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Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to examine diverse marketing strategies used by Western and Eastern European originated fashion brands based on H&M and Reserved cases as well as which of them are the most appealing to Polish students. Additional aspect of the diploma is to research if there are some evident differences or similarities in implementing these tactics. Method: The study implemented both qualitative and quantitative research. Data collection was based on two types of data, secondary and the primary one. The secondary data was derived from fashion marketing literature, scholar articles and fashion blogs. The primary data included a semi- structured interview with Reserved's assistant marketing manager and questionnaires provided to Polish students. Subsequently, systematic combining was applied, that can be described as nonlinear process of matching theory and reality. Conclusion: Fashion marketing tools implemented in both companies can be assessed as quite similar with no evident difference, yet they differ from each other in certain aspects. In both cases advertising and sales promotion are the most employed tactics. Both companies are seen as international ones, though H&M seems to follow more fashion oriented approach engaging in fashion shows or providing their customers with their own glossy magazine. The study also revealed that advertising activities and sales promotion seem to be the most appealing marketing techniques for the respondents. In addition social media proved to be an essential element to build a connection with consumers. However, this communication channel is often neglected or not utilized to its' full potential.

The international marketing literature has a common assumption that consumers across countries are becoming more similar in their consumption behavior over time. However, this assumption of global convergence of consumer spending has not been empirically tested in the literature. In this dissertation, we examine the convergence hypothesis across a heterogeneous set of countries and multiple product categories. In the first essay, we develop a conceptual framework of convergence of consumer spending behavior. In the second essay, we empirically test whether convergence is observed across markets and product categories over time. Finally, in the third essay, we investigate the effect of global convergence of consumer spending on market concentration and firms’ market shares. Using the four-firm concentration ratio, we compute the market concentration by industry in each market to investigate the effect of convergence on market concentration. We also examine the effect of convergence on market shares of individual firms, considering the moderating effects of country of origin, country of operation, and the degree of internationalization of the firm. We model the dependent variables, market concentration and market shares, using the fractional logit model. Our results show that there is an overall convergence trend across product categories and countries over time. Moreover, we find that convergence increases the market shares of the largest firms in a market. The findings of this study have theoretical and managerial implications on major marketing areas including global marketing strategy, internationalization, and market segmentation.

<p></p><p>A reform of higher education in Sweden in 1993 led to stiffer competitive climate among educational institutions. The reform meant that educational institutions now had the opportunity to plan their curriculum autonomously. Prior to the reform educational planning was restricted to the Swedish government. The new rules spelled a greater opportunity for educational institutions to profile themselves based on their educational offerings. The higher degree of competition means that marketing becomes increasingly important when recruiting new students. This thesis focuses on the marketing activities done by educational institutions to recruit new students. This study will specifically investigate the activities regarding marketing of business education in Luleå University of Technology and the officer education The Military School of higher education in Karlberg. Both schools are chosen because they have among other things, experienced a shortage of applicants. This study will also show student opinions of marketing activities from both institutions. Our results points out that both schools are firmly aware of the benefits of marketing when recruiting new students. However, the students experience a certain disharmony between the marketing and reality. Our conclusions are that this disharmony might partly explain the shortage of applicants to these specific educations.</p><p> </p>

Content marketing is a popular marketing strategy, which has increased significantly during the last years. The term content marketing is new but companies have been working with parts of the strategy for decades. The new digital era changed the communication from a one-way to a two-way communica- tion. Customers now have a demand for relevant content that is valuable for them. The purpose of this dissertation is to develop an understanding of this marketing strategy, and clarify the key dimensions that distinguish content marketing from other marketing strategies. This thesis rests on a realistic philosophy with an abductive approach. Based on previous research different definitions of the marketing strategy are used to develop a model of the key dimensions of content marketing. A qualitative data collection with semi-structured interviews is performed on seven participants in order to explore what is seen as important aspects, and to gather new insight about the unclear marketing strategy. The findings indicate a differentiation between companies, but there is a consensus of the most im- portant aspects. Findings of how the strategy is done results in a new model, and a new definition of the marketing strategy. Suggestions for further research include examining how companies measure con- tent marketing. The results contribute with a clarification and further description of what content marketing is, and the most important aspects to consider when working with the strategy. The results of this study are useful as a guideline for people starting to work with content marketing, with the aim to understand the market- ing strategy.

