En Perú, según la empresa Redmas, el 60% de los internautas consume audios a través de plataformas digitales. De este grupo, el 20% ya consume podcasts. Ante esta situación, los creadores de contenido, como los youtubers, han optado por crear y distribuir su contenido a través del audio, desarrollando su propio podcast. Para ello, deben tener en cuenta la opinión de sus seguidores, pues de ellos depende su permanencia. Por ello, surge la necesidad de conocer la percepción de sus seguidores respecto al podcast como herramienta para desarrollar contenido. La metodología de investigación utiliza el paradigma naturalista y enfoque cualitativo. Se aplicaron 30 entrevistas semiestructuradas a jóvenes de 18 a 30 años seguidores de los influencers Mia Nauca (Sin Paltas podcast), y Carlos Orozco y Hugo Lezama (Moloko Podcast). Los resultados evidenciaron que el podcast tiene afinidad con los oyentes por la innovación y por la flexibilidad de consumo, lo que genera una percepción positiva. Se concluye que el podcast es una tendencia que se encuentra en aumento tanto en consumo como producción, representando una oportunidad para que las marcas apuesten por esta herramienta. / In Peru, according to the Redmas company, that 60% of Internet users consume audios through digital platforms. Of this group, 20% already consume podcasts. In this situation, influencers have chosen to create content and promoting their content through audio, developing their own podcast. To do so, they must take into account the opinion of their followers, since the permanence of the podcast depends on them. Therefore, it is necessary to know the perception of their followers regarding the podcast as a new tool to develop content. The research methodology uses the naturalistic paradigm and qualitative approach, where 30 semi-structured interviews were applied to young people between 18 and 30 years old, who are followers of the influencers Mia Nauca (Sin Paltas Podcast), Carlos Orozco, and Hugo Lezama (Moloko Podcast). The results showed that the podcast has an affinity with listeners for innovation and consumer flexibility, which generates the perception of closeness. It is concluded that the podcast is a trend that is increasing in both consumption and production, representing an opportunity for brands to bet on this tool. / Tesis

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

Den ökade globaliseringen och digitaliseringen har resulterat i en hård konkurrens på marknaden. För att ett företag ska lyckas driva igenom sitt budskap till potentiella kunder krävs det att företagets budskap är kort, koncist och slagkraftig. En företagslogotyp har möjligheten att skapa varumärkeskännedom och konkurrensfördelar samtidigt som den är enkel att lägga på minnet. Företagslogotypen kopplas till kärnan i företaget och består av olika designelement som färg, form, symboler och typsnitt. Syftet med studien var att undersöka de olika designelementen i svenska modeföretags logotyper för förstå hur dom uppfattas och hur dom påverkar varumärkeskommunikationen. Studien använder sig utav en kvantitativ forskningsmetod och är baserad på en enkätstudie där respondenterna hade möjlighet att utvärdera svenska modeföretags logotyper. För att undvika tidigare associationer hos respondenterna innehöll enkäten även fabricerade logotyper, framtagna för studien. Resultaten visade att designelement har en viss påverkan på varumärkeskommunikation. Färg var det designelement som visade sig ha störst påverkan i resultatet. / Due to the increased globalization and digitalization, companies face greater market competition. In order for a company to succeed, they need to be able to communicate with their potential customers. As the market is saturated, the message needs to be short, concrete and powerful. A company logotype carries the ability to create brand awareness and competitive advantages whilst being easy to absorb. It is connected to the core of the company and consists of different visual elements such as colors, shapes, symbols and font. The aim of this study was to examine the different design elements in Swedish fashion companies’ logotypes in order to understand how they are perceived by consumers and what they communicate. The study used a quantitative research method and was based on a survey in which respondents were asked to examine Swedish fashion companies’ logotypes. In order to avoid previous associations, the survey also contained fictitious logotypes invented for the survey. The results of the study presented that design elements impact brand communication to a certain limit. The impacts of the design elements differ from each other, and the influence of color had the most distinct result.

