Place branding is complex, and marketers need to find new ways in order of place branding. This thesis concerns communication on social media during an event, and its influence of place brand image. Place brand image is a very wide and complex concept. Therefore, this thesis focuses on three place attributes, namely, people, place, and pulse.   The research purpose is to explore engagement on social media and how that may influence a place brand image. The thesis focuses on visual content in frame of Instagram feeds during an event. The context of this thesis is a case study of Melodifestivalen in Kristianstad. Through a qualitative research approach, Instagram posts were selected and analysed. Moreover, two focus groups were conducted to gain an additional perspective of how the participants perceptions of the city image communicated on Instagram and how the selected Instagram posts may contribute to the image of Kristianstad.   Findings reveal that a city gains attention during an event to promote the city. By using an event as a marketing tool influence a place brand image to a favourable place by representing a allured city centre. Furthermore, the findings reveal that content created during an event is beneficial for a city.  This thesis adds insights to the field of event marketing being used as place branding. The main contribution of this thesis is understanding that an event can successfully be used as a marketing tool to influence a place brand image by stimulating engagement on Social media.

Abstract Background: Most of existing literature in the field of sharing economy has focused on aspects of sustainability and business model structure. Research on brand image in the sharing economy has up until today not been an area of investigation. The purpose of a company’s marketing activities is to influence the perception and attitude towards the brand and stimulate consumers’ purchasing behavior by establish the brand image in consumers’ mind. The peer-to-beer based structure of sharing goods and services in the sharing economy consequently means less involvement from the focal company and presents the challenge of influencing the customers’ perception of the brand. Purpose: Page and Lepkowska-White (2002) developed the ‘Web Equity Framework’ which illustrates factors affecting brand equity in an online environment. By using this framework as a foundation for interviews, the purpose of this study is to understand how brand image is built and uncover factors that affects brand image in the sharing economy. Method: This is a qualitative study using an abductive approach. Seven in-depth interviews have been held with sharing economy companies in Sweden to collect data and gain an understanding in the field of study. Conclusion: The findings of this study show five factors that affect brand image in the sharing economy. The factors in Page and Lepkowska-White’s (2002) framework have been found to affect brand image also in the sharing economy, to different extent. However, two of them have been renamed to more appropriately fit the field of study and one additional factor has been identified, namely Peer trust, which has been illustrated in a revised model. Since trust between consumers becomes more apparent in the sharing economy, this is also one of the factors that impact the way consumers perceive the brand.

Thesis (MTech (Marketing))--Cape Technikon, 2002. / Brand image has long been recognised by marketers and brand researchers alike as an important concept in marketing. Brand image as defined by Keller (1993), is complex and consists of perceptions about a brand as reflected in memory by the brand associations held in consumer memory. These brand associations are the other informational nodes linked to the brand in memory and contain the meaning of the brand for consumers. Brand image in turn will impact on customer-based brand equity which Keller (1993) defmes as the differential effect that overall brand knowledge has on consumer response to the marketing effort of a brand. This study investigates the importance and relevance of brand image and its impact on customer-based brand equity in a high-involvement purchase, using the MBA market as the field of study. Based on the findings of the research conducted by Markinor (2001) regarding the perceptions of business schools by MBA graduates in South Africa, the writer developed an Integrated Brand Management Model which will serve as a conceptual framework for managing the "brand gap", defined as the gap that exists between brand identity (as proposed by the organisation), and brand image (as perceived by the consumer). Furthermore, the model illustrates the dimensions of brand identity that need to be managed on an ongoing basis by brand managers to ensure the success of a brand, and the resultant impact that this management process will have on the various dimensions of brand equity.

