<p>The purpose of this study has been to examine how customers, by interacting with each other, can communicate and create the image of a brand. We find this topic to be relevant since there are no previous studies conducted concerning the customers influence on the brand image. Our ambition has been to describe in what ways and to what extent the customer can affect and influence the brand image by communicating with other customers. To fulfill our purposed we have targeted three important questions which are:</p><p>• In which ways can the customer affect the communicated image of a brand?</p><p>• To what extent can the customer influence the brand image and the perceived value?</p><p>• Who has control over the brand, the customer or the company?</p><p>For this study we have used a qualitative approach in which we have conducted eight personal interviews with brand consultants and the editor of the magazine Dagens Media which has given us the foundation for our analysis. We choose this qualitative approach to gain a deeper understanding and a complete picture for the studied topic. In the final chapter we present our conclusions of the study. We have found that consumers can influence and communicate the brand image in five different ways; by using the brand, through word-of-mouth, buzz, engaging in social groups and through Consumer Generated Media (CGM). Another conclusion we have drawn is that the consumer has gained more control over the information flow in the market and thereby their ability to affect the company’s marketing message has increased. The main reason for the consumers improved power is the explosion of media channels that has developed and increased through Internet. Finally we have drawn the conclusion that the brand image can be divided in to two different aspects; the personal and the general image.</p>

The purpose of this study has been to examine how customers, by interacting with each other, can communicate and create the image of a brand. We find this topic to be relevant since there are no previous studies conducted concerning the customers influence on the brand image. Our ambition has been to describe in what ways and to what extent the customer can affect and influence the brand image by communicating with other customers. To fulfill our purposed we have targeted three important questions which are: • In which ways can the customer affect the communicated image of a brand? • To what extent can the customer influence the brand image and the perceived value? • Who has control over the brand, the customer or the company? For this study we have used a qualitative approach in which we have conducted eight personal interviews with brand consultants and the editor of the magazine Dagens Media which has given us the foundation for our analysis. We choose this qualitative approach to gain a deeper understanding and a complete picture for the studied topic. In the final chapter we present our conclusions of the study. We have found that consumers can influence and communicate the brand image in five different ways; by using the brand, through word-of-mouth, buzz, engaging in social groups and through Consumer Generated Media (CGM). Another conclusion we have drawn is that the consumer has gained more control over the information flow in the market and thereby their ability to affect the company’s marketing message has increased. The main reason for the consumers improved power is the explosion of media channels that has developed and increased through Internet. Finally we have drawn the conclusion that the brand image can be divided in to two different aspects; the personal and the general image.

Introduire la marque, dans le cadre des relations de la franchise peut se révéler efficace si les pratiques du franchiseur pour influencer les décisions des franchisés se révèlent inefficaces. Cette recherche explore et examine la qualité de la relation franchisé-marque comme un médiateur de la relation entre les bénéfices de la marque perçus par le franchisé et leurs comportements de citoyenneté de marque. Une phase qualitative a été conduite, suivie par une analyse quantitative où un modèle conceptuel a été testé par des équations structurelles (PLS-SEM). L’enquête par questionnaire a été réalisée en France et en Indonésie. L’analyse montre que les bénéfices de la marque influencent significativement la qualité de relation franchisé-marque. La qualité de la relation franchise-marque est ainsi le principal mécanisme de médiation dans la relation entre les bénéfices de la marque et les comportements de citoyenneté de marque des franchisés. Cette recherche étend le paradigme de la relation de franchise en associant le rôle du franchisé et de la marque dans le cadre relationnel au-delà de la dyade traditionnelle franchisés/franchiseur. Les résultats montrent que les franchisés deviennent des supporteurs actifs de la marque au travers des actions franchiseur/franchisés lorsqu'ils sont liés de manière émotionnelle aux marques. Nous sommes conscients que la petite taille de notre échantillon est insuffisante pour tester notre modèle conceptuel complexe. Les recherches futures peuvent bénéficier en examinant le rôle de la relation franchisé-marque comme atténuateur des transgressions de la marque du franchiseur sur les intentions de renouveler le contrat de franchisé. / Introducing the brand in the context of franchise relationships prove effective since franchisor's practices to influence the decisions of franchisees are no longer as effective. This research aims to explore and examine the quality of franchisee-brand relationship as a mediator of the relationship between franchisee-perceived brand benefits and franchisee brand citizenship behaviours. A qualitative phase was conducted, followed by a quantitative analysis where a conceptual model was tested by structural equations (PLS-SEM). The survey was carried out in France and in Indonesia. The analysis shows that franchisee-perceived brand benefits significantly influence the quality of franchisee-brand relationships. The latter also acts as the key mediating mechanism in the relationship between franchisee-perceived brand benefits and franchisee brand citizenship behaviours. This research extends the franchise relationship paradigm by combining the role of the franchisee and the brand within the relational framework beyond the traditional franchisee-franchisor dyad. The results suggest that franchisees become active supporters of the brand through franchisor-franchisee actions when they are emotionally bonded with the brands. We are aware of the sample size relative insufficiency to fit our complex conceptual model with the data. Future research can benefit by examining the role of franchisee-brand relationship in altering the effect of franchisor brand transgressions on franchisee stay intention.

