Today's rise of brands makes it increasingly difficult to differentiate on the market. Logos are seen as one of the main tools to express your business and are one of the first things consumers come into contact with. In order to create strong emotional bonds with your consumers, brands need to produce logos with aesthetic characteristics to differentiate and appeal to consumers. The purpose of this study is to contribute to a deeper understanding of which aesthetic characteristics in a logo that creates brand attachment for consumers. Therefore, by examining whether color, shape and font affects brand attachment, brands get guidance for a logo design to best attract consumers to their own brand. The theoretical frame of reference consists of branding, brand attachment and logos with their aesthetic attributes. Based on this, a conceptual framework has been created to describe the connection between the logo and brand attachment from the consumer’s point of view.  Semi-structured interviews from a mixed inductive and deductive approach are conducted using a qualitative method. 22 respondents aged 18-25 were interviewed. Consumers aged 18-25 are described as the age group that finds it difficult to create an emotional bond with a brand and instead relies on digital technology. The results of the study showed that this was not the case. All respondents feel a connection with the brand in one way or another. The important thing was to feel a connection to the brand values and that the logo’s content reflects the brand’s quality. Color, font and symbols were important to take into account when designing the logo. / Framväxten av varumärken idag gör det allt svårare att differentiera sig på marknaden. Logotyper ses som ett av de främsta verktygen att uttrycka sin verksamhet på och är något av det första en konsument kommer i kontakt med. För att skapa starka känslomässiga band med  konsumenter behöver varumärken ta fram logotyper med estetiska egenskaper som differentierar varumärket och samtidigt tilltalar konsumenterna. Syftet med denna studien är att bidra till en mer djupgående förståelse för vilka estetiska egenskaper i en logotyp som skapar brand attachment för konsumenter. Därför genom att undersöka huruvida färg, form och teckensnitt påverkar brand attachment kan varumärken få vägledning inför en logotypdesign för att på bästa sätt locka konsumenter till sitt eget varumärke. Den teoretiska referensramen består av varumärkesprofilering, brand attachment samt logotyper och dess estetiska egenskaper. Utifrån detta har ett konceptuellt ramverk skapats för att beskriva kopplingen mellan logotypen och brand attachment utifrån konsumentens synvinkel. Semi-strukturerade intervjuer ur en blandad induktiv och deduktiv ansats genomfördes med kvalitativ metod. 22 respondenter i åldern 18-25 år intervjuades. Konsumenter i åldern 18-25 år beskrivs som den åldersgrupp som har svårt att skapa ett känslomässigt band till ett varumärke och förlitar sig istället på digital teknik. Resultatet av studien visade däremot att så inte var fallet. Samtliga respondenter upplever samhörighet med varumärken på ett eller annat sätt. Det viktiga ansågs vara att känna en koppling till varumärkets värderingar och att logotypens innehåll speglar varumärkets kvalitet och därmed var färg, typsnitt och symboler viktigt att ta i beaktande vid logotypdesign.

Modern society is structured around consumption. The climate of the current consumer culture is one of intense competition. In order to differentiate their brands and products, companies are beginning to focus on differentiating their brands on the basis of distinctive emotional, rather than functional, characteristics. Emotional brand attachment is defined as the bond that connects a consumer with a specific brand by involving feelings of affection, passion, and connection. When established, emotional brand attachment is a powerful tool for building brand equity and influencing the purchasing decisions of consumers. This paper explores the marketing tactics utilized by Dove brand and Nike, Inc. Although the means were different, both companies successfully generated emotional brand attachment between their products and modern consumers.

The current research argues that brand commitment, a multidimensional construct consisting of brand attachment, long-term orientation, and intent to persist, is a better indicator of brand relationship strength than brand attachment alone. Brand commitment is a better indicator of brand relationship strength because it is able to predict brand relationship persistence, is influenced by important antecedents of brand relationship strength, and can explain the relationship between the antecedents of brand relationship strength and relationship persistence while brand attachment cannot. The current research employs survey methodology, SEM, and a between-subjects experimental design to test this argument. The results indicate that brand commitment predicts relationship persistence and reveal that long-term orientation and intent to persist are important predictors of relationship persistence. These findings contribute to the consumer-brand relationship literature by illustrating the importance of understanding all three of components of brand commitment.

