A brand could be considered to be the face of a company. The most visible aspect of a brand is the logo, but there is another perspective widely known, namely brand personality. Previous studies have acknowledged that brands, in the eyes of consumers, can be seen as having personality traits. With this knowledge, it becomes important for managers to understand what type of personality their brands possess and how therelationship between brand personality and consumers, especially their behavior, works. The purpose of this study was to explore whether brand personality has an effect on consumers‟ preference and trust towards a brand, and furthermore, whether brand personality is first influencing brand identification, as an indirect link, on its way towards preference and trust. Another aspect of this study was to make a cultural comparison between Germany and Sweden in order to find out if there are any differences in how consumers from different cultures view brand personality, and if that affects the results for brand identification, preference and trust. The findings will help marketing managers to understand the effects of brand personality, its relationship with the consumer, and moreover if the concept of brand identification is an important aspect in order to increase consumers‟ preference and trust towards a specific brand. A quantitative method was used for this study, since a large sample was thought to be needed. A total of 317 respondents provided answers for this research, out of those 190 were gathered from an online survey, while the remaining 127 answered a standard paper-based questionnaire. 181 of the respondents were German and 136 were Swedish.Two non-probability sampling techniques, snowball and convenience, were used. The questionnaires consisted of 26 questions, 13 for each brand, measuring brand personality, brand identification, preference and trust, using Likert-scales from 1 to 5. Four brands, Apple, Nike, Ikea and Mercedes Benz, were used, each restricted to one page. In order to not provide the respondents with an overwhelmingly number of questions to answer, a split of the questionnaire was made. Two questionnaires, the first with the brands Apple and Nike, and the second with Ikea and Mercedes Benz were conducted. The splitting procedure was also used to provide answers concerning cultural differences. One questionnaire was culturally neutral, while the other was culturally biased, allowing for the exploration of the effects of country of origin and consumer ethnocentric tendencies. The results of this study showed that there were indications of brand personality affecting the level of trust towards a brand among consumers. Especially, correlations were found between the brand personality dimensions of Competence and Sincerity with brand trust and between Excitement and preference. However, the concept of brand identification, as a connecting link, is found to have very weak effects on consumers‟preference and trust. Nevertheless, the findings indicate that brand personality effects consumers‟ preference and trust directly. Regarding the cultural comparison with Germany and Sweden, the responses provided an inconclusive result. In questionnaire one, the answers were fairly similar. The same could be said about questionnaire two, even though German respondents tended to produce higher scores for the brand personalities than Swedish respondents. Overall, by illustrating the results in a graph, it can be determined that the answers from both groups exhibit the same pattern. Furthermore, it was concluded that there were no clear indications of country of origin or consumer ethnocentrism effects.

Iconic brand is a new topic in the field of branding that has started to attract researchers’ attentions; yet, it is still mostly discussed in the non-academic field. Brand community is also an evolving topic in marketing. These two new concepts are the focuses of this research. The main subject of this research is to explore the componential factors of iconic brand and brand community and the influences of the former ones on the latter ones. Even though there are few books and articles related to iconic brand, so far no quantitative research has been conducted. Thus, in this study, quantitative method is used to explore the componential factors of iconic brand. The same method is applied to brand community as well to explore the impacts of iconic brand on brand community. This research also accounts for a fact that cultural differences of the three countries (Sweden, Taiwan, and Vietnam) may affect respondents’ perceptions on the factors of iconic brand and brand community, as well as the impact levels between them. This study starts with examining the relevant literatures of branding, iconic brand, brand community, and cultural aspects of branding. Then, the hypotheses and research model are proposed based on theories. Questionnaires are distributed to Swedish, Taiwanese, and Vietnamese respondents in accordance with convenience sampling and snowball sampling. A total collection of 486 accepted questionnaires (which includes 171 questionnaires from Sweden, 163 ones from Taiwan, and 152 ones from Vietnam) is coded and analyzed by using SPSS and AMOS. Factor Analysis (EFA and CFA) and Cronbach’s Alpha are used to test the measurement reliability and consistency. Together with them, other statistical techniques, such as ANOVA and SEM (Structural Equation Modeling) are employed to test the proposed hypotheses. Semi-structured interviews are then conducted, based on the results of quantitative analysis, with six dynamic consumers from the three countries to explore further the cultural differences for the topic in Sweden, Taiwan, and Vietnam. The results show that iconic brand has three componential factors: brand personality, brand myth, and brand storytelling, while brand community has two factors: brand loyalty and emotional attachment to brand community. Also, the findings reveal that brand personality has the most positive impacts on brand loyalty while brand storytelling has the lowest positive impact on brand loyalty. Other impacts of iconic brand’s factors on brand community’s factors are positively moderate. Furthermore, both quantitative and qualitative results confirm the hypotheses of cultural differences in respondents’ perceptions (in the three countries) on iconic brand’s factors, brand community’s factors, and the positive impact levels between them.