An over-commercialized society has made consumers prefer the opinions of influential people in online settings. Companies have a harder time reaching consumers and therefore turn to social media influencers (SMIs) for exposure. With the growth of influencer marketing, regulations and guidelines in Sweden have been put in place to ensure consumers integrity. SMIs and companies are required to disclose paid partnerships. However, many companies have the perception that truthful marketing can affect consumers brand perception negatively. Research based on consumer brand perception and disclosed paid partnerships between SMIs and companies have not previously been explored. Therefore, the purpose of this thesis is to explore how consumers perceive brands when SMIs disclose paid partnerships. In order to gather consumers ́ brand perception when SMIs and companies collaborate, a qualitative study using focus groups was conducted, where the participants thoughts and opinions have been studied. The findings of this thesis indicate that the communication and characteristics of SMIs influences consumers brand perception. The factors analyzed were: influence of SMIs, content, trust and truthfulness. The factors were important for how consumers perceive the SMI and brand of companies. The most important implication of this thesis is that the study can be of use for companies that seek to collaborate with SMIs when the aim is to reach target groups and enhance brand perception.

South Africa has undergone profound political and social transformations since 1990. These changes influenced the perceptions of individuals in Generations X and Y. In South Africa, the members of Generation X experienced their formative years during the transitional years of South Africa’s young democracy during the 1990s, while the members of Generation Y were born during the last decade of apartheid. For the purpose of this study Generation X was classified as those consumers who were born in the period of 1961 to 1981, while Generation Y was born in the period of 1982 to 1994. Generation Y would recall the release of Nelson Mandela from prison and the political transition in the country. The study focused on generational cohorts instead of generations. Generational cohorts are distinct from generations as they are defined according to their transition from childhood to adulthood. A generation on the other hand is defined by its year of birth. This study investigated possible differences in the brand equity perceptions of South African consumers in Generations X and Y. It generated insights regarding generational differences in consumers’ perceptions of four specific brand equity dimensions, namely brand awareness, brand associations, perceived quality and brand loyalty. Equally important was a comprehensive understanding of how consumers in Generations X and Y differed with regard to the aforementioned four consumer-based brand equity (CBBE) dimensions when making a purchase decision regarding electronic consumer goods, particularly a television set. Consequently, this study extended the existing knowledge of consumer behaviour and CBBE by investigating pertinent perceptual differences between Generations X and Y. A mall intercept survey using a self-completion questionnaire was used to gather quantitative data from 223 respondents in Generations X and Y who purchased or were exposed to television sets. A demographic profile of the respondents who participated in the study indicates that 67 of the 114 respondents in Generation X (i.e., 53.2%) were males, compared to 59 of 108 respondents in Generation Y (i.e., 46.8%). The majority of respondents in both Generations X and Y had a diploma as their highest qualification. The Generation X sample contained a higher proportion of African respondents (i.e.,59.5%) compared to the Generation Y sample (i.e., 40.5%). The income profile suggested that there were distinct differences in terms of net monthly household income between respondents from the two generations. Serveral exploratory factor analysis (EFA) were conducted in which the Likert scale statements