Companies today are faced with competitive markets where a large number of similar products and services are offered, which leads to companies with strong brands gaining competitive advantage, as brands facilitate consumers rational decision-making. Previous studies explore the importance of a well-established brand and how to build a strong brand identity through brand identity management (BIM). The studies explain that BIM builds the foundation for wellbeing in the workplace, which in turn is reflected to the customer. Previous studies are aimed at different industries and the purpose of this study is to analyze the importance of a strong brand identity in the fast food industry to contribute more knowledge in that specific industry. The study is deductive with a qualitative approach and thus a qualitative case study has been conducted of Bastard Burgers to answer the research questions, in order to analyze how a company in the fast food industry works with BIM to deliver the brand promise and what result this has on the employees. The results show that brand identity is a crucial factor for companies in today's fast food industry as well as the quality of the food and service. To have a strong brand identity, you need a brand with a personality that is evident through the visuals such as the restaurant's appearance, clothes and logos. The results of the study show that working with BIM strengthens employees' identification with the organization. This in turn results in the employees being more likely to spread positive word-of-mouth, being satisfied with their job and are willing to do the little extra in the workplace.

This bachelor thesis is conducted as a Minor Field Study (MFS) in Sri Lanka, funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA). The tourism industry have become a key factor for economic growth in several developing countries. A section of branding which refers to branding of a whole country is place branding. Place branding is seen as a complex process which involves multiple parts of the country. In order to ease for brand managers and to develop the theory of place branding, Hanna and Rowley (2011) have developed a new model of place branding. The model is named the Strategic place brand management model (SPBM- model) and consists of components which are argued to be essential parts in the process of branding a place. Developing countries have a need for place branding practices in order to create economic growth. The SPBM-model could therefore be a useful contribution to the research field of place branding in developing countries. The research questions of this research was therefore firstly to see how Sri Lanka work with the components in the SPBM-model, and second to find out which components in the SPBM-model that can be seen as important based on Sri Lankan conditions. This to answer the purpose of this thesis: explore how the SPBM-model can be applied on the process of branding Sri Lanka. The study was made through a case study of the developing country of Sri Lanka. In order to gain data, seven semi-structured interviews were conducted with officials working with branding Sri Lanka as a tourism destination. By putting the SPBM-model on the Sri Lankan place branding process it can be interpreted that all components are tightly connected to each other, and some parts seems to be more important for Sri Lanka then others. If Sri Lanka put more time and effort in the three components of infrastructure, stakeholders and evaluation, also the other six components of the SPBM-model (identity, brand experience, WOM, architecture, communication andarticulation) indirect will be affected in a positive way.

Relationship marketing is a marketing theory that has gathered much focus in the marketing research area lately. The core idea of relationship marketing is to retain the existing customers of a company by establishing long-time relationships with them. The theory of brand equity is a well-known theory on brand development that deals with issues such as customer’s perceptions and the brand meaning. The main purpose of this thesis is to gain deeper understanding of what kind of role the front-line employees in terms of part-time marketers, have on the enhancing of Liseberg´s brand equity. Liseberg holds a special position for the citizens of Gothenburg, and as the biggest amusement park in the Nordic are with 3.1 million visitors in 2014, we argue that theories like relationship marketing and brand equity could be of importance for Liseberg to maintain their position in the minds of their customers. We have also been able to identify a research gap. We discovered that research about the role of part-time marketers in relation to brand equity is relatively scarce. Even more specifically, we have not been able to find studies regarding the role of part-time marketers in the enhancing of the brand equity of an amusement park. We have conducted a qualitative study in order to accomplish the purpose of our thesis. In our study, we conducted nine semi-structured interviews with managers, front-line employees and customers of Liseberg. The interviews helped us gain a deeper understanding on how the role of the front-line employees as part-time marketers was perceived both internally and externally in Liseberg. Data from different customer reports were also provided to us from Liseberg. From our qualitative studies as well as from the data provided by Liseberg, we can conclude that the role of the part-time marketers was perceived differently from the customer’s point of view, compared to what managers and front-line employees thought. Nevertheless according to our findings, we can conclude that part-time marketers have a very important role in the enhancing of Liseberg´s brand equity. Finally we have also made practical recommendations for the management of Liseberg regarding on how to work with the part-time marketer’s concept in mind to improve Liseberg´s brand equity.

