Últimamente, la industria de la publicidad ha empleado métodos nuevos para fortalecer vínculos entre las marcas y sus consumidores. Acerca de cómo lograr este efecto de forma positiva, investigaciones han estudiado las acciones publicitarias enfocadas en generar experiencias de marca. Sin embargo, son pocos los estudios que profundizan el conocimiento de la importancia de crear brand experience a través de tecnologías innovadoras de comunicación, como la realidad virtual (RV). La presente investigación explora la manera en que el uso de RV en publicidad ayuda en la generación de experiencias de marca. Se utilizó una metodología cualitativa de diseño fenomenológico, con profesionales publicitarios de la ciudad de Lima. Además, el alcance exploratorio del análisis siguió un proceso de codificación descriptiva. Se evidenció que las propiedades de la RV, como inmersión, presencia y sus capacidades sensoriales son cruciales para promover brand experience con mayor intensidad. Esta categoría de experiencias de marca virtuales influye en la imagen de marca, afectan las intenciones de compra y, sobre todo, son un elemento constructor de fidelidad de marca. / Recently, the advertising industry has implemented new methods to improve the relationship between brands and their consumers. To understand how to achieve this effect in a positive way, several studies have turned to the examination of advertising actions aimed at boosting brand experience. However, there are few studies that deepen the knowledge of the importance of creating brand experiences through innovative communication technologies such as virtual reality (VR). The present research explores how the use of VR in advertising helps in the generation of brand experiences. A qualitative methodology of phenomenological design was used with advertising professionals in the city of Lima. In addition, the exploratory scope of the analysis followed a descriptive coding process. It was evidenced that the properties of VR, such as immersion, presence and its sensory capabilities are crucial to promote brand experiences with greater intensity. This category of virtual brand experiences influences brand image, affects purchase intentions and, above all, builds brand loyalty. / Tesis

Titel: Skylta med framgång – En kvalitativ studie om hur konsumenter upplever digital skyltning i servicemiljön Författare: Jonatan Eriksson &amp; Philip Svensson Handledare: Joachim Timlon Examinator: Bertil Hultén Kurs: Examensarbete 30hp, Civilekonomprogrammet inriktning marknadsföring, Linnéuniversitetet Kalmar, VT 2016. Forskningsfråga: Hur upplever konsumenter digital skyltning i olika servicemiljöer? Syfte: Syftet med detta examensarbete är att beskriva och analysera digital skyltning och dess påverkan på upplevelser i olika servicemiljöer. Denna påverkan ska undersökas utifrån mottagarens perspektiv. Vi vill tillhandahålla rekommendationer som är applicerbara på vårt samarbetsföretag, men också andra likvärdiga distributörer av digital skyltning. Dessa rekommendationer ska innehålla hur en sådan distributör bör kommunicera sitt erbjudande för att få potentiella köpare att investera i digital skyltning och hur den icke-finansiella avkastningen av investeringen ser ut. Metodik: Detta examensarbete har haft en kvalitativt inriktad fallstudie med en kombination av en deduktiv- och induktiv ansats. Med basering i litteraturen har en empirisk undersökning utförts genom semi-strukturerade fältintervjuer med konsumenter i de undersökta servicemiljöerna. Det empiriska materialet som erhölls analyserades genom en kvalitativ dataanalys. Resultat &amp; slutsatser: Konsumenter upplever digitala skyltar som modernare och mer teknologiska än vanliga skyltar, vilket leder till att de förväntar sig mer av skyltningen. Examensarbetets slutsats är att upplevelsen som konsumenten har av den digitala skyltningen är mer komplex än vad som tidigare identifierats. Teoretiska och praktiska bidrag: Examensarbetets teoretiska bidrag är en insats inom forskningen kring digitala skyltar ur mottagarens perspektiv. Utöver detta finns ett teoretiskt bidrag i det identifierade surprisförväntade behovet, vilket inte återfinns i tidigare forskning. Examensarbetets praktiska bidrag är insikter i hur företag kan utforma sin digitala skyltning för att skapa en positiv upplevelse för konsumenten. Det bidrar också med insikter som examensarbetets samarbetsföretag och andra distributörer av digital skyltning kan använda i sin kommunikation med potentiella investerare. Nyckelord: Digital skyltning, skyltning, upplevelser, varumärkesupplevelse, servicemiljö. / Title: Signs of success – A qualitative study inquiring how consumers experience digital signage in the servicescape. Authors: Jonatan Eriksson &amp; Philip Svensson Mentor: Joachim Timlon Examiner: Bertil Hultén Course: Master thesis 30 credits. Degree of Master of Science in Business and Economics, Marketing, Linnaeus University, Kalmar, Spring 2016. Research question: How do consumers experience digital signage in different servicescapes? Purpose: The purpose of this master thesis is to analyze digital signage and its affect on experience in different servicescapes, from a consumer perspective. We want to provide recommendations, which are applicable on the organization we have worked with, as well as other distributors of digital signage. These implications contains how a distributor of digital signage can communicate its offer in order to gain new investors. Moreover, the implications also comprehends the non-financial return of investment of these endeavours. Methodology: This master thesis is a qualitatively-oriented case study with a combination of a deductive- and inductive approach. Based on previous literature, the empirical examination has been done by conducting semi-structured field interviews with consumers in the specific servicescape, of which has been investigated. The empirical findings that was gained were analyzed through a qualitative data analysis. Results &amp; conclusions: Consumers are experiencing digital signs as modern and more technological than analogue signs, which leads to greater expectations of signage. Thus, the conclusion of this master thesis is that the consumer experience of digital signage is more complex than what has been previously identified. Theoretical and practical contributions: The theoretical contributions of this master thesis are inputs into the research of digital signage in a consumer perspective. In addition, there has been an identification of the surprise-expected need, which cannot be found in prior research. The practical contributions consist of insights in how organizations can create a positive consumer experience through digital signage. Moreover, it consists of implications to distributors of digital signage on how to communicate this to potential investors. Keywords: Digital signage, signage, experience, brand experience, servicescape. / <p>D-uppsats för civilekonomprogrammet.</p>

