Forskning visar att platsmarknadsföring som strategi används alltmer frekvent. Städer och platser uppfattas inte längre som konstanta utan befinner sig i en ständig utvecklingsprocess och behöver hanteras därefter. Då många platser konkurrerar om bland annat besökare, invånare och studenter är det viktigt att kunna differentiera sitt platsvarumärke och kommunicera platsens identitet på önskat sätt. Tidigare forskning har visat att invånare är en av de viktigaste intressenterna för destinationsmarknadsföringsorganisationer (DMO) på grund av deras inflytande på en plats. Invånarna är dock svåra att styra i önskad riktning då de är en heterogen grupp där åsikter, preferenser och attityder skiljer sig åt. Om detta inte sker finns en risk att invånarna inte känner delaktighet med platsen och dess platsvarumärke. Därför är syftet med denna studie att bidra till förståelsen för invånare som platsvarumärkesambassadörer (PVA) med nytta för DMO:s. Genom en kvalitativ innehållsanalys har 272 stycken Instagraminlägg samlats in från tre olika svenska DMO-konton på Instagram. I ett nästa steg analyserades dessa genom att applicera fyra roller och fyra intentioner som identifierats i tidigare forskning (Uchinaka, Yoganathan & Osburg 2019). Resultatet visar att invånarnas roller och intentioner skiljer sig åt mellan de olika platserna och därför inte kan generaliseras. Dessa variationer diskuteras och slutligen resulterar i förståelse för invånare som PVA:s. Med resultatet som stöd, uppmanar forskarna i denna studie att DMO:s bör intressera sig för invånarna på platsen vars platsvarumärke de verkar för. Det, då det mest effektiva sättet att skapa och bibehålla ett framgångsrikt platsvarumärke är genom samarbete med dess invånare. / In recent years, place marketing as a strategy has been more frequently implemented. Cities and places today are not seen as constant but as continual processes of development, in need of being treated with the dynamic in mind. As many places compete for, among other things, visitors, residents, and students it is of great importance to be able to differentiate and communicate the place's identity. Previous research has shown that residents are one of the most important stakeholders for destination marketing organizations (DMO) due to their influence on a place. However, residents are difficult to steer in the desired direction as they are a heterogeneous group where opinions, preferences and attitudes differentiate. If this does not happen, there is a risk that the residents do not feel involved with the place and its place brand. Therefore, it is crucial for DMO:s to understand the residents of the place in order to work effectively with the place brand. Hence, the purpose of this study is to contribute to the understanding of residents as place branding ambassadors online with use for DMO:s. Through a qualitative content analysis, 272 Instagram posts have been collected from three different Swedish DMO accounts on Instagram. Furthermore, these were analyzed by applying four roles and four intentions identified in previous research (Uchinaka, Yoganathan & Osburg 2019). Findings reveal that residents' roles and intentions differ between places and therefore can not be generalized. This variation is being discussed and the outcome of the discussions is understanding for residents as place brand ambassadors. With support from the result, the researchers of this study urge DMO:s to invest their interest in the residents of the place in order to create and maintain a successful place brand. (This study is written in Swedish.)

Internet med dess sociala nätverk som blivit till mediekanaler har kommit att förändra vårt beteende när det gäller hur vi kommunicerar och vad vi kommunicerar. Det senaste skiftet representeras av förskjutningen från datorn till mobilen dit alltmer aktivitet flyttas. Detta skifte beror på den snabba produktutveckling som skett, där mobiltelefonen idag har kommit att innehålla komponenter tidigare isolerade till datorer. Detta har påverkat företagens marknadsföringsstrategier. Rapporten bygger på meningen att använda äldre sådana, applicerade på nya mediekanaler inte är effektivt. Istället behövs nya strategier och metoder, och den interaktiva, sociala delen i hur företag kommunicerar sitt budskap till målgrupper har blivit allt viktigare. Syftet med denna rapport är att undersöka ett nytt verktyg som drar nytta av den mobila trenden när det kommer till social media och människors nya kommunikationsvanor. Produkten som representerar av det nya verktyget här föremål för analys, är Wrapp’s presentkortsapplikation. Vi syftar med analysen fastställa huruvida verktyget hjälper företag att skapa förespråkare av varumärken så kallade brand advocates. Datainsamlingen och analysen av Wrapp som ett varubyggande marknadsföringsverktyg är begränsad till den amerikanska marknaden och två av partnerorganisationernas Facebook kampanjer. Wrapp möjliggör för företag att ge ut gratis och betalda presentkort till Facebook-vänner genom en mobil och webbaserad applikation. I undersökningen har en intervjustudie där respondenterna representeras av Wrapp-anställda genomförts. I denna framgår  spondenternas uppfattningar om i vilken utsträckning Wrapp’s applikation är ett arumärkesbyggande verktyg för företag, som skapar brand advocates. En analys av Wrapp’s kampanjverktyg har också genomförts, för att se om verktyget visar exponentiell tillväxt och en viral spridningscykel vad det gäller antalet skickade presentkort från ett specifikt varumärke. Resultaten från analysen presenteras och paralleller dras mellan de empiriska resultaten och den teori som presenteras i litteraturen, främst gällande brand advocates, social media marketing, viral marketing och Word-of-mouth, WOM. Resultatet från analysen av kampanjverktyget visar att det på den amerikanska marknaden, ännu inte blivit en strategi som leder till en viral spridning och en exponentiell tillväxt i antalet skickade presentkort. Lärdomar från intervjustudien granskas och presenteras med syfte att komplettera resultatet från kampanjverktygsanalysen. Också för att få en bredare förståelse för vad som skapar brand advocacy kring ett varumärke. Till det kompilerade resultatet tillämpar vi en modell som i rapporten antas beskriva hur rand advocates skapas. Genom att göra detta når vi den huvudsakliga slutsatsen, att Wrapp inte nödvändigtvis skapar brand advocates men, möjliggör handlingen av brand advocacy Modellen som sådan skulle kunna vara ett sätt för företag att undersöka huruvida nya sociala medierna skapar brand advocates, genom att undersöka och utvärdera de byggstenar som behövs för att ha en effektiv strategi vad det gäller opinionsbildning kring varumärket eller brand advocates alternativt handlingen av brand advocacy. / The Internet through social online networks and media has come to change our behavior when it comes to how we communicate and what we communicate. The latest shift is that from desktop to mobile, following the product developments happening with mobile phones making them smarter, portable and connected mini computers. This has had an effect on companies marketing strategies. To simply apply older marketing strategies on this new media channel is not sufficient. Instead new strategies and approaches are needed, and the social element needs to be implemented to a larger extent. The purpose with this report is to investigate a new social mobile marketing tool created by the tech start up Wrapp, and to analyse whether or not the tool helps companies create brand advocates. The data collecting and analysis of Wrapp as a brand advocacy tool is limited to the American market and two of the partner brands’ Facebook campaigns  onducted in this setting. Wrapp enables for companies to give out free and paid gift cards to Facebook friends through and mobile and web based application. In the research an interview study where we asked respondents represented by Wrapp employees about their conceptions on brand advocacy and social media marketing was conducted. An analysis of the Wrapp Facebook campaign tool was also done, to see if the tool shows exponential growth and virality in branded gift cards sent. Results are presented and efforts are made to draw parallels between the empirical findings and theory presented in the literature review concerning mainly brand advocates, social media marketing, viral marketing and WOM. The result from the Facebook campaign tool analysis shows, that the Wrapp tool on the merican market is yet to become viral. From the interviews we examine and present results to complement this finding, also to get a broader understanding on what creates brand advocacy. To the compiled results we apply a model assumed to describe how brand advocates are created. By doing this we reach our main conclusion, Wrapp does not based on our analysis create brand advocates, but the act of brand advocacy. The model as such could be a way for companies to investigate whether or not new social media platforms create brand advocates, by examining and evaluating the building blocks necessary to have an efficient brand advocacy strategy.

