Background: Brand loyalty is an essential asset for brands as it helps brands to build a strong brand. Therefore, brands invest a significant amount of money in their marketing efforts and strategies to create and maintain brand loyalty in an ever-competitive market. One of these strategies is social media marketing, or more precisely, influencer marketing. Before influencer marketing arose, as it is known today, brands used celebrity endorsements to market the brand. However, as influencer marketing increased in popularity for brand endorsements, celebrity endorsement became less sought after and can be considered equal in their characteristics due to their fame and well-known personality. Prior research has not investigated how influencer endorsement impacts brand loyalty, therefore, this thesis applied the concept of celebrity endorsement in the context of influencer marketing and thereby treated influencers as celebrities due to their similar characteristics. Purpose: The purpose of this research is to explain the impact of influencers endorsement on brand loyalty. Methodology: This study used a deductive and quantitative approach and had an explanatory purpose and a cross-sectional research design. This study also presented a new model including three hypotheses that assumed a positive impact of the characteristics of an influencer’s endorsement on brand loyalty. The data collection was done through a self-completion questionnaire distributed online, which resulted in 104 valid responses. Findings: The findings of this study is that all the hypotheses (H1, H2, H3) are found insignificant in the all model (Model 5). This is because the hypotheses were rejected since the significance level of the ANOVA-test showed that the model was not significant as the significance level was above the accepted level (p<0.05). Hence,  no significant evidence can come from this study.  Conclusion: The conclusion that can be drawn from this study is that no significant relationship was found between the concepts of authenticity, credibility, and trustworthiness on brand loyalty, and based on these variables, influencer endorsements do not have an impact on brand loyalty.

Influencer marketing and celebrity endorsement has grown in the past years and has become a vital part of marketing in the fashion industry. This field has been well researched, however a gap in the research is the focus on men and the role brand love has. The purpose of this study has been to enhance the understanding of how brand love influences men’s perception when exposed to influencer marketing and celebrity endorsement on Instagram. Additionally, the aim was to examine if influencer marketing or celebrity endorsement was most appropriate when marketing brands.    The method for this thesis was a qualitative approach by interviewing men in focus groups. The empirical findings were analyzed together with the literature in order to find thematics. The conclusions from the analysis was men do not experience brand love in the same capacity as the literature describes. However their emotional preferences and connections can still influence how they view brands being marketed on Instagram by an influencer or celebrity endorser. Men tend to trust celebrity endorsement more compared to influencer marketing regardless of gender, as they are viewed as more professional aligned with source credibility. However, the empirical findings showed men do not feel a need for male influencers. A reason why brands need to rethink marketing through endorsers.

The widespread use of social media platforms and the emergence of influencer marketing have revolutionized brand-consumer interactions, particularly among the younger demographic. In line with this trend, the influence of e-cigarette influencers on Generation Z (Gen Z) has become a prominent area of research. As influencer marketing continues to thrive and the e-cigarette industry experiences significant growth, it is imperative to comprehend how these influencers shape Gen Z's perception of influencers endorsing e-cigarette brands. Therefore, this study aims to examine the perception of Gen Z towards Instagram influencers in the United States who endorse e-cigarette brands. By exploring the perspectives of Gen Z, this research seeks to gain insights into the potential impact of these influencers on Gen Z's attitudes and behaviours regarding e-cigarettes. The study was based on the theory of source credibility and celebrity endorsement. The study adopted a qualitative research approach and employed in-depth interviews and netnography as methodology. A total of eleven in-depth interviews were conducted with participants from Gen Z who possessed knowledge and familiarity with e- cigarettes. Additionally, through netnography, comments from publicly available Instagram posts of the selected e-cigarette influencers were collected and examined over a period of three years. The findings highlight that Gen Z generally holds a positive perception of e-cigarette influencers on Instagram, perceiving them as credible sources of information and inspiration, thereby influencing their attitudes and behaviours concerning e-cigarettes. These insights have practical implications for e-cigarette brands aiming to engage Gen Z through influencer marketing, emphasizing the importance of trust and expertise in influencer-generated content. However, the study also highlights potential societal implications, including the potential for i increased e-cigarette consumption and ethical concerns surrounding the influence of trustworthy influencers on underage users. In conclusion, the study proposes avenues for future research, such as conducting surveys with larger sample sizes and exploring perceptions of e- cigarette influencers on alternative social media platforms like TikTok.