Background: There has been an increasing trend of more Swedish higher education institutions competing for international students in response to international student mobility trends, self-management and budget securement, and government-backed recruitment campaigns. An emerging stream of higher education research is brand personality, and it may represent a robust basis for differentiation between many universities competing for student recruitment. Therefore, the study was built to get a deeper understanding of the impact of university brand personality on international students' choices. Purpose: Given the importance of brand personality for higher education institutions to deal with the international competition or differentiate themselves, the purpose of this study is to explore international student's perception of the university brand personality that affects the selection of a Swedish university. Method: To address the purpose of the exploratory study, the qualitative research approach was applied, combining with interpretivism philosophy. Semi-structured interviews with open-ended questions were conducted with 11 international first-year students. By utilizing abductive reasoning, the data was analyzed and interpreted through thematic analysis. Conclusion: Cosmopolitan is perceived as the most distinct brand personality dimension that Jönköping University possesses. Nevertheless, the degree of perception among foreign students regarding each brand personality dimension is different during the decision-making process. In the early stages, the potential students perceive prestige as the most distinct and significant dimension, followed by cosmopolitan. However, when the consumption process nears, cosmopolitan becomes an essentially more important dimension. Further, lively and sincerity are found to partly influence students' choice for higher education.

This thesis examines the branding concept in politics and its main aim is to analyze the brand of Andrej Babis, who is nowadays the leader of political party ANO 2011. The author analyzes his brand personality in a first place. For this purpose OCEAN model created by Gerard Saucier is applied. After that the connection between brand ANO and Babis's brand is examined. The research is based on answers of 454 respondents, who were part of the survey. The results are analyzed from two points of view. One group of voters are those who gave their vote to ANO 2011 and the other group is presented by voters of others political parties.

Cada vez más el término Brand Equity es importante en diversas categorías, de este modo, las compañías buscan construir uno sólido. Asimismo, el Brand Personality en este fenómeno es relevante, pues está relacionado con el Brand Equity al indicar los valores y personalidad de la marca e influir en la conexión con el consumidor. Este estudio busca encontrar la relación entre dimensiones del Brand Equity (Brand Awareness, Brand Association y Perceived Quality) y Brand Personality con respecto al Brand Loyalty, en el contexto peruano de la categoría de sportswear. La data obtenida de 400 encuestados por medio de una encuesta online fue analizada usando análisis de regresión múltiple y correlaciones. / The term Brand Equity is increasingly important in various categories, thus, companies seek to build a solid one. Likewise, Brand Personality in this phenomenon is relevant, since it is related to Brand Equity by indicating the values and personality of the brand and influencing the connection with the consumer. This study seeks to find the relationship between dimensions of Brand Equity (Brand Awareness, Brand Association and Perceived Quality) and Brand Personality with respect to Brand Loyalty in the Peruvian context of the sportswear category. The data obtained from 400 respondents through an online survey was analyzed using multiple regression analysis and correlations. / Trabajo de investigación