in question 3 to 6 (see Appendix A p.170-174) measuring different subdimensions of consumer-based brand equity dimensions were subjected to a principal components analysis (PCA) with varimax rotation. The results of the final EFA analysis involved 17 Likert scale items. The PCA revealed four factors (components). These components were brand associations in terms of product quality and value, brand awareness, brand loyalty and brand associations in terms of product manufacturer. Further statistical analysis was conducted based on the four components to test for significant mean differences. The non-parametric test, Mann-Whitney U Test, was conducted. The results confirmed the alternative hypothesis that, there are significant differences between Generation X and Y with regard to their perceptions of brand loyalty. The implications of the findings of the study, to marketing practitioners and brand managers is that they need to understand the type of association Generation X and Y have regarding their brands for effective and strategic planning in order to remain competitive. In addition to that, Generation X’s perception of quality does not differ significantly to that of Generation Y, thus it will be beneficial for practitioners to develop unique quality features. Consequently, they must intensify awareness around their brands. / Dissertation (MConsumer Science)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / gm2014 / Marketing Management / unrestricted

Brand loyalty has been studied extensively in consumer-brand relationship literature. However, the negative side of these relationships has not been studied to the same degree. This paper starts with Court et al.’s (2009) loyalty loop as part of the consumer decision journey and proposes that consumers may stop being loyal to a brand due to various circumstances.The authors propose a negative view of the loyalty loop, the disloyalty loop, exist, in which consumers become disloyal. Furthermore, the authors conducted this study in order to find out if this relationship exists, the disloyalty loop, within the framework of social media platforms, i.e. applications who allow communication among users over the Internet. These platforms should not solely be seen as online communication tools, but as brands themselves.Semi-structured interviews with social media users were conducted showing that consumers can navigate between the loyalty and disloyalty loops, and even exit the brand relationship completely. These findings indicate that consumers’ brand loyalty should not be taken for granted, and service failures may cause them to reduce their patronage, abandon the brand, and even influence other consumers negatively through word-of-mouth.

Background - The concept of luxury has undergone significant transformation over time, withMillennials redefining what constitutes luxury in contemporary society. This study explores thephenomenon of brand hate among Millennials towards luxury fashion brands, examining theunderlying causes and implications for the industry. Purpose - This study aims to examine the literature on negative brand relationships, focusingspecifically on the key factors contributing to brand hate. It centers on two primary aspects: the causes that lead to brand hate and the resulting outcomes of these negative sentiments. Design, methodology, approach - The data collection was conducted via a web-based survey,gathering responses from diverse social media platforms and relevant forums. Structuralequation modeling and multigroup analysis was employed for the data analysis. Findings - This study proposes brand hate as a central concept, identifying four key factors thatcontribute to its development: symbolic incongruity, ideological incompatibility, negative pastexperiences, and brand inauthenticity. Additionally, it highlights the outcomes of brand hate,which include negative word of mouth, brand aversion, brand switching, and brand retaliation. Originality - This study contributes to the understanding of negative consumer-brandrelationships by focusing on the key factors that drive feelings of hatred.

