The impact of brand ambassador transgression on brand perception is investigated in this study. To reach the goal of this research the impact brand ambassador transgression across different generational cohorts was measured. The essence of brand ambassadors in the new branding landscape was determined from literature. The new branding landscape as a whole was described to provide a context for the study and the impact and affect thereof on the different generations. The increasing popularity of using brand ambassadors in marketing campaigns due to their ability to increase brand awareness, create or strengthen brand image as well as to achieve brand differentiation was discussed in depth. The literature also focused on brand ambassador transgressions and the impact thereof on brand perception. Mini-case studies which focussed on Tiger Woods, Lance Armstrong, Oscar Pistorius, Wayne Rooney and Charlie Sheen were provided as basis for the empirical research. An empirical research study has been launched to determine how different generational cohorts (Generation Y, Generation X and Baby Boomers) perceive values (both personal values and organisation brand values), brands and brand ambassadors as well as brand ambassador transgressions based on the provided case studies. The questionnaire was distributed to consumers in different generational cohorts. The results of the research indicated that: - There is no clear differentiation between the different generations’ perception on personal values. However, there was a greater amount of variance between the generations regarding their perceptions on brand values. - There is a definite difference between the different generational cohorts regarding perceptions regarding brand ambassadors. - The majority of the respondents stated that the mentioned brand ambassador transgressions did not negatively influence their perception of the brand, which was endorsed. Furthermore, the brand ambassador’s transgression did not cause the consumers to refrain from purchasing products which was endorsed by the specific brand ambassador. - No clear differentiation between the different kinds of transgressions and the severity thereof was made. - When brands stopped endorsing brand ambassadors when their transgressions came to light it mostly had a positive impact on the consumers’ perception of the brand. - The Generation Y respondents, who are also more social media active than the other generations, were more forgiving and were not as easily influenced negatively by the brand ambassadors’ transgression. - Consumers are more brand-orientated than brand ambassador-orientated. It can be concluded that the use of brand ambassadors in marketing campaigns holds many advantages. It is imperative that brand ambassadors should be decided upon carefully, although a brand ambassador does not define the entire brand. Brand ambassador transgressions’ have a more important impact on the consumers’ perception of the brand ambassador than on the brand itself. Consumers also feel that transgressions should be punished and are positive towards brands which ended brand ambassador agreements after transgressions, indicating that certain standard values are applicable for at least three consecutive generations of South-Africans and should be taken into account when branding decisions are made. / MBA, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

The impact of brand ambassador transgression on brand perception is investigated in this study. To reach the goal of this research the impact brand ambassador transgression across different generational cohorts was measured. The essence of brand ambