Sveriges generationsväxling på arbetsmarknaden kommer innebära nya rekryteringsbehov för samtliga arbetsplatser. Inom den offentliga sektorn lär det behövas rekrytera upp mot en halv miljon medarbetare fram till år 2020. I dagsläget råder det redan brist på medarbetare inom den offentliga sektorn och kan behöva anpassa sin employer branding strategi för att attrahera nya potentiella medarbetare. Nya potentiella medarbetare som ska inträda på arbetsmarknaden inom snar framtid är högskolestudenter. Eftersom den offentliga sektorn har begränsningar i att konkurrera genom högre löner, krävs det istället satsningar på symboliska attribut så som organisationskultur och värderingar. Syftet är undersöka utifrån högskolestudenters perspektiv hur den offentliga sektorn kan använda sig utav employer branding och dess brand attribut för att attrahera nya potentiella medarbetare. Detta uppnås genom en utförd kvalitativ studie där tio högskolestudenter intervjuas. Denna metod användes för att fånga respondenternas uppfattning och erfarenheter vad gäller den offentliga sektorn som en potentiell arbetsgivare. Studien har bidragit med att den offentliga sektorn bör utvärdera dess employer branding och de egenskaper som utlovas och om dessa verkligen hålls. Brister detta så brister även den sociala identifieringen som en gång skapade attraktion och detta skapar ett initiativ till dåliga rykten. Vidare har viktiga attribut identifierats så som värderingar, organisationskultur, arbetsförhållanden, karriärutvecklingsmöjligheter men också lön har fått en plats bland de viktigaste attributen. Högskolestudenters inställning gentemot den offentliga sektorn baseras både på egna erfarenheter och familj eller vänners erfarenheter samt sociala medier. Det blir därför viktigt att det som utlovas faktiskt hålls eftersom rykten bland en individs sociala krets/sociala medier kan påverka attraktionen av nya potentiella medarbetare. / Sweden’s generation shift in the labor market will entail new recruitment needs for all workplaces. In the public sector, it is necessary to recruit up to half a million employees by 2020. At present, there is already a shortage of employees in the public sector and may need to adapt their employer branding strategy to attract new potential employees. New potential employees who will enter the labor market in the near future are college students. Since the public sector has limitations on competing through higher wages, instead it is required to make investments in symbolic attributes such as organizational culture and values. The purpose is to examine from the perspective of college students, how the public sector can use employer branding and its brand attributes to attract new potential employees. This is achieved through a qualitative study in which ten college students are interviewed. This method was used to capture respondents’ perception and experience of the public sector as a potential employer. The study has contributed that the public sector should evaluate its employer branding and the characteristics that are promised and whether these are really kept. Failure to do so also impairs social identification that once created attraction and this creates an initiative for bad rumors. Furthermore, important attributes have been identified such as values, organizational culture, working conditions, career development, but also that salary has become among the most important attributes. College students’ attitude towards the public sector is based on both their own experiences, family or friends’ experiences and social media. It is therefore important that what is promised is actually kept because rumors among an individual’s social circle/social media can affect the attraction of new potential employees.

Les marques représentent aujourd'hui incontestablement un élément important de la société de consommation. Le nombre de marques ne cesse d'augmenter, créant ainsi une confusion dans l'esprit des consommateurs, et représentant autant de difficultés et de défis pour les entreprises. Chaque année, les entreprises consacrent des sommes importantes à la gestion de leur marque afin quelle soit connue et présente dans l'esprit des consommateurs. Ceci nous a conduits à s'intéresser aux problématiques liées à la construction et à la conservation d'un fort capital-marque pour une firme. Le capital-marque est fortement influencé par des bénéfices symboliques ou intangibles. La marque n'est plus un objet. Les activités de marketing confèrent à la marque une personnalité, une âme. Grâce à cela, la marque devient un partenaire dans la relation avec les consommateurs. Cette thèse se focalise sur la recherche de l'effet de la personnalité de la marque et de la congruence de la personnalité marque-consommateur sur le capital-marque. Elle étudie les valeurs qu'un fort capital-marque peut apporter à la firme par la construction et le maintien d'une bonne relation avec les consommateurs. Toutes nos études expérimentales ont été mises en œuvre au Vietnam. Les résultats obtenus proposent des contributions théoriques afin de mieux comprendre la nature de la relation mutuelle entre le capital-marque et la relation interpersonnelle marque-consommateur. Ils apportent des contributions méthodologiques, relative à la création d'une échelle de mesure de la personnalité de la marque et d'une échelle de mesure du capital-marque dans le contexte vietnamien. Ils fournissent des apports managériaux importants aux entreprises qui veulent commercialiser leurs produits sur le marché vietnamien. / Nowadays, the brands undoubtly represent an important element of the consumer society. The number of brands does not stop increasing, thus creating a confusion in the spirit of the consumers, and resulting in many difficulties and challenges for the businesses. Each year, companies spend a large amount of money on managing their brand so that their brand are known and present in the spirit