As technology continues to affect the business sector, many companies have been faced with the nesessity of transformation. Adapting to a new, more Internet based society im-plies that companies are venturing into new market channels to get their products or ser-vices out to the consumers. Simultaneously as many companies are digitalizing, they are also launching or planning to launch brand extensions. Combining the two phenomenon’s we get a corporate situation that is vaguely explored, namely how a brand extension be-tween market channels work. Further more, how can value be transferred in this process? The purpose of this thesis is to further investigate the phenomenon described above and to gain more understanding about the new situation. Therefore, the authors have chosen to conduct an empirical investigation exploring how a company can transfer brand value to a new online product or service. This was done in cooperation with the company Eniro that recently have focused their efforts from their traditional printed market channel into a digital brand extension. During the study 15 in-depth interviews with small to medium sized companies were performed, and backed up with complementary communication with managers at Eniro. Four research questions were formulated to serve as a read thread throughout the work. The main aim was to evaluate brand equity of the traditional product to then compare if this brand equity had been transferred to the new online extension. After having performed the in depth interviews with representatives from the various companies, the authors could conclude that the original product of the printed directory with the company/person Gula Sidorna held stronger brand equity than the online exten-sion despite the company’s effort to promote the extension. The authors believe the rea-sons for this could be that during the process of extending the brand, some strategic deci-sions were made that did not enable the parent brand value to be transferred to the new extension. There were however value in the new extension in terms of simplicity and speed. Being able to quickly respond to the new and dynamic market where speed to market can be an important advantage was part of the positive associations for eniro.se. In the discussion regarding the main issue of transferring brand value to a digital platform the authors found that one of the most vital aspects is having clear communication within the organisation, sending out a clear message in marketing activities, not forgetting to emphasize reliability and stability to ensure that people in all ages feel inclined to use the digital product.

Abstract Date May 29th, 2009 Course Master Thesis EFO705, International Marketing Tutor Daniel Tolstoy Authors Thi Bich Ngoc Nguyen Thi Xuan Thu Nguyen Title Brand Launching and Sustaining in a Developing CountryPurpose The project is to investigate the Brand Launching and Sustaining in a The Case Study of Honda on Vietnam Motorcycle Market developing country through the study on how Honda has successfully launched and sustained its Brand on the Motorcycle Market of Vietnam. Problems Honda's Brand Launching campaign and the company's strategies and initiatives to Sustain its Brand on the Motorcycle Market of Vietnam. Methodology The realistic approach and case study method are to be applied. The information should be gathered through numerous sources: primary data from the email qualitative interviews with the managers of Honda Motorcycle Vietnam, and the email quantitative surveys among Vietnam's Honda Motorcycle users; secondary data from the articles in a variety of newspapers and magazines as well as websites. Conceptual Model The contents covered in the project are Brand Launching and Sustaining. In particular, theories related to Brand Launching in terms of Brand Identity and Brand Positioning, as well as Brand Sustaining with respects to Brand Growth and Brand Maturity should be investigated and analysed. In addition, what is of significance importance is the base of the company's Branding Strategies -the business environment of the destination country. Therefore, the disseration should thoroughly investigate the Grasp of the Market including Market Assessment (Government Policies, Demand Conditions and Market Opportunities) and Communications (Marketing and PR Activities and Social Corporate Responsibility) which serve as the foundation for the firm's market-based or fully tailored Branding Strategies to the specific conditions or characteristics of the destination nation. Findings Honda has adopted appropriate Branding Strategies (Brand Identity, Positioning, Growing and Sustaining) on Vietnam Motorcycle Market. The firm has identified its Brand as true Made-in-Japan products of high quality and reasonable price. It serves as 'the power of dreams' created in an ideal corporate culture and environment friendly working condition which is committed to advanced technology and society orientation. Honda Brand has been positioned to satisfy the needs for a transportation means of reliability, long duration, safety, hi-tech, fuel saving and environment protection of the middle and high class customer groups in Vietnam. To compete with such rivals as Yamaha, Suzuki, SYM and Piaggio, Honda has adopted proper Growing Strategies with Cub and Scooter categories including a range of product lines. In addition, the company has implemented appropriate Sustaining Strategies focusing on Communication Efforts and Influencer Proximity with a variety of Marketing and PR activities, Safety Driving Plan and Social Activities ranging from Environmental Preservation, Educational Development, Safety Driving Support Activities to Donation and Charity Activities. Actually, Honda's Branding strategies have been fully tailored to the specific market conditions of Vietnam. Conclusion Honda has gained the leading position on Vietnam Motorcycle Market since 1996 when the company penetrated into the country. Honda Brand has received great love from Vietnamese customers and become more than a Brand, but a citizen of Vietnam who 'strives to become a company that the society wants to exist'. Recommendation Honda Brand success should only be maintained when the firm is managed to constantly strengthen Honda Brand itself as well as identify and fix the shortcomings: keep serving as a good Vietnamese citizen, be consistent with the company's reasonable pricing strategy, improve the firm's customer relationships and pay more attention to the counterfeit brand defense. Lessons Honda's great achievements in Vietnam offer valuable lessons for the firms who desire to successfully brand in Vietnam in particular and developing countries in general: Concerning Brand Launching (Brand Identity and Positioning), the company should invest in Marketing and PR activities, adopt Reasonable Price and Localization strategies, pay attention to Customer Relationship, Influencer Proximity and Corporate Social Responsibility to become a good citizen of the market country. Regarding Brand Sustaining (Brand Growth and Maturity), the firm should take advantages of brand extension and line extension, maintain the Launching Strategies and simultaneously Bring Added Values and Recreate a Perceived Difference for its brands, Actively and dynamically involving itself in the Competition and also adopting Dual Management.

