Master of Science / Department of Psychology / James C. Shanteau / This project included two studies that looked at how the brand name and price of consumer products can affect intended purchasing decisions. In Study 1, 30 undergraduate students tested products from three different product categories (crayons, tissues, and tortilla chips). Each product category consisted of three different brands; one with high brand value, one with medium, and one with low brand value (generic). The brands for each product were as follows: Crayons (Crayola, Roseart, and Dollartree); Tissues (Puffs, Kleenex, and Wal-Mart); Chips (Tostitos, Mission, and Kroger). The design for this study was a 3x3+3+3 matrix. For each brand, there were five conditions: 1) the product in the correct brand name; 2) the product in a switched brand name; 3) the product in the other switched brand name; 4) the product alone, no brand name; and 5) the brand name alone, no product. The product alone and brand name alone conditions acted as controls. Participants were unaware that the products had been switched. After trying each product, participants rated their likelihood to purchase that product on a 9-point Likert scale; 1 being “definitely would not buy” and 9 being “definitely would buy.” In Study 2, 47 participants completed an online survey assessing their likelihood to purchase three different products (a bicycle, a watch, and a T.V.) based on the price alone. The brand names were removed so as to not create an interactive effect. This study had the same design as Study 1. After a within-subjects Repeated Measures ANOVA, it was found in Study 1, that the two brands with higher brand value were rated as higher quality than the generic. Study 2 found that when just looking at price, subjects were more likely to purchase the cheapest product. In conclusion, it seems that the brand name associated with a product can cause people to rate the quality of that product as either higher or lower depending on the strength of the brand, even if the product itself is lower quality. Also, when looking at the prices of products without the brand names, people want to purchase the lowest priced product.

Research report presented to SBL, Unisa, Midrand. / The subject on the role of branding in delivering financial growth has been a debate for most marketers and financial managers. This is because the marketing subject by its nature is intangible and therefore difficult to measure. This misunderstanding has resulted in many authors calling for marketing to be accountable and focus on marketing investments that will deliver long term value for the shareholders. This study explores the role of branding in the South African FMCG industry and three main areas are explored namely whether marketing strategies are focused on increasing sales or future business growth. The second area is whether the inclusion of brand equity measures as part of the financial company reports, will give them the focus that they deserve. Thirdly it explores whether there is a link between brand building initiatives and financial measures. A qualitative research method was used as it gave the researcher an in depth understanding of the role of brand management within the FMCG industry and its impact on financial measures. A total of fifteen employees were interviewed using semi-structured interviews. The findings indicate that companies still focus on measures that drive short term gains instead of long term growth and that brand building activities are compromised by brand harming activities such as regular price cutting. Future research to evaluate the impact of marketing activities that drive short term sales on brand equity and subsequently shareholder value is recommended.

Användningen av sociala medier för att framföra budskap i form av bilder, fortsätter att ökavarje år. Foton anses kunna förmedla ett kraftfullare meddelande och på en mindre yta,jämfört med text. Dock är det svårare att exakt kunna precisera hur bilder som publicerasuppfattas av mottagarna, då varje person gör sin egna fria tolkning. Enligt Aakers teorierpåverkar allt som sänds ut från ett företag dess varumärke, vilket gör det svårt att bestämmavilka bilder som egentligen bör användas. I ett försök att koppla ihop bild, sändare, mottagareoch varumärke har två restauranger samt tio deltagare intervjuats. Den empiriska data syftadetill att upptäcka hur restaurangerna använder sig av Instagram och vad tanken är bakom varjepublicerad bild. Detta jämfördes sedan med mottagarnas syn på bilderna och hur dettapåverkade restaurangens varumärkeskapital. Resultatet visade att en mängd olika orsakerpåverkar mottagarens perception av publicerade bilder. I många avseenden lyckasbildkommunikationen mellan sändare och mottagare, men specifika punkter gällande bildersutformning, motiv och känsla bör tas i åtanke. Den slutgiltiga analysen bidrar till en djupareförståelse för sambandet mellan bilder och hur det påverkar varumärket. / The use of social media to convey information in the form of images, continues to increaseevery year. Images are considered to deliver powerful messages, and on a smaller areacompared to text. However, it is difficult to precisely define how recipients perceivepublished images, as each person makes their own interpretation. According to the theories byAaker, everything that is broadcasted from a company affects its brand, making it difficult todetermine which images that should be used. In an attempt to connect the link between theimage, transmitters, receivers, and the brand, two restaurants and ten participants has beeninterviewed. The empirical data aimed to discover how restaurants use Instagram and the ideabehind each published image. This was then compared with the recipients' opinions regardingthe photos and how it affected the restaurant's brand equity. The result showed that a varietyof reasons affected the recipient's perception of published images. In many cases, the imagecommunication between the transmitter and the receiver works as intended, but specificreasons regarding the design, motives and feel of the images should be considered. The finalanalysis will contribute to a deeper understanding of the relationship between images and howit affects the brand.This thesis is written in Swedish.