Social media is dependent on society, and society is dependent on social media. The internetbased platforms have today taken the world by storm. Words like "comment", "like" and "post" are central concepts on social media that have come to be new communication tools. In the development of social media, the social network has been strengthened in such a way that people turn to these platforms in order to create relationships with others. The increased popularity has resulted in several binding to the social network, which the companies have also noticed. As the consumer is constantly in focus for the companies, it becomes important to find the needs of consumers. Research shows that relationships and close contact are highly valued by the consumer, which the companies also try to live up to. Brand communication on social media has also come to be developed, as the companies use influencers as an intermediary, which has led to the new concept of influencer marketing being expanded. However, there are disagreements about how consumers perceive the companies' direct brand communication and influencing marketing. Hence, the study finds relevance in examining how consumers perceive the different brand communications on social media. Based on the theories, three variables are regarded as a basic explanation for how consumer experience may be unfolded. The three variables explain the study as attitudes, credibility and purchase intentions. In order to investigate this, the study has used a qualitative approach with focus group interviews as a relevant tool. The study is limited to the social platform Instagram, with respondents consisting of women. A further demarcation of the study was to examine only the fashion related brands. The study concluded that influencers are perceived as more real, also defined as sources of inspiration. While companies, with their direct brand communication, may be perceived as more commercial and less real. Also defined as artificial. However, it is important that the consumer can identify with the influencer and value his/her opinions highly, in order for the brand communication to be perceived as real and credible. In addition, the result showed that consumers may experience influencers as sources of inspiration, while companies' direct brand communication can instead be perceived as a source of information. Furthermore, the study also concluded that the three variables attitudes, credibility and purchase intention were related to each other. Consumers first turn out to create an attitude that builds the credibility, which finally gave a purchase intention. A common conclusion in the study was that influencer marketing and the companies' direct brand communication came to be experienced in different ways. But regardless of the outcome, both sources of information were considered vital. The conclusion is that both of these brand communications should complement each other instead of excluding each other. / Sociala medier är beroende av samhället, och samhället är beroende av sociala medier. De internetbaserade plattformarna har idag tagit världen med storm. Ord som ”likea”, ”inlägg” och ”kommentera” är centrala begrepp på sociala medier som har kommit att bli nya sätt att kommunicera genom. Vid utvecklingen av sociala medier, har det sociala nätverket förstärkts på så sätt att människor vänder sig till dessa plattformar i syfte att skapa relationer med andra. Den ökade populariteten har resulterat i att flera binder sig till det sociala nätverket, vilket även företagen har uppmärksammat. Eftersom konsumenten är ständig fokus för företagen, blir det alltmer viktigt att finna konsumenternas behov. Forskning visar att relationer och närkontakt värderas högt av konsumenten, vilket även företagen försöker att leva upp till. Varumärkeskommunikationen på sociala medier har dessutom kommit att utvecklas vidare, då företagen använder sig av influencers som en mellanhand, vilket har lett till att det nya konceptet influencer marketing myntats. Det råder däremot oenigheter kring hur konsumenter upplever företagens direkta varumärkeskommunikation och influencer marketing. Därav finner studien relevans i att undersöka hur konsumenterna upplever de olika varumärkeskommunikationerna