Aim: This study deals with Brand Management after acquisitions. Since this subject is still quite unexplored, a case study backed the theoretical review in order to answer the two research questions. Furthermore, the work educes a model which shows the ascendancies that are involved in the field of Brand Management after acquisitions. It is the aim to reveal the necessity of strong branding for acquired companies and the importance of the continuity of their presenting brand values. I hope this paper adds new knowledge in the Brand Management sector in connection with acquisitions and gives the reader a proper understanding about the issue. Method: The study occupies a theoretical and an empirical study. The theory part presents a selection of theories and models developed by scholars in the field of business administration. While the first research question concerning brand equity after acquisitions is addressed in the theoretical review in chapter 3, the second question regarding brand image is mainly discussed during the empirical part. The data for the latter was primarily obtained by a case study which is a qualitative method and occupies interviews and discussions. Result: Brand Management has become a key issue for companies and is a sensitive subject in the context of Merger and Acquisition. Hence, it is a challenge for the acquirer and the acquired company to manage control and adapt to the new situation. Brand equity as a key asset of Brand Management is the amount of loyalty a customer has towards a brand and it is certainly influenced by such transactions as M&A. In the real-life comparison of the specific case it proved to be successful for the acquirer to maintain the autonomy of the acquired brand and continue the meaning of the brand. In addition, the loyalty of the customers is of great importance to assure a smooth process of the business operations. Suggestions for future research: Due to the current situation and constant changes it would be interesting to repeat the study some time in the future for a final conclusion. Furthermore, since the findings for the empirical part of this study are based on a strong acquired brand, it would be interesting to investigate the case of another company of weaker nature, and maybe of a different branch. The high profile of the target firm and its strong brand values had a remarkable influence on the revelations of this study. Contribution of the thesis: The result of this study helps companies to maintain their brand values during an acquisition. The research adds new knowledge in the brand management sector in connection with acquisitions, and it is useful for companies which are involved in M&A activities.

