Marketers increasingly face challenges in trying to understand the decision-making processes and behaviours of those consumers located at the Bottom of the Pyramid (BOP). It has been proven that 73% of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) purchases are made at the point-of sale, and product packaging has been found to play a strategic role in seven of the ten in-store purchase decision criteria. Packaging is, therefore, an important basis through which companies can differentiate products from the plethora of competing brands. On average, big retailers carry 50 000 items and the typical shopper passes 300 items per minute. The packaging must, therefore, perform many of the sales tasks, making an overall favourable brand impression and experience. The research has attempted to understand the constructs of packaging and brand experience as purchasing decision criteria for FMCG products. The researcher administered 250 surveys with low-income consumers in the Star Hyper supermarket in the mining town of Carltonville. The findings demonstrated how low-income consumers have an appreciation of all product packaging as they often re-use it once the product is consumed. Furthermore, lower income consumers enjoy a greater brand experience with 'premium' product brands when compared to their brand experience levels with what they perceive to be 'cheaper' brand products. Even though a statistical weak relationship between product packaging and brand experience was found, the qualitative findings support the notion of a strong relationship as lower income consumers gain more value/greater brand experience not just out of consuming 'premium' brand products, but also from the use of the packaging for other needs afterwards. Copyright / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

Recently, the advertising industry has implemented new methods to improve the relationship between brands and their consumers. To understand how to achieve this effect in a positive way, several studies have turned to the examination of advertising actions aimed at boosting brand experience. However, there are few studies that deepen the knowledge of the importance of creating brand experiences through innovative communication technologies such as virtual reality (VR). The present research explores how the use of VR in advertising helps in the generation of brand experiences. A qualitative methodology of phenomenological design was used with advertising professionals in the city of Lima. In addition, the exploratory scope of the analysis followed a descriptive coding process. It was evidenced that the properties of VR, such as immersion, presence, and its sensory capabilities are crucial to promote brand experiences with greater intensity. This category of virtual brand experiences influences brand image, affects purchase intentions and, above all, builds brand loyalty. / Revisión por pares

With a fast-evolving digital society that offers individuals the option to shop from anywhere in the world, in a matter of seconds, competition amongst brands has never been tougher. It is therefore of greater importance for brands to distinguish themselves from competitors. Providing an extraordinary experience can be the distinguisher that sets a brand apart from competitors. The purpose of this thesis is to find out how brands build brand experience in e-servicescapes and to explore the relationship between brand experience and brand equity.    The empirical findings were gathered using a qualitative multiple case study. With a purposive sampling method three companies were selected. With the strategy of semi-structured interviews, information was gathered and later analyzed, discussed and compared with the previous literature findings, with the help of a thematic analysis method.     The conclusion shows that the selected cases for this thesis do in fact put a lot of emphasis on brand experience. A commonly found theme is that the selected cases all implied the direct relation between brand experience and brand equity, according to the empirical data they were highly interlinked. This thesis provides useful insights on how to build a strong general brand experience in e-servicescapes, whilst also giving the reader useful tools on how to build brand experience.

This thesis explores the role of curation in the design and development of brand experience in the luxury retail environment. Three research objectives seek firstly, to gain an understanding of the meaning of curation in luxury retailing and identify the role, purpose and value to luxury retailers; secondly, to explore the different ways in which curation manifests itself in the luxury retail environment by examining sole brand and multi brand luxury retailers, and lastly, to identify how curation is brought to life through the curatorial roles within luxury retailers. In light of increasing global competitive pressures and fast-paced technology advances associated with mobile devices, the rise of omnichannel retailing has led luxury brands to be ubiquitous, with the resulting challenge for luxury retailers to develop seamless and experiential omnichannel brand experiences in order to continue to differentiate and grow. However, there is a paucity of literature regarding the design and development of luxury brand experiences, suggesting a gap in the literature. In addition, ‘curation’, a term traditionally associated with museology, is being increasingly used in the business environment in terms of creating differentiated experiences or collection of products both online and in-store. Little attention has been paid to curation in the literature, with the result of limited understanding of the role of curation in the design and development of brand experience, suggesting a second gap to be addressed in the research. The research was an investigative, qualitative and thematic analysis-based study. The data collection focused on face-to-face semi-structured interviews with 17 senior professionals from the luxury retail and cultural environments in the UK. Braun and Clarke’s (2006) Six Stages of Thematic Analysis and NVivo software were utilised to analyse the data, resulting in 9 key themes. My original contribution to the literature is this research is one of the first empirical studies to explore the role of curation in the design and development of brand experience in the luxury retail environment, resulting in three key contributions. Firstly, the role of curation is an influential one in the design and development of brand experience in the luxury retail environment and is manifested in four forms of curation across sole brand and multi brand luxury retailers. Secondly, curation in luxury retail has evolved from the traditional art-historian discipline of curation and is emerging as a new discipline and modus operandi in its own right, creating strategic, organisational, financial and experiential value. Thirdly, a strategic curation management toolkit consisting of three strategic frameworks was developed that contributes to both the brand literature and management practice. The toolkit provides managers with a common vernacular to develop their curatorial capabilities and identify strategic opportunities where they can harness curation as a strategy to design and develop omnichannel luxury brand experiences as a route to competitive advantage and build a platform for future growth.

