Despite a rich stream of qualitative research demonstrating that brands gain meaning as individual consumers engage in relationships with them, most branding research and practice proceeds on the assumption that brand meaning is predominantly consensual and shared across consumers. The assumption of consensus underpins the branding practices used by most companies today, which strive for consistency, simplicity, and clarity in a brand’s positioning. Still, this assumption has not been empirically validated by systematic research. Hence we do not know whether brand meaning is predominantly consensual, as generally assumed, or idiosyncratic to individual consumers. Based on a conceptual model inspired by the Social Relations Model for interpersonal perception, three empirical studies with more than 50 brands in nine consumption domains test the assumption of consensus and find that, contrary to prevailing wisdom, a brand’s meaning is predominantly idiosyncratic rather than consensual. Managers miss a lot of what brands mean to consumers when they focus only on meanings that are shared across individuals. Managing idiosyncratic meanings requires different tools than managing consensus, but managers are ill-equipped for this task because no prior research has investigated what makes brand meaning more or less idiosyncratic or how managerial actions can influence idiosyncrasy. This dissertation first explores which brand characteristics are associated with higher idiosyncrasy. Two studies suggest that brands are more idiosyncratic as they become more familiar to consumers and when consumed in private rather than in public. Secondly, four studies investigate how marketer-led interactions between consumers and brands, in the forms of marketing communications and direct experience, impact brand idiosyncrasy. Results suggest that narrative communications lead to more idiosyncratic meaning than argument-based communications. They also indicate that increased brand experience results in higher idiosyncrasy. Overall, this pattern of results suggests that brands become more or less idiosyncratic depending on how and how much they interact with consumers. Based on the findings that brands are predominantly idiosyncratic rather than consensual and that brand idiosyncrasy can be measured, predicted, and managed, this research argues for a reconsideration of current theories and practices related to brand positioning and meaning management. / 2017-06-30T00:00:00Z

Abstract Purpose – The aim of this study is to gain a deeper understanding on how brand equity for non-profit entertainment-based service firms in the cultural sector can be cultivated. Design/approach/methodology – An existing model to cultivate brand equity in commercial service firms is utilised to assess the applicability on specific non-profit firms. Furthermore, five interviews have been held to investigate the case companies’ practises and a survey has been taken to measure the perceptions from the visitors/customers’ point of view, which is referred to as a triangulation method. Findings – The findings show that brand equity can be cultivated by the means of the tested model, though, the popularity and famousness of a particular artist temporarily transfers its brand equity to the particular cultural institution wherefore the brand awareness is boosted significantly and brand meaning becomes more elucidated. As a result, entertainment-based cultural (non-profit) firms need to guarantee high quality experiences in which both the service and performance are amalgamated. Furthermore, companies must adapt to the rapid changing advertisement methods to reach (new) visitors. Thereby, a new model has been developed based on the study outcomes, which includes a new factor that influences the cultivation of brand equity in the specified sector and firms. The added factor in the developed model is “Programme Brand Equity” and exerts its influence on the original factors. Limitations and further research – Limitations are that the findings from these particular firms may not be found in other similar firms, which is a typical implication of every case study. Furthermore, this research is first in this topic wherefore supplementary literature is obligatory. Consequently, the findings of this research may have substantial abnormalities from practise. The developed model should be tested for generalisation of outcomes. Originality/value – This study links brand equity cultivation methods to entertainment-based cultural non-profit service firms and is first on this topic hence suggestions for further enlightenment are provided since it brings implications along. Key words – Brand equity, Word-of-Mouth/WOM, Brand Meaning, Brand Awareness. / <p>none</p>

