. In the literature review, issues related to branding are investigated. Brands, brand managers’ work tasks and the changes in today’s branding environment are all considered. In the empirical research the data was collected through semi-structured interviews with five Finnish apparel brand managers, who are managing a Finnish apparel retail brand. Three central themes, a general understanding of an apparel brand and branding, brand managers’ work related tasks and brand managers’ main challenges in branding, were formed based on the various perceptions that research participants associated with branding and managing an apparel brand. The thematic orientations were similar between all of the participants, but some different perceptions occurred when studying the themes in more detail. Finnish apparel brand managers perceive an apparel brand from slightly different angles but they attach similar characteristics to their managed brands such as Finnishness, sustainability and story-telling. All of the Finnish apparel brand managers focus on creating and maintaining an identity for a trademark or products that are offered and ensuring consistency and clarity in all actions around the managed brand. In order to maintain the Finnish apparel brands, the Finnish apparel brand managers carry out several work tasks that revolve around the brand. Also, Finnish apparel brand managers take the branding environment into consideration while managing a Finnish apparel brand including for instance the effects of digitalization and sustainability issues. The challenges of branding are related to implementation of the brand strategy and to communicational issues of the brand message. The findings of this study may assist the practitioners in the field in understanding the importance of branding from a broad perspective and analyzing the managed brand as an integral part of the ever changing branding environment. Also, the results may help to understand the value of establishing a consistent brand strategy as well as understanding the importance of the consumers.

While corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure has proliferated in the apparel industry since the 1990s, CSR communications research remains underdeveloped. While the extant literature investigates how brands utilise CSR reports and websites to communicate CSR, little attention has been given to other communication channels. In response, this thesis explores how apparel brands use different corporate communication channels to communicate CSR to stakeholders. Using ethnographic content analysis, the CSR reports, corporate websites and Facebook posts of thirty apparel brands were analysed. Findings indicate that brands approach CSR communication strategically with approximately two-thirds of brands consistently using the same channel combination for each CSR topic, while the remaining third employ a dynamic approach, using different channel combinations to discuss different CSR topics. While CSR reports and websites show a typically moderate-high level of utilisation for the discussion of CSR topics, the same CSR topics are considerably less likely to be discussed over Facebook. Facebook CSR communication is generally selective, with contentious issues seldom addressed via this channel. There is little consistency between brands in how they approached CSR communication, with each brand employing a combination of strategies to legitimise their business practices and demonstrate their good corporate citizenship. This study empirically supports and extends research conducted on single channel CSR communications of apparel brands and suggests that brands are cognizant of the business case for CSR as well as the repercussions of poorly executed CSR communication.

Fashion apparel industry has been connected to detrimental social consequences, particularly in developing countries. In this case, tier one suppliers are in a unique position to play a critical role in addressing these concerns because they are the key in between brand and rest tiers and can apply sustainable practices that promote ethical/responsible production as tire one suppliers are conduction their production operation with the help of a huge human force. By collaborating with first/tier one suppliers to prioritize social sustainability, fashion apparel firms can strike a balance between their own ambitions, social goals and, while also reducing the dangers of exploitation and unfavorable publicity.

This study investigated the influence of brand incongruity on females’ perception of the properties of bi-national apparel products. A survey was conducted across Tshwane, a major urban area in South Africa, to provide empirical evidence of female consumers’ reliance on brands in the context of an emerging economy where global brands have become widely available and easily accessible in recent years. Data was collected by means of convenient sampling and through self completion of a structured questionnaire by 322 willing, working females. Data analysis involved descriptive statistics, factor analysis, ANOVAs and post hoc tests. This study confirmed the significance of brand names as a cue of the functional performance related properties of female apparel and concluded that the relevance of brands for status related purposes is secondary to females’ use of brands to infer the functional and performance attributes or to deduce the eco friendliness of apparel. This was true for all the age, income, and education levels or population categories. Although extant research confirms the importance of brands to convey status and to boost consumers’ self image, i.e. serving as an extension of an individual’s self, this study revealed that females do not primarily use brands for status purposes. Brands are mostly trusted to provide good fit, durability, comfort and good quality. Consumers do not necessarily seem familiar with the majority of apparel brands that are widely advertised. However, the majority of consumers preferred the country of manufacture (COM) and the country of origin (COO) of brands to match. Overall, they preferred brands originating from Western countries as the COM, and were more approving of locally manufactured goods than apparel manufactured in Eastern countries. As a simplifying strategy, consumers’ ignorance about the COM of global brands is probably addressed by opting for brands associated with Western COM. Brand incongruence may therefore have noticeable consequences for brand equity in a highly competitive global market and this should be addressed through clever marketing initiatives to prevent dismay and brand switching. / Dissertation (MConsumer Science)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2014 / Consumer Science / unrestricted