The concept of ‘brand experience’ has evolved as an essential area of study within the brand management and marketing discipline. Despite the importance of (and the attention paid to) this concept in recent years, the theory of brand experience has remained unclear and there is a less of theoretical support. In addition to this, several scholars content that there is a connection between brand experience and loyalty. This study aims to address the gap in the literature and provide a better understanding of the concept of ‘brand experience’ together with its consequences, with particular regard to consumer loyalty. The objective of this study is to investigate the relationship between brand experience and consumer loyalty in the luxury cosmetic brand industry (Thailand). This empirical study proceeds with a systematic review of the existing literature, leading to the development of a theoretical framework. The research adopts a mixed method (quantitative and qualitative) approach, use of a quantitative survey to collect data, validated and enhanced qualitatively by personal interviews. The questionnaires were completed by Thai customers who frequent the luxury cosmetic brand counters in three particular stores in Bangkok. The data analysis uses descriptive statistics, exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis and linear/multiple regression analysis for hypotheses testing. The personal interviews use a purposive sampling technique. The results of this study demonstrate that sensory experience, affective experience, behavioural experience, intellectual experience and social experience form the dimensions of luxury cosmetic brand experience. In addition to this, there is a positive direct relationship between luxury cosmetic brand experience and consumer loyalty. In addition, luxury cosmetic brand experience has a positive indirect relationship with consumer loyalty through brand personality, brand trust and consumer satisfaction; albeit, brand trust is the most significant of these. A key contribution of the present study is the conceptual model the study offers that explains the phenomenon of luxury cosmetic brand experience and its consequences. This study contributes further knowledge to the marketing literature, brand management literature and, also, consumer behaviour literature (particularly in the luxury cosmetic brand sectors in Thailand and other Asian countries) and suggests directions for future research. Finally, the present study will facilitate luxury cosmetic brand managers’ endeavours to identify both the experiential needs of their customers and the marketing strategy necessary to achieve consumer loyalty.

Research questions: How to create an engaging brand experience in marketing context? How does an engaging brand experience affect consumer attitudes and brand image? Purpose of the study: The authors propose that the relationship between brand experience and formation of brand loyalty can be mediated by brand affect: positive attitude and brand image. The study discovers the components of an engaging brand experience and indicates their effect on consumer attitudes and brand image. Conclusion: An engaging brand experience can be delivered by enabling seamless interaction between the consumer and the brand, involving the consumer with the brand at the consumer’s own will, and by ensuring that all the communication efforts as well as the content of each of the brand’s touch points is consistent. By delivering such brand experiences, positive attitudes and brand image; brand affect, can be generated and brand loyalty affected.

When globalization as accelerated, consumers worldwide can make their own decisions from a large number of brands, either foreign or domestic. This circumstance evokes the question of whether consumers from different nations would have different perceptions of brand experience. The answer can help marketers when determining if they should apply same brand strategies across nations. Thus, as brands in a multinational competitive market, marketers should first position their brands in those markets and clarify the cultural characteristics that would cause impacts to the brand. This study examines the discrepancies caused by cultural differences on consumers¡¦ brand experience, which contains sensory, affective, behavioral, and intellectual factors. Using responses from 180 Taiwan and 179 French consumers, this study found consumers within cultures low on power distance, collectivistic, and low uncertainty avoidance have more intensive relationship with brand experience. This research provides global brand management an insight to optimize brand positioning and improving brand experience across cultures.

