Westra Wermlands Sparbank är en fristående Sparbank som är verksam i västra Värmland med huvudkontor i Arvika. Bankens affärsidé bygger på att vara lokala, finnas nära till hands för sina kunder och verka för bygden. För att kunna bedriva denna typ av enskild bankverksamhet behövs ändå en omfattande infrastruktur och produktsortiment. Att utveckla egna IT-system och exempelvis fonder är inte tänkbart då detta skulle bli alldeles för dyrt. Genom ett samarbete med storbanken Swedbank löses tidigare nämnda problem, men samarbetet genererar i ett annat problem, nämligen att Swedbank inverkar på Westra Wermlands Sparbanks varumärke och identitet. Syftet med denna uppsats är därför att få en djupare förståelse för varumärkeshanteringen hos Westra Wermlands Sparbank och att undersöka de effekter som uppkommer internt och externt vid ett företagssamarbete, som exempelvis det med Swedbank.   För att få förståelse och kunskap inom ämnet har vi fördjupat oss i teorier kring varumärkets funktioner, brand equity, brand identity – brand image samt kommunikation. Denna teori användes växelvis med metoden då ett abduktivt angreppssätt valdes. Studien är uppbyggd på kvalitativ data utifrån en personlig intervju och tre stycken fokusgrupper. Kontentan i uppsatsen är att Westra Wermlands Sparbank huvudsakligen jobbar teoretiskt rätt internt med uppgiften att hantera sitt varumärke. Vi ifrågasätter dock den något knapphändiga hanteringen av feedback från kampanjer och kundrespons. Den uppfattning som konsumenterna har av varumärket skiljer sig markant från person till person, samtidigt finns det en synbar okunskap hos merparten av respondenterna om banken och dess verksamhet. Externa faktorer såsom samarbetet med Swedbank, referensgrupper m.m. har en betydande roll för den generella uppfattningen, men vi kan likväl inte utesluta att banken själv alltid agerar helt korrekt utåt i sin marknadsföring.

Background – Celebrity endorsement has been researched to a great extent, however the main focus of the previous research has been about the effectiveness and the neg-ative/positive information about the celebrity and the brand. Additionally, previous studies on gender differences have been conducted; however it has not been done in consideration with celebrity endorsement in the fashion industry. Purpose – This study aims to examine if there is a difference between how men and women perceive celebrity endorsement in the fashion industry. The purpose is to gain a deeper understanding of factors that affects how genders perceive celebrity endorsement, and lastly to research if the celebrity endorsement has a positive or negative effect on the brand endorsed. Method – The theoretical framework was tested through focus groups conducted with students from Jönköping University. It was also researched through an online questionnaire that was spread to the author’s personal networks via social media. The questions have been designed according to the AIDA-framework to help address im-portant steps that the consumer goes through. Conclusion – The findings suggests that there is a difference between how men and women perceive celebrity endorsement. The women analyze different cues to a greater extent and tend to be more skeptical, while the men focus mostly on the prominent cues. Moreover, the findings show that both men and women are more at-tentive to a male celebrity endorser than a female celebrity endorser.

The purpose of this thesis is to find a proper positioning strategy for China self-owned car brands in the Chinese market. For this purpose, the authors used the theory about brand positioning, target market and segmentation, brand image, differentiation and general positioning process. What’s more, the authors conducted a questionnaire research, studied the Geely acquisition case, and collected information from consumers’ perspectives to understand the current positioning situation of the Chinese automakers. In the methodology part, limitations of the quantitative and qualitative data are discussed, and the authors presented suggestions for further studies. After gathering empirical data, the authors analyzed the strengths and weaknesses of Chinese car, Geely and Volvo, introduced competitor’s performance to make clear the current situation of China self-owned car brands. From the analysis, the present brand image of Chinese car is low-price and bad-quality in the consumers’ mind. The authors tried to figure out a proper brand image for Chinese car to increase the market share in the domestic market. In conclusion, developing safe car of high quality and targeting the middle-class market is the optimal choice for current China self-owned car brands.

The idea of this thesis originates from the stand point that the understanding of who you are, who you want to be and what impression you actually make, is the start of a successful reciprocal relationship. The thesis solves two tasks. First, it offers a methodology of measuring brand image and brand identity and therefore contributes to the development of the research base. Second, presenting a case-study of a small scale company it applies the methodology and analyzes the congruency between brand image and brand identity from the communication perspective of SMEs. In a result the developed methodology is tested and a contribution to the deeper understanding of brand nature is made.