Företags samhällsansvar (CSR) har utvecklats från ett fokus på etik till prestation och att således kunna fungera som ett strategiskt verktyg för differentiering och det är idag allmänt vedertaget för företag att använda sig av CSR med antagandet att detta genererar konkurrensfördelar. Samtidigt som CSR påvisats kunna skapa mervärde till ett företags varumärke ställs numera också krav från konsumenter att företag tar ett samhällsansvar. Det har däremot uppmärksammats att konsumenters medvetenhet om företags CSR-initiativ är låg, vilket kan anses problematiskt i och med de investeringar företag lägger på CSR och om detta således tas i beaktande vid konsumenters utvärdering av företag. Uppsatsens syfte är därmed att förklara om och hur CSR påverkar konsumenters attityd till ett företags varumärke samt ifall detta innebär ett mervärde och därmed varumärkesstärkande. För att uppnå syftet genomfördes en kvantitativ undersökning och enkäter skickades ut till studenter vid Högskolan Dalarna där totalt 682 respondenter slutförde enkäten. Resultaten visar en låg grad av medvetenhet, men att konsumenter med en högre grad av medvetenhet uppvisar mer fördelaktiga attityder till företag som tar ett samhällsansvar. Det framkommer också att dessa attityder genererar företag immateriella värden vilket senare teoretiskt förklaras innebära ett mervärde och därmed varumärkesstärkande. Studien landar i att CSR kan användas av företag för att stärka sitt varumärke, men finner dock en begränsning gällande konsumenters låga medvetenhet om företags CSR-initiativ. / Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) have progressed from a focus on ethics to performance and thus working as a strategic tool for differentiation and it is today well recognized for companies to use CSR with the assumption that this will generate a competitive advantage. While CSR has been proved to create added value to the brand of a company there is also demands from consumers that companies should engage in Corporate Social Responsibility. However, the lack of awareness from consumers about companies CSR-initiatives have been observed, which can be considered as problematic due to companies’ investments in CSR and if these initiatives thus are taken into consideration while evaluating companies. The purpose of the study is to explain whether and how CSR influence consumers’ attitudes towards the brand of a company and if this implies added value. To achieve the purpose a quantitative method were used and surveys were sent to students of Dalarna University and 682 respondents fulfilled the survey. The findings demonstrate a low degree of awareness, but worth noticing is that consumers with a higher degree of awareness present more favorable attitudes towards the company. These attitudes proves to generate intangible values for companies engaging in CSR and which is theoretically explained to imply brand equity. In conclusion the study reveals that CSR can be used by companies in branding purposes, still consumers’ lack of awareness about companies’ CSR-initiatives is found as a limiting factor.

The purpose of the study was to find out how well companies succeed in trying to convey the identity of their trademarks to the consumers. The study was quantitative with a survey design. A sample of 109 respondents participated. Brand identity and brand image was the focus of the study and was measured in three companies; Odd Molly, Filippa K and Björn Borg. These three were selected partly because of their different profiles. One survey was sent to the companies and one survey was distributed to the consumers. The majority of the questions in the surveys were based on a model designed to measure brand identity and brand image and gap in between them. The study presents three central theories; Profile, Image and Identity, Brand Equity and The Corporate Personality Scale. The first two gives a background to the concept of the words. The Corporate Personality Scale was created and designed to assess image and identity and the gaps in between them. The results showed that there were gaps in between the brand identity and the brand image in all three of the selected companies. However there were also signs of coherence between them. The companies succeeded in some part, in their trying to convey the identity of their trademarks to the consumers. There were both clear gaps and clear coherence between Brand Identity and Brand Image. In some cases the image was graded higher than the identity and vice versa.

