As a graphic designer and as a creative in general, my interest has always been in the conceptualization and execution of brand identities. I am most comfortable as a designer when I am working in the realm of art direction, and most of my design heroes and inspirations are legendary art directors and designers like Paula Scher, Paul Rand, and Michael Bierut. Logo and wordmark design in particular are among my favorite aspects of design, and finding ways to creatively apply these foundational aspects of a brand to each stage of the user experience is exciting to me. The stages of the user experience which I designed and art directed for my honors thesis included a logo symbol, a wordmark, a set of packaging designs, a storefront, a landing page, and an engaging ad campaign. Designing a brand identity across digital and physical mediums while maintaining a high level of cohesion and story is a rigorous process, and my progress was far from linear. The most important thing I learned was to trust the process; wherever it took me. I am excited to bring what I’ve come to realize during the execution of this project to the industry and to help brands, big and small, design for the digital age across every level of their user experience.

Cuando las empresas deciden realizar una construcción y un análisis de marca, es de gran importancia partir del Brand Equity, ya que esto les permitirá identificar las perspectivas de los usuarios frente a una marca. Asimismo, esto se puede identificar a través de sus dimensiones: conciencia de marca, calidad percibida, asociación de marca y lealtad de marca.Además, es importante mencionar que las empresas han aumentado considerablemente la venta online a traves de plataformas de E-commerce ya que existen muchos factores relevantes que influyen en la intención de compra del consumidor. En el presente trabajo se analizarán a profundidad las dimensiones del Brand equity para reconocer si tienen relación con la intención de compra online en los consumidores y nos centraremos en los que compran ropa y accesorios de tiendas por departamento deportivas. Asi mismo, contrastaremos cuál de las dimensiones del Brand Equity tiene un mayor impacto para que los potenciales clientes realicen una intención de compra. Está investigación tiene como objetivo resaltar cómo las marcas persuaden a través de estas dimensiones. Por ello identificamos el alcance y las limitaciones que aborda la investigación, así como la metodología que es de suma relevancia para la explicación de nuestra investigación y esto tendrá un enfoque cuantitativo y también un estudio correlacional multivariado. / When companies decide to carry out a brand construction and analysis, it is of great importance to start from the Brand Equity, as this will allow them to identify the perspectives of the users in front of a brand. Also, this can be identified through its dimensions: brand awareness, perceived quality, brand association and brand loyalty. In addition, it is important to mention that companies have significantly increased online sales through E-commerce platforms as there are many relevant factors that influence the consumer's purchase intention. In this paper we will analyse in depth the dimensions of brand equity in order to recognise whether they are related to the online purchase intention of consumers and we will focus on those who buy clothes and accessories from sports department shops. Likewise, we will contrast which of the dimensions of Brand Equity has the greatest impact on potential clients' purchase intention. This research objectives are to highlight how brands persuade through these dimensions. Therefore, we identify the scope and limitations that the research addresses, as well as the methodology that is most relevant to explain our research and this will have a quantitative focus and also a multi-varied correlation study. / Trabajo de investigación