A trend of environmental consciousness is developing for some years in every market and sometimes gave birth to a sub-market such as the organic-cosmetic market. This market represents an important part of cosmetics in general and major companies can be identified. Marketers have noticed this trend and sometimes use it into their communication strategy but it still has to be studied properly in order to determine its impact on the purchasing behavior of consumers and their perception of the brand. Indeed, we think that this environmental consciousness can challenge the balance between Brand Image and Brand Awareness in this market.   This paper is aiming to explore the impact of this specific trend on the organic-cosmetic market and studies its influence over the Brand Knowledge management, more precisely the relationship between Brand Image and Brand Awareness. In that goal, we chose to make interviews in front of the shops of two companies interacting on this market: The Body Shop and L’Occitane en Provence. Combined with data collected from previous research into a deductive approach, it led us to some general conclusion concerning the level of Brand Image and Awareness of those companies, their relationship and the impact of environmental consciousness on this relationship.   We concluded from those results that the brand L’Occitane en Provence had a slightly lower Brand Awareness than its competitor but its customers had a more important environmental consciousness that led them to this company due to its values and specific type of product. We can then conclude that on such markets impacted with this type of external factor, if the company implements it in its communication strategy or its core values, then its need for Brand Awareness is lower. One can now wonder if this trend in particular or any other external factor can be used in other markets on the same way.

Family business research is a rapidly growing topic of interest. Nevertheless there has been little research explicitly dedicated to the connection between consumers’ and family businesses. This paper gives insight about the influence of the family business brand image and consumers’ purchase intentions. Hereby it was taken into consideration  that  low-involvement and product knowledge can influence this path. This was done by a combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches. The findings showed that consumers associate family business with high quality, passion, heritage, traditions, small companies and craftsmanship. In general these associations do not influence consumers buying behavior. However, specific target groups showed different results. Implications focus on using the family business as a secondary brand image and family businesses should deal with caution when using their origin as a primary brand image.

In today’s society, social media has become a part of many people’s everyday life. Social media can be seen as a new phenomenon with millions of daily users all over the world. Social media can further be defined as a forum where people are able to communicate and interact with each other. This bachelor thesis is based on the social media phenomena; blogs- a forum that cannot be ignored. Internet is today commonly used as an information source, the question is if blogs work in the same way and what influence do blogs have over its receivers? This created the purpose of the research; to describe to what degree consumers are getting influenced over what is being negotiated in blogs. The purpose will be answered with help of a research question; what type of influence do blogs have over consumers? Which further are complemented with three hypotheses. In this research a theoretical framework is presented with the theories; brand image, social media, blogs, word of mouth and opinion leader. To gain empirical evidence and to be able to answer the purpose of the research a quantitative method approach has been performed and the empirical findings where done though a questionnaire. Which was further analyzed, with help from the statistical data program SPSS. The conclusion of the research has developed knowledge in the area, blog and moreover to which degree the forum influences its consumers. It could be established that blog have an impact and a relationship to the variables, brand image, word of mouth and opinion leader.

Background: When it comes to brand communication, gaps can arise. These occur when the brand management’s view of the brand does not match the customers’ Brand image. In order to prevent reputation crises brand managements need to monitor the Brand identity and Brand image and identify possible gaps. Purpose: To identify and analyse what communication gaps that can occur between a company’s Brand identity and customers’ Brand image. Research question: What communication gaps can occur between a company’s Brand identity and the customers’ Brand image? Theory: Marketing Communication, Sender-Receiver model, Brand image and Brand identity focusing on Personality, Positioning, Vision & Culture and Relationship. Method: A case study of the Swedish food company Coop was conducted to investigate the relationship between their Brand identity and the customers’ Brand image. The case study was conducted in two steps; firstly, information concerning Coop’s Brand identity was gathered through in-depth interviews. Secondly, a questionnaire was handed out to Coop’s customers to see whether their Brand image was consistent with Coop’s Brand identity. The aim was to find similarities and dissimilarities between data and thereby identify communication gaps. Results: Several communication gaps were identified between Coop’s Brand identity and the customers’ Brand image when it came to the concepts of Personality, Positioning, Vision & Culture and Relationship. Coop experiences most communication gaps in Relationship, they has not managed to create close relationships with their customers.