In the present study, we have explored the role of brand trust and consumer brand identification in evoking brand forgiveness when individuals are exposed to communications related to corporate social responsibility (CSR) wrongdoings. Grounded in attribution theory, we have developed and empirically tested a conceptual model to assess the effectiveness of brand trust in facilitating the attribution of wrongdoings either internally (e.g., believing that the brand had wrong intentions) or externally (e.g., believing that there are other factors beyond the brand's control) in influencing brand forgiveness. We conducted an online experiment utilizing Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) to recruit participants from the U.S. national population (N = 620) following a quota sampling method. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was performed in Mplus to analyze the hypothesized direct and mediation relationships. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was performed to test the moderating hypotheses in SPSS (i.e., the interplay of brand trust and consumer brand identification in influencing internal and external attributions). Supporting the hypotheses, we found that brand trust positively influenced external attribution and external attributions, evoking brand forgiveness when individuals are exposed to communications related to CSR wrongdoings. However, contrary to our expectation, we found that the brand trust positively influenced internal attribution which indicated that higher the degree of faith individuals had in the brands, higher their tendency was to consider the possibility that the brand was indeed involved in unethical CSR practices.

Submitted by Silvana Teresinha Dornelles Studzinski (sstudzinski) on 2016-02-05T13:01:28Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Regina Kossmann Miozzo_.pdf: 3193134 bytes, checksum: 4b94aaaa2557eba1c6f488d6fc5765ad (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-02-05T13:01:28Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Regina Kossmann Miozzo_.pdf: 3193134 bytes, checksum: 4b94aaaa2557eba1c6f488d6fc5765ad (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-09-03 / Nenhuma / A gamificação (do Inglês gamification) é um fenômeno crescente que tem despertado o interesse tanto de pesquisadores quanto de executivos. Elementos de jogos têm sido aplicados em contextos e atividades diversas às do entretenimento com o intuito de enriquecer a experiência de quem as executa, gerando maior interesse, envolvimento, diversão e engajamento. Desta forma, a gamificação tem sido utilizada como um recurso para motivar comportamentos de engajamento dos consumidores, tornando-se uma estratégia de marketing. Contudo, até o presente estudo, não foram encontrados na literatura estudos empíricos que apliquem a gamificação para gerar engajamento em consumidores de bens duráveis, como as máquinas agrícolas. Assim, o presente estudo tem como objetivo analisar como os aspectos da gamificação podem desenvolver o envolvimento no consumidor de máquinas agrícolas em uma experiência interativa digital, identificando os elementos mais relevantes para incentivar comportamentos de engajamento com uma marca. A pesquisa adota uma abordagem qualitativa, tendo como método de pesquisa a metodologia Design Science Research (DSR). O estudo foi realizado em uma empresa que desenvolve, produz e comercializa máquinas agrícolas e envolveu consumidores de tratores e colheitadeiras. As atividades realizadas compreenderam entrevistas semiestruturadas e questionários que objetivaram compreender o problema tratado na pesquisa, levantar a motivação da empresa em abordá-lo e obter subsídios para desenhar um artefato que auxiliasse na solução do problema. Os dados coletados na empresa e com consumidores permitiram desenhar e implementar um protótipo de média fidelidade do artefato proposto. O protótipo foi usado e avaliado pelos consumidores, visando verificar o potencial de gamificação para desenvolver o envolvimento e consequentes intenções de engajamento nos consumidores de máquinas agrícolas. Os principais resultados indicam que a gamificação tem o potencial de desenvolver o envolvimento nos consumidores de máquinas agrícolas, porém existem elementos e riscos a serem considerados, em especial os relacionados a suas motivações e interesses. Foram identificadas três perspectivas pelas quais a geração de valor pode ser conduzida, através da gamificação, em direção ao envolvimento e engajamento com uma marca: utilidade, prazer e relacionamento social. Esta pesquisa contribui para enriquecer a literatura sobre a gamificação, acrescentando um estudo empírico sobre seu uso no contexto do marketing. Também demonstra a aplicação de um método para o uso da gamificação em soluções que objetivam estimular envolvimento nos consumidores e intenções de engajamento com uma marca. / Gamification is a growing phenomenon that concerns both researchers and practitioners. Game elements have been applied in several contexts and activities out of entertainment with the aim of enriching the experiences of those who execute them, generating higher levels of interest, involvement, entertainment and engagement. Gamification has been suggested, especially by IT industry, as a marketing strategy to develop consumer engagement. However, there is no empirical research related to the use of gamification to promote engagement in utilitarian brands consumers such as agricultural machinery. The present study aims to analyze which aspects of gamification can develop the involvement of the agricultural machinery consumer in an interactive digital experience, identifying the most relevant elements on encouraging consumer brand engagement behaviors. The research adopts a qualitative approach, adopting the Design Science Research (DSR) as the research method. DSR was applied to the development of a technological artifact which was presented and evaluated by agricultural machinery consumers. In order to get empirical data, the study was performed into a company that develops, produces and commercializes agricultural machinery, involving marketing, IT and after sales professionals, and Brazilian agricultural machinery consumers. The activities performed comprehended semi structured interviews and questionnaires that aimed to understand the problem to be addressed to identify the company´s motivation to find a solution and to get subsidies to design the artifact. Data was collected to design and implement a medium fidelity prototype of the proposed artifact. The prototype was used and evaluated by consumers in order to verify gamification's potential on the involvement development and consequent engagement intentions. The main results indicate gamification does have the potential to develop the involvement of agricultural machinery consumers. However, there are element and risks to be considered, especially the ones related to the consumer's interests and motivations. Three perspectives were identified, by which the generation of value through gamification can be driven towards the brand engagement: utility, pleasure and social relationship. This research contributes to the enrichment of the gamification literature, adding empirical study about its usage in marketing context and also demonstrating the usage of a method to implement gamification in a solution to stimulate consumer involvement and engagement behavior intention.