Sociala medier används i stor utsträckning var dag men frågan är vilka tankar och strategier som ligger bakom användandet av de två digitala kanalerna Facebook och Instagram. Genom en kvalitativ metod undersöks bakomliggande strategier till hur privatpersoner agerar på sina sociala medier. Den undersökande populationen är kvinnor 18-35 år och syftet är att se hur de bygger upp sin identitet och sitt personliga varumärke på sina sociala medier. Studien har genomförts med intervjuer samt ett visuellt material i form av bilder som använts till stöd vid insamling av materialet. Det visuella materialet har tagit avstamp i modellen Brand Mind Space. Den teoretiska anknytningen rör även modellerna A Brand Personality och Communication Privacy Management (CPM). Resultatet visar att Instagram är den kanal som används i störst utsträckning. Det framkommer även att det går att utläsa tendenser till strategier hos privatpersoner i den undersökta populationen. Det är av vikt dels hur privat information delges, vad som förmedlas via profilen samt vad bilderna som publiceras egentligen representerar. Studien pekar på att det viktigaste är att vara ärlig och att den digitala identiteten avspeglar vem personen är, samt att kunna kontrollera spridning av den information som delas. Det är även viktigt att inte sticka ut för mycket eller uppfattas av andra som jobbig. / Social media is widely used every day but the question is what strategies can be found behind Facebook and Instagram. Through a qualitative method research of underlying strategies on how individuals act on their social media have been made. The population is women age 18-35 and the purpose is to see how they structure their identity and personal brand on social media. The study was realized by interviews and a visual material shaped as images. The visual material is based on the Brand Mind Space model. The theory also relates to the models A Brand Personality and Communication Privacy Management (CPM).The result shows that Instagram is the channel used to the greatest extent. It also appears that trends in strategies for individuals in the population can be read out. It is important how private information is communicated, what is conveyed through the profile and what pictures that are published really represents.The study shows that the most important thing is to be honest and for the digital identity to reflect who the person is. It is also important to control the spread of information being shared and to not stand out or be perceived as annoying.

This three-essay dissertation extends previous research on social influence and examines social influence’s impact on consumption, particularly in the contexts of collective goals and brand preferences. Essay 1 focuses on collective marketing campaigns, which are not shared equally by all customers. Two studies demonstrate that the framing of collective progress in such campaigns can broaden participation by highlighting the large area of progress toward the goal, emphasizing progress achieved for campaigns in their late stages and progress remaining in their early stages. Essay 2 examines the effects of brand age on consumer preferences and choices. Six studies demonstrate that consumers’ preferences for younger brands increase with perceptions of product category innovativeness or the extent to which the product category is perceived to have evolved and is likely to evolve in the future. Findings reveal that younger (vs. established) brands are likely to be preferred when perceptions of product category innovativeness are high (vs. low). Essay 3 examines the effects of perceptions of product category innovativeness and consumer traits, such as novelty seeking and need for uniqueness, on consumers’ preference for young versus established brands. This dissertation provides theoretical and managerial contributions. / Business Administration/Marketing

Sport sponsorship on social media is a marketing promotional tool that has become increasingly popular. Further, the sport sponsorship spending is only expected to increase. Athletes are becoming brand ambassadors and communicators advertising products and brands on their social media channels. Collaborations between athletes and brands can be essential for both parties. Previous research has studied the concept of sport sponsorship´s influence on brand equity and sport sponsorship´s influence on social media engagement. However, to the best of the author's knowledge, no prior study has focused on how an individual's personality affects the perception of the brand personality of the sponsor brand, as well as the personality of the promoting athlete in the context of social media marketing. As culture differences have been reported to affect sport sponsoring, the decision was taken to focus on the Swedish market, which has not been studied before. Thus, the following research question was put forth: How do Swedish consumers perceive sport sponsorship on social media, and what are the effects of congruence? Through a mixed method approach the study aimed to answer the research question. The aim of the study was to develop a deeper understanding around sport sponsorship on the social media platform Instagram and how it affects consumers' attitude towards and perception of the brand acting as a sponsor. An online questionnaire was sent out to consumers within Generation Z as well as interviews were held with business practitioners to gain information from various perspectives. The findings of the study will give brand managers within the Swedish market insights into the consumers´ attitude towards sport sponsorship which will be of major importance when planning future activities within this area. The study is based on the theoretical framework centered on the Big 5 Personality Traits, Brand Personality and Congruency Theory. Results reveal that congruence between the consumer ́s personality traits and the athlete ́s personality traits as well as between the athlete´s personality traits and the brand's personality both have an impact on how consumers perceive the outcomes of sport sponsorship on social media. The outcomes studied were consumers´ perception of fit, consumers´ attitude towards the sport sponsorship, brand reputation and consumers perception of self-brand connection. Looking at the brand personality dimensions, sincerity is considered to be highly essential for a brand as it is this dimension alone that was shown to have an effect on how consumers view the sport sponsorship when it comes to overall fit, attitude, reputation and self-brand connection. An athlete, on the other hand, should be sought by being perceived as conscientious, as this trait is shown to have a positive impact on the congruence between the respondent and the athlete and influences the perceived overall fit, attitude, and self-brand connection. However, results also reveal that different athletes are perceived differently and thus the outcomes of the sport sponsorship, from the sponsoring brand´s perspective, may differ.