The underlying motivation of this paper is the investigation of the impact sport sponsorship has on a brand. As sport sponsorship is scholarly considered to be a powerful brand equity building method, this communication tool gains globally in importance by contributing essentially to business success. While the popularity increases, simultaneously the investments, necessary for an efficient realization, rise. Nonetheless even though sponsorship is frequently applied, the evaluation is mainly based on quantitative terms (e.g. media tracking), neglecting the qualitative impacts. In order to gain meaningful data, which allows generalization, the study is based on the sport sponsorship involvement of Löfbergs Lila AB at the hockey club Färjestad BK. A quantitative research strategy is applied by the conduction of a survey within the pre-defined target audience of hockey affine people. Three propositions from different perspectives are used to investigate the main research question and provide a broader picture of the topic. Therefore in order to answer the research question, Does sport sponsorship especially in terms of brand image and brand awareness in a particular target group affect the sponsor’s brand?, brand awareness, brand image and sponsor-fit are examined separately. The study has shown that brand knowledge (brand awareness, brand image) is directly influenced by sport sponsorship efforts. The findings state a positive impact and associations, whereby no direct effect in terms of customers’ brand loyalty can be observed. Nevertheless according to the in the paper developed conceptual model, an influence on brand loyalty building variables is not dependent on sponsorship efforts, rather on the brand’s underlying product attributes, satisfying customer needs and requirements. In general sport sponsorship is a meaningful tool, but requires integration in a diversified marketing communication-mix in order to tap the full potential.

I dagens samhälle ökar varumärken i betydelse vilket innebär ett ökat behov för företag att ha kunskap om vilken image konsumenter tillskriver deras varumärke. Varumärkesmedvetenhet och köpbeslut är teoretiska områden inom konsumentbeteende som tidigare studerats utförligt. Dock har det saknats studier kring hur varumärkesimage påverkar konsumenters köpbeslut inom livsmedelsbranschen.Köttkonsumtionen i Sverige har ökat under senare år och charkuteriprodukter ses som väsentliga livsmedelsvaror att ha hemma. För att skapa konkurrenskraft på marknaden är det viktigt för företag inom charkuteribranschen att tillhandahålla vetskap om den image konsumenter tillskriver deras varumärke. Det lokala Örebroföretaget Robertsons Charkuteri AB har idag inte en klar bild över vilka som utgör deras kundgrupp och har under de senaste åren känt av en ökad konkurrens och efterfrågade därför en marknadsundersökning gällande hur varumärkesmedvetenheten ser ut bland invånarna i Örebro stad samt vilken image de tillskriver varumärket. Varumärkesmedvetenhet och image kom därför att studeras samt sannolikheten för att varumärkesimage påverkar köpbeslut. Detta genomfördes med hjälp av en enkätundersökning där 200 respondenter i Örebro stad deltog.Studien visar att Robertsons Charkuteri AB har en hög medvetenhet bland Örebro stads invånare och att de tillskrivs imagen kvalitet och svenskt kött. Dessa associationer visar sig vara av betydelse för konsumenter vid köpbeslutet av charkuteriprodukter. Det framkommer även att varumärkesimage påverkar konsumenters köpbeslut, vilket tillför vetskap inom ämnesområdet konsumentbeteende. / In the society today brands are being seen as more valuable which indicate an increased importance for companies to understand what kind of image consumers dedicate their brand. Brand awareness and consumer purchase decision are theoretical areas within consumer behavior, which both have been studied in detail. However, there is a lack of studies about how brand image influence consumer purchase decision in the food industry.The meat consumption in Sweden has increased in the later years and charcuterie products are seen as more essential to have at home. It is of importance for business to have knowledge of how the consumers perceive their image of the brand to be able to compete on the market. The local charcuterie business in Örebro, Robertsons Charkuteri AB, has requested a market survey on how extensive the brand awareness is among the citizens in Örebro and also what kind of image the consumers prescribe to the brand. Robertsons Charkuteri AB has requested a market survey due to the increased competition in the later years. Therefore, brand awareness and brand image is being studied as well as the probability of brand image influencing purchase decisions. The study was conducted through a survey consisting of 200 respondents in Örebro.The study shows that Robertsons Charkuteri AB has high brand awareness among the citizens of Örebro and the consumers associated the brand with high quality and Swedish meat. These were also the highest valued associations in the purchase decision. The result also shows that brand image influences consumers purchase decision. These results contribute an increased knowledge within the area of consumer behavior.