The emergance of modern technologies has essential impact on the way people communicate, spend lisure and shop. The influence of internet has not avoid the market with psychoactive substances. Aproximately since 2008 has happend significant rise among the sops with new psychadelic substances(NPS). The rise of the shops has risen also an afford to monitor this new phenomenon. This thesis follows project Itrend that haas monitored the NPS shop in 2014 and 2015. The aim of the work is to provide more detailed estimate of this size of the market with NPS and the dynamics of its developement between years 2014 and 2106. The analysis of data overstep frame of project I­Trend. keywords: NSP,web shops, internet,marketing strategies

This research is aimed at assessing SADCC in relation to the degree to which it has accomplished its own aims, regional economic integration and reduction of dependency. The study has relied on and used the dependency theory which holds that the development in a peripheral capitalist system is a continuous process of dispossessing the less developed countries of their raw materials in favor of maintaining the advancement of the capitalist countries. In short, neo-colonial dependence view of underdevelopment attributes a large part of the Third World's continuing and worsening poverty to the existence and policies of the industrial capitalist and socialist countries and their extensions in the form of small but powerful elite groups in the less developed countries. The research came with the following findings and conclusions. That SADCC countries have been integrated into the capitalist system due to the European colonization. That despite the efforts of SADCC and their proclaimed goals of economic integration and self-reliance, the SADCC region has not reduced dependency but rather there is a new dependency on other external countries. SADCC's committed strategies have not produced self-reliance and economic integration in the region due to the structure and activities of SADCC. In order to correct this imbalance and dependency, few options are possible. SADCC should embark upon the socialist mode of development because socialist methods will diminish the degree of dependency as in the case of Cuba. Intra-regional trade should be encouraged to bring about some form of transaction flows and economic integration. Establish appropriate ways of encouraging agricultural productivity in order to alleviate the shortage of food problems in the region and adopt capital accumulation methods.

Background - What a company wants to communicate is today more correlated to their core values and within storytelling it is no exception. Storytelling is the art of using a story in focus in televised commercials and the products are used in the peripheral. Storytelling in televised commercials can create positive association and experience towards the brand and therefore increase the value. A pre-study was done to find suitable brands to continue the study with. The selected brands were Volvo Cars, IKEA and H&amp;M since they were seen to be using storytelling and were high-valued brands in the Swedish product-oriented segment. Purpose - The purpose of this thesis is to examine brand identity through storytelling. This is exemplified by Swedish product-oriented companies. More specific, to investigate the coherence with consumers’ brand image and existing gaps. The companies that will be covered in this study are Volvo Cars and IKEA, whereas H&amp;M did not meet the requirements for further analysis in this thesis. Method - To conduct this study, a qualitative research method was adapted. The research was done with a philosophical mindset of interpretivism with an inductive research approach. The data for the empirical chapter was collected by a qualitative multi-method where the first set of primary data came from a content analysis of commercials. The second set of data came from semi-structured interviews. The sampled respondents were chosen to match the companies’ target segments. It was handled as a multiple case-study where each company was their own case. The data was later analyzed through the Brand Identity Prism and its six facets for both the companies’ brand identity and consumers brand image. Results and Conclusion - The results in this thesis showed that the brand identity of the analyzed companies using storytelling were overall coherent with the brand image consumers had of them. Some gaps occurred for the brands, however not within the same facets of the Brand Identity Prism. Due to this no general conclusion could be drawn specifically for Swedish product-oriented companies. Overall, the researchers concluded that the use of storytelling could both develop and reduce gaps, depending on how it is done. Developing storytelling based on a clear brand persona and the core values of the specific brand would help companies to reduce gaps. Practical Implications - This thesis is providing useful information to managers and business leaders by showing how they can compare and analyze the coherence of brand identity and brand image when using storytelling as a branding strategy. Furthermore, the researchers give insights for how to manage and reduce gaps between brand identity and brand image.