Emotional brand attachment has emerged as an important marketing concept that can strengthen a brand's performance. One way to create emotional bonds with consumers is to match the brand's personality with the consumer's self-concept (i.e. self-congruence). Nonetheless, research on brand attachment has a strong westernized focus leaving a vast majority of the world's population outside the frame of research, which limits our understanding of how consumers perception of self form emotional attachments to brands across cultures. We address this issue by developing the novel construct of ought self-congruence and test a conceptual model in two large scale studies including 810 respondents from Sweden and South Korea. The results showed similarities as well as unique cultural differences. Brand personalities in line with a consumer's actual self-view yield the strongest positive impact on emotional brand attachment in both cultures. However, an ideal self-congruent brand only showed a positive impact on Swedish consumers or when the self is sculpt independently from others. In contrast, South Koreans formed attachments to global brands that were congruent with an ought self-perception. A consumer's regulatory focus provides a theoretical explanation to the mixed results. Avenues for further research and managerial implications are also proposed.

過去對影響品牌個性因素的探討已相當完備，但卻少有從組織領導人個性及組織文化的角度來探討其對品牌個性的影響。企業文化是影響組織成員價值觀與決策的重要因素，因此成員塑造品牌個性時可能受到企業文化的影響；此外過去對品牌個性的衡量多以量表得知消費者的感受，僅能進行橫斷面研究，但透過廣告可據以進行長期縱斷面的分析得知品牌個性的發展脈絡，且廣告是傳遞品牌個性的重要媒介，因此本研究從廣告的角度切入來衡量品牌個性，再探討領導人個性、企業文化與品牌個性之關聯。 本研究採用內容分析法，針對國內四家企業：義美、金車、大同與巨大，縱括自1967至2008年的212篇，關於企業領導人個性與企業文化的報紙與雜誌報導進行研究，從中分析企業領導人個性與企業文化；此外對509則企業的電視與平面廣告進行分析，資料橫跨1981至2009年，分析廣告中的品牌個性，最後觀察各變數的趨勢變化輔以過去相關文獻支持，探討變數間可能之關聯性，結果發現如下： 1. 四位企業領導人之個性，均以「嚴謹性」為最突出，其他特質彼此有差異。 2. 四家企業文化所重視的價值觀差異： (1) 企業文化的「社會責任」及「表現績效」與公司的國際化程度有關 (2) 企業文化的「卓越創新」及「甘苦與共」與公司的創立年代有關 3. 四家企業的品牌個性，多集中於「有能力」、「真誠」與「興奮」，少出現在「雅緻」、「粗獷」與「平和」三個構面。 4. 領導人個性、企業文化與品牌個性，部分具有關聯性： (1) 領導人個性的「正直誠信」、企業文化的「正直誠信」與品牌個性的「真誠」有正向關係。 (2) 領導人個性的「開放性學習」、企業文化的「卓越創新」與品牌個性的「興奮」有正向關係。 (3) 領導人個性的「可信度」、企業文化的「科學求真」，與品牌個性的「有能力」有正向關係。 (4) 領導人個性的「權力需求」與企業文化的「團隊精神」有負向關係。 / Although a considerable amount of research discussed the factors affecting brand personality, there was limited research that focused on how a corporate leader’s personality and corporate culture affects brand personality. Corporate culture significantly influences employee values and decision-making. Likewise, brand personality may also be strongly influenced by corporate culture. In the past, most studies utilized consumer questionnaires to measure brand personality, but such a method only retrieves data at the present moment. Nevertheless, brand personality data may be acquired through analyzing the historical development of advertisements, which is a key media communication tool. Hence, this study investigates advertisements to measure brand personality and discusses the relationship between a corporate leader's personality, corporate culture, and brand personality. The chosen method of study is content analysis and the data sources are composed of 212 newspaper and magazine articles from the year 1967 to 2008 about corporate leadership personality and corporate culture. Four companies including I-MEI Food Co., King Car Food Industrial Co., Tatung Co., and Giant Bicycle Inc. were selected for study. In addition, the study also collected 509 related advertisements of these four companies ranging from 1981 to 2009. Through observing variable trends and referencing previous supporting research, this study attempts to find the relationship between these variables. The research results are listed below: 1. The most outstanding personality among the four chosen corporate leaders is “conscientiousness”, however, other attributes differ amongst them. 2. There is difference of corporate culture among these four companies: (1) There is a strong relationship between a corporate culture’s “social responsibility” dimension, “performance-orientation” dimension, and the company’s degree of internationalization. (2) There is a relationship between the corporate culture’s “excellence & innovation” dimension, “cohesiveness” dimension, and the year in which the company was founded. 3. The four companies’ brand personalities tend to focus more on “competence”, “sincerity”, and “excitement” dimensions and less on “sophistication”, “ruggedness”, and “peacefulness” dimensions. 4. There is relationship between the corporate leader’s personality, corporate culture, and brand personality. (1) There is a positive relationship between the “personal integrity” dimension of a corporate leader’s personality, “integrity” dimension of corporate culture, and “sincerity” dimension of brand personality. (2) There is a positive relationship between the “openness to experience” dimension of a corporate leader’s personality, “excellence & innovation” dimension of corporate culture, and “excitement” dimension of brand personality. (3) There is a positive relationship between the “dependability” dimension of a corporate leader’s personality, “scientific proof” dimension of corporate culture, and “competence” dimension of brand personality. (4) There is a negative relationship between the “need for power” dimension of a corporate leader’s personality and “teamwork spirit” dimension of corporate culture.

