This is a brand and innovation dominated era; a clear and strong brand makes a company easily identified by consumers in an intensively competitive market, and innovation leads a company to a high value blue ocean. Notebook is one kind of global products of which different stages of a value cahin are dispersed to those locations around the globe where value added is maximized or where costs of value creation are minimized. Since notebooks of different brands have similar global products attributes, brands are what make those notebooks differentiated from competitors; thus, the band origin effect may be a factor that influences a consumer¡¦s purchasing dicision. The research takes notebook as an empirical study object to discuss the interrelationship among product innovation, brand country-of-origin effect, brand equity and purchase intention. The research finds that product innovation and brand country-of-origin effect are significantly related, and there is significant difference of product innovation based on differenct brand country-of-origin. Besides, brand country-of-origin has significantly positive effect on brand equity and purchase intention. Though product innovation, however, doesn¡¦t have significantly direct effect on purchase intention, it has significantly direct effect on brand equity, and it has indirect effect on purchase intention if mediated by brand equity. Moreover, there are significantly differences on product innovation and brand equity based on different notebook brands. Also, brand equity has significantly direct effect on purchase intention.

Along with economy growth, trends of merger and acquisition (M&A) between organizations have become an important issue in both geographical and strategic terms. Through M&A, firms are able to utilize their resources, enhance their marketing channels and penetrate markets with better efficiency. However, how do products grab consumers¡¦ eyes against competitors? And how do firms maintain consumer loyalty? ¡§Brand¡¨ is a critical factor. When discussing issues relating brands, ¡§brand equity¡¨ is something one would never skip. The ¡§brand equity¡¨ means the value added of a brand, containing the overall conception and attitudes of consumers. Only through constructing and creating brand equity, firms could gather the unique value possessed by their brands. This thesis aims at discussing the relation between M&A, brand associations, the fit of target product, willingness to purchase and brand equity. This study served cellphone products as example and conducted four experiments. According to experiment result, the relationship between brand image of product and the product we want to buy is high before M&A, the brand equality and purchase intension are better than the relationship between brand image of product and the product we want to buy is low. This thesis use different fit of brand image to buy of different types of ingredient brand alliance, could affect the brand equity. Besides, different kinds of consumer could have different level of emphasising on the ingredient of integral brand alliance. When acquirers¡¦and acquirees¡¦possess high brand association and fit of brand image, brand equity of the acquirers¡¦would rise, especially in the parts of trustworthiness. Thus firms could cooperate with specialized firms in order to gain trusts from consumers. It is mention worthy that negative relations are documented in the product performance parts, thus, firms should pay attention on after-sales services and other parts instead of product alone after the M&A for the sake of brand equity and to let consumers enjoy better services.

Purpose: The purpose of this research is to investigate whether RTM-advertising is a more effective and attractive way of creating social media content compared to traditional social media marketing, and if so, provide insights on what makes it successful. The objective is also to get a greater understanding if such real-time marketing may affect the consumers’ perception of a brand due to the lack of time to consider the content of the marketing message. Further we wish to research if and what kind of impact events have on the real-time marketing effectiveness. Lastly we provide recommendations on how to, according to us, best practice RTM-advertising on social media today. Theoretical framework: The theoretical framework consists of the essentials of brand equity and the importance of having a strong brand, as well as the emerging of a digital marketing platform and how it affect how companies perform marketing activities today. Further the theoretical framework covers the basic of social media and development of RTM. Considering RTM being a new phenomenon, previous scientific theories on the subjects are limited. Method: The research is based on a triangulation, a combination of both qualitative and quantitative research methods. This was made to get a broad perspective on the subject with viewpoints from both experts and consumers. The qualitative part consisted of five interviews with experts in the field of marketing as well as online observations of real-time marketing activities. The quantitative part consisted of a survey with 296 responses. Conclusions: The conclusions made in this research is that RTM is an effective and attractive way of creating social media marketing if made according to the following guidelines: 1) Build content on up-to-date news, so called newsjacking, 2) Be selective on what events to work on to make sure they are in alignment with your brand personality, 3) Use weather related happenings to build real-time content that is relevant and geographically on target, and 4) Interact with other brands and start a two way conversation. However, advertising in real-time may jeopardize how the brand is perceived by its consumers, since it may 1) Confuse the consumers, a luxury brand may for example come off as too mainstream, 2) Be misunderstood, considering the lack of time to plan and reconsider, and 3) Have the brand come out as Page 3 of 76 unauthentic, if the real-time content fail to reach high engagement, making it look dull and unattractive. Lastly, events have shown to have an impact on the effectiveness of the real-time advertisement, since 1) It provides brand with a short-cut to creating content that people are talking about, 2) Events are easy to plan beforehand, and 3) Events often open up to unpredicted happenings that consumers want to talk about, creating a so called opportunistic real-time opportunity.