This doctoral research aims to investigate the reputation building process of companies and to examine the applicability of western-developed theories about the uses of corporate reputation in a non-western context. It is the first study that synthesises three theories (value creation, strategic resources and corporate communication) to examine the strategic consequences of the uses of corporate reputation. Corporate reputation is an attribute or a set of attributes ascribed to a firm and inferred from the firm’s past actions. It is the belief of market participants about a firm’s strategic character (Weigelt and Camerer, 1988). Also, corporate reputation is the public’s cumulative judgement of a firm over time (Roberts and Dowling, 2002). The review of theoretical literature indicates the uses of corporate reputation by business organizations can be theorized along six dominant paradigmatic perspectives: 1-public relations; 2-marketing; 3-management, 4-economic; 5-sociological; 6-finance and accounting. The uses of corporate reputation in these six paradigms are comprehensively discussed. The objective of this study is to establish the use of corporate reputation in the development of brand image strategy. A review of the uses of the concept of corporate reputation is discussed in detail in chapter 2. The review of the literature also identified a research gap by showing that scarce research has been conducted on how these three main functions (value creation, strategic resources and corporate communication) affect a company’s brand positioning strategy. The following research question thus is proposed: How do (Taiwanese pharmaceutical) companies use their corporate reputation to develop a brand image strategy? The research hypotheses based on three theories (value-based theory, resource-based theory and integrated marketing communication theory) appear in Chapter 3. The research question is constructed theoretically, and then a conceptual model, which begins with three antecedents of corporate reputation and simultaneously illustrates the outcomes of their use, are discussed. The construct of the uses of corporate reputation has three dimensions: value creation, strategic resources and corporate communication. Each of these three dimensions includes several items. The items were proposed based on the previous researchers’ summaries and the qualitative interview. The researcher will then depict the proposed research conceptual framework and a number of hypotheses that will be further investigated and tested. Then the quantative study was completed by providing the data analysis and the results were explained. A multi-stage procedure was involved in this research. First, data examination and screening to prepare for subsequent quantitative analyses and then the descriptive statistics were presented. Second, a reliability test was performed on measurement scales to ensure that they achieve an acceptable level of reliability for further analysis. The resulting solutions were then re-assessed using confirmatory factor analysis. Finally, PLS (Partial Least Squares) was used to test the hypothesized relationships between the research constructs as postulated in the conceptual model, and to assess the overall goodness-of-fit between the proposed model and the collected data set. The researcher then discusses the validation of the measurement model and the research findings. The findings are then further discussed in terms of the contribution to marketing theory and relevance to marketing managers. Then the items of adapted scales were subjected to several rounds of adjustments and were finally found to possess acceptable measurement properties. Reliability and construct validity tests indicated that all scales satisfied widely accepted criteria such as the minimum reliability of 0.7. The results of scale purification will be discussed. And an evaluation of the research hypotheses and their significance are summarized, the findings of all hypotheses testing will be reviewed and compared with previous research. According to the research findings, the hypotheses that value creation, as one dimension of corporate reputation, has a positive impact on brand segmentation, brand differentiation and brand positioning are all accepted. The hypotheses that strategic resource, as one dimension of corporate reputation, has a positive impact on brand segmentation and brand differentiation are rejected. However, the hypothesis that strategic resource, as one dimension of corporate reputation, has a positive impact on brand positioning is accepted. The hypotheses that corporate communication, as one dimension of corporate reputation, has a positive impact on brand segmentation and brand differentiation are both accepted. The hypothesis that corporate communication, as one dimension of corporate reputation, has a positive impact on brand positioning is partially supported. Finally, the hypothesis that the (see in Table 5.18) moderating effect of price policy on corporate reputation has a positive impact on brand image strategy is partially but negatively supported. This thesis makes a significant contribution to the study of corporate reputation of firms in the Taiwanese pharmaceutical industry from the robustness of the qualitative and quantitative data collection.

Title: Are intermediary luxury fashion brands excluding overweight and obese women in the UK, by not offering their sizes among its assortments? Authors: Elin Forslund and Maria Erlandsson Supervisor:Ulf Aagerup Level: Bachelor thesis in marketing (15 ECTS). Spring 2015. Key concepts: Fashion, Intermediary Luxury, Brand Identity, Brand Image, User Imagery and Self-image Congruence. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to review the sizes available in store by three leading intermediary luxury fashion brands offered in the UK and compare it with the actual body shapes of the female UK population. This will show whether intermediary luxury fashion brands exclude overweight and obese women, by not offering their sizes among its assortments. We want to find out whether it is possible to reveal a correlation between existing branding theories and intermediary luxury fashion assortments in the UK. Theoretical framework: Our frame of reference consists of established branding theories and previous research concerning brand identity, brand image, self-image congruence, user imagery, segmentation and luxury branding. Method: This is a cross-sectional research of the descriptive kind.  We have used a deductive research approach and a quantitative research method. Empirical findings: In this chapter we are presenting the results of our study through a table demonstrating the distribution of individuals and garments over weight classes. Also, any significant differences between supply and demand within any of the categories will be revealed through a Z-test. Conclusions: Obese women are by all means excluded by intermediary luxury fashion brands. The overweight women have significantly less jeans to choose from than what should be supported by their relative share of the female UK population. However, it turned out that they are not entirely excluded as they still have an amount of tops to choose from that closely matches their demand. Also we succeeded with identifying a causal correlation between branding theories and the result of our study. Therefore we have managed to provide further knowledge on how intermediary luxury fashion brands can become successful.