Title: Brand evolving in identity shaping TV commercial – a quantitative study of Gevalias commercial movies over time. (Varumärkesutveckling i identitetsskapande tv-reklam – en kvantitativ studie av Gevalias reklamfilmer över tid) Number of pages: 35 Author: Julia Garellick Lindborg Tutor: Anne-Marie Morhed Course: Media and Communications studies C Period: Autumn of 2010 University: Division of Media and Communication, Department of Information Science, Uppsala University Purpose: The purpose of the study has been to investigate in what ways the concept of success is constructed in Gevalia’s TV commercials with the theme “unexpected visit”. Eight identity evolving variables have been chosen to measure variations in the pattern of the unexpected visit in order to understand the essence of time. Material/Method: The study is executed through a quantitative content analysis. The material studied is 18 of Gevalia’s TV commercials produced from 1991 to 2010. The study is a complete investigation of the material that has been found over the internet and especially on Youtube. Main results: The results show that Gevalia’s 18 TV commercials with the theme”unexpected visit” follows the same concept through a period of 20 years. In the pattern of the concept a variation is seen in the use of for example coffee visibility, elect of slogan and sort of drama construction. This variation is distinctively seen after the millennium and can among other things depend upon a shift in commercial company and the need to renew. A small change that however follows a pattern the audience is able to remember from earlier, has by Gevalia been identified as highly essential in order to not wear out their audience. All commercials consist of more or less humor in purpose of seeking attention to be able to profile the product on the market. The thematic identity in the commercials that humor helps building is seen as the greatest contribution to why Gevalia has evolved into such a strong brand and a large reason for its success.   Keywords: brand identity, brand personality, Gevalia, communicative identity, TV commercial / Studien undersöker på vilka sätt Gevalias framgångskoncept är konstruerat i reklamfilmerna med temat ”oväntat besök”. Vidare har åtta identitetsskapande variabler valts ut för att mäta variationer i det oväntade besöksmönstret filmerna emellan. Detta i syfte att se tidens betydelse. Genom en kvantitativ innehållsanalys och utifrån teorier inom varumärkesidentitet studeras 18 reklamfilmer under en 20 års period. Studien är en totalundersökning och utgår ifrån det material som funnits att hitta över internet och framförallt på Youtube. Resultaten visar att Gevalias 18 reklamfilmer med temat ”oväntat besök” följer samma koncept under de 20 år som studerats. I konceptmönstret kan dock en viss variation urskiljas i användandet av bland annat kaffesynlighet, val av slogan och typ av dramaturgisk konstruktion. Denna variation kan tydligast skådas efter millennieskiftet och bland annat bero på byte av reklambyrå och behov av förnyelse. En mindre förändring som dock följer ett mönster som mottagarna kommer ihåg från tidigare reklamfilmer, har Gevalia insett är väsentligt för att hålla sin publik fortsatt intresserad. Samtliga reklamfilmer innehåller dessutom mer eller mindre humor i syfte att söka uppmärksamhet och på så sätt profilera produkten på marknaden. Den tematiska identitet som humor hjälper till att bygga upp i reklamfilmerna har setts vara den största förstärkande faktorn på Gevalias starka varumärkesutveckling och som kan sägas stå till grund för framgången.   Nyckelord: varumärkesidentitet, varumärkespersonlighet, Gevalia, kommunikativ identitet, reklamfilm.