Title: The marketing research of the image of sports brands Objectives: The objective of the inquiry is to identify the image of the 5 best known sports brands on the Czech market from the Prague generation Y point of view, whose age limit is defined by Bergha (2012). At the very end of the survey we then compare the acquired results with one another. Methods: The center of interest was the brand and how the consumer perceives it. The marketing research, used in this survey in the form of the electronic inquiry, can be assessed as quantitative with the use of qualitative techniques. It is based on studying the respondents' approach to competitive brands from one market segment. As crucial in the questionnaire was a battery of personal qualities, which was however supplemented by modified projective techniques, i.e. association tests and emotional connection of brands with colours. Results: The inquiry results show that among strongly perceived personal qualities of the examined sports brands is "trustworthy" which gives the impression of active life and health. Among neutrally perceived attributes is "exciting" and quite unapt characteristic is "aggressive". When evaluating the emotionality of the brands by means of limbic mapping, colours like black, white, blue and red predominantly dominate....

Title: PUMA branding Objective: The aim of diploma thesis is to get improvement proposal which could be used for further building of PUMA brand. The research will be carried out on two samples of respondents. The first sample will be Generation Y which is defined by Bergh (2012). A second sample of respondents are employees of the company PUMA. Methods: The entire thesis is focused and based on standardized method of the brand personality from J. L. Aaker (1997), adapted by the authors Geuens, Weijters and de Wulf (2009). Statistical functions such as: arithmetic mean, mode, skewness, kurtosis and standard deviation will be used for the interpretation of the outcomes. The results will be processed in order to intensify the development of PUMA brand. Results: Based on the research results, the brand personality of sports brand PUMA can be described by the dimension Activity. The brand personality of PUMA is active, stable and dynamic. This result was agreed by both groups of respondents, as Generation Y, and employees of the company PUMA. Keywords: branding, brand management, sports brand, corporate PUMA, marketing research