This research addresses an urgent contemporary problem within advertising and brand management in the new era of social networks - how do companies act on social networking platforms and how is this perceived by consumers? Being successful on Facebook is, seemingly, not as straight forward as many might think, and the misuse deriving from misperceptions can create negative brand impacts. This research aims to shed light on the yet under researched topic of firm-created Social Media advertising and its effects on the consumer mindset. This has lead to three overarching research questions, which provides a strong theoretical and practical contribution to the status quo:   RQ1:          What is the influence of the gap between motivational factors to “Like” a brand’s Facebook page and the subsequent firm-created Facebook advertising on perceived advertising value?   RQ2:          What is the influence of perceived advertising value on consumer brand-related activities?   RQ3:                      What is the influence of (1) perceived advertising value and (2) consumer brand-related activities on brand equity?   A quantitative research approach was adopted using a self-administered survey among 101 European Facebook users between 18 and 35. The framework of this research comes from four elements of theory; Uses and Gratifications (U&amp;G) theory to identify the underlying motivational factors to engage with a brand on Facebook, advertising value by Ducoffe (1995), to measure how the brand’s advertising is perceived, consumer brand-related activities (COBRA) by Muntinga, et al. (2011) to classify the level of consumer involvement with the brand on Facebook, and the brand value chain by Keller &amp; Lehmann (2003), which is closely related to consumer-based brand equity as developed by Aaker (1991) and Keller (1993).   The main conclusions of this research include that the gap between initial motivations to start a brand-relationship on Facebook and the subsequent activities performed by the firm is smaller for those in a currently active brand-relationship while it is considerable larger for those who have decided to exit the relationship. Moreover, while not statistically confirmed a clear tendency was identified that the perceived advertising value of a brand on Facebook is attributable to the extent of this gap. In the same vein, the decision to continue or exit a brand-relationship on Facebook is attributable by the level of perceived advertising value. The type and level of interaction with a brand is influenced by the perceived advertising value, however, can be influenced by targeting specific motivations to interact. Both the perceived advertising value and the level/type of interaction with a brand were found to influence the consumer mindset. Especially the form (entertaining, enjoyable) in which advertising is dispersed on Facebook proves to be important.