As there is still limited research on brand equity and brand impact in a high tech industry as the smartphone industry, this study focused on highlighting brand equity and brand relevance in the Swedish smartphone market. The aim was to increase knowledge about the discussion of brand equity from a consumer perspective on the smartphone market by finding out what significance the brand had for the consumers in the purchase of a smartphone and how strong brand equity the brands, Apple, Samsung, HTC, LG and Huawei had in the Swedish smartphone market. To address the research questions, a survey was done as data collection. Questionnaires were distributed to 120 respondents consisting of students in the Stockholm area, from the Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm University and Södertörn University. The survey in question was formed almost entirely out of David A. Aaker's concept of brand equity, which consists of brand awareness, perceived quality, brand associations and brand loyalty. The study found two clusters of smartphone manufacturers with different brand strength based of brand equity. The first cluster consisted of the brands Apple and Samsung, both of which had higher brand equity in relation to the remaining brands. The remaining brands HTC, LG and Huawei formed the second cluster, in which Huawei deviated in a bit in strengthfrom the two aforementioned brands. The study also found that the brand was of high significance for consumers when buying a smartphone. / Då det fortfarande är begränsad forskning om varumärkeskapital och varumärkets betydelse i en högteknologisk bransch som smartphonebranschen har denna studie fokuserat på att belysa varumärkeskapitalet och varumärkets betydelse på den svenska smartphonemarknaden. Syftet var att utöka kunskapen kring diskussionen om varumärkeskapital från ett konsumentperspektiv på smartphonemarknaden genom att ta reda på vad varumärket hade för betydelse för studenter vid köp av en smartphone och hur starkt varumärkeskapital varumärkena Apple, Samsung, HTC, LG och Huawei hade på den svenska smartphonemarknaden. För att angripa forskningsfrågorna gjordes en enkätundersökning som empiriinsamling. Enkäter delades ut till 120 respondenter som bestod av studenter i Stockholmsområdet från Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan, Stockholms Universitet samt Södertörns högskola. Enkäten i fråga formades nästintill helt utifrån David A. Aakers koncept om varumärkeskapital, vilket utgörs av varumärkeskännedom, upplevd kvalité, varumärkesassociationer och varumärkeslojalitet. Studien kom fram till två kluster av smartphonetillverkare med olika varumärkesstyrkor baserat på varumärkeskapitalet. Det första klustret utgjordes av varumärkena Apple och Samsung som hade högre varumärkeskapital i relation till resterande varumärken. De resterande varumärkena HTC, LG och Huawei utgjorde det ena klustret där Huawei hade en något avvikande varumärkesstyrka från de två förstnämnda i klustret. I studien framkom det även att varumärket hade en stor betydelseför studenterna vid ett köp av en smartphone

Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) have become recognised as brands in the academic and popular domain, but little is known about the relationship between these senior manager 'brands' and the corporate brand of the organisation they represent. Since stakeholders associate the CEO's reputation with that of the company, they may negatively or positively affect each other, and there is little research into this dynamic. Indeed there is only a limited understanding about the field of people branding in general and much less into CEO brands in particular. Consequently this doctoral thesis investigates the people and CEO brands phenomena, the relationships between CEO, corporate brand and stakeholder's self-image and how these can be effectively managed in order to enhance brand equity for the company. Based on a critical realist perspective, this research examines traditional product brand elements from the literature and develops a new conceptual framework for people brands, which is subsequently applied to CEOs. Furthermore a survey is performed with business school students. The findings are analysed by using content analysis, descriptive statistics and by developing and testing a Structural Equation Model. The contribution to knowledge is threefold. Firstly a conceptual framework of people brands is constructed. Second this model is applied to CEO brands. Third five propositions about stakeholder perceptions of CEO brand differentiation and equity are empirically tested. The main findings are that visual presentation is not the main factor to differentiate CEO brands from each other, nor is their association with the company. Positive perceptions of corporate brands can influence the reputation of the CEO brand and lead to an enhancement of their brand equity. Importantly this indicates that stakeholders do not distinguish between CEO and company. Brand equity is also created if there is a relationship between stakeholder self-image and company brand, which in turn can improve the reputation of the CEO brand. Finally brand equity is enhanced through stakeholder perceptions of an ideal self-image. Overall this research has important implications for academia and managerial practice as it extends the knowledge about people and CEO brands and provides an insight into ways in which the relationships between CEO, company and stakeholders can be managed to enhance brand equity for the company

<p>Konkurrensen blir allt hårdare på den globaliserande marknaden. Fler företag inser därav vikten av att ha ett starkt varumärke. Ett sätt att uppnå detta är att skapa starka associationer kopplade till varumärket. Associationerna kan förmedlas och uppfattas via olika attribut som kan länkas med ett varumärke. Attribut kan exempelvis bestå av egenskaper, attityder och fördelar. Denna uppsats syftar till att utforma ett verktyg för att undersöka och synliggöra vilka positiva attribut som associeras med ett varumärke och därmed bidrar till dess differentiering gentemot andra företag. Detta sker genom att granska tidigare forskning inom området, vilken ger en teoretisk referensram som kompletteras med intryck av den svenska marknaden. De attribut som detta resulterar i reduceras samt bearbetas för att därefter ligga till grund för en enkätundersökning. Undersökningen bidrar till att synliggöra de attribut som anses vara mest önskvärda för ett varumärke att associeras med. De mest önskvärda attributen visade sig vara förknippade med ansvar samt moral och används i det slutgiltiga verktyget som uppsatsen har i syfte att skapa.</p>