En kombination av ljud och bild, audiovisuell media, har under en längre tidsperiod varit ett sätt att skapa uppmärksamhet kring en artist. Den teknologiska utvecklingen har förbättrat de audiovisuella verktygen och gjort de mer tillgängliga. Dock har denna utveckling även skapat fler digitala kommunikationskanaler och ett informationsbrus som kan vara svårt för en artist att nå igenom. Utifrån detta kan artister behöva nå sin publik på ett djupare plan, vilket eventuellt kan uppnås genom sinnesmarknadsföring. Denna uppsats har därför som syfte att undersöka hur och varför artister använder audiovisuell media i sin kommunikation via sociala medier samt vilken betydelse samspel mellan flera sinnen har för att förmedla artistens identitet. Undersökningen har tillämpat en kvalitativ forskningsstrategi med hermeneutik som kunskapsteoretisk utgångspunkt. Utifrån denna har studien antagit en abduktiv ansats. Datainsamling för studien utfördes genom semistrukturerade intervjuer, varav två genomfördes personligen, tre via telefon och två respondenter besvarade intervjufrågor via e-mail. Respondenter valdes genom ett målstyrt urval med kriterierna att respondenterna skulle inneha kunskap eller erfarenhet om ämnet genom sitt arbete och inkludera olika åldrar, könstillhörigheter och geografiska hemvister. Resultatet av denna undersökning är att artister kan använda audiovisuell media på ett mångfacetterat sätt som beror på artistens genre, sammanhang och målgrupp. Studien har identifierat tre typer av audiovisuell media: kortare videor, fullskaliga musikvideor samt livestreaming. Artister använder audiovisuell media utifrån olika syften som kan innefatta att kommunicera sin varumärkesidentitet, att addera till ett konstnärligt uttryck eller att etablera närmare relationer till sin målgrupp. Semantisk kongruens mellan flera sinnen är av betydelse för att förmedla en autentisk helhetsbild av artisten. I framtiden kan audiovisuell media få ökad betydelse genom en allt snabbare konsumtionskultur och mer tillgänglig teknik. Denna teknik kan även komma att möjliggöra inkludering av fler sinnen och därmed bidra till en starkare immersiv upplevelse för konsumenten. / A combination of sound and image, audio-visual media, has for a long time been a way to create attention around an artist. Technological developments have improved the audio-visual tools and made them more accessible. However, this development has also created more digital communication channels and an information noise that can be difficult for an artist to get through. Based on this, artists may need to reach their audience on a deeper level, which can possibly be achieved through sensory marketing. This study therefore aims to investigate how and why artists use audio-visual media in their communication via social media and the importance of interplay between several senses in conveying the artist's identity. The study has applied a qualitative research strategy with hermeneutics as the epistemic foundation. Based on this, the study has adopted an abductive approach. Data collection was performed through semi-structured interviews, of which two were conducted in person, three by telephone and two respondents answered interview questions via e-mail. Respondents were selected through a goal-directed selection with the criteria that the respondents would have knowledge or experience of the subject through their work and include different ages, genders and geographical residences. The result of this study is that artists may use audio-visual media in a multifaceted way that depends on the artist's genre, context and target group. The study has identified three types of audio-visual media: shorter videos, full-scale music videos and live streaming. Artists use audio-visual media for various purposes that may include communicating their brand identity, adding to an artistic expression or establishing closer relationships with their target audience. Semantic congruence between several senses is important for conveying an authentic holistic picture of the artist. In the future, audio-visual media may become more important through an ever-intensifying consumer culture and more accessible technology. This technology may also enable the inclusion of more senses and thus contribute to a stronger immersive experience for the consumer.

A hi-tech company often focuses on being innovative by providing product offerings as product leader, fast follower or with operational excellence. In the international calling sector the technological solutions are numerous. The providers are, for instance, normal telecom providers, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and Mobile virtual network operators (MVNO). This means that a company faces not only the competitors that offer the same solution but also from outside the company’s business sector. The company thus needs to tackle many challenges, such as fast-paced product development, market expansion, competitor volatility, at the same time as the company cultivates its brand assets. This study focuses on the branding strategy within the VoIP telecom sector. It aims to set a guideline for how companies, in particular in the VoIP telecom sectors, cultivate and enhance their brand identity in order to differentiate themselves from competitors as well as achieve a successful and sustainable level of brand equity. The thesis also studies the brand strategies that have already manifested themselves within the providers of international calling services, in particular VoIP providers and a couple of MVNO providers. By conducting the brand identity and brand equity analysis, customer analysis and competitors’ analysis, a company can make a decision on brand strategy that will further associate, differentiate, energize and support its brands. The research framework consists of both the corporate and consumer perspectives. It consists of brand theory, market research, competitor analysis and the company’s brand identity, as well as brand awareness analysis. The thesis presents the Swedish VoIP consumers’ behavior and trends, the guideline and case study on how a company bridges the gap between brand identity and brand equity as well as the guideline and case study of brand portfolio strategies that have been explored within the VoIP telecom sectors, i.e. VoIP branding.