of the consumers. This drives us to be very concerned by the problems linked to the construction and to the conservation of a strong brand equity for a firm. The brand equity is strongly influenced by symbolic or intangible benefits. The brand is no longer an inanimate object. The marketing activities confer to the brand a personality, a soul. Thanks to that, the brand becomes a partner in its relation with the consumers. This thesis focuses on studying the effect of the brand personality and the congruence on the personality between brand and consumer on the brand equity. It studies the values concerning the construction and the maintenance of a good relation with the consumers that a strong brand equity can bring to the firm. All of experimental studies were implemented in Vietnam. The results bring theoretical contributions for a better understanding of the nature of the mutual relation between the brand equity and the interpersonal relationship between brand and consumer. They furnish methodological contributions by creating a measurement scale both for brand personality and brand equity in the Vietnamese context. They also provide important managerial implications for the companies that want to market their products on the Vietnamese market.

abstract: Using a modified news media brand personality scale developed by Kim, Baek, and Martin (2010), this study measured the personalities of eight news media outlets and combined them into the same associative network with participants’ self-image via the Pathfinder tool (Schvaneveldt, Durso, & Dearholt, 1989). Using these networks, this study was able to both explore the personality associations of participants and observe if self-congruity, measured by the distance between the self-image node and a brand, is significantly related to participant preference for a brand. Self-congruity was found to be significantly related to preference. However, this relationship was mediated by participants’ fiscal and social orientation. Overall, using Pathfinder to generate associative networks and measure self-congruity could be a useful approach for understanding how people perceive and relate to different news media outlets. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Human Systems Engineering 2018

Brand personality is a set of human personality traits that are relevant to a brand. A distinctive brand personality serves a symbolic or self-expressive function and helps to create a set of unique and favourable associations in the consumer’s mind. Generation Y consumers are considerably more brand and image conscious than any other generational cohort. Given that motor vehicles, especially luxury motor vehicles, are a conspicuous consumption item that are often used to signal status to others, luxury motor vehicle marketers need to understand Generation Y members’ perceptions of brand personality. Aaker (1997) developed a brand personality trait scale to measure brand personality perceptions. This study established a factor structure for Aaker’s (1997) brand personality trait scale applicable for luxury sedan brands. This adapted brand personality trait scale was used to investigate the brand personality perceptions of luxury sedan motor vehicles amongst Generation Y. The target population for this study was defined as students registered at South Africa’s public HEIs in 2014. This study made use of a non-probability convenience sample to select one traditional university campus and one university of technology campus located in the Gauteng province of South Africa. Self-administered questionnaires were distributed in two separate steps. Step 1 of the study distributed the questionnaire to 65 participants to identify Generation Y students’ top-of-the-mind awareness concerning luxury sedan motor vehicle brands. Step 2 of the study distributed 500 questionnaires to investigate the brand personality perceptions of luxury sedan brands amongst Generation Y students by means of Aaker’s (1997) brand personality trait scale. Step 2 also investigated Generation Y students’ purchasing intentions of luxury sedan motor vehicles by making use of an adapted a scale by Zeithaml et al. (1996:31-46). The statistical analysis included exploratory factor analysis, descriptive statistical analysis and significance tests. The findings of the study suggest that Generation Y students’ top three luxury sedan brands are BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi. The brand personality perception results revealed that all three brands are associated with the ‘Competence’ and ‘Sophisticated’ brand personality dimensions. In addition, BMW is also associated with the ‘Excitement’ brand personality dimension. The findings of the study also suggest that Generation Y students do have purchasing intentions of luxury sedan motor vehicles. Some gender differences regarding Generation Y students’ brand personality perceptions and purchasing intentions of luxury sedan motor vehicles do exist. However, the differences are limited with a small effect of practical significance. The study offers insight into the brand personality perceptions in the South African market. Generation Y consumers have unique perceptions regarding different brands and it is therefore important to gain insight regarding their perceptions. The results presented in this study can aid the marketers of the selected luxury sedan motor vehicle brands in identifying the personality traits associated with their brand. This information can be compared with their current marketing strategy to determine if any differences exist between the desired and perceived brand personality. This can also help the marketers to tailor the marketing strategy accordingly to achieve the desired brand personality / MCom (Marketing Management)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2015