Authors: Adrian Dilaver and Mario Oreski Tutor: Urban Ljungquist Examiner: Anders Pehrsson Purpose: The purpose of this study the relationship between brand experience, brand trust  and brand loyalty. Research questions: What type of relationship does brand experience have with brand loyalty? How does brand trust affect the relationship between brand experience and brand loyalty? Methodology: A descriptive research design with a quantitative approach was conducted, utilizing an online questionnaire with a total of 113 respondents. Conclusion: The findings of this research partially supports that sensory-, intellectual- and behavioral experience have a positive- and direct relationship with brand loyalty. Affective experience did not have a positive relationship with brand loyalty, not even when tested separately. The mediating variable in this study (brand trust), also partially mediated the relationship between sensory-, intellectual- and behavioral experience and brand loyalty. However, brand trust did not mediate the relationship between affective experience and brand loyalty. / <p>Acnkowledgments</p><p>This study could not have been conducted without the help of several people. Firstly, we would like to thank Urban Ljungquist for his guidance and assistance throughout this process. We would also like to thank Anders Pehrsson for giving us valuable feedback and input during the seminars. Further, we want to thank all of the respondents who participated in our survey and made it possible for us to conduct our research. Lastly, the researchers would like to thank each other for supporting and encouraging one another during this process.</p><p>Linnaeus University  </p><p>Växjö 26th of May 2017</p>