Det finns i dagens samhälle en uppåtgående trend när det kommer till att ta socialt ansvar – hos såväl privatpersoner som organisationer. Att agera hållbart är sålunda ett omtalat ämne som debatteras nu mer än någonsin tidigare. Ett sätt att agera hållbart är att konsumera second hand. Andrahandsförsäljningen har till följd av samhällets diskussioner ökat drastiskt under de senaste åren. I och med att second hand-branschen är aktuell är branschen i sig av intressantkaraktär. Vi har sålunda valt att studera branschen utifrån teorier kring storytelling. Det finns i dagsläget inte mycket tidigare forskning kring storytelling kopplat till just second hand och välgörenhet – vilket ökar denna studies relevans. Forskning inom detta område kan således bidra med ökad förståelse och kunskap inom ett fält som än så länge inte har applicerats i vidareutsträckning. Studiens framtagna kunskap kan exempelvis användas för branschens förståelseför hur de med hjälp av att bygga en stabil röd tråd kring sina berättelser kan bygga sittvarumärke. Uppsatsens huvudsakliga syfte är att undersöka tre verksamma hjälporganisationer i Göteborgsområdet – Erikshjälpen, Reningsborg och Myrorna – som samtliga har en secondhand-butik vars mål är att göra världen en aning bättre. Studien undersöker dessa trehjälporganisationer ur ett storytellingperspektiv för att dels se huruvida deras berättelser på olika varumärkeskontaktpunkter är koherenta eller inte, dels för att jämföra skillnader och likheter mellan de olika hjälporganisationerna. Frågeställningarna som ställdes var: 1. Vilket innehåll och berättelser kommunicerar hjälporganisationerna ut och är dessa koherenta? 2. Vad finns det för likheter respektive skillnader hos hjälporganisationerna i deras kommunicerade innehåll? För att svara på studiens frågeställning har studien antagit en kvalitativ ansats där det genomförts tre fallstudier med ett komparativt inslag. Studien inleddes med en mer omfattandeobservation i vardera butik där butiken granskades utifrån förutbestämda teman. Observationer har även genomförts online på organisationernas hemsidor samt sociala medier för att få enklarare bild över organisationernas kommunicerade innehåll. Sedermera genomfördes tvåintervjuer hos vardera organisation – en intervju med en högre anställd, till exempel en butikschef, samt en medarbetare. Målet med studien var att få en tydlig bild över vilket innehåll de olika organisationerna väljer att kommunicera ut och hur de resonerar kring studiens frågor. Studiens empiri indikerar att det finns en betydelse av att ha en stark koherent berättelse kring varumärket då det ökar organisationens trovärdighet och transparens. Genom att inneha en tydlig kommunikation kring organisationens mål och även till exempel vart pengarna går tillför olika ändamål underlättar detta för organisationens medarbetare då det finns en tendens att kunderna vill ta del av denna information. Gällande studiens tre studieobjekt har samtliga en koherent berättelse, men med en viss skillnad över hur berättelsen förstärker varumärket eller inte. Studien indikerar även att det finns flera likheter samt skillnader mellan de olika organisationerna. Erikshjälpen och Reningsborg upplevs vara mer lika då de både arbetar på ett likartat sätt. Myrorna särskiljer sig till stor del både i arbetssätt men även i vilket innehåll de väljer att kommunicera ut. / In society, today there is an upward trend when it comes to taking a bigger social responsibility for both private individuals and organisations. Acting sustainably is a hot topic that is being debated more than ever before, and one way to act sustainably is to consume second hand products. Second hand sales have increased dramatically in recent years as a result of community discussions about the environment. As the second-hand industry is more than ever current the industry itself is of interesting character. Thus, we have chosen to study the industry based on theories of storytelling. There is currently very little previous research on storytelling linked to just second-hand products and charity which increases the relevance of this study. Research in this area could contribute to increasing the understanding and knowledge in a field that has so far not been widely applied. The study's acquired knowledge can, for example, be used for the industry's understanding of how they can build their brand by building a stable red thread around their stories. The main purpose of the thesis is to investigate three active aid organisations in the Gothenburg area - Erikshjälpen, Reningsborg and Myrorna - all of which opened second hand shops whose main aim were to make the world a little better, thereby benefitting everyone. The study examines these three aid organisations from a storytelling perspective to see whether their stories from different brand contact points are coherent, understandable and feasible if put into use and partly to compare the differences and any similarities between the different aid organisations. This essay will be written in Swedish and the questions this study examines are: 1. What content and stories do the aid organisations communicate and are they coherent? 2. What are the similarities and differences of the aid organisations in their communicated content? In answering the study's questions, the study has adopted a qualitative approach where three case studies with a comparative element have been carried out. The study began with a more comprehensive observation, where each store’s examination was based on pre-determined themes. Online observations were also conducted on the organisations websites and social media to gain a clearer picture of the organisations communication content. Subsequently, two interviews were conducted with each organisation - an interview was held with a high positioned employee, i.e. a store manager and also an employee. The aim of the study was to obtain a comprehensive overview over what type of content the organisations choose to communicate, and how they resonate with the research questions. The study's results indicate that it is very important to have a strong, coherent story built around the brand as it increases the organisation's credibility, benefits and transparency by having clear communications about the organisation's goals and also where the money is spent for various purposes. This helps the organisation's employees and customers to recognise their credibility and sends a clear-cut message as there is a tendency for customers wanting to share this information. Regarding the three organisations they all have a coherent story, but with some differences over how the story increase the brand value or not. The study also indicates that there are several similarities and differences between the different organisations. Erikshjälpen and Reningsborg are perceived to be more similar as they both work in a similar way whereas Myrorna differ to a great extent both in the way they work but also in what content they choose to communicate.

