This paper shows the way end of use programs affect brand equity since they can become a brand’s asset and create competitive advantage under specific circumstances. It is also suggested that through marketing strategies, long term business strategies and transparency it is possible for fashion companies to enhance brand equity and acquire all the positive effects from end of use programs. / Program: Textile Management, Fashion Management

<p>In today’s world, where the consumer is constantly exposed to more and more brands in almost any kind of environment, the importance of exploiting those brands which have managed to reach the consumer’s mind and gained a strong position has increased. A majority of new product launches are extensions of existing brands. Brand extensions can be seen as a less expensive as well as less risky way to satisfy the consumer’s demands and needs within several segments by providing several products under the same brand rather than creating a new name for every new product. Even though the extension of brands has become a popular strategy, it can still be somewhat of a troublesome affaire to extend the brand without loosing its original value. A “very good” brand extension not only creates additional cash-flow but also enhances the brand name. Thus, the purpose of this thesis is to identify factors that enable enhanced brand equity through category brand extension. A category extensions is when an existing brand name is applied to a product category that is new to the firm.</p><p>The study is conducted based on exclusively written data whereas a presentation of textual analysis will appear. As the focus is on theoretical findings and not empirical, no entire chapter in this thesis will concern empirical findings. Elementary variables of brands are defined, explained and discussed as well as the concept of brand equity, identity and image. Further, we present a discussion concerning definitions and the research that has been conducted on the subject of extensions. A discussion on the potential benefits and difficulties that are involved in brand extension follows and the concept of extension fit as well as aspects of lifestyle are presented. The conclusions reach are seven factors, all benefiting from having a high level of abstraction. The factors enhancing brand equity through category extensions are: Brand Context Distance, Lifestyle, Brand Awareness, Fit, Guarantee Function, Personality and Relationship.</p>

<p>Sportindustrin blir alltmer marknadsdriven. För att kunna bedriva effektiv marknadsföring blir det allt vanligare att strategiskt arbeta med att utveckla varumärken, brand management, som man använder sig av för att genom olika kommunikationskanaler attrahera konsumenter. Många av Sveriges specialförbund arbetar idag konkret med sport brand management. Svenska Ridsportförbundet (SvRF) har inte tidigare arbetat med sport brand management varav syftet med denna uppsats därför är att påbörja en varumärkesutveckling genom att identifiera och beskriva SvRF:s varumärke från ett internt perspektiv samt undersöka hur förbundet genom sport brand management kan utveckla verksamheten.  Uppsatsen bygger på en fallstudie med en kvalitativ innehållsanalys som inkluderar semistrukturerade intervjuer med anställda på förbundet. I empirin presenteras SvRF:s erbjudande, varumärke och verksamhetsmål samt några av de viktigaste faktorer som påverkar ridsportens utveckling. Den empiriska sammanställningen visar att trots det faktum att SvRF idag inte bedriver något konkret brand management har varumärket ”svensk ridsport” ändå en stark identitet och många unika värden. Vidare visar slutsatsen att SvRF genom mer fokus på varumärket och brand management kan utveckla verksamheten ytterligare.</p>

Introduction: The evening tabloids in Sweden have been going through a change towards moving into alternative media channels during the last decades. It is essential to capitalize on the evening tabloids strong brands in order to enhance growth and to stay in the top of the tough competition. Advertising has become of larger importance for Aftonbladet and Expressen since the move into alternative media channels. People tend to be increasingly interested in free news media and one of the most essential issues that Aftonbladet and Expressen are facing is how to increase its brand equity through entering alternative media channels. Purpose: To research and analyze the development of Aftonbladet’s and Expressen’s brand equity in terms of brand extensions and establishments in alternative media channels. Method: To fulfill the purpose the authors have conducted a quantitative study with a standardized questionnaire. The sample consists of 100 respondents between 19-24 years of age who have been contacted at Jönköping University, A6 shopping mall in Jönköping and at the city centre of Jönköping. Results: The study revealed that this group has an extremely low purchasing rate of the actual hard copy. Although the awareness of the brands Aftonbladet and Expressen are solid in their mind set. Instead it is of greater importance for this group what type of extra services and activities that is provided online. The researched target group is attracted by customized and accessible information which are of high quality and is distributed without any additional cost. Aftonbladet has developed a more efficient strategy in terms of brand extensions than Expressen in order to enhance its brand equity.