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-10-13T14:10:04Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Mariana Hammel Brandao.pdf: 4096788 bytes, checksum: c1a710c0656636f319558f66fd21ae06 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-03-29 / What is common among individuals is the fact that all are consumers and their consumption decisions affect the economic environment in the local and global level. So to Schiffman and Kanuk (2000), consumer behavior is a bit of much importance for marketing. In a globalized market, it is increasingly important to understand the dimensions that balance consumer preferences between global and local brands (Schuiling & Kapferer, 2004; Ritzer, 2007). Much of the sales of sporting goods has been influenced by the endorsement of celebrities and athletes in the sport, which can impact the consumer's attitude toward advertising, brand and purchase intent (Carlson, Donavan, & CUMISKEY, 2009; Dix, Phua, & Pougnet, 2010; Goldsmith, Lafferty, & Newell, 2000; Lear, Runyan, & Whitaker, 2009). Considering the celebrity endorsement and brand studies, this work has as main objective to verify the impact of celebrity endorsement with the intention of buying products from global and local brands. The specific objectives are: i) verify that the celebrity endorsement impacts the intention of buying products from global and local brands; ii) identify the type of celebrity (global and local) impacts at different levels, the intention of buying products from global and local brands, considering the involvement with the product; iii) analyze the impact of celebrity endorsement with the intention of buying products from global and local brands, considering ethnocentrism. To answer the proposed problem, an investigation was carried out with the quantitative methodology and designed an experiment that allowed to understand the relationships of cause and effect between the study variables. Experiment participants were 244 Brazilian consumers. Respondents were divided into 6 groups, and 2 were control groups and 4 were experimental groups. Through the experiment, it was observed that the prestige of global brand more influence on purchase intent than the celebrity endorsement. Added to this, there was no statistical evidence that the global celebrity impacts more than the local celebrity. Finally, we discuss the results and offer up possibilities for future studies. / O que é comum entre os indivíduos é o fato de que todos são consumidores e as suas decisões de consumo afetam o ambiente econômico, no âmbito local e global. Sendo assim, para Schiffman e Kanuk (2000), o comportamento do consumidor é um pouco de muita importância para o marketing. Em um mercado mais globalizado, há cada vez mais importância em compreender as dimensões que balançam as preferências dos consumidores entre marcas globais e locais (Schuiling & Kapferer, 2004; Ritzer, 2007). Grande parte das vendas de artigos esportivos tem sido influenciada pelo endosso de celebridades e atletas do esporte, que pode impactar a atitude do consumidor em relação à propaganda, marca e intenção de compra (Carlson, Donavan, & Cumiskey, 2009; Dix, Phua, & Pougnet, 2010; Goldsmith, Lafferty, & Newell, 2000; Lear, Runyan, & Whitaker, 2009). Considerando o endosso de celebridade e os estudos de marca, este trabalho tem como principal objetivo verificar o impacto do endosso de celebridade na intenção de compra de produtos de marcas globais e locais. Os objetivos específicos são: i) verificar se o endosso de celebridade impacta a intenção de compra de produtos de marcas globais e locais; ii) identificar se o tipo de celebridade (global e local) impacta, em níveis diferentes, a intenção de compra de produtos de marcas globais e locais, considerando o envolvimento com o produto; iii) analisar o impacto do endosso de celebridade na intenção de compra de produtos de marcas globais e locais, considerando o etnocentrismo. Para responder o problema proposto, foi realizada uma investigação com a metodologia quantitativa e elaborado um experimento, que permitiu entender as relações de causa e efeito entre as variáveis do estudo. Participaram do experimento 244 consumidores brasileiros. Os respondentes foram divididos em 6 grupos, sendo que 2 eram grupos de controle e 4 eram grupos experimentais. Por meio do experimento, observou-se que o prestígio da marca global influência mais na intenção de compra do que o endosso da celebridade. Somado a isso, não houve evidência estatística de que a celebridade global impacta mais do que a celebridade local. Por fim, discutem-se os resultados e oferecem-se possibilidades para futuros estudos.

