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

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

<p>Abstract:</p><p>Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to learn how brand heritage and retro brands can help HQM strengthen their brand identity.</p><p>Background: Companies with a long history have a strategic choice to make re-garding the use of their heritage in marketing communications. Such companies also enjoy a history of interesting products, for which some may exist the possibility for a retro relaunch. Husqvarna is such a company, which made it interesting to find out how these two strategic tools can or cannot strengthen the studied company‘s brand identity.</p><p>Method: Through an inductive and exploratory case study with interviews of the personnel at Husqvarna Motorcycles, Italy, three theoretical areas emerged to be researched, brand identity, brand heritage and retro brands. The latter two required the help of real life examples for better understanding. The analysis had a deductive approach where the studied theory was applied to the companies, and conclu-sions were drawn from the accumulated knowledge to help streng-then the brand identity of Husqvarna Motorcycles.</p><p>Conclusions: HQM is a brand with heritage in the process of taking a strategic de-cision to use its heritage as a tool to strengthen the brand identity, hence on the way to become a heritage brand in the true meaning of the definition. As the oldest brand on the market, HQM can use its heritage to differentiate itself from the competition, creating uni-queness impossible to copy. A retro product can be a useful vehicle to carry the newly uncovered heritage to surface. With the help of theory and a real life example, a contender within the historical company product portfolio was recognized. Finally, the band identi-ty as stated by HQM was redefined according to the findings.</p>

Abstract: Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to learn how brand heritage and retro brands can help HQM strengthen their brand identity. Background: Companies with a long history have a strategic choice to make re-garding the use of their heritage in marketing communications. Such companies also enjoy a history of interesting products, for which some may exist the possibility for a retro relaunch. Husqvarna is such a company, which made it interesting to find out how these two strategic tools can or cannot strengthen the studied company‘s brand identity. Method: Through an inductive and exploratory case study with interviews of the personnel at Husqvarna Motorcycles, Italy, three theoretical areas emerged to be researched, brand identity, brand heritage and retro brands. The latter two required the help of real life examples for better understanding. The analysis had a deductive approach where the studied theory was applied to the companies, and conclu-sions were drawn from the accumulated knowledge to help streng-then the brand identity of Husqvarna Motorcycles. Conclusions: HQM is a brand with heritage in the process of taking a strategic de-cision to use its heritage as a tool to strengthen the brand identity, hence on the way to become a heritage brand in the true meaning of the definition. As the oldest brand on the market, HQM can use its heritage to differentiate itself from the competition, creating uni-queness impossible to copy. A retro product can be a useful vehicle to carry the newly uncovered heritage to surface. With the help of theory and a real life example, a contender within the historical company product portfolio was recognized. Finally, the band identi-ty as stated by HQM was redefined according to the findings.