El presente artículo describe la importancia de realizar estrategias de branding para un colectivo específico de empresas que tienen planteado usar el mercado de bienes y servicios como un intermedio para alcanzar objetivos éticos y contribuidores hacia el ámbito social y ambiental. En este caso, las Empresas B, un nicho de empresas que aún sigue siendo un fenómeno emergente.   Se realizó una investigación de clase mixta, en la cual se empleó una técnica cualitativa para encontrar datos relevantes sobre el fenómeno que estudia la incorporación de la sostenibilidad a la gestión de identidad de marca de Empresas B en relación con sus consumidores. Y a su vez, se efectuó una técnica cuantitativa con motivo de recolectar información directa del target a través de encuestas online. Los resultados a partir de lo investigado demostraron que un gran porcentaje de los millennials peruanos desconocen lo que es una Empresa B. Esto ocurre debido a que no se lograba comunicar visualmente el concepto de cada marca a su totalidad, ya que no se difunde contenido ordenado y consistente en los medios de comunicación correctos de cada empresa B, y por lo tanto no resulta memorable en la mente de los consumidores. Se concluyó que las estrategias adecuadas para realizar el branding de una Empresa B sintetizan el entendimiento de un problema para realizar una ejecución gráfica y a partir de ello, trazar una comunicación coherente. De igual forma, la importancia de potenciar su imagen de marca, reside en el propósito de contribuir con el medio ambiente y a la vez encontrar una posición favorable en el mercado. De este modo, los consumidores tendrán la oportunidad estar informados sobre diversos movimientos los cuales tiene como objetivo solucionar problemas por los cuales ellos mismos reclaman de manera eficaz, interactiva, incluyente. / This article describes the importance of carrying out branding strategies for a specific group of companies that plan to use the market for goods and services as an intermediate to achieve ethical and contributing objectives towards the social and environmental field. In this case, B Corp, a niche of companies that is still an emerging phenomenon. A mixed class investigation was carried out, in which a qualitative technique was used to find relevant data on the phenomenon that studies the incorporation of sustainability into the management of brand identity of B Corps in relation to its consumers. And in turn, a quantitative technique was carried out to collect direct information from the target through online surveys. The results from what was investigated showed that a large percentage of Peruvian millennials do not know what a Company B is. This occurs because it was not possible to visually communicate the concept of each brand in its entirety, since no ordered content is disseminated. and consistent in the correct media of each company B, and therefore not memorable in the minds of consumers. It was concluded that the appropriate strategies to perform the branding of a B Corporation synthesize the understanding of a problem to carry out a graphic execution and, from that, draw a coherent communication. Similarly, the importance of enhancing your brand image lies in the purpose of contributing to the environment and at the same time finding a favorable position in the market. In this way, consumers will have the opportunity to be informed about various movements which aims to solve problems for which they themselves claim in an effective, interactive, inclusive way. / Trabajo de investigación

Branding is an influential aspect a company can have to gain the attention of their customers. It is often said that, “Your brand is your promise to your customer”, because the brand is a confirmation that the product or service you are selling matches the expectations of the customer and their wants or needs (Grosdidier, 2012). From a consumer perspective, branding helps direct customers in choosing what they want to buy (Tarnovskaya and Bertilsson, 2017). This way, they spend less time focusing on the type of product and its qualities, because they can instead look at the products they are already familiar with instantly and purchase with little processing time (ibid). Not all companies are successful with branding and even successful companies run into issues. Customers usually determine if they like or dislike a brand, which means a brands main purpose should be to make their customers happy. It is important for businesses to give their customers a promising message and stay consistent to their brand.  Facebook and Instagram are both influential brand names to the face of consumers in the area of social networking. Both companies have over a billion site visits per day and their consumer usage has rapidly grown since Facebook’s first opening in 2004 and the grand opening of Instagram in 2010. In 2012, Kevin Systrom sold Instagram to Facebook for $1 billion dollars. Since the sales, both companies now average around the same market share and took place for the largest social media sites with the highest number of users, now above competitors Snapchat and Twitter (Barr, 2018). The purpose of this research is to identify and describe key factors that has made Facebook and Instagram successful in the perspective of university students. In addition, the findings will aim to discover key factors of success in branding that continually influence them to use social media sites such as Facebook and Instagram daily.  Conclusions of the study were that Facebook and Instagram both have success factors that are the same and some factors that are different. Facebook and Instagram’s success factors based on the research include an easy to use platform and the ability to connect with friends and family. Instagram had a few other strong success factors including its visual display of pictures instead of word content and their smoothly designed mobile app. Facebook lacked in both of these areas that Instagram excelled in. This made Facebook the weaker social media site when compared with Instagram.