The brand behind the garment is what gives the product popularity, relevance to the consumer, and overall profitability. As time passes, markets are becoming flooded with more brands that inherently provide the commodities. As a result, fashion marketers must put more time and investment into stipulating ways for which their brand can reach a select target consumer and enhance repeat purchase intentions with their competitive differentiations. As their efforts engage, an experiential perspective emerges in the fashion industry. By comparing fashion brands and their different distribution channels, the objectives of this study are to identify consumers’ perceptions of fashion brand experience dimensions and experience types, and to investigate the effect of brand experience dimensions and types on brand resonance. Upon extending Schmitt and Brakus, Schmitt, and Zarantonello’s experience dimensions and types, in conjunction with Keller’s brand resonance model, 12 out of 20 hypotheses confirm the significant impact of consumers experiences on brand resonance by analyzing the data (n = 374) from a university in the United States. Sensory and affective experiences are primary factors for establishing fashion brand association, while cognitive and relational driven experiences lead to establishing fashion brand loyalty. Sensory, affective, and relational experiences affect both product and store type experiences, while only product experience affects brand resonance. With the depiction of different brand effects, this study concludes that while Forever 21 may focus on relational experiences with the consumer, Gap utilizes positive cognitive experiences to develop a link to brand loyalty and fashion product reliability.

The foremost argument of this research is that self concept is of fundamental influence in the choices consumers make when purchasing luxury clothing brands. The objective of this research was to determine the relationships between self concept and the experience, attachment and loyalty that consumers have towards brands. The research further sought to confirm the role that identity theory plays in brand consumption. Sixty-nine respondents were surveyed via an electronic tool to understand how they view the role that self concept plays in the experiences they encounter with clothing brands. Experts were also interviewed to gain deeper insights into brands and the importance that communication and branding strategies play in developing brands for consumption. Ttests and bivariate regression was performed in order to determine relationships amongst the constructs. The findings show that consumers place a relatively high importance on the brand experience and self concept constructs. Marketing and advertising companies have an enormous responsibility to ensure that the right messages are communicated to consumers in order to give consumer a positive brand experience. A robust brand strategy and Communications strategy plays a pivotal role in successful delivery of the essence and image of luxury brands. Identity and self concept theory are central to understanding consumer behaviour and consumption decisions. Copyright / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

Background: In today ́s world, experiences play an important role for the customers to build loyalty and long-lasting relationships. Brakus et al. (2009) developed one of the most cited scales for measuring brand experience. Especially the clothing industry has a higher interest to create an overall experience since they are operating in different markets. Moreover, sustainability became a huge trend pushing companies to implement sustainable practices. This trend can also be recognized in the clothing industry which makes up 8.1 % of the whole greenhouse gas emissions globally and customers are more and more aware of this. Companies need to change their overall approach to how they produce and how they communicate, to avoid being labelled as a greenwashing company. In the outdoor-clothing industry, Patagonia is one of the most successful brands – heavily focusing on sustainability. Their brand experience could be one factor for their success, which makes this brand an interesting case to further study this concept. Yet there is limited research on this topic in the literature, no study applied the BXS to one specific company nor into the context of sustainability in the clothing industry.  Purpose: The purpose of the study is to investigate and analyse the brand experience of the outdoor-clothing brand Patagonia with the aim of identifying the effects of sustainability efforts on the brand experience. Method: To investigate the research question appropriately a qualitative research has been conducted by interviewing 13 customers of Patagonia. To structure the study adequately, we relied on the brand experience scale of Brakus et al. (2009) referring to a deductive approach. Nevertheless, inductive elements influenced our sampling process and the data analysis to develop the new model green brand experience by considering the sustainability efforts of Patagonia.  Conclusion: The findings revealed that the brand experience scale by Brakus et al. (2009) is applicable, and all dimensions are influenced by the brand experience. Furthermore, two additional dimensions were identified: green brand trust and green brand image. In the end, a new model named green brand experience is presented. It consists of 6 dimensions which are described through items that show the strongest influence in each dimension. As a conclusion, recommendations for strategies and tools for sustainable companies are given to create a green brand experience. Aside from honest and clear communication, the mission to act sustainable should be in the focus of the experience ahead of promoting their own products.