Brand personality is a set of human personality traits that are relevant to a brand. A distinctive brand personality serves a symbolic or self-expressive function and helps to create a set of unique and favourable associations in the consumer’s mind. Generation Y consumers are considerably more brand and image conscious than any other generational cohort. Given that motor vehicles, especially luxury motor vehicles, are a conspicuous consumption item that are often used to signal status to others, luxury motor vehicle marketers need to understand Generation Y members’ perceptions of brand personality. Aaker (1997) developed a brand personality trait scale to measure brand personality perceptions. This study established a factor structure for Aaker’s (1997) brand personality trait scale applicable for luxury sedan brands. This adapted brand personality trait scale was used to investigate the brand personality perceptions of luxury sedan motor vehicles amongst Generation Y. The target population for this study was defined as students registered at South Africa’s public HEIs in 2014. This study made use of a non-probability convenience sample to select one traditional university campus and one university of technology campus located in the Gauteng province of South Africa. Self-administered questionnaires were distributed in two separate steps. Step 1 of the study distributed the questionnaire to 65 participants to identify Generation Y students’ top-of-the-mind awareness concerning luxury sedan motor vehicle brands. Step 2 of the study distributed 500 questionnaires to investigate the brand personality perceptions of luxury sedan brands amongst Generation Y students by means of Aaker’s (1997) brand personality trait scale. Step 2 also investigated Generation Y students’ purchasing intentions of luxury sedan motor vehicles by making use of an adapted a scale by Zeithaml et al. (1996:31-46). The statistical analysis included exploratory factor analysis, descriptive statistical analysis and significance tests. The findings of the study suggest that Generation Y students’ top three luxury sedan brands are BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi. The brand personality perception results revealed that all three brands are associated with the ‘Competence’ and ‘Sophisticated’ brand personality dimensions. In addition, BMW is also associated with the ‘Excitement’ brand personality dimension. The findings of the study also suggest that Generation Y students do have purchasing intentions of luxury sedan motor vehicles. Some gender differences regarding Generation Y students’ brand personality perceptions and purchasing intentions of luxury sedan motor vehicles do exist. However, the differences are limited with a small effect of practical significance. The study offers insight into the brand personality perceptions in the South African market. Generation Y consumers have unique perceptions regarding different brands and it is therefore important to gain insight regarding their perceptions. The results presented in this study can aid the marketers of the selected luxury sedan motor vehicle brands in identifying the personality traits associated with their brand. This information can be compared with their current marketing strategy to determine if any differences exist between the desired and perceived brand personality. This can also help the marketers to tailor the marketing strategy accordingly to achieve the desired brand personality / MCom (Marketing Management)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2015

There has been a significant amount of growth in soccer game attendance and media coverage since the Premier Soccer League (PSL) in South Africa was established in 1996. However, match attendance started to decline from the 2013 season. PSL teams need to do something to get the fans back into the stadiums. A stable fan base is of vital importance for a team’s competitive advantage since the growing commercialisation of sport. The South African PSL is no exception and teams need to comprehend the importance of loyal fans. Team identification is linked to higher game attendance and more fans that are loyal and, therefore, it is relevant to the PSL teams. Higher game attendance will increase the teams’ revenues through ticket sales. Highly identified fans are loyal fans and increase the likelihood of better sponsorship deals for a team. Higher levels of team identification with a team could be obtained through a unique brand personality. Brand personality is necessary for sport team managers in order to understand fans’ perception regarding a team brand. As such, managers will be able to better position the teams’ brand and reach the target market accordingly. In South Africa, members of the Generation Y cohort made up 38 percent of the country’s population in 2014 (Statistics South Africa, 2014:9), which in terms of its size, make this cohort a highly relevant market segment. Generation Y, specifically African Generation Y, represents an important current and future market segment for PSL teams. This study focuses on the student segment of the Generation Y cohort. Given that a tertiary qualification generally is associated with a higher future earning capacity and a greater role model status within a society, university students are likely to be of particular interest to marketers. The main purpose of the study was to investigate the influence of African Generation Y students’ perceived brand personality of South African PSL teams on their PSL team identification. The study used an adapted version of a team identification scale (Swanson et al., 2003) and sport brand personality scale (Braunstein & Ross, 2010) to measure the perceptions. The sampling frame for the study comprised the 26 public registered higher education institutions (HEIs) situated in South Africa. The study used one traditional university and one university of technology located in the Gauteng province. A non-probability convenience sample