The conscious creation and marketing of a destination brand and image is a feature of the present age. Brands can affect tourists' choices and behaviour and are therefore important in destination marketing. Marketing organisations devote considerable time to creating brands and channelling them through various media sources to the target markets. The success of the destination brand can be measured and defined by the expectations of the tourists. This study measured the SANParks brand by focusing on the current Kudu logo. It was the first time such a brand measure was done on any of the South African National Parks. Measuring brands can be done either internally, by employees and management of SANParks, or externally through visitor questionnaires. This study focused on external measurement. Primary data was gathered by means of 618 (n=618) structured, self-completion electronic questionnaires. Twenty four perceptions and eight emotions related to the Kudu brand were tested. A factor analysis was conducted on the correlation of these pre-established perceptions and emotions. Three factors - a successful brand, service and a positive brand image emerged as perceptions. Two factors related to emotions were divided into positive and negative emotions towards the Kudu brand. The findings indicated that most respondents relate SANParks Kudu logo to only the Kruger National Park and respondents clearly indicated that they do not want the Kudu logo to change. This study proved the Kudu brand to be successful, but it is recommended that SANParks differentiate the Kudu logo to create a unique culture and identity for every National Park in South Africa. / Thesis (M.Com. (Tourism))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

The conscious creation and marketing of a destination brand and image is a feature of the present age. Brands can affect tourists' choices and behaviour and are therefore important in destination marketing. Marketing organisations devote considerable time to creating brands and channelling them through various media sources to the target markets. The success of the destination brand can be measured and defined by the expectations of the tourists. This study measured the SANParks brand by focusing on the current Kudu logo. It was the first time such a brand measure was done on any of the South African National Parks. Measuring brands can be done either internally, by employees and management of SANParks, or externally through visitor questionnaires. This study focused on external measurement. Primary data was gathered by means of 618 (n=618) structured, self-completion electronic questionnaires. Twenty four perceptions and eight emotions related to the Kudu brand were tested. A factor analysis was conducted on the correlation of these pre-established perceptions and emotions. Three factors - a successful brand, service and a positive brand image emerged as perceptions. Two factors related to emotions were divided into positive and negative emotions towards the Kudu brand. The findings indicated that most respondents relate SANParks Kudu logo to only the Kruger National Park and respondents clearly indicated that they do not want the Kudu logo to change. This study proved the Kudu brand to be successful, but it is recommended that SANParks differentiate the Kudu logo to create a unique culture and identity for every National Park in South Africa. / Thesis (M.Com. (Tourism))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

Problem Formulation: Is the consumers perceived brand personality of a celebrity endorser affected by a marketing activity and its transferred personality? Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explain the correlation and relation between the perceived brand personality of a celebrity endorser and a marketing activity he or she partakes in. Theoretical Framework: The frame of reference consists of existing theories regarding brand personality, celebrity endorsement, the Meaning of Transfer Model and Marketing Activities. Method: This study has chosen a deductive quantitative experimental research design. The collected primary data is consisting of 159 respondents divided into three groups who answered an group specific online survey which was distributed through private social media channels. Empirical Findings: The results in this study comprehends of 159 respondents attitude of a celebrity endorser, which has been analysed through statistical methods. Conclusion: The study’s results point out that there is no significant change on a celebrity endorsers perceived brand personality affected by the effect of a marketing activity, which can be statistically proven. The results showed a slight variance, however these are most likely a result of random.

In their continuous search for improved explanations of why consumers engage with certain brands more than with others, academics and managers have placed significant importance on self-brand congruence theory, which suggests that consumers are drawn to brands with characteristics that align with their own characteristics. Although this theory has been extensively investigated and supported by previous research, it has hitherto been assumed that the alignment of characteristics exhibits a similarity configuration, that is, consumers are drawn to brands with traits that mirror their own traits. By adopting a relational view of consumer-brand interactions and drawing from the literature on interpersonal relationships, specifically from theories of interpersonal attraction, the thesis explores the possibility that besides similarity, self-brand personality alignment may also exhibit a complementarity configuration, whereby consumers are drawn to brands with traits that complement their own. Using a two-phase empirical study of mixed methods [in-depth interviews and online survey (n=206)], the thesis first explores the structure of consumers’ perceptions of their own personalities and those of their favourite brands using Exploratory Factor Analysis. Results reveal that although brand personality has the same five factor structure as human personality, the composition of dimensions is distinct. The patterns of alignment between the two sets of traits are then examined through Canonical Correlation Analysis, which reveals the existence of both similarity and complementarity configurations in self-brand personality alignment. A new method for measuring the magnitude of self-brand personality alignment is then devised, which captures both configurations. The predictive power of this new measure is then compared against existing, similarity-based measures for a range of desirable brand behaviours, using Discriminant Analysis and Linear Regression. Results indicate the new measure performs well, especially for emotionally-related brand behaviours.