De acordo com empresários do setor agropecuário, em 2014, dos 40 milhões de cabeças abatidas no Brasil, apenas cerca de 2%, ou seja, 800 mil cabeças foram direcionadas para o mercado de produtos gourmet. No entanto, este é um mercado em expansão e, segundo especialistas do setor, é esperado que a participação deste nicho alcance cerca de 5% do total abatido nos próximos anos, o que significa uma taxa de crescimento de aproximadamente 250% para o setor (CAVALCANTI, 2015). Neste sentido, este trabalho objetivou estudar a percepção do consumidor de carnes especiais de alto valor agregado na cidade de Ribeirão Preto (interior do Estado de São Paulo), bem como os serviços oferecidos em estabelecimentos específicos e diferenciados de varejo (também conhecidos como \"açougues gourmet\"). Com consumidores cada vez mais exigentes e preocupados com os atributos oferecidos em relação ao produto consumido, e um mercado em plena expansão, a cadeia da carne bovina deve se organizar para enfrentar o desafio de transformar o produto hoje vendido como \"commodities\", em um produto diferenciado com alto valor agregado percebido pelos seus clientes. Para tanto, se faz necessário que o mercado se utilize de estratégias de marketing focada na segmentação dos clientes, produtos diferenciados e marcas próprias, além de proporcionar ao consumidor uma experiência inesquecível dentro do ponto de venda durante a compra e depois no momento do consumo. Sendo assim, para que ao final deste trabalho se tenha conseguido demonstrar qual a percepção do consumidor ribeirão-pretano quanto a carne gourmet, foram realizadas 158 entrevistas dentro de 4 boutiques de carne da cidade de Ribeirão Preto - SP, possibilitando revelar o perfil socioeconômico dos consumidores, bem como os atributos, serviços e cortes de carne gourmet preferidos pelos respondentes. / According to agribusiness, in 2014, of the 40 million heads slaughtered in Brazil, only about 2%, that is, 800 thousand heads were directed to the market of gourmet products. However, this is an expanding market and, according to industry experts, the share of this niche is expected to reach about 5% of the total slaughtered in the coming years, which means a growth rate of approximately 250% for the sector (CAVALCANTI, 2015). In this sense, the objective of this study is to study the consumer perception of high value-added specialty meats in the city of Ribeirão Preto (interior of the State of São Paulo), as well as the services offered in specific and differentiated retail establishments (also known as \"Gourmet butchers\"). With consumers increasingly demanding and concerned about the attributes offered in relation to the product consumed, and a market in full expansion, the beef chain must organize itself to face the challenge of transforming the product now sold as commodities, into a differentiated product with high added value perceived by its customers. To do so, it is necessary for the market to use marketing strategies focused on the segmentation of customers, differentiated products and own brands, as well as providing the consumer with an unforgettable experience inside the point of sale during the purchase and then at the time of consumption. Therefore, in order to demonstrate the consumers\' perception of gourmet meat, 158 interviews were carried out in 4 beef boutiques in the city of Ribeirão Preto, SP, in order to reveal the socioeconomic profile of consumers, as well as the gourmet attributes, services, and cuts preferred by respondents.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to critically examine the marketing strategy and marketing communication within a luxury fashion SME, the case of Mary Katrantzou. Methodology: This report has been conducted in a qualitative approach and six employees at the case study company have been interviewed. Three of the respondents are a part of the marketing department at the company, two are a part of the sales department and one member of the ecommerce team was interviewed. Moreover the interview approach was semi-structured interviews, and one on one interviews were conducted as well as written ones. Due to the access in the company the written interviews could be followed up by additional questions. Findings: Mary Katrantzou works with the appropriate traditional tools for luxury fashion brands, apart from advertisement, as well as working with the digital channels most suitable. Accordingly the theory a cohesive brand identity is vital when it comes to luxury fashion firms, and the findings in this area showed that the company does not have a coherent brand identity that permeates the whole organization. Instead the opinions of the six respondents differed. Moreover the empirical findings showed that collaborating with other companies could increase brand awareness. Conclusion: Mary Katrantzou’s marketing strategy is, accordingly the theory collected, in line with how luxury fashion brands should work with marketing. For the future however the company could invest in one more traditional tool in the form of advertisement. Figuring out the true brand identity of the company is also of importance. Moreover collaborations have according to this study the ability to increase brand awareness and should therefore be of interest to research further in the near future. Value/originality: The intimate access in the case study company in this report should be of high interest due to its rareness. From the inside examined fashion luxury brands are seldom researched, which adds value and originality to this study. / Program: Textilekonomutbildningen