Title: Luxury Brands’ Storytelling on Social Media Date of Submission: 29th of May 2019 Authors: Klara Ekebring, Catarina Mellqvist Supervisor: Leon Caesarius Course: 2FE840, Master Thesis, 30 ECTS Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to explore how luxury brands are communicating through brand storytelling on social media. Hence, this study is conducted from the perspective of luxury brands with the aim to provide academic and managerial indications of how luxury brands perceive storytelling of luxury value on social media platforms. Methodology: This thesis performs qualitative research and utilises an abductive research strategy in order to conduct exploratory research. Data is collected through the use of both primary and secondary data sources. The primary data collection is made by the implementation of semistructured interviews that are formed and analysed through a thematic method of analysis and the satisfying principle. The secondary data is collected through observation of social media accounts of the brands taking part in this study. Empirical findings: The data collected present features on social media that the brands are recognising when communicating through storytelling on the platforms. By informing followers about the brand by telling stories, emotions, mental connections and meaning are established. Further, the interaction that is supported on social media platforms is considered by the luxury brands and influences the role followers to have in the communication process. Conclusions: The present study has found indications that the luxury values’ brands communicate through storytelling remains unchanged and how luxury values are told through stories are adjusted to the context of social media platforms. This suggests that luxury brands communicate their luxury value through storytelling on social media platforms by recognising the features of the context and the interaction, which is argued to be fundamentally supported on the platforms. Hence, elevating the role followers have in the communication process.

This paper examines how Lipton and Kusmi Tea use storytelling and the customers' experience of tea in their digital communication. The usage of storytelling was found by examining their Instagram accounts, one packaging design and their about us texts. These aspects of the brands were analysed through a semiotic, a narrative and a discourse analysis. The findings were then compared with the customers' experience of tea, which was determined by a survey with 60 Swedish participants. The results show that both companies use storytelling in all aspects of their marketing, meanwhile the experience determined by the survey is used in a wider range by Kusmi Tea.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore video brand storytelling’s affect on the antecedents of brand perceptions. Design/Methodology/Approach: This study has a qualitative and an exploratory nature. The data collection method is in-depth semi-structured interviews. The authors conducted a pre-study in order to gain more knowledge about the topic , and enhance the operationalization for the main data collection method. Findings: The study concludes that video brand storytelling and its elements affect all the brand perceptions’ antecedents. Video brand storytelling is proved to be a powerful tool in content marketing since it can positively affect, even when consumers' perceptions towards the story are negative. A new antecedent of brand perceptions is proposed. Furthermore, a new element of video brand storytelling is also created. This study goes even deeper by connecting each of the elements of brand storytelling to the brand perceptions’ antecedents. Managerial and Theoretical contribution: This paper can be of great value to marketers and practitioners, since they will get suggestions about video brand storytelling’s use, in order to affect consumers as intended. The theoretical contributions of this study are also of great value since videos, brand storytelling and brand perceptions were never researched in the same context. New concepts and a new model are created, which can be a basis for future research. Quality: To add quality and validity to this study the authors include detailed processes through all the paper and provide thick descriptions and explanations.