of 450 full time African Generation Y students was taken from the two HEIs. Of the questionnaires completed, 438 were usable. The statistical analysis of the collected data included exploratory factor analysis, descriptive statistical analysis, correlation analysis, regression analysis and independent sample t-tests. The findings suggested that Generation Y students exhibit a positive level of team identification towards their favourite team. Generation Y students perceived their favourite PSL team more hard working, confident, respected, skilled and successful. The results also suggest that the level of team identification with the PSL teams could be predicted by two dimensions (successfulness and ruggedness) of brand personality. Generation Y male and female students only differ regarding the perception of two of the brand personality dimensions (successfulness and sophistication). The findings of this study contribute to the limited literature available concerning the level of team identification and brand personality perceptions of sport teams in the South African context. The study shed light specifically on the level of team identification and brand personality perceptions of Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs. These were the top two teams identified by the respondents. These findings will assist these PSL teams to understand the brand personality perceptions of the team amongst African Generation Y fans better. The study also indicates some relationship between brand personality and team identification. The results suggest teams can use their brand personality to influence team identification amongst fans positively. These results can be used to assess and alter their current marketing strategies.

There has been a significant amount of growth in soccer game attendance and media coverage since the Premier Soccer League (PSL) in South Africa was established in 1996. However, match attendance started to decline from the 2013 season. PSL teams need to do something to get the fans back into the stadiums. A stable fan base is of vital importance for a team’s competitive advantage since the growing commercialisation of sport. The South African PSL is no exception and teams need to comprehend the importance of loyal fans. Team identification is linked to higher game attendance and more fans that are loyal and, therefore, it is relevant to the PSL teams. Higher game attendance will increase the teams’ revenues through ticket sales. Highly identified fans are loyal fans and increase the likelihood of better sponsorship deals for a team. Higher levels of team identification with a team could be obtained through a unique brand personality. Brand personality is necessary for sport team managers in order to understand fans’ perception regarding a team brand. As such, managers will be able to better position the teams’ brand and reach the target market accordingly. In South Africa, members of the Generation Y cohort made up 38 percent of the country’s population in 2014 (Statistics South Africa, 2014:9), which in terms of its size, make this cohort a highly relevant market segment. Generation Y, specifically African Generation Y, represents an important current and future market segment for PSL teams. This study focuses on the student segment of the Generation Y cohort. Given that a tertiary qualification generally is associated with a higher future earning capacity and a greater role model status within a society, university students are likely to be of particular interest to marketers. The main purpose of the study was to investigate the influence of African Generation Y students’ perceived brand personality of South African PSL teams on their PSL team identification. The study used an adapted version of a team identification scale (Swanson et al., 2003) and sport brand personality scale (Braunstein & Ross, 2010) to measure the perceptions. The sampling frame for the study comprised the 26 public registered higher education institutions (HEIs) situated in South Africa. The study used one traditional university and one university of technology located in the Gauteng province. A non-probability convenience sample of 450 full time African Generation Y students was taken from the two HEIs. Of the questionnaires completed, 438 were usable. The statistical analysis of the collected data included exploratory factor analysis, descriptive statistical analysis, correlation analysis, regression analysis and independent sample t-tests. The findings suggested that Generation Y students exhibit a positive level of team identification towards their favourite team. Generation Y students perceived their favourite PSL team more hard working, confident, respected, skilled and successful. The results also suggest that the level of team identification with the PSL teams could be predicted by two dimensions (successfulness and ruggedness) of brand personality. Generation Y male and female students only differ regarding the perception of two of the brand personality dimensions (successfulness and sophistication). The findings of this study contribute to the limited literature available concerning the level of team identification and brand personality perceptions of sport teams in the South African context. The study shed light specifically on the level of team identification and brand personality perceptions of Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs. These were the top two teams identified by the respondents. These findings will assist these PSL teams to understand the brand personality perceptions of the team amongst African Generation Y fans better. The study also indicates some relationship between brand personality and team identification. The results suggest teams can use their brand personality to influence team identification amongst fans positively. These results can be used to assess and alter their current marketing strategies.