på sociala medier. Med teorierna som grund, anses tre variabler som en grundläggande förklaring till hur konsumenters upplevelse kan komma att utspelas. De tre variablerna förklarar studien som attityder, trovärdighet och köpintentioner. För att kunna undersöka detta, har studien använt en kvalitativ ansats med fokusgruppsintervjuer som verktyg. Studien är avgränsad till den sociala plattformen Instagram, där respondenterna bestod av kvinnor. En ytterligare avgränsning för studien, var att endast undersöka varumärken relaterat till modebranschen. Studien kom fram till att influencers upplevs som mer verkliga, även definierade som inspirationskällor. Medan företagen, med sin direkta varumärkeskommunikation, kan komma att upplevas som mer kommersiella och mindre verkliga. Nästintill konstgjorda. Det är dock viktigt att konsumenten kan identifiera sig med influencern samt värdera dennas åsikter högt, för att varumärkeskommunikationen ska upplevas som verklig och trovärdig. Dessutom uppvisade resultatet, att konsumenter kan komma att uppleva influencers som inspirationskällor, medan företagens direkta varumärkeskommunikation kan istället upplevas som informationskälla. Vidare kom även studien fram till, att de tre variablerna attityd, trovärdighet och köpintention förhöll sig till varandra. Konsumenterna visar sig först skapa en attityd som i sig bygger vidare på trovärdigheten, vilket gav en köpintetion. En gemensam slutsats i studien, var att influencer marketing och företagens direkta varumärkeskommunikation, kom att upplevas på olika sätt. Men oavsett utfallet, ansågs båda informationskällorna som vitala. Slutsatsen ligger i att båda dessa varumärkeskommunikationerna bör komplettera varandra istället för att exkludera varandra.

Servicelandskapet och dess utformning där företagets tjänst produceras och konsumeras har kommit att bli allt viktigare ur ett marknadsföringsperspektiv. Detta då platsen kan användas för att skapa positiva upplevelser för slutkunderna, och samtidigt fungera som en effektiv kommunikationskanal för att förmedla varumärket. Syftet med studien är därmed att generera kunskap till ämnesområdet varumärkeskommunikation, genom att undersöka hur arkitekt-och designbyråer, på uppdrag av tjänsteföretag, strategiskt planerar utformningen av servicelandskap för att stärka kundens varumärke. För att undersöka detta har en kvalitativ ansats tillämpats i form av semistrukturerade intervjuer. Studiens resultat visar att en grundförutsättning för att arkitekt-och designbyråerna ska kunna förmedla en representativ bild av varumärket är att de bildar sig en förkunskap kring företaget och dess varumärke. Det har även framkommit att flera strategier kombineras vid planering av servicelandskapets utformning. Där upplevelsen och dess påverkan genom stimulering av sinnen, samt upprepning av företagets visuella uttryck och budskap i den rumsliga miljön visat sig vara viktiga strategier för att kunna stärka ett varumärke i servicelandskapet. / The servicescape and its design, where the company's services are produced and consumed, have become increasingly important from a marketing perspective. One reason is that the place can be used to create positive experiences for the guests, while also serving as an effective communication channel to communicate the brand. The aim of the study is therefore to generate knowledge in the field of brand communication, by exploring how architect-and design agencies, on behalf of service companies, strategically plan the design of the servicescape to strengthen the customer's brand. To explore this, a qualitative approach has been applied in form of semi-structured interviews. The results of the study show that one essential condition for the architect-and design agencies to be able to communicate a representative image of the brand, is that they gain an informed understanding of the company and its brand. It has also been found that several strategies are combined when planning the design of the servicescape. The experience and its influence through stimulation of the senses, as well as repetition of the company's visual expressions and messages in the spatial environment, have been found as important strategies for strengthening a brand in the servicescape.