Denna studie syftar till att ge en överblick och förståelse kring hur modeföretag arbetar med varumärkesbyggande via event. Studien syftar också till att undersöka och tillföra en djupare förståelse om varumärken och event som fenomen. Varumärken används ofta av människor för att visa en tillhörighet och ekonomisk status, inte minst inom modebranschen. Den påverkan event har på varumärken har tidigare studerats i förhållande till sportevent, medan forskningen kring modebranschen är begränsad. Detta trots att event ofta förekommer inom modebranschen. Därmed skrivs denna uppsats för att tillföra mer kunskap inom denna forskningslucka. En studie genomfördes baserat på intervjuer med flera modeföretag och varumärkesexperter i Sverige och USA. Svaren från intervjuerna analyserades sedan i förhållande till de valda teorierna som rör både event och varumärken. Teorierna som använts är eventmarknadsföring, varumärkesupplevelse, organisationsidentitet, konsumentbaserat varumärkesvärde och översättningsteori. De resultat som framkom av studien presenteras i en modell med de nyckelfaktorer som framkommit vara viktiga för ett lyckat event. För att besvara frågeställningen är slutsatsen som presenteras att event kan påverka varumärkesbyggande, men vilket sätt det förstärks på är svårt och resurskrävande att mäta. Vid slutet av denna uppsats kommer läsaren att ha en starkare kunskap och förståelse om varumärken och event, samt en övergripande bild kring hur dessa två fenomen är anslutna. / This study aims to give an overview and understanding of how the fashion companies are working with brand building through events. The study also aims to examine and provide a deeper understanding of brands and events as phenomenon. Brands are often used by people to show belonging and economic status, not least in the fashion industry. The impact event has on brands has previously been studied in relation to sporting events, while research in the fashion industry is limited. This despite the fact that the events often occur in the fashion industry. Thereby this paper is written to provide more knowledge in this research gap. A study was conducted based on interviews with several fashion companies and brand experts in Sweden and the USA. The responses from the interviews were later analysed in relation to the chosen theories concerning both the events and brands. The theories that have been used are event marketing, brand value, organizational identity, consumer based brand equity and translation theory. The findings from the study are presented in a model with the key factors emerged as important for a successful event. To answer this paper’s question, the conclusion is presented that events can affect brand building, but how it is strengthen is difficult and resource-demanding to measure. By the end of this paper, the reader will have a greater knowledge and understanding of brands and events, as well as an overview of how these two phenomena are connected.

Os consumidores da era da Internet estão cada vez mais informados, ativos, com mais opções de escolhas, e, por isso, mais exigentes e difíceis de satisfazer. Atualmente, as empresas procuram oferecer experiências junto com seus produtos e serviços buscando gerar valor para o cliente. A co-criação de valor acontece quando o consumidor cria produtos e experiências em trabalho conjunto com a empresa ou marca. Essa prática vem sendo tratada na literatura como estratégia da empresa, mas há poucos trabalhos publicados sobre co-criação do ponto de vista dos clientes. Esta dissertação tem o objetivo de entender como se dá o envolvimento com o processo de co-criação a partir da ótica dos consumidores, buscando contribuir para a lacuna de conhecimento sobre o tema. Um quadro teórico conceitual foi montado a partir da literatura sobre co-criação, sobre experiência de marca e sobre atitudes, identificando os conceitos fundamentais para se entender o fenômeno sob análise. Tal quadro foi base para realização de nove entrevistas em profundidade com consumidores que participaram de um caso de co-criação e analisadas por meio da técnica de análise de conteúdo. Os resultados apresentaram 31 categorias relacionadas à co-criação, destacando entre elas 20 sentimentos distintos gerados a partir das experiências vivenciadas pelos consumidores. Foram identificados elementos antecedentes do comportamento co-criador, destacando atitudes positivas para a realização de ações em ambientes presenciais, interação entre empresa-consumidor, consumidor-consumidor e inspirações da empresa para incentiva novas ideias. O grupo influenciador representado por professores e o tempo como fator limitante no controle percebido dos consumidores completam os antecendentes encontrados sobre o comportamento co-criador. A contribuição do trabalho se deve ao fato de capturar experiências e impressões do tema co-crição sob a perspectiva dos próprios consumidores co-criadores. / Consumers of the Internet age are increasingly informed, active, with more options to choose, and therefore, they are more demanding and difficult to be satisfied. Currently, companies seek to offer experiences with their products and services to the generate value for their customer. The co-creation of value occurs when the consumer creates products and experiences together with the company or brand. This action has been studied in the literature as a company\'s strategy, but there are few published studies on co-creation from the customer\'s point of view. This dissertation aims to understand how is the process of co-creation from the consumers perspective, seeking to contribute to the lack of studies on this subject. The theoretical concepts were studied from the literature of co-creation, of brand experience and of attitudes, aiming to identify the main concepts to understand the phenomenon studied. Such framework was the basis to conduct in-depth interviews with nine consumers who participated in a case of co-creation, the interviews were analyzed with the content analysis technique. The results presented 31 categories related to co-creation, highlighting, among them, 20 distinct feelings generated from the consumers\' experiences. Antecedents elements of the co-creator behavior were identified, emphasizing the positive attitudes to perform actions in face-to-face environments, the business-consumer and consumer-consumer interactions, and the company inspirations to encourage new ideas. The group of influencers, represented by teachers, and time as a limiting factor of the consumers perceived control complete the antecedents found on the co-creator behavior. The contribution of this work are the experiences and impressions captured from the co-creation subject from the perspective of consumers that have been co-creators.