abstract: The aim of this study is to conduct the empirical tests on consumer's emotional responses of product design and the relationship between emotion and consumer's attitudinal loyalty to identify if there exists potential relationship links between these two factors together by following certain regulation. This study also seeks to compare Brand Loyalty of Apple products across two different cultures - China and US to see if there are any differences regarding their brand loyalty construction and expression. The emotional responses on product design were also studied in order to reveal potential emotional design issues between the two different cultures. Results of this study show that: (1) Brand loyalty strengthens a consumer's emotion bond with a targeted brand through its product carrier. Emotion is seen as a predictor for brand loyalty based on consumer proportionality and conformity of expression. (2) Cognitive experience is not necessary nor a sufficient condition to build brand loyalty. Emotion and culture will be crucial in constructing brand loyalty without cognition. Cultural differences will affect brand loyalty, especially regarding attitudinal loyalty. (3) Different cultures share different ways of emotional expression. Based on the scope, limitations, and results of this research, Chinese consumers appear to be more sensitive in their emotional feelings of the iPad's design than American consumers. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S.D. Design 2012

Marketers have long observed, or at least assumed, that people buy certain products or brands as a means of expressing themselves. Marketing researchers have studied this phenomenon from the perspective of "self-congruity," assuming that a fit between the consumer's understanding of self (i.e., self-image) and the brand's image (or "brand personality") should drive the consumer's purchase behavior. This stream of research has vigorously explored the relations between the fit (i.e., "self-brand image congruity" or "self-congruity") and various behavioral outcomes. Nonetheless, this research stream has not succeeded in finding clear and strong evidence of the assumed effects on such a vital outcome as emotional brand attachment. Moreover, little research has directly explored the relations between self-congruity and emotional brand attachment. In this context, the main purpose of this dissertation is to shed light on this little understood relationship. Specifically, this research proposes that consumers' brand experience and self-congruity jointly create the strong driving force that directs consumers to an emotional attachment to the brands. Here, brand experience is conceptualized as the positive impact of brand-related stimuli or the "magnitude" of consumer responses to the stimuli that reflects a consumer's past interactions with brands or brand-related information. On the other hand, self-congruity can be understood as the "direction" that indicates which brand image a consumer wants to go with. The existing research has focused exclusively on the "direction." Taking the "magnitude" into account, this research aims to develop the theory that explains the assumed effects of self-congruity on emotional brand attachment as well as clearly demonstrate the effects, by proposing the interaction effects between self-congruity and brand experience. By synthesizing multiple research streams that have been recently growing, a comprehensive explanation was developed to explicate how consumers' perception of self-brand image fit and their past interactions with brands affect the formation of emotional brand attachment. In order to test the hypotheses that were derived from the theory, data were collected from 397 U.S. consumers using an online survey. The proposed interaction effects were clearly detected, along with the direct effects of self-congruity on emotional brand attachment, which the previous study had not been able to identify. The research revealed that brand experience boosts the positive effects of self-congruity on emotional brand attachment.

The purpose of this study is to gain more understanding of how companies use social media to strengthen and personalize their brand. This through the following questions: How do companies use social media to personalize and strengthen their brand? How is the brand affected by being available on social media? This study is a qualitative research with a deductive approach. The empirics are collected through case studies and semi-structured interviews. The companies in this study all had the aspiration to personalize their brand through their communication with their customers, by being personal and informal. They use Facebook for brand awareness and advertising, while Instagram is their channel for brand-building to portrait their own brand image.