<p>Many brands are using celebrities as spokespeople, to enhance the brand image. This investigation aims to research the effects of athlete endorsements on brand image, in particular, whether Nike has been affected by the change in Tiger Woods’ image due to his recent personal life difficulties. Firstly, whether the perceived brand image is concurrent with the brand’s identity, and if not then if the image gap could be caused by the brand’s association to Tiger Woods. The topic is very current as the number of athletes who drastically deviate from their image has increased, at the same time as athlete endorsements are very popular. If changes in the image of an endorser come to affect consumer perception of the brand, then one could assume that there would be a decline in such endorsements.</p><p>In investigating the research question, literature and articles regarding endorsements and brand associations was consulted to gain a deeper understanding of how associations work. Data regarding Nike was collected from secondary sources in order to form an accurate view of the company identity. This would be compared to data collected on consumer attitudes toward Nike and Tiger Woods using a questionnaire sent out to participants with a variety of characteristics so as to be able to see if there were differences in attitudes between segments.</p><p>It was found that there is an image gap between Nike’s desired image and its perceived image. However, the low number of respondents who claimed that their opinions of Nike had changed because of Tiger Woods suggests that his association to Nike is not to blame for the gap. Reasons discussed for the low level of transferability of Tiger Woods’ ‘new’ characteristics to Nike are that the fit between the brand and the athlete is good in the relevant categories, whereas they are irrelevant to the collaboration. Furthermore, the strength of the associations is seen as a factor – it is not strong enough to or too connected to Tiger Woods to transfer – as well as the respondent attributes and background. Finally, the attachment to Nike is seen as possibly a contributing factor, as people who own Nike seem to stay loyal to the brand despite the so called ‘<em>Tigergate’.</em></p>

Many brands are using celebrities as spokespeople, to enhance the brand image. This investigation aims to research the effects of athlete endorsements on brand image, in particular, whether Nike has been affected by the change in Tiger Woods’ image due to his recent personal life difficulties. Firstly, whether the perceived brand image is concurrent with the brand’s identity, and if not then if the image gap could be caused by the brand’s association to Tiger Woods. The topic is very current as the number of athletes who drastically deviate from their image has increased, at the same time as athlete endorsements are very popular. If changes in the image of an endorser come to affect consumer perception of the brand, then one could assume that there would be a decline in such endorsements. In investigating the research question, literature and articles regarding endorsements and brand associations was consulted to gain a deeper understanding of how associations work. Data regarding Nike was collected from secondary sources in order to form an accurate view of the company identity. This would be compared to data collected on consumer attitudes toward Nike and Tiger Woods using a questionnaire sent out to participants with a variety of characteristics so as to be able to see if there were differences in attitudes between segments. It was found that there is an image gap between Nike’s desired image and its perceived image. However, the low number of respondents who claimed that their opinions of Nike had changed because of Tiger Woods suggests that his association to Nike is not to blame for the gap. Reasons discussed for the low level of transferability of Tiger Woods’ ‘new’ characteristics to Nike are that the fit between the brand and the athlete is good in the relevant categories, whereas they are irrelevant to the collaboration. Furthermore, the strength of the associations is seen as a factor – it is not strong enough to or too connected to Tiger Woods to transfer – as well as the respondent attributes and background. Finally, the attachment to Nike is seen as possibly a contributing factor, as people who own Nike seem to stay loyal to the brand despite the so called ‘Tigergate’.