Syftet med denna undersökning är att undersöka Arlas och Oatlys särskiljande språkliga och visuella varumärkeskommunikation - däribland deras positionering, varumärkesidentitet och intertexter i deras reklamkampanjer Bara mjölk smakar mjölk (Arla, 2018) och Mjölken i skolan (Oatly, 2017) med retorisk samt semiotisk metod som verktyg. Teorier som använts är semiotisk teori, intertextualitet samt varumärkes-kommunikativa teorier som positionering och varumärkesidentitet. I undersökningen jämför jag vilka retoriska grepp som används i vardera reklamkampanjer och hur de skiljer sig åt, samt hur Arla och Oatly positionerar sig urskiljande med hjälp av de retoriska greppen. I undersökningen undersöker jag även hur varumärkesidentiteten konstrueras och förmedlas i reklamkampanjerna med semiotiska koder. Olika teman hittades i reklamkampanjerna, däribland humor, miljö samt och förlöjligande. De huvudsakliga retoriska grepp och appellformerna som framkommer i Oatlys reklamfilmer är ethos samt logos. Genom analyserna framkom det även att Oatly positionerar sig som miljömedvetna. Arla positionerar sig som traditionsenliga och godast på marknaden och använder sig främst av pathos och ethos i sina reklamfilmer. Varumärkesidentiteten i form av färger och loggor som karaktäriseras av varumärkena gör sig synlig i båda reklamfilmerna, dock framkommer den mer i Oatlys reklamfilmer. Tydligt har det även blivit att Oatly använder sig flitigt av sin varumärkessemiotik och sitt varumärkesspråk för att skapa igenkänning hos mottagaren. Vidare finns det även intertextuella relationer till samhälleliga diskurser likväl som konkurrenten i företagens reklamfilmer - exempelvis Arlas användning av “brölk”, “sölk”, eller “trölk”. Arla använder sig kontinuerligt av Oatlys varumärkeskoder i form av pastellfärger och liknande typsnitt för att mottagare ska förstå att det är Oatlys varumärke de syftar på.

Bereits seit einigen Jahren wird das Konzept des Employer Branding in Unternehmen diskutiert und eingesetzt. Auf wissenschaftlicher Seite fehlte dem Konzept jedoch bis vor wenigen Jahren noch jegliche wissenschaftliche Fundierung. Auch die Identität der Arbeitgebermarke konnte bislang nicht eindeutig ermittelt und dargestellt werden. Das theoretische Ziel dieser Arbeit war es daher, ein umfassendes, exploratives Modell der Arbeitgebermarke zu entwickeln und dadurch eine Lücke in der bestehenden Forschung zur Arbeitgebermarke zu schließen. Zunächst wurde auf Basis der bestehenden Forschungsergebnisse zur Markenidentität ein Ausgangsmodell der Identität der Arbeitgebermarke festgelegt. Mithilfe eines qualitativen Forschungsansatzes konnten dann die einzelnen Bestandteile der Arbeitgebermarke identifiziert und beschrieben werden. Das Ergebnis ist ein detailliertes Modell der Arbeitgebermarke, das nun in der weiteren Forschung, aber auch in der Praxis eingesetzt werden kann. Das praktische Ziel der Arbeit war es, das definierte Modell anhand einer Fallstudie zu erproben und somit die Arbeitgebermarke eines konkreten Unternehmens detailliert zu erheben. Das beschriebene Modell der Arbeitgebermarke ermöglichte es, alle Aspekte, die in Zusammenhang mit der untersuchten Arbeitgebermarke genannt wurden, zuzuordnen, und hat somit seine Vollständigkeit und Anwendbarkeit in der Praxis bewiesen. Das methodische Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit war es schließlich, eine Untersuchungsweise zu definieren, die es ermöglichte, das theoretische sowie das praktische Ziel dieser Arbeit zu erreichen. Zu diesem Zweck wurde ein qualitativer Ansatz gewählt, der gerade zur Theoriebildung besonders geeignet ist.