With a strong level of engagement through media, social networks expand communication territory in a manner that traditional media lacks the ability to, with the distinctive features of “participation” and “sharing.” With increasing engagement and penetration, social networks shed light on new channels of communication apart from traditional marketing norms and provide standards of adapting the rising power of their use. Marketing practices of Korean car markets is a typical example of integration of social media because the market contains fierce competition among brands. A difference in social media marketing appears between brands developing new products series with enough resources to do so and brands with suffering financial difficulties. Utilization of social media, one of the most powerful message delivery tools, is a barometer to estimate effective marketing implementation. Facebook messages conveyed by select automobile companies can be classified and compared to verify differences and commonalities regarding the structure of four brand equity factors raised by David Aaker: awareness, loyalty, quality and associated image. The results revealed that local brands and imported brands have focused on different equity categories and each brand has a different marketing emphasis. The imported brands are more focused on brand awareness and perceived quality as opposed to Korean local brands and their focus on loyalty. BMW delivers names of individual cars with new technology but Mercedes-Benz advertises their brand heritage in Facebook. / text

Problematization: Studies  indicate  that there  is  a  lack  of  strong  brands  among  the  Swedish mobile  network  operators.  Problems  of  retaining  customers  are  common  among  the  big operators. Few studies on brand equity for intangible products have been done.   Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate which factors  influence  brand equity in the Swedish service sector of mobile network operators.   Theory: This  paper is  limited  to  one  aspect  of  brand  equity,  namely  customer  based  brand equity. Common  constructs of  customer  based  brand  equity are:  brand  awareness,  brand associations, brand loyalty, and perceived quality.    Methodology: The  data  was  collected  with  self-administered  delivery  and  collection questionnaires, which were distributed among university students.   Data: 400 questionnaires were handed out and 363 responses were valid.   Results  and  Conclusion: This  study  indicates  the  importance  of  brand  associations,  brand loyalty, and brand trust for establishing customer based brand equity among the Swedish mobile network operators.