Social contagion—the spread and adoption of affects, behaviors, cognitions, and desires within a social group due to peer influence—is a widely studied phenomenon that continues to have a significant impact on commerce. When social contagion occurs within a culture of consumption, brands and branded products are not only adopted by the community, but they are also normalized and elevated from a strictly utilitarian function to identity-markers. Brands become important components of cultural meaning. Despite this impact, the specific details of the processes of social contagion are still relatively unknown. This dissertation studied social contagion within the hip hop culture of consumption, a multi-billion dollar marketplace. Using data from the Reddit social networking platform, the research provided empirical evidence that non-linear social contagion exists within the hop hip community for multiple brands. A netnography determined the processes by which brands and branded products spread within the hip hop community. Building on the established social processes of evaluation and legitimation that are known to drive the community coordination necessary for social contagion, the research uncovered four underlying mechanisms—responding, recontextualizing, reconciling, and reinforcing. These four mechanisms of evaluation and legitimation not only provide a richer understanding of social contagion but also enable the embedding of brands into culture and culture into brands. This theory-grounded empirical analysis of social contagion and meaning-making in the hip hop culture of consumption provides practical insights to marketers on how to better curate signals and communications to drive cultural meaning. / Business Administration/Marketing

No description available.

<p><strong>Purpose</strong></p><p>The purpose of the thesis is to analyze the current challenges facedby Husqvarna Motorcycles in their brand building process, and todescribe ways in which applying the brand equity principles will enablean increase of the value of their brand.</p><p><strong>Background</strong></p><p>In the complex world of organizations and companies where thecompetitive position plays an important role in successful achievementsof the company, managers seek after building a sustainablecompetitive advantage. Building brand equity is an important focusfor a large company' improvement, since it raises interest of existingand new customers. The process of building brand equity takestime but through this process a company will have a stronger marketposition which creates brand value.</p><p><strong>Method</strong></p><p>In order to answer the purpose, the qualitative method with implementation of semi-structured interviews for collecting data wasused. The data was interpreted and then structured and analyzedusing theoretical framework.</p><p><strong>Conclusions</strong></p><p>During the research performed it was found out that the managersare facing several challenges in respect to building brand equity.Therefore, five components of building brand equity were implementedto draw the conclusions of how the managers could strengthentheir brand.</p>

Brand meaning, which is often used in narrative advertising, is an important value that companies try to build around their loyal consumers. This exploratory research aims to explore brand meanings from consumers’ narratives. This study analyzed 2,382 consumer submitted narratives for a real brand in the food service marketplace. Brand narratives were analyzed using a mixed method content analysis approach by applying Leximancer software to generate key themes and their related concepts. The results indicate brand meaning with some thematic similarities as well as differences when comparing narratives submitted by females and males. This exploratory study introduces analyzing narrative as a way to learn brand meaning and generate future narratives that could be applied to creative message strategy.

Purpose The purpose of the thesis is to analyze the current challenges facedby Husqvarna Motorcycles in their brand building process, and todescribe ways in which applying the brand equity principles will enablean increase of the value of their brand. Background In the complex world of organizations and companies where thecompetitive position plays an important role in successful achievementsof the company, managers seek after building a sustainablecompetitive advantage. Building brand equity is an important focusfor a large company' improvement, since it raises interest of existingand new customers. The process of building brand equity takestime but through this process a company will have a stronger marketposition which creates brand value. Method In order to answer the purpose, the qualitative method with implementation of semi-structured interviews for collecting data wasused. The data was interpreted and then structured and analyzedusing theoretical framework. Conclusions During the research performed it was found out that the managersare facing several challenges in respect to building brand equity.Therefore, five components of building brand equity were implementedto draw the conclusions of how the managers could strengthentheir brand.

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.

The aim of the bachelor’s thesis is to examine how sensory marketing is applied in e-commerce. It is also of the bachelor’s interest to examine whether the consumer perceives the application of the term in e-commerce. The research question in the study is: In what way is mind marketing applied in e-commerce and what is the perception of the consumer? To create an understanding and answer the essay question, observations, interviews and aquestionnaire have been applied. The authors observed ten companies from differentindustries to examine the application of sensory marketing in e-commerce. The interviews were conducted on four respondents who knew the concept of sensory marketing since before. The respondents observed a few websites and answered questions from a prepared interview guide. Furthermore, a survey was conducted with a response from one hundred respondents. The results of the bachelor’s thesis show that the application of sensory marketing in e-commerce is relatively small, since almost only the sense of sight is applied.The sense of hearing is used to a very small extent and the results show that other aspects,such as offers and reputation, arouse interest and affect the consumer in e-commerce. In conclusion, the authors can conclude that the visual sense is the mind that is used to the greatest extent in e-commerce. In part, e-commerce also stimulates the sense of hearing, but to a small extent. The authors can thus state that sensory marketing that occurs in today's e-commerce primarily stimulates the visual sense and that there is great development potential for the application in e-commerce.