Sportindustrin blir alltmer marknadsdriven. För att kunna bedriva effektiv marknadsföring blir det allt vanligare att strategiskt arbeta med att utveckla varumärken, brand management, som man använder sig av för att genom olika kommunikationskanaler attrahera konsumenter. Många av Sveriges specialförbund arbetar idag konkret med sport brand management. Svenska Ridsportförbundet (SvRF) har inte tidigare arbetat med sport brand management varav syftet med denna uppsats därför är att påbörja en varumärkesutveckling genom att identifiera och beskriva SvRF:s varumärke från ett internt perspektiv samt undersöka hur förbundet genom sport brand management kan utveckla verksamheten.  Uppsatsen bygger på en fallstudie med en kvalitativ innehållsanalys som inkluderar semistrukturerade intervjuer med anställda på förbundet. I empirin presenteras SvRF:s erbjudande, varumärke och verksamhetsmål samt några av de viktigaste faktorer som påverkar ridsportens utveckling. Den empiriska sammanställningen visar att trots det faktum att SvRF idag inte bedriver något konkret brand management har varumärket ”svensk ridsport” ändå en stark identitet och många unika värden. Vidare visar slutsatsen att SvRF genom mer fokus på varumärket och brand management kan utveckla verksamheten ytterligare.

In today’s world, where the consumer is constantly exposed to more and more brands in almost any kind of environment, the importance of exploiting those brands which have managed to reach the consumer’s mind and gained a strong position has increased. A majority of new product launches are extensions of existing brands. Brand extensions can be seen as a less expensive as well as less risky way to satisfy the consumer’s demands and needs within several segments by providing several products under the same brand rather than creating a new name for every new product. Even though the extension of brands has become a popular strategy, it can still be somewhat of a troublesome affaire to extend the brand without loosing its original value. A “very good” brand extension not only creates additional cash-flow but also enhances the brand name. Thus, the purpose of this thesis is to identify factors that enable enhanced brand equity through category brand extension. A category extensions is when an existing brand name is applied to a product category that is new to the firm. The study is conducted based on exclusively written data whereas a presentation of textual analysis will appear. As the focus is on theoretical findings and not empirical, no entire chapter in this thesis will concern empirical findings. Elementary variables of brands are defined, explained and discussed as well as the concept of brand equity, identity and image. Further, we present a discussion concerning definitions and the research that has been conducted on the subject of extensions. A discussion on the potential benefits and difficulties that are involved in brand extension follows and the concept of extension fit as well as aspects of lifestyle are presented. The conclusions reach are seven factors, all benefiting from having a high level of abstraction. The factors enhancing brand equity through category extensions are: Brand Context Distance, Lifestyle, Brand Awareness, Fit, Guarantee Function, Personality and Relationship.

I dag är det vanligt förekommande att företag använder sig av kändisar i sin marknadsföring. De hjälper till att stärka igenkännandet och får konsumenter att välja just den varan de marknadsför framför konkurrenternas varor. Men är det verkligen så bra att använda sig av kändisar? Finns det andra karaktärer som skapar större igenkännande? Vårt syfte är att ta reda på vilken typ av karaktär som skapar starkast igenkännande till ett varumärke. De karaktärerna vi har undersökt är kändisar, egenskapade fysiska karaktärer och egenskapade animerade karaktärer. Studien har genomförts med en kvantitativ ansats. Vi utformade en elektronisk enkät och delade den via Facebook och lät 125 stycken respondenter svara på enkäten. I enkäten hade vi lagt upp femton stycken bilder, varav fem bilder var på olika kändisar, fem bilder på olika egenskapade fysiska karaktärer och fem bilder på olika egenskapade animerade karaktärer. Sedan fick respondenterna svara vilket varumärke de kopplade samman karaktären med. Efter att ha sammanställt resultatet så kom vi fram till att egenskapade fysiska karaktärer hade starkast igenkännande, näst starkast hade egenskapade animerade karaktärer och svagast igenkännande av de tre kategorierna hade kändisar. Den främsta anledningen till det här resultatet tror vi beror på att de egenskapade karaktärerna inte kan förknippas med något annat varumärke. Vi tror även att det beror på att de varumärkena som hade starkt igenkännande har byggt upp reklamen som en serie och kommer med nya episoder ofta. / Today, it is very common practice that businesses use celebrities in marketing. They help to strengthen mainstream recognition, and make consumers choose the product they market ahead of what competitors offer. But is it that entirely well to only use a famous physical person? Are there other characters that could generate an even greater recognition? Our purpose is to find out what kind of characters, from real celebrities, fictionist physical persons and even animated/cartooned characters- create the strongest response from people when being associated with a brand. The study was done in a quantitate way. We made an online survey and shared it through Facebook, letting 125 individual responders answer it. In the survey, we included fifteen pictures without any other context. Five were of real celebrity persons, five of made up fictional physical characters and lastly five pictures of entirely made up non-physical animated characters. The survey entrants then had to answer which brand they associated with the 15 characters. After finalizing the results, we found out that the order of most recognition was the following: most recognition had made up fictional physical characters, second was made up fictional non-physical animated characters and last was real non-fictional celebrities. We believe the primary reason for this result is because the made up characters cannot be associated with any other brand other than the one that created them originally. We also believe that a big factor is that the brands using these characters have a bigger storyline to them, and make certain commercials appear in a serial structured way, with new episodes being added frequently.