With the gradual rise of Web-2.0 based platforms, Internet users were given the possibility to interact with each other in virtual communities. Originating from this development was the concept of user-generated content (UGC), which implies that people were able to enrich each other’s user-experiences by sharing creative efforts and communicating openly (O’Reilly, 2007).   As Web 2.0 features continued to grow, marketers became aware of the opportunities this new development online created and how they could use it to their advantage (De Chernatony & Christodoulides, 2004). The development online however also faces companies with challenges, as consumers now are able to create and share opinions and thoughts about brands, which to an extent is uncontrollable by companies (Christodoulides et al., 2012). Just as marketer-controlled communication can create new brand associations in the minds of consumers, for better or worse - so can also externally-generated communication, such as brand-related UGC, do.   Knowing that consumers generally trust what other consumers say about products more than marketing communication (Cheong & Morrison, 2008; Song & Yoo, 2016), and that there does not exist much research on how consumers perceive brand-related UGC, this is a considerably important topic to study. A classic way of studying communication effectiveness is through credibility, which is argued to be a major determinant of whether consumers accept and adopt what is communicated (e.g. Hovland et al., 1953). Thus, the purpose of this thesis is to gain an understanding of how consumers assess credibility of brand-related UGC and furthermore, what their consequent responses are.   A qualitative approach was taken as the purpose is to gain insight rather than proving a point. The interviews were semi-structured and formed around three Instagram posts relating to a specific brand, which were deliberately chosen based on the content of the theoretical framework developed. Through using these example cases, interviewees’ first reactions could be captured and their reasoning around credibility could be followed and discussed.   The results from this study indicate that there exists a certain level of irritation as well as a scepticism towards brand-related UGC. This seem to stem from a suspicion that most content that promotes products and brands is part of sponsored collaborations, into which consumers put noticeably much distrust. Beyond questioning sponsorship, it was also found that the source played a particularly important role when assessing credibility. When a source is familiar, it is easier to determine credibility of brand-related UGC, and credibility furthermore increases with perceived expertise, attractiveness and trustworthiness. The channel through which a message is communicated also matters, as it is more difficult to be ingenuine through a video than an image or a text, which implicated that consumers may find videos more credible than other media formats. The message itself was also deemed to influence the credibility assessment, as the message was questioned both based upon common sense but also on knowledge and previous experience.   As for practical implications, this study indicates that encouraging or generating positive brand-related UGC through paid collaborations, is a balancing act, into which much consideration needs to be put. With the evident irritation that consumers feel when it comes to brand-related UGC, marketers should be careful to push too much positive brand communication onto the consumer, or it will turn negative. To come across as genuine, the “who”, ”what” and ”how” of communication should be carefully considered.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-26T18:15:56Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 COS - Caio Prisco STNR Colombo.pdf: 1149028 bytes, checksum: 6e390cf194e0206dcb4c66b3e8378c05 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006-10-23 / Objective: Understand how the japanese brand Yamaha worldwide motorcycle and scooter maker construct its corporate brand among the brazilian target-costumer, with publicities released in the Moto magazine in 2005. Justification: The importance of branding studies in the corporate market on the 21th century. Hipothesis: The power of Yamaha brand has its origin in the construction of symbolic and intangible values attributed or associated to the company and its products. Methodology: Peircean semiotics. Results: The hipothesis was confirmed. The power of Yamaha brand in the brazilian market results from the symbolic values attributed to the company it self by publicity / Objetivo: Compreender como a empresa japonesa Yamaha fabricante mundial de motocicletas e motonetas constrói a sua marca corporativa junto ao público consumidor brasileiro, por meio de publicidades veiculadas na revista Moto em 2005. Justificativa: A importância estratégica do estudo da construção de marcas no mercado empresarial do século XXI. Hipótese: O poder da marca Yamaha tem sua origem na construção de valores simbólicos e intangíveis atribuídos ou associados à empresa e seus produtos. Metodologia: Semiótica peirceana. Resultados: A hipótese foi comprovada. O poder da marca Yamaha no mercado brasileiro é resultado dos valores simbólicos atribuídos ao fabricante pela publicidade