Syfte: Mänskligheten strävar alltid efter att utvecklas och kreativitet är en central del i processen då världen ständigt blir mer komplex. Forskning inom området kreativitet är således en nödvändighet för ett modernt och framåtsträvande samhälle. Likaså inom marknadsföring ges kreativitet utrymme då marknaden idag är hårt konkurrensutsatt och utsatt för ett överflöd av marknadsföring. Det är därför av stor vikt att differentiera sig från mängden för att bli uppmärksammad och kreativitet är en betydelsefull del i att göra marknadsföring synlig. Syftet med studien är att söka förståelse kring vilka kreativa marknadsföringskomponenter som bidrar till uppmärksamhet samt hur de påverkar graden av uppmärksamhet. Syftet är även att minska det existerande forskningsgapet inom området.Design/metod: En empirisk undersökning av uppmärksammade reklamfilmer har gjorts för att uppnå studiens syfte och inspiration är till stor del hämtad från kulturanalys. Studien innehåller en kvalitativ analys av nio reklamfilmer där fyra marknadsföringskomponenter med koppling till kreativitet har identifierats och analyserats. De komponenter som inkluderats i studien är originalitet, humor, storytelling samt kändiseffekt och tidigare forskning och teorier inom dessa områden har legat till grund för studien.Resultat: Resultatet av studien visar att samtliga marknadsföringskomponenterna återfanns i fem av de nio reklamfilmer som analyserades. Originalitet och storytelling återfanns i de fyra resterande reklamfilmerna. Samtliga av komponenterna konstateras därför bidra till att öka uppmärksamheten kring en reklamfilm dock i olika stor utsträckning. Originalitet och storytelling är tillsynes en nödvändighet medan humor och kändiseffekten är komponenter som kan öka chanserna ytterligare för en reklamfilm att nå stor uppmärksamhet. Studien har även resulterat i slutsatsen att humor i större utsträckning återfinns bland uppmärksammade reklamfilmer. Studien bekräftar även tidigare forskning som visar att oväntade element är den form av humoristisk reklam som till största delen återfinns i dagens reklam.Framtida forskning: För framtida forskning rekommenderas det att studien utökas med analys av fler mediekanaler, observationer under längre tidsperiod samt intervjuer med respondenter som för första gången utsätts för reklamen. Det för att öka överförbarheten samt trovärdigheten och göra studiens resultat mer generellt applicerbart inom marknadsföring. / Program: Civilekonomprogrammet

Um conceito fundamental para a compreensão do papel desempenhado pelas marcas nas sociedades contemporâneas é o de posicionamento, que se refere ao que a marca representa na mente dos consumidores. Neste sentido, uma abordagem que tem despertado, em anos recentes, o interesse de alguns estudiosos do marketing, é o paradigma do arquétipo, que postula a existência do inconsciente coletivo, estrutura da psiqué que conteria as "imagens coletivas" comuns ao gênero humano, e que representam uma tendência inata para perceber a realidade de uma determinada forma. Assim sendo, este estudo integra os conceitos da Teoria dos Arquétipos de Jung e de posicionamento de marca, propondo o alinhamento entre as imagens coletivas presentes na psiqué dos indivíduos os arquétipos, e a gestão estratégica de marketing. Para tanto, foi desenvolvida uma pesquisa exploratória relacionada às estratégias de posicionamento adotadas para a marca Ipanema Gisele Bündchen, da empresa Grendene S/A, por meio da qual foi possível compreender de que forma ocorre o processo de transferência do significado simbólico de uma celebridade para a imagem da marca, por meio da atividade de endosso, bem como evidenciar as contribuições provenientes da Teoria dos Arquétipos para as ações destinadas ao adequado posicionamento da marca na estrutura associativa da memória dos consumidores, resultando em considerações teóricas e empíricas capazes de oferecer suporte aos processos estratégicos e gerenciais de posicionamento de marca. / Submitted by Marcelo Teixeira (mvteixeira@ucs.br) on 2014-05-29T17:25:05Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Giancarlo Dal Bo.pdf: 5382404 bytes, checksum: e234beb4f04f2236357868c98848b50a (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2014-05-29T17:25:05Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Giancarlo