Background: During the last decade, retail businesses have realized the importance of creatinga strong brand to be able to differentiate in a fierce market. However, having a strong brand isno longer enough to survive in the long run and gain a large customers base. Especially in theretail and fashion industry where many products fulfill the same need for the customer, making it important to adapt to changes on the market and stand out in the crowd. This has lead to the wide variety of brands that can be found and an intensified competition. Therefore, the key factor for building a long-term relationship is through customer brand relationship. A literature review showed that the most important variables needed to build this relationship are brandexperience, brand satisfaction and brand trust. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate how brand experience, brand satisfaction and brand trust effect brand loyalty in Växjö, Sweden. Hypotheses:H1: Brand experience has a positive effect on brand loyalty.H2: Brand satisfaction has a positive effect on brand loyalty.H3: Brand trust has a positive effect on brand loyalty. Method: This study was based on a deductive and quantitative research approach withempirical data conducted from 239 respondents to either accept or reject the stated hypotheses. Result and conclusion: According to the empirical data, the stated hypotheses were acceptedand imply that 41.2 percent of brand loyalty can be explained by brand satisfaction, brand trustand brand experience. However, for retail businesses within the fashion industry to ensurebrand loyalty from the customers, brand satisfaction is the main focus.

Nowadays, the luxury market is experiencing an intensive competition trend. Business is hard to survive from distinguish itself from other brands. Creating superior customer experience seems to be one of the vital objectives to remain competitive advantage in current retailing environments. This study was designed to investigate differences between levels of loyalty, perceived brand experience and retail experience, among shoppers from a luxury brand. Data for this study were collected from a convenience sample of 200 participants who were selected with personally experienced of a luxury brand. Descriptive statistics were compiled on data for all respondents. Data were analyzed by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to further assess the reliability of the scale. In addition, structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to observe the relationships among the constructs and to test the remaining hypotheses. Results of the study demonstrated differences among brand and retail experience that suggested as drivers to afford experience to customer that successfully effectively affacting customer¡¦s emotion positively towards a significant luxury brand. Furthermore, the degree of expectation fulfillments generates satisfaction which, in turn intensifies intentions toward repatronage decision in the future. Therefore, both brand experience and retail experience embrace valuable feedback and feedforward to brand development strategies and assist in achieving a mutually beneficial commitment for the brand to gain the edge.