This mixed method research evaluates corporate image theory and its impact on assets of brand equity. It consists of a single case study of a CFL franchise coming back to a market that has experienced two failed franchises. The first phase involved the collection of archival material and the execution of semi-structured interviews. Through content analysis, four higher order themes emerged: the importance of Football Tradition, the need for a new Sport Facility, and the importance placed on both Identity and Brand Awareness. These themes denoted the importance of history and tradition for a franchise making its debut in a new, yet pre-existing market. The second phase involved survey research via an online method. Demographic data was compiled and analyzed to understand the various market segments that this franchise should be targeting as future fans. The findings suggest that this team should find a new name and a new logo.

Aim: The purpose of this study is to examine and analyze how insurance companies work to create value and confidence in their brands and then compare whether consumers perceive brands as companies seek. Method: The study is a gap analysis of both qualitative and quantitative in nature containing both interviews with insurance companies and a survey carried out on consumers. The study has been developed by analytical induction. Data: Consists of interviews with representatives from the insurance companies and survey responses from 99 consumers. Conclusion: From the study it can be concluded that the insurance industry is unique in its kind as a difficulty and complexity is obviously applicable to convey an overall impression to the consumer, which in turn will produce a brand value to the company. Creating a high brand value through good marketing where it maintained a good congruence between firms striving and consumer perception, is according to the scientists complicated because the lack of perceived quality affects the the big picture.

Title:  Brand Brazil – A study on brand equity in an emerging market  Authors:  Anders Andersson &amp; Jonathan Karlsson  Subject:  Bachelor thesis in marketing, 15 credits  Keywords:  Brand equity, Emerging markets, Brand awareness, Brand associations, Perceived quality, Brand loyalty  Purpose:  The purpose of this thesis is to gain deeper understanding of how a company operating on an emerging market can work with brand equity, and what benefits it provides to the brand owner.  Theoretical framework:  The chapter begins with a description of brand equity to be further decomposed to its four dimensions; brand awareness, brand associations, perceived quality, brand loyalty  Methodology:  A qualitative research method with a deductive approach is conducted, where interviews with Brand/Marketing coordinators for the Brazilian subsidiaries of Volkswagen, Toyota and General Motors, are performed.  Empirical framework:  The chapter presents performed interviews that are supposed to describe our case studies’ work and benefits from brand equity.  Conclusion:  This study shows that companies operating on an emerging market are working actively with brand equity, often in accordance with theory. The companies also experience positive effects from increased brand equity. / Titel:  Brand Brazil – En studie om brand equity på en emerging market  Författare:  Anders Andersson &amp; Jonathan Karlsson  Ämne:  Kandidatuppsats i marknadsföring, 15 hp  Nyckelord:  Brand equity, Emerging markets, Märkeskännedom, Märkesassociationer, Upplevd kvalitet, Märkeslojalitet  Syfte:  Syftet med uppsatsen är att få ökad förståelse för hur företag verksamma på en emerging market kan arbeta med brand equity, samt vilken nytta det ger varumärkesinnehavaren.  Teoretisk referensram:  Kapitlet inleds med en beskrivning av brand equity för att sedan brytas ner i de fyra dimensionerna; märkeskännedom, märkesassociationer, upplevd kvalitet och märkeslojalitet.  Metod:  En kvalitativ studie med deduktiv ansats där Brand/Marketing coordinators för de brasilianska dotterbolagen till Volkswagen, Toyota och General Motors är intervjuade.  Empiri:  I empirikapitlet presenteras genomförda intervjuer vilka är tänkta att beskriva respektive fallföretags arbete och nytta av brand equity.  Slutsatser:  I denna undersökning framgår att företag verksamma på en emerging market arbetar aktivt med brand equity, ofta i enlighet med teori. Dessutom upplever företagen positiva effekter av ökad brand equity.