Dal Bo.pdf: 5382404 bytes, checksum: e234beb4f04f2236357868c98848b50a (MD5) / Positioning is a fundamental concept to understand the role played by brands in contemporary societies, which applies to what the brand represents on consumers´ minds. On that account, the archetype paradigm is an approach that has, in recent years, aroused interest of some marketing experts, suggesting the existence of a collective unconscious, part of the psyche that comprises "collective images" shared by humanity, and represents an innate propensity to perceive reality in a certain way. Therefore, this study consists of concepts of Jung´s Archetype Theory and brand positioning, which proposes an alignment among collective images that are present in the human psyche archetypes, and strategic marketing management. For that reason, an explanatory research was conducted concerning the positioning strategies adopted by the brand Ipanema Gisele Bündchen, by the company Grendene S/A, through which was possible to understand how the process of transference of a celebrity´s symbolic meaning to the brand´s image occurs, through endorsement, as well as indicate the contributions coming from the Archetype Theory for actions that aim at the adequate positioning of the brand in the consumers´ memory associative structure, resulting in theoretical and empirical considerations capable of offering support to brand positioning management and strategic processes.

Um conceito fundamental para a compreensão do papel desempenhado pelas marcas nas sociedades contemporâneas é o de posicionamento, que se refere ao que a marca representa na mente dos consumidores. Neste sentido, uma abordagem que tem despertado, em anos recentes, o interesse de alguns estudiosos do marketing, é o paradigma do arquétipo, que postula a existência do inconsciente coletivo, estrutura da psiqué que conteria as "imagens coletivas" comuns ao gênero humano, e que representam uma tendência inata para perceber a realidade de uma determinada forma. Assim sendo, este estudo integra os conceitos da Teoria dos Arquétipos de Jung e de posicionamento de marca, propondo o alinhamento entre as imagens coletivas presentes na psiqué dos indivíduos os arquétipos, e a gestão estratégica de marketing. Para tanto, foi desenvolvida uma pesquisa exploratória relacionada às estratégias de posicionamento adotadas para a marca Ipanema Gisele Bündchen, da empresa Grendene S/A, por meio da qual foi possível compreender de que forma ocorre o processo de transferência do significado simbólico de uma celebridade para a imagem da marca, por meio da atividade de endosso, bem como evidenciar as contribuições provenientes da Teoria dos Arquétipos para as ações destinadas ao adequado posicionamento da marca na estrutura associativa da memória dos consumidores, resultando em considerações teóricas e empíricas capazes de oferecer suporte aos processos estratégicos e gerenciais de posicionamento de marca. / Positioning is a fundamental concept to understand the role played by brands in contemporary societies, which applies to what the brand represents on consumers´ minds. On that account, the archetype paradigm is an approach that has, in recent years, aroused interest of some marketing experts, suggesting the existence of a collective unconscious, part of the psyche that comprises "collective images" shared by humanity, and represents an innate propensity to perceive reality in a certain way. Therefore, this study consists of concepts of Jung´s Archetype Theory and brand positioning, which proposes an alignment among collective images that are present in the human psyche archetypes, and strategic marketing management. For that reason, an explanatory research was conducted concerning the positioning strategies adopted by the brand Ipanema Gisele Bündchen, by the company Grendene S/A, through which was possible to understand how the process of transference of a celebrity´s symbolic meaning to the brand´s image occurs, through endorsement, as well as indicate the contributions coming from the Archetype Theory for actions that aim at the adequate positioning of the brand in the consumers´ memory associative structure, resulting in theoretical and empirical considerations capable of offering support to brand positioning management and strategic processes.