Titel: Hur står sig de billigare substituten emot premium produkter? Nivå: C-uppsats i ämnet företagsekonomi Författare: Giancarlo Mancuso & John Gustafsson Handledare: Jonas Kågström Datum: 2012 – Maj Syfte: Syftet med denna uppsats är att vi vill undersöka hur de billigare substituten står sig emot premium produkter genom att ställa de emot varandra i ett blindtest föreslagits av tidigare forskning Ogenyi Ejye (1994). Vi vill veta om det finns en stor skillnad mellan de billigare varianterna och de premier produkterna enligt tidigare gjord forskning. Metod: Vi har utfört ett experiment i form av ett blindtest där vi sätter fyra olika Cola sorter emot varandra. Under genomförandet av experimentet har vi använt oss utav enkäter för att samla in data. Detsamma gäller för vår webb undersökning. Resultat & slutsats: Det vi kom fram till i vår undersökning är att varumärken påverkar oss konsumenter både positivt och negativt. Vi kan tydligt se i det blinda testet att det inte skiljer sig så mycket mellan premier produkterna och de billigare substituten när det kommer till smaken. Men i det visuella testet kan vi se en tydlig skillnad mellan de olika sorterna. Vidare visade vår undersökning att det genomsnittliga priset som våra deltagare var villiga att betala för de olika produkterna ligger över det faktiska priset i både det visuella och det blinda testet. Förslag till fortsatt forskning: En intressant vidare forskning skulle vara att ta samma deltagare och genomföra två olika experiment på dem. Den ena skulle vara ett blindtest där deltagarna är omedvetna om vad det är de dricker och det andra skulle vara ett visuella test där deltagarna är medvetna om vilket varumärke det är de dricker, därefter jämföra resultatet. En annan vidare forskning i detta sammanhang skulle vara att undersöka WTA(Willingness To Accept) för att se vilket pris man som konsument skulle vara villig att betala.  Uppsatsens bidrag: Det vi kom fram till är att skillnaden mellan de olika Cola sorter inte är så stora när man tar bort varumärket. Det är ett bevis på att de billiga substituten börjar matcha det premium produkterna i form av smak preferenser. Vi ser också hur viktigt det är att skapa ett starkt varumärke. Nyckelord: Brand, Brand Equity, Willingess to Pay, Consumer price perception, Pricepremium / Title: How do the cheaper substitutes withstand the premium products? Level: Degree in Business Administration Author: Giancarlo Mancuso & John Gustafsson Supervisor: Jonas Kågström Date: Maj – 2012 Aim: The purpose of this paper is to investigate how cheaper substitutes hold up to premium products by comparing them to each other in a blind test suggested by previous research Ogenyi Ejye (1994). We want to know if there is a major difference between the cheaper versions and the premium products in accordance with previous research. Method: The research had been done in the form of a blind test. Four different Cola varieties and have been compared against each other using a survey to collect data. This form of testing applied to our online survey as well. Result & Conclusions: The conclusion of our study is that brands do affect us as consumers, both in a positive and negative way. We could clearly see that in the blind test between the premium products and the cheaper substitutes there was not much of a difference in taste. In the visual test we could clearly see a difference between the products. Furthermore this research has shown that our participants are willing to pay more than the actual retail price for this product in both the visual and blind test. Suggestions for future research: It would be interesting with further research to take the same participants and perform two different experiments on them. One could be a blind test and the second could be in a visual test. During which the participants are aware of what they taste to see if there would be a major difference between the results. It would also be interesting to see research done using WTA (Willingness to Accept) in this context.  Contribution of the thesis: Our research has shown that there is not a great difference between the tastes of the products. It has given further proof that the cheaper substitute products are delivering almost the same quality as the premium product, which shows how important it is to build strong brand equity. Key words: Brand, Brand Equity, Willingness to Pay, Consumer price perception, Price premium

The orgin of brand value creation is consumer attitudes towards the brand, and the result of owning powerfull brand is the increased shareholders value. In vast majority of cases these two aspects are analysed sepatately, however, we see a need of looking at that as undivided. This is due to the fact that brand value does not depend only on the consumer’s behaviour. It has much to do with a market situation and the owners’ behaviour, therefore, it is crucial to conceptualize brand value creation process and develop adequate quantitative methods of measuring brand value.

It is recognized that the World Heritage Site (WHS) status is a strong brand with exceptional quality and excellent reputation that attracts tourists to visit. This study applies and adapts the brand knowledge model to examine local stakeholders’ understanding of the WHS status as a brand. A case study approach was applied and a WHS in China was selected as the case. In total, 13 interviewees from local government, private business owners and residents participated in the study. The study showed that the three local stakeholders were familiar with the WHS status and shared the importance of the WHS status as intended by the WHS program to tourists. However, local stakeholders over emphasized the economic importance of the WHS status, and conservation became a tool to fulfill economic benefits. The results challenged the standpoint of the WHS program and showed that the WHS status was not a strong brand.