One of the most profound transformations of the marketing discipline in recent history has been driven by the democratization of power relations and value creation between brands and consumers. This dissertation explores the branding implications of this fundamental shift by investigating whether and how the type and degree of control shared by brands affect consumer empowerment perceptions and, in turn, consumer–brand relationships, as well as whether and how these effects might be moderated by the size and diversity of the choice set and by the image valence of the brand that shares control with consumers. The present research examines such questions in a prosocial context by studying an emerging form of co-created social responsibility, cause-related marketing (CM) with choice, in which the consumer, not the brand, chooses the charitable cause to which the brand will donate in response to the consumer’s purchase. By integrating research on power, choice, and brand relationships, this dissertation proposes a conceptual framework that predicts whether, when, and why giving consumers control over a brand’s meaningful decision (operationalized as CM with choice) strengthens consumer–brand relationships. Six experiments test this framework. The dissertation shows that letting consumers choose a brand’s donation recipient strengthens consumer–brand relationships by increasing consumer empowerment and engagement. This serial mediation through empowerment and engagement is replicated across all studies. The main effect can be bolstered by providing consumers either unrestricted choice (i.e., choose any cause from memory) rather than restricted choice (i.e., select from a list of predetermined cause options; Studies 1–4) or a combination of both choice modes (Study 4), but not by expanding the size of the set of cause options (Study 2) or increasing the similarity or dissimilarity of the options (Studies 3a and 3b). Finally, Study 5 reveals that introducing a conventional CM campaign improves brand outcomes (attachment, attitudes, and purchase intentions) regardless of brand image (negative, neutral, or positive) and that adding consumer cause choice to the campaign benefits brands as much as (or more than) introducing the campaign itself does, though only when brand image is neutral or positive. When brand image is negative, adding consumer cause choice fails to improve brand outcomes and can even backfire—a boundary condition similar to the boomerang effect that arises from psychological reactance because consumers prefer to keep their distance. A central implication of this dissertation is that when a brand allows consumers to co-create its charitable giving campaign, neither the choice set’s size or diversity nor consumers’ involvement or satisfaction with the chosen cause brings consumers closer to the brand; instead, what brings them closer to the brand is their increased sense of empowerment, which in turn enhances their engagement with the brand that shares its control. An equally important implication results from the observed boomerang effect, which should serve as a warning for any managers who risk falling into the trap of adopting a standard, one-size-fits-all view of prosocial co-creation as a tool to repair an otherwise defective brand reputation. A strategy that encourages consumers to serve as brand agents by co-creating the brand’s meaning requires caution on the brand’s part. As in interpersonal relationships, the general desire to spend time together must first be at least somewhat mutual before any shared experience—no matter how positive—can make the bond grow stronger.