Influencer Marketing är relativt nytt och ingen naturlig del av de flesta företags strategier. Däremot ökar det i popularitet. Detta innebär att företag behöver ett hjälpmedel, en slags nybörjarguide, för att förstå grunderna i Influencer Marketing på Instagram. Denna uppsats ämnar att undersöka hur marknadsföringsstrategin kan användas av företag som vill marknadsföra miljövänliga livsmedel på Instagram, till Millennials. Med detta är målet att bidra till forskning och marknadsföring av Influencer Marketing och den hållbara konsumtionen. All teori som använts kan på något sätt kopplas till Influencer Marketing. I teoridelen redogörs det för Stealth Marketing, Product Placement, Celebrity Endorsement, electronic word-of-mouth, Influencer Marketing, visuell kommunikation samt Two-step flow theory. För att få både konsumenternas och influencernas åsikter och attityder har en trianguleringsmetod används. Den kvalitativa datan har utgjorts av intervjuer med influencers, eko-experter och expert på Influencer Marketing. Den kvantitativa datan samlades in med hjälp av en enkät för Millennials som följer influencers på Instagram. Empirin ger bland annat en tydlig bild av vad influencers värdesätter i ett samarbete med ett företag, vad eko-experterna säger om Influencer Marketing av miljövänliga produkter och hur påverkade Millennials anser att de blir av strategin. I analysen sammanfattas intervjuobjektens åsikter och jämförs med Millennials attityder. Detta diskuteras tillsammans med de teorier som tas upp i studien. Ändringar i den tidigare strukturen som presenteras i den teoretiska referensramen diskuteras i samband med Millennials attityd och hur samhället har förändrats. Ett stort fokus ligger på den dolda marknadsföringen, hur den idag är olaglig och ineffektiv på målgruppen. Studiens slutsats är att Influencer Marketing är en effektiv strategi för den utvalda målgruppen, som har en positiv attityd till strategin så länge marknadsföringen är ärlig och transparent. Studien sammanfattas i en ny demonstrerande figur av den teoretiska referensramen, med förslag på hur teorierna borde diskuteras i framtiden. Dold marknadsföring är inte längre relevant att diskutera, då både Millennials och influencers har en negativ attityd till en sådan marknadsföring. Celebrity Endorsement föreslås även ses som en del av Influencer Marketing, istället för enbart föregångaren, då Influencer Marketing idag skapar nya kändisar på en ny sorts plattform. Analysen sammanfattas även i en modell vars syfte är att visa hur företag, influencers och Millennials kommunicerar sinsemellan, följt av rekommendationer till företag eller andra intresserade som enkelt vill ta del av och använda vad studien kommit fram till.

The aim of this thesis is to assess using selected marketing tools how Czech consumers perceive different formats of television advertisement used by Vodafone. To this end, Vodafone TV spots aired in the Czech Republic between 2005 and 2016 were analysed focusing mainly on TV spots aired in the past few years. An integral part of this thesis is the qualitative Focus Group research method and probe questionnaires distributed among Czech consumers. The results of this research are subsequently compared with the Multicriterial research MML TGI Median Company and also with the research results of the Nielsen Company.

For decades authenticity has been of great interest in media and communication research. With this study, we aim to contribute to the research with a new perspective where authenticity is examined in artists who use influencer marketing on social media. With two qualitative focus group interviews, we examine how two previously separate professional roles, influencer and artist, now merge in their interests and strategies to influence their audience via social media platforms. By analyzing and interpreting young Swedish women’s experiences of artists’ advertising collaborations, we seek to understand the concept of authenticity's influence, power and meaning in the digital era. This is done using the three theories: influencer marketing, social capital and branding. The results confirm the dynamic role of the concept of authenticity in society and that whether something or someone is authentic is situational. The concept of authenticity is perceived as important in some contexts and less important in others. There is a clear tolerance for inauthentic behavior within the artist community. However, there is also a perceived limit to how much advertising through influencer marketing an artist can do before it has a negative impact on the artist’s perceived authenticity. The most significant factor is the artist's choice of brand to collaborate with. Our conclusions also show that there is an awareness of the intertwining of the two professional roles and a feeling that most artists and influencers are in a “gray area” where the boundaries between the roles are blurred. This means that new relationships and patterns of cooperation between artists and companies are created, and the dynamics of both the entertainment and advertising industry is changing.