Title: Large sporting events' brand identification Objectives: The main objective of this work is to identify the brand personality of Summer Olympic Games and FIFA World Cup by means of marketing research. Methods: In connection with the primary data collection a method of written and electronic questioning was used. The brand personality identification of the above mentioned brands was performed based on the brand personality measurement method according to Geuens, Weijters and De Wulf (2009). For the obtained data interpretation their statistical analysis was performed. Results: Based on the research results, the brand personality of Summer Olympic Games can be described by the dimensions Responsibility, Activity and Simplicity and by characteristics stable, responsible, active, dynamic and simple. The brand personality of FIFA World Cup can be described only by the dimension Activity and by characteristics active, dynamic and innovative. Keywords: Sports brand, brand personality, brand personality measurement, brand image, brand identity, Summer Olympic Games, FIFA World Cup.

The company Butong is based on a patented process of casting concrete between two layers of bubble wrap, resulting in panels of translucent concrete. This material is mainly applied as panels in vertical gardens and light installations. Today, the business is based on projects that require custom made designs. Alongside these projects, products with a standardised manufacturing process are desired to extend the company towards the consumer market and fill the workflow gaps existing in their current production. Through strategic branding, this project aimed to create a new business segment of standardised design products and the framework needed for Butong to enter the consumer market. From analysing the company and its values, understanding the possibilities and limitations of the material and from investigating the opportunities on the market, the brand position for the segment was determined. A strategy to establish the business on the targeted market was developed, including a brand identity and design guidelines for the new segment. To exemplify the usage of the guidelines, several concepts were produced, of which one was further developed to be the flagship product of the segment. The segment was directed to target both Butong’s current market and the consumer market in order to facilitate its establishment and to reach a larger public. It is developed to consist of products that clearly display the properties of the material and are aligned to the identity of the brand. Following the set guidelines, the developed concepts confirm its value and potential by communicating coherency and the expressions desired. With a standardised manufacturing process, the production can be engaged at any time to make use of the existing workflow gaps and complement Butong’s existing business without obstructing it. / Företaget Butong bygger sin verksamhet på sin patenterade tillverkningsmetod av att gjuta betong mellan två lager av bubbelplast, vilken resulterar i paneler av translucent betong. Detta material används framförallt till att skapa vertikala trädgårdar och effektfulla ljusinstallationer. Idag är verksamheten projektbaserad vilket kräver skräddarsydda lösningar. Ett sortiment bestående av produkter med en standardiserad tillverkningsprocess skulle kunna komplettera den befintliga produktionen genom att fylla de luckor som uppstår i det projektbaserade arbetet. Ett sådant sortiment ses även som en möjlighet för att utöka den nuvarande verksamheten mot en konsumentmarknad. Genom strategiskt varumärkesbyggande var målet med detta projekt att skapa ett nytt affärssegment bestående av standardiserade produkter och det strategiska ramverk som krävs för att kunna etablera Butong på konsumentmarknaden. Av att analysera företaget och dess värderingar, förstå materialets möjligheter och begränsningar samt undersöka marknaden, kunde positioneringen av segmentet bestämmas. En strategi skapades för att etablera segmentet på den tänkta marknaden tillsammans med en varumärkesidentitet och riktlinjer för produktutvecklingen inom segmentet. För att exemplifiera användandet av dessa riktlinjer skapades flera koncept, varav ett vidareutvecklades som en första produkt att representera varumärket med. För att underlätta etableringen av segmentet och utöka verksamheten, valdes både Butongs nuvarande marknad och konsumentmarknaden som målgrupp. Produkterna inom segmentet har ett formspråk som både demonstrerar materialets egenskaper och följer företagets nuvarande identitet. Värdet och potentialen i de framtagna riktlinjerna bekräftas av de uttryck och det genomgående formspråk som de skapade koncepten kommunicerar. Med en standardiserad produktion, kan tillverkningen av produkterna tas vid när som helst och ta till vara på luckorna i arbetsflödet och på så sätt komplettera Butongs nuvarande verksamhet utan att påverka den.