Marketers have long observed, or at least assumed, that people buy certain products or brands as a means of expressing themselves. Marketing researchers have studied this phenomenon from the perspective of "self-congruity," assuming that a fit between the consumer's understanding of self (i.e., self-image) and the brand's image (or "brand personality") should drive the consumer's purchase behavior. This stream of research has vigorously explored the relations between the fit (i.e., "self-brand image congruity" or "self-congruity") and various behavioral outcomes. Nonetheless, this research stream has not succeeded in finding clear and strong evidence of the assumed effects on such a vital outcome as emotional brand attachment. Moreover, little research has directly explored the relations between self-congruity and emotional brand attachment. In this context, the main purpose of this dissertation is to shed light on this little understood relationship. Specifically, this research proposes that consumers' brand experience and self-congruity jointly create the strong driving force that directs consumers to an emotional attachment to the brands. Here, brand experience is conceptualized as the positive impact of brand-related stimuli or the "magnitude" of consumer responses to the stimuli that reflects a consumer's past interactions with brands or brand-related information. On the other hand, self-congruity can be understood as the "direction" that indicates which brand image a consumer wants to go with. The existing research has focused exclusively on the "direction." Taking the "magnitude" into account, this research aims to develop the theory that explains the assumed effects of self-congruity on emotional brand attachment as well as clearly demonstrate the effects, by proposing the interaction effects between self-congruity and brand experience. By synthesizing multiple research streams that have been recently growing, a comprehensive explanation was developed to explicate how consumers' perception of self-brand image fit and their past interactions with brands affect the formation of emotional brand attachment. In order to test the hypotheses that were derived from the theory, data were collected from 397 U.S. consumers using an online survey. The proposed interaction effects were clearly detected, along with the direct effects of self-congruity on emotional brand attachment, which the previous study had not been able to identify. The research revealed that brand experience boosts the positive effects of self-congruity on emotional brand attachment.

Os consumidores da era da Internet estão cada vez mais informados, ativos, com mais opções de escolhas, e, por isso, mais exigentes e difíceis de satisfazer. Atualmente, as empresas procuram oferecer experiências junto com seus produtos e serviços buscando gerar valor para o cliente. A co-criação de valor acontece quando o consumidor cria produtos e experiências em trabalho conjunto com a empresa ou marca. Essa prática vem sendo tratada na literatura como estratégia da empresa, mas há poucos trabalhos publicados sobre co-criação do ponto de vista dos clientes. Esta dissertação tem o objetivo de entender como se dá o envolvimento com o processo de co-criação a partir da ótica dos consumidores, buscando contribuir para a lacuna de conhecimento sobre o tema. Um quadro teórico conceitual foi montado a partir da literatura sobre co-criação, sobre experiência de marca e sobre atitudes, identificando os conceitos fundamentais para se entender o fenômeno sob análise. Tal quadro foi base para realização de nove entrevistas em profundidade com consumidores que participaram de um caso de co-criação e analisadas por meio da técnica de análise de conteúdo. Os resultados apresentaram 31 categorias relacionadas à co-criação, destacando entre elas 20 sentimentos distintos gerados a partir das experiências vivenciadas pelos consumidores. Foram identificados elementos antecedentes do comportamento co-criador, destacando atitudes positivas para a realização de ações em ambientes presenciais, interação entre empresa-consumidor, consumidor-consumidor e inspirações da empresa para incentiva novas ideias. O grupo influenciador representado por professores e o tempo como fator limitante no controle percebido dos consumidores completam os antecendentes encontrados sobre o comportamento co-criador. A contribuição do trabalho se deve ao fato de capturar experiências e impressões do tema co-crição sob a perspectiva dos próprios consumidores co-criadores. / Consumers of the Internet age are increasingly informed, active, with more options to choose, and therefore, they are more demanding and difficult to be satisfied. Currently, companies seek to offer experiences with their products and services to the generate value for their customer. The co-creation of value occurs when the consumer creates products and experiences together with the company or brand. This action has been studied in the literature as a company\'s strategy, but there are few published studies on co-creation from the customer\'s point of view. This dissertation aims to understand how is the process of co-creation from the consumers perspective, seeking to contribute to the lack of studies on this subject. The theoretical concepts were studied from the literature of co-creation, of brand experience and of attitudes, aiming to identify the main concepts to understand the phenomenon studied. Such framework was the basis to conduct in-depth interviews with nine consumers who participated in a case of co-creation, the interviews were analyzed with the content analysis technique. The results presented 31 categories related to co-creation, highlighting, among them, 20 distinct feelings generated from the consumers\' experiences. Antecedents elements of the co-creator behavior were identified, emphasizing the positive attitudes to perform actions in face-to-face environments, the business-consumer and consumer-consumer interactions, and the company inspirations to encourage new ideas. The group of influencers, represented by teachers, and time as a limiting factor of the consumers perceived control complete the antecedents found on the co-creator behavior. The contribution of this work are the experiences and impressions captured from the co-creation subject from the perspective of consumers that have been co-creators.

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.