Background:                 Brands are associated with certain elements, including name, logo and slogan. Being understood as major parts of all brands, changing these would be considered as a vital event. The term ‘rebranding’ is an umbrella term for describing the three following processes; changing name, changing the aesthetics of the brand, and/or repositioning. Although rebranding often results in success, the process of rebranding is challenging and risky, and it is important for firms to understand the main opportunities as well as the main barriers in order for the rebranding process to be as well-organised and effective as possible. With this in mind after a significant change, companies need to enforce the brand images previously perceived by consumers, in order to capture and transfer brand equity, as well as making sure that the rebranding process responds to the desired corporate identity of the firm. Purpose:                       The purpose of this thesis is to understand corporate rebranding, focusing on repositioning, and what consequences arise from it, in terms of brand equity, corporate identity, and brand image, by using the case of Lidl in order to illustrate this.   Method:                       A single-case study has been conducted illustrating Lidl in accordance with the purpose of this thesis. Primary data have been collected through a qualitative method, and secondary data has been gathered to further support purpose and gain understanding about Lidl. Theoretical insights have been collected through a literature review. Conclusion:                   Derived from the research the authors can conclude that repositioning, as a process of rebranding, is a difficult and long-term process. The research and findings show that repositioning although difficult is possible proven by examining positive effects from the rebranding process of Lidl on brand equity, corporate identity and brand image.

Prekės ženklo vertės vartotojui kūrimo procesas tarptautinėje terpėje yra sudėtingas, tačiau šiuo atveju svarbiausia įvertinti egzistuojančius kultūrinius skirtumus. Literatūroje pasigendama nuoseklaus teorinio kultūrinių veiksnių įtakos prekės ženklo vertės vartotojui kūrime, pagrindimo. Vartojimo kultūriniai ypatumai skatina ieškoti naujų metodų, skirtų vartotojų prioritetams tirti. Dėl to ne visuomet prekės ženklo vertė vartotojui suvokiama taip, kaip tikisi ją kuriantys marketingo specialsitai. Darbo tikslas – atlikus teorines prekės ženklo vertės vartotojui tarpkultūriniu aspektu studijas, parengti kultūros ir prekės ženklo vertės dimensijų sąsajų modelį bei patikrinti jį empiriškai. Darbo tikslui pasiekti keliami uždaviniai: 1.Išanalizuoti prekės ženklo vertės vartotojui tarpkultūriniu aspektu problematikos teorinį reikšmingumą. 2.Pateikti prekės ženklo vertės vartotojui sampratą ir jos dedamąsias. 3.Identifikuoti tarptautinio prekės ženklo vertę lemiančius veiksnius. 4.Aptarti šalių kultūrų svarbą prekės ženklo vertei vartotojui. 5.Sukurti kultūros ir prekės ženklo vertės dimensijų sąsajų modelį. 6.Atlikti empirinį tyrimą pagal teorinėje dalyje parengtą modelį. Darbo rezultatai: -Teoriniu požiūriu išanalizuota ir susisteminta mokslinė literatūra apie prekės ženklo vertę vartotojui ir jos dedamąsias, prekės ženklo vertės kūrimo ypatumus tarptautiniu mastu, kultūrinių veiksnių įtaką prekės ženklo vertei vartotojui, apibrėžiama šalių kultūrų bei kultūrinių vertybių svarba... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / This master work examines consumer – based brand equity in cross – cultural aspect. Objective of master’s work is to execute theoretical studies of consumer – based brand equity in cross – cultural aspect and to check these studies empirically. The master work consist of three main parts. The first part of the master work includes theoretical analysis of a brand, consumer – based brand equity, the main factors of international branding and branding in different cultures, cultural differences and models of cultural dimensions. The second part of the master work includes theoretical approach of cross-cultural factors, which influence consumer - based brand equity and, according to empirical studies, conducted on consumer – based brand equity and cultural values, constructed theoretical brand value and culture chain based model. The third part of the master work consists of methodical rules and the empirical research, the purpose, task and the suggestions of the research; result analysis of the qualitative and quantitative data results; generalization of the research results, giving suggestions and recommendation. This master work presents theoretical and empirical researches results and recommendations. There are used 11 tables, 37 pictures and 5 additions in order to illustrate the theoretical and empirical results in master work. There are used 75 sources of scientific literature in Lithuanian and English in master work.