This is a thesis on how established brands can enhance their strength, interestingness, and vitality. A threat to contemporary established brands is that they may in fact be too well established to be interesting and stimulate curiosity among consumers. A managerial fixation in maintaining consistency in brand communications may have put a straitjacket onto advertising executions for established brands. Therefore, managers for established brands facing communication objectives of enhanced salience in memory, better top-of-mind awareness, and greater consumer interest in the brand, may need to devise communication strategies in ways which are different – and even considerably different – from what they used to execute in the past. This thesis examines one such way – communications which are incongruent with consumers' established brand associations. In this thesis, I seek to challenge the popular adage in maintaining consistency in brand communications, by examining effects of brand incongruent communications for established brands from a schema congruity theory perspective. I do this in a series of six articles, each highlighting different types of brand-incongruent communication elements and effects on consumer memory and evaluations. Whereas conventional advertising wisdom, as well as traditional literature on brand management, would discourage a conduct which goes against established brand associations, this thesis argues that – for established brands – the employment of communication executions which challenge existing brand associations may actually improve marketing communication effectiveness. The aim of this thesis is to spur insight among academics and practitioners into the advancement of established brands. I argue that methods, which are successful to build brand equity for new brands, may be less effective when the objective is to enhance brand equity and consumer interest in already well established brands. The results of the studies presented in this thesis imply that the popular tendency of embracing consistency in brand communications may have to be revisited since brand-incongruent communications can generate more attention, better memory of ads and brands, improve evaluations and purchase intentions, as well as enhance brand associations and brand interest. / <p>Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögskolan, 2009 Sammanfattning jämte 6 uppsatser</p>

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 &amp; 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 &amp; Culture and Relationship. Coop experiences most communication gaps in Relationship, they has not managed to create close relationships with their customers.

During the last decades the importance of sustainability has steadily increased and nowadays, sustainability is not only a governmental responsibility any more. Besides the concept of sus- tainability, the field of brand management has gained more relevance in the last decades as well. Today, companies invest large amounts of money in the development of their brands. Considering the increasing importance of both concepts, the question for a combination of these two concepts arises. As the potential of sustainability in the brand management research field is not exploited to date and the focus of such a combination is mainly on the operative part, this study developed the concept of Sustainable Strategic Brand Management. With a focus on the automobile industry a first step of a practical-based research is done. The analy- sis of the integration of sustainability in the strategic brand management through a multiple case study of the three automobile manufacturing companies Daimler AG, Volvo Group and Volkswagen AG, is the most suitable and effective method to answer the research question of this study: How do automobile manufacturing companies integrate sustainability in their strategic brand management process? The main finding of this study is that automobile manufacturing companies integrate sustainability to different extents and manners in the seven steps of the strategic brand management process. Moreover, there are different levels and potentials for the integration of sustainability in the strategic brand management process. However, there is still potential and demand to improve the integration of sustainability in the strategic brand management process.

The concept of brand management has increased attention in recent years. Building andmaintaining a brand provides valuable growth and profitability for a company. To establish astrong brand, a company creates its brand identity for products and differentiates it from otherproducts. Brand identity and brand image are integrated with brand management, andcommunication is needed to convey brand image (or identity) to brand identity (or image).Brand identity is the internal view of a company, and the brand image is the external view byits customers. Between brand identity and brand image, factors are conveyed through media. This study explores the adaptation of brand management to a market; specifically, the adaptation of a brand in a foreign market. Ascertaining how Korean automobile companiesadapt brand management in the Swedish market is the primary objective. Kia Motors Sweden AB, a sales-oriented organization and a subsidiary of a Korean automobile manufacturer, KiaMotors Corporation, small and medium sized cars in the Swedish automobile industry, will be this study’s case company. In terms of methodology, a qualitative, single case study approach of Kia Motors Sweden AB was employed. An interview of a marketing manager from the company was analyzedand interpreted to figure out internal brand identity and external brand image. In this study, anintegrated framework that companies can use to justify brand identity and brand image is developed. The factors of brand identity and brand image are indicated and there are relevant factors which convey brand image to brand identity or vice versa. In addition, the factors of brand identity are imparted to brand image through different communication channels. The case study also reveals that apprehending brand identity and distinguishing it from brand image are vital to effective brand management. Moreover, using several communication channels and finding the effective channels also help to convey the desired image. Therefore, Kia Motors Sweden brand management has been identified in my framework.