Globální kosmetický trh každoročně dosahuje silného růstu v absolutním i relativním vyjádření. Předpovědi jeho dalšího vývoje jsou velmi pozitivní, hovořící o možném pokoření hranice $300 mld. v roce 2011, což by představovalo 16% růst za pětileté období. Pro oblast rychloobrátkového spotřebního zboží jsou to vysoké hodnoty, které jsou mimo jiné faktory odrazem rostoucího světového bohatství a stále zvětšujícího se důrazu spotřebitelů na svůj vzhled. Tato diplomová práce analyzuje kosmetický trh a jeho sekci, trh dekorativní kosmetiky z hlediska faktorů makroekonomických, demografických a spotřebních, přispívajících k modelování tohoto sektoru. Zároveň nastiňuje nové trendy v této oblasti s odkazy na nejmodernější příklady v praxi, a to jak globálně, tak se zaměřením na Českou republiku. Jejím hlavním výstupem je analýza positioningu značek, která čerpá z pozorování a dotazování českých spotřebitelek na základě vlastního výzkumu.

This master thesis deals with Greece destination brand with focus on its image. The goal of the thesis is to evaluate the touristic position of Greece in the Czech Republic, in-depth exploration of perceived destination image and consequent suggestion of more effective communication. The research methods used are quantitative questionnaire survey followed by qualitative focus groups. Outcome of the questionnaire survey is exploration of what the Czech relations to destination of Greece are, evaluation of marketing communication effectiveness, exploration of gap between Greek destination image and identity and evaluation of differences between Greece destination brand image perceived by Greeks and Czechs. Focus groups will lead to further understanding of the problematics. In conclusion, current status evaluation and its confrontation with the potential status will be done.

The main focus of this diploma thesis is brand image and brand identity. The objective of the thesis is to compare how consumers perceive the brand (brand image) with how the brand wants to be perceived itself (brand identity). First part is focused on the process of building and managing strong brands, as well as defining brand image and brand identity theoretically. The practical part presents the brand on which the research was conducted, Proenzi brand, its history on the Czech market, competition and its identity. In the final chapter there are presented results of the research which was conducted among the consumers of Proenzi brand and the comparison of brand image and brand identity. To conclude, there are presented suggestions for improvement and recommendations for future research extensions.

Master thesis named Image of the Orbit brand within the Czech market environment analyses the perception of this chewing gum brand Orbit within end customer. This perception is examined on the basis of the analysis of the brand elements and brand communication and through the field research. The work contains one theoretically and three practically focused chapters. The first chapter provides the theoretical background necessary for understanding the importance of the brand and its image. The performance of the company Wrigley, the chewing gum market description and marketing communications of brand Orbit are the essence of the second chapter. The third chapter consists of the process of the questioning and provides its assessment. The final chapter summarizes the results by using the SWOT analysis and provides the evaluation of outcomes and includes recommendations.

La publicidad cada vez tiene nuevos retos de cómo llamar la atención del consumidor sin que este sienta que interrumpe su privacidad. Gracias a la era digital, el cliente está cada vez más informado y deja de ser un simple receptor para volverse un prosumidor, esto es algo que las marcas han detectado y optaron por un cambio de actitud haciendo que la comunicación no se trate más de un formato unidireccional. La estrategia publicitaria ahora debe generar una relación duradera entre consumidor y marca, haciendo que este obtenga más que solo un simple mensaje. Bajo ese contexto, se hace referencia al Branded Content, una herramienta para transmitir la identidad de marca y lograr una imagen de marca positiva, que consiste en una narrativa que expone la identidad de la marca, lo que esta quiere que su público crea de ella, mediante una historia entretenida, donde el producto es un personaje necesario para el desarrollo de la trama, pero no el principal. Por consecuente, el objetivo de este trabajo de investigación es analizar de qué forma el branded content de la campaña “Don’t Change your dream, change the world” de Nike en Instagram inciden en el cambio de imagen de marca en los no consumidores de Nike, hombres y mujeres de 18 a 25 años. El enfoque del estudio es cualitativo y se aplicarán entrevistas presenciales individuales a personas no consumidoras de Nike para posteriormente analizar e interpretar la imagen de marca. / Advertising increasingly has new challenges of how to get consumer attention without this one that disrupts your privacy. Thanks to the digital age, the customer is increasingly informed and ceases to be a simple receiver to become a prosumer, this is something that brands have detected and opted for a change in attitude by making communication is no longer a format unidirectional. The advertising strategy must now generate a lasting relationship between the consumer and the brand, making them get more than just a simple message. In this context, reference is made to Brand Content, a tool to transmit brand identity and achieve a positive brand image, which consists of a narrative that exposes the identity of the brand, what it wants its audience to create from her, through an entertaining story, where the product is a necessary character for the development of the plot, but not the main one. Consequently, the objective of this research work is to analyze how the brand content of Nike's campaign “Don't change your dream, change the world” on Instagram includes the change of brand image in non-consumers of Nike, men and women from 18 to 25 years old. The focus of the study is qualitative and individual face-to-face interviews will be applied to non-consumers of Nike for further analysis and interpretation of the brand image. / Trabajo de investigación