Submitted by Adriana Alves Rodrigues (aalves@espm.br) on 2018-10-09T16:25:48Z No. of bitstreams: 1 MPCC - GIOVANNA ARAGÃO ANTONINI.pdf: 1888963 bytes, checksum: 1d8ecd33db3c9d86ada1ccf7e82104dc (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Alves Rodrigues (aalves@espm.br) on 2018-10-09T16:26:11Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 MPCC - GIOVANNA ARAGÃO ANTONINI.pdf: 1888963 bytes, checksum: 1d8ecd33db3c9d86ada1ccf7e82104dc (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Debora Cristina Bonfim Aquarone (deborabonfim@espm.br) on 2018-10-09T18:21:30Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 MPCC - GIOVANNA ARAGÃO ANTONINI.pdf: 1888963 bytes, checksum: 1d8ecd33db3c9d86ada1ccf7e82104dc (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-10-09T18:21:39Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 MPCC - GIOVANNA ARAGÃO ANTONINI.pdf: 1888963 bytes, checksum: 1d8ecd33db3c9d86ada1ccf7e82104dc (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-03-23 / The number of amateur runners and the value of sportswear market is growing in Brazil, making the study of these market and community even more important. The purpose of this work is to understand how this group establish long-term relationships with sportswear brands considering their brand attachment styles. To address this objective, a bibliographic research was made. It focused on the relationship marketing concepts evolution until the appropriation of attachment concept, originally born in psychology studies. This research also covers the definition of brand attachment and its differences versus other marketing constructs and an explanation regarding brand attachment characteristics and brand attachment styles. Scales used in other studies were adapted to be applied in a quantitative research with amateur runners (340 valid answers). The results show that, in the same way as the overall population, inside the amateur runners community, the persons have different brand attachment styles. The style has a significant influence in individuals’ brand preference for closeness and in their characteristics of attachment. A segmentation per brand attachment style of amateur runners and the description of each segment according to their preference for closeness and attachment characteristics is the main contribution of this work. The segments names are: loyal, anxious, distrustful and fearful. Anxious runners get attached more intensively, while the distrustful group does not get that much attached. Overall, all segments seek for closeness to the brand, but the distrustful group is the exception. Hedonism and nostalgia are attachment characteristics appreciated by all segments. It is important to highlight that demographic and sports routine characteristics are not discriminants among the segments. It is expected that this work enriches brand attachment styles theory and provides insights for companies to evolve on their relationship marketing strategies. / O crescimento da prática de corrida de rua e do mercado de artigos esportivos no Brasil torna o estudo desse público e mercado cada vez mais relevante. Diante disto, o propósito desta dissertação é entender como este grupo estabelece relacionamentos de longo prazo com marcas esportivas considerando seus estilos de apego a marcas. Para isso, foi feita uma revisão bibliográfica que abordou a evolução de conceitos dentro de marketing de relacionamento até a apropriação por marketing do conceito de apego a marca que teve origem na psicologia. São abordados também a definição de apego a marca e sua diferença em relação a outros constructos de marketing de relacionamento e uma explanação sobre características do apego a marca e também sobre estilos de apego a marca. Escalas utilizadas em outros estudos foram adaptadas para uma pesquisa exploratória com corredores amadores (amostra: 340 respondentes válidos). Com os resultados obtidos, pode-se dizer que, assim como na população geral, dentro do grupo corredores amadores existem indivíduos com diferentes estilos de apego a marca. O estilo de cada um possui relação significativa na preferência por aproximação de marcas e nas características de formação do apego. Este trabalho traz como contribuição uma segmentação de corredores amadores por estilo de apego a marca e a descrição de cada segmento de acordo com preferência por aproximação e características de apego. Os segmentos foram nomeados como leais, ansiosos, desconfiados e medrosos. Corredores ansiosos se apegam com maior intensidade à marca, enquanto desconfiados se apegam menos. No geral, todos buscam aproximação à marca, menos os desconfiados. Hedonismo e nostalgia são características de apego que todos possuem. É importante ressaltar também que características demográficas e de prática esportiva não são discriminantes nesses segmentos. Espera-se que esta dissertação enriqueça os estudos sobre estilos de apego a marcas e forneça insumos para empresas melhorarem suas estratégias de marketing de relacionamento.

Given its ever-increasing popularity, marketers are keen on exploring the benefits of using Twitter to create branded relationships with consumers. Central to the idea of consumer-brand relationships is the concept of commitment, which requires investment of direct resources, such as time, on the part of the consumer. The present research examines the relationship between time spent per login on Twitter and consumer-brand relationships through the constructs of brand relationship quality and brand attachment. Brand relationship quality is considered using four measures: enrichment, satisfaction, harmony, and trustworthiness. The concept of brand attachment is divided into measures of brand-self connection and brand prominence. Despite marketers’ efforts to keep consumers on Twitter for longer periods of time, results from this study were inconclusive, showing signs of little to no correlation between time and the tested variables. However, due to the limitations of this study, future research is necessary to improve the statistical quality of the findings. / text

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.