I denna uppsats undersökte vi fenomenet personligt varumärkesbyggande, vilket kan definieras som en persons namn och de värderingar som kopplas till det. Syftet med uppsatsen var att utifrån befintlig teori samt intervjuer med yrkesverksamma inom området, undersöka om det går att bygga personliga varumärken på samma sätt som traditionella varumärken för företag och produkter. Vi presenterade en översikt över litteraturen kring personligt varumärkesbyggande samt teori om Customer-based brand equity-modellen, vilken vi lät representerade den traditionella teorin. I uppsatsens analysavsnitt diskuterades och analyserades intervjudeltagarnas svar i förhållande till teorin och slutsatsen drogs att personligt varumärkesbyggande har fler likheter än skillnader med det traditionella varumärkesbyggandet. Dock ansåg vi att CBBE-modellen ej var lämplig för direkt applikation på människor, utan presenterade en reviderad modell för byggande av ett starkt personligt varumärke, där bland annat möjligheter med sociala medier inkluderades. Modellen utgår från beståndsdelarna identitet, betydelse och synlighet och kallas Personal-based brand equity (PBBE).

<p>Abstract</p><p>Problem: Branded products can be seen everywhere around us at all time, and is a way of communication for the buyer of the product But, what if one cannot build a brand based on visibility, an example is underwear, then how is it possible to create a brand and add value to it? Is it actually feasible to create a strong brand when not leveraging upon visibility? The organization Stargate Brand Group and its brand Frank Dandy Superwear have been used in order to obtain a deeper understanding around the topic.</p><p>Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to research how to create brand value for an invisible brand within the fashion industry.</p><p>Method: To help fulfill the purpose a qualitative approach has been used. Personal interview with the CEO of Stargate Brand Group, telephone interviews with 20 fashion retailers combined with focus groups consisting of potential underwear buyers. The authors believe this approach helped to understand customer behaviour, branding techniques and how to create a brand value from an invisible branded product.</p><p>Result: The most important elements in order to create brand value for an invisible brand are quality and perceived quality. To become a successful underwear brand, since that is the invisible brand that the authors choose to focus upon, quality must be highly emphasized, and offering a high quality product is one way of creating brand value to customers.</p><p>The overall understanding of invisible products and brands is that they are bought primarily to fulfill the customer’s need of feeling comfortable and leverage upon people’s desire of well-being. An invisible brand cannot leverage upon its user to the same extent as other products, since it is not shown to the public.</p>

<p>As technology continues to affect the business sector, many companies have been faced with the nesessity of transformation. Adapting to a new, more Internet based society im-plies that companies are venturing into new market channels to get their products or ser-vices out to the consumers. Simultaneously as many companies are digitalizing, they are also launching or planning to launch brand extensions. Combining the two phenomenon’s we get a corporate situation that is vaguely explored, namely how a brand extension be-tween market channels work. Further more, how can value be transferred in this process?</p><p>The purpose of this thesis is to further investigate the phenomenon described above and to gain more understanding about the new situation. Therefore, the authors have chosen to conduct an empirical investigation exploring how a company can transfer brand value to a new online product or service. This was done in cooperation with the company Eniro that recently have focused their efforts from their traditional printed market channel into a digital brand extension. During the study 15 in-depth interviews with small to medium sized companies were performed, and backed up with complementary communication with managers at Eniro. Four research questions were formulated to serve as a read thread throughout the work. The main aim was to evaluate brand equity of the traditional product to then compare if this brand equity had been transferred to the new online extension.</p><p>After having performed the in depth interviews with representatives from the various companies, the authors could conclude that the original product of the printed directory with the company/person Gula Sidorna held stronger brand equity than the online exten-sion despite the company’s effort to promote the extension. The authors believe the rea-sons for this could be that during the process of extending the brand, some strategic deci-sions were made that did not enable the parent brand value to be transferred to the new extension. There were however value in the new extension in terms of simplicity and speed. Being able to quickly respond to the new and dynamic market where speed to market can be an important advantage was part of the positive associations for eniro.se. In the discussion regarding the main issue of transferring brand value to a digital platform the authors found that one of the most vital aspects is having clear communication within the organisation, sending out a clear message in marketing activities, not forgetting to emphasize reliability and stability to ensure that people in all ages feel inclined to use the digital product.</p>