Thesis purpose: The thesis purpose is to examine the interrelationship of consumer and brand relation. The main objective is to research how consumers’ perception of brand personalization before and after seeing Adbusters subvertisement ads influences their relation to brands. Methodology: The thesis has deductive quantitative research approach, since it starts from theory to gain more understanding of the research area. The data is collected through an online questionnaire. Theoretical perspective: This study is based upon the general brand and branding definitions, with focus on brand personality, consumer perception and findings within the study of Adbusters. Empirical data: The study is investigated quantitatively. An online questionnaire was used to gather the empirical data. Conclusion: This study provides a broad overview about consumer perception of brand personalized commercial ads and what is their relation to brands after seeing Adbusters subvertisement ads. The research contributes to brand personalization theory and Adbusters studies and demonstrates that Adbusters influence on brand personalization depends on how strong the consumer-brand relationship is. However, it is also shown that consumers are inconsistent in their perception of brand personas and that relation to brands is highly brand-specific.

The purpose of the study was to find out how well companies succeed in trying to convey the identity of their trademarks to the consumers. The study was quantitative with a survey design. A sample of 109 respondents participated. Brand identity and brand image was the focus of the study and was measured in three companies; Odd Molly, Filippa K and Björn Borg. These three were selected partly because of their different profiles. One survey was sent to the companies and one survey was distributed to the consumers. The majority of the questions in the surveys were based on a model designed to measure brand identity and brand image and gap in between them. The study presents three central theories; Profile, Image and Identity, Brand Equity and The Corporate Personality Scale. The first two gives a background to the concept of the words. The Corporate Personality Scale was created and designed to assess image and identity and the gaps in between them. The results showed that there were gaps in between the brand identity and the brand image in all three of the selected companies. However there were also signs of coherence between them. The companies succeeded in some part, in their trying to convey the identity of their trademarks to the consumers. There were both clear gaps and clear coherence between Brand Identity and Brand Image. In some cases the image was graded higher than the identity and vice versa.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2011. / Since the first democratic election in South Africa in 1994, considerable investment has gone into South Africa’s brand. However, this researcher could find no literature on the description of South Africa’s brand personality as perceived by visitors. The purpose of this study is to provide insight into South Africa’s brand personality and encourage researchers to undertake a more in depth study of South Africa’s brand personality. It ultimately aims to assist marketers in differentiating South Africa’s brand and making it more competitive on the world stage. This report also seeks to encourage research in the field of customer service personality frameworks for destinations, based on destination brand personality. The design of this report is qualitative and exploratory. Participants of this study included a group of 15 arbitrarily selected visitors at the International Departure Terminal of Cape Town International Airport. A semi-structured interview was the method used to collect the data. A qualitative analysis included categorising the data according to similar adjectives and descriptions and then determining where best it fits (if at all) with Aaker’s (1997:354) brand personality dimensions. The findings of the research reveal that South Africa’s brand personality can be described in terms of Aaker’s (1997:354) brand personality scale. However, a relatively large number of participants described the personality as immature, contradictory and damaged. The researcher also discovered that there is a weak relationship between the brand personality and the core values of South Africa’s brand as identified by Brand South Africa (Shepherd, 2010a).This led the researcher to conclude that there are deficiencies in South Africa’s brand personality and it is not robust enough to be a sustainable competitive advantage in its current state. This researcher concluded that South Africa’s brand personality has a perceived weakness of inconsistency, is in a developing phase and the perceived personality is not an effective medium through which the country’s core values are being communicated. This research was limited by the relatively low number of participants, the collection of data in one location only and the absence of triangulation. This impacts negatively on the robustness of this research. The data collection also lacked representation across nationalities that would have provided an opportunity to make comparisons of the same. This report is not generalisable and the isolated nature of the research implies that the personality identified cannot be compared with other destination brand personalities to determine its relative strength or weakness. The practical implication of this research is that in identifying visitors’ perceptions of South Africa’s brand personality, marketers can use this information to mitigate the negative perceptions that manifest in the personality and emphasise the positive. The identification of the ‘developing’ nature of South Africa’s brand personality points to an opportunity to shape the brand according to Brand South Africa’s strategic objectives. The finding that traits associated with some of the core values like Ubuntu, Competitiveness and Determination are absent from the personality provides valuable insight into the gap between how the brand is positioned and the perceptions of visitors. The finding of the stereotypical perceptions of African and Western manifesting in the brand personality can be used as valuable insight in a nation branding initiative that aims to change these perceptions. Finally, the brand personality can form the basis of a customer service personality that is unique to South Africa.