<p>This essay reviews the situation for small actors in the Swedish clothing industry. In this essay we assume that loyalty is a requirement for survival on the competitive clothing market. Four small actors have been analyzed up on theories on loyalty, brand equity, relationship marketing, service marketing, quality, interactive marketing, distribution and value creating activities. The chosen actors are Fifth Avenue Shoe Repair, Boutique Sportif, Jenny Hellström and Ida Sjöstedt. The conclusion of the essay is that it is possible for small actors on the Swedish clothing market to build loyal relationships with their customers. This can be achieved if the right strategic decisions are made. It has been noticed that the Internet seems to make a big difference in the process of communication between companies and their customers.</p> / <p>Denna uppsats har kommit fram till att små företag på den svenska konfektionsmarknaden har goda möjligheter att skapa lojala kundrelationer. Det krävs strategiska beslut för att lyckas. De faktorer som har behandlats är distributionssätt, värdeskapande, kvalitet och varumärkets värde. Analysen konstaterar att de olika undersökningsobjekten värdeskapar på olika sätt. De använder sig av olika distributionsstrategier för att nå ut till sina kunder. Undersökningen visar att ju närmare kunden man värdeskapar och ju mer selektiv man är i sitt val av återförsäljare desto mer lojala kunder vinner man. Undersökningen har visat att hög varumärkeskännedom inte alltid betyder att man har lojala kunder. Den har också visat att egen butik inte är nödvändigt för att skapa trogna och lojala kundrelationer.</p><p>Den svenska konfektionsmarknaden har hög tillväxt och en kollaps förutspås. Nya företag verkar under svåra förhållanden och måste skapa lojala kundrelationer för att överleva. Stigande priser på importerade kläder gör att endast de stora kedjorna kan hålla låga priser ut till slutkund. Detta påverkar de mindre aktörerna då de inte har samma stordriftsfördelar. Ökade krav från kunderna gör att företagen verkar under hård press och de måste bemöta kundernas allt högre förväntningar.</p><p>Undersökningen har genomförts med en deduktiv ansats. Studierna är utförda med kvantitativa och kvalitativa metoder i form av enkätfrågor och intervjuer. Dessa har genomförts med företagens kunder respektive ledning. Kundundersökning har genomförts med ett sannolikhetsurval. Fyra mindre aktörer som verkar på den svenska konfektionsmarknaden har valts ut och undersökts. Företagen är Fifth Avenue Shoe Repair, Boutique Sportif, Jenny Hellström och Ida Sjöstedt.</p><p>De teorier som uppsatsen behandlar är;</p><p>· Mogen marknad</p><p>· Lojalitet</p><p>· Värdeskapande</p><p>· Distribution</p><p>· Tjänstemarknadsföring</p><p>· Interaktiv Marknadsföring</p><p>· Kvalitet</p><p>· Hävstångeffekten</p><p>Det perspektiv som uppsatsen har tagit är;</p><p>· Systemtänkande och Relationsmarknadsföring</p><p>För att mäta teorier har vi använt oss av;</p><p>· Brand Equity</p><p>Undersökning har observerat att Internet är en betydande faktor lojalitetsskapande. Det finns en tydlig koppling mellan de som besökt varumärkenas hemsidor och de som handlat av respektive varumärke.</p>

啤酒是當今世界上最流行的飲料之一，也與人們的生活息息相關，但隨著世界市場的開放，使得啤酒市場也興起了一股新的競爭力量。 品牌在食品市場中所扮演的角色非常重要，尤其是在流通方面。譬如：知名品牌擁有較多的優待，如與製造者、銷售員、通路商之間有較大的彈性、議價空間和產品陳列位置等好處，所以企業或是投資者會將品牌視為公司最有價值的財產，強勢品牌更可以為企業帶來無窮的利益。 希望可以透過本研究的了解海尼根啤酒品牌形象對於顧客忠誠度和顧客滿意度的影響，並且探討海尼根啤酒品牌權益對顧客忠誠度和顧客滿意度的影響，進而以人口統計變數來區分出消費者和海尼根啤酒的市場區隔。 / Beer now is one of most popular drinks in the world. It also closely linked with people's life. Along with the world market opening, the beer market starts new competition situation. Brand plays an extremely important role in food market, especially in logistics aspect. For example, the well-known brand has many special treatments with manufactures, sellers and wholesalers, such as flexibility, discount and space. Therefore, the enterprise or the investor regard “brand” as the company most valuable asset. Strong brand can bring the infinite benefits to the enterprise. This research is trying to understand the influence of Heineken beer brand image to the customer loyalty and the customer satisfaction. It also discusses the influence of Heineken beer brand equity to the customer loyalty and the customer satisfaction. Moreover, try to use population variables to distinguish consumers and the Heineken beer markets.