Ce travail doctoral visait à comprendre les relations des individus aux objets marqués et non marqués. Dans ce cadre de réflexion, nous plaçons le concept d’attachement aux objets et à la marque au sein de la famille, et particulièrement au sein de la dyade mère-fille. Cette dyade a fait l’objet de nombreuses recherches en marketing, en anthropologie et en sociologie. Ainsi cette recherche interprétativiste s’articule autour de 3 questions de recherche:nous cherchons d’abord à comprendre comment l’attachement de la mère à ses objets de valeur, qu’elle transmet, peut avoir une influence sur l’attachement à ces mêmes objets ou marques chez sa fille (étude1:entretiens de 20 dyades). Nous visons également à comprendre quelles sont les relations des filles avec les marques transmises (étude2:ré-interrogation de 11 dyades parmi les 20) et enfin quelles sont les différences entre un attachement à un objet marqué d’un attachement à un objet non marqué (étude3:44 collages de 11 filles, parmi les 11 dyades). Les résultats de la première étude attestent que ces objets marqués sont inaliénables et rendent intangible un passé familial et une analyse inter-dyade permet de confronter le discours des mères avec celui de leur fille. La seconde étude souligne qu’il existe une relation d’attachement à la marque, représentée par les valeurs de tradition (marques transmises) ou d’hédonisme (marques non transmises) et une relation d’attachement à la catégorie de produit, représentée par des valeurs de sécurité (objets transmis) ou de réussite (objets non transmis). Enfin la dernière étude atteste que les consommatrices s’identifient aux marques congruentes avec leur concept de soi. / This doctoral research aims at understanding the relationship of individuals with branded and non-branded products. Within this conceptual framework, we examine products and brand attachment within a family context. We give particularly attention to the mother-daughter dyad which has been extensively researched in marketing, anthropology and sociology. Our interpretivist research focuses on three questions. First, we seek to understand how product and brand attachment of a mother is transmitted, thereby affecting the attachment to products or brands by her daughter (Study 1: interviews of 20 dyads). We then seek to understand the relationship of the daughter to the transmitted brands (Study 2: re-examination of 11 of the 20 dyads). Finally, we examine the differences between attachment to a branded product in contrast to a commitment to a non-branded product (Study 3: 44 collages, 11 girls among 11 dyads). Results of the first study show that branded objects are inalienable and intangible, reflecting a family history which becomes more evident through an inter-dyad analysis of the mother’s speech in contrast to that of her daughter. The second study highlights a brand attachment represented by traditional values (transmitted brands) or hedonism (non-transmitted brands), and an attachment relationship represented by values of security (transmitted objects) or success (non-transmitted objects). Our final study focuses on the differences between attachment to a branded object and a non-branded object. We note that the consumers identify with those brands which are congruent with their self-concept.

Emotional brand attachment has emerged as an important marketing concept that can strengthen a brand's performance. One way to create emotional bonds with consumers is to match the brand's personality with the consumer's self-concept (i.e. self-congruence). Nonetheless, research on brand attachment has a strong westernized focus leaving a vast majority of the world's population outside the frame of research, which limits our understanding of how consumers perception of self form emotional attachments to brands across cultures. We address this issue by developing the novel construct of ought self-congruence and test a conceptual model in two large scale studies including 810 respondents from Sweden and South Korea. The results showed similarities as well as unique cultural differences. Brand personalities in line with a consumer's actual self-view yield the strongest positive impact on emotional brand attachment in both cultures. However, an ideal self-congruent brand only showed a positive impact on Swedish consumers or when the self is sculpt independently from others. In contrast, South Koreans formed attachments to global brands that were congruent with an ought self-perception. A consumer's regulatory focus provides a theoretical explanation to the mixed results. Avenues for further research and managerial implications are also proposed.

En un entorno de pandemia, a causa del covid-19, consideramos necesario determinar la relación entre las variables con los servicios de telecomunicaciones, en especial los servicios de telefonía hogar. La presente investigación tiene como objetivo identificar la cercanía del brand image, brand communication, brand attachment y product irreplaceability en relación al brand loyalty en la categoría de telefonía hogar. La investigación será de tipo cuantitativo, con un alcance correlacional y transversal. Las respuestas estarán en una escala de likert del 1 al 7, y en cuanto a la determinación del instrumento se ha considerado que será adaptación. Asimismo, el análisis será por medio de ecuaciones estructurales y el software será PLS. Para este efecto se trabajará con una muestra de 400 personas entre hombres y mujeres que utilicen algún servicio de telefonía hogar. / Due to the Covid-19 virus, we consider it necessary to determinate the relationship between variables with telecommunication services, especially home services. The goal of the following research is to identify the resemblance between the brand image, brand communication, brand attachment, and product irreplaceability with brand loyalty in the home services category. The answers will be on a likert scale from 1 to 7, and as for the determination of the instrument, it has been considered that it will be an adaptation. Likewise, the analysis will be through structural equations and the software will be PLS. This research will have a quantitative type, with a correlational and transversal reach. To achieve this research, we will be needing 400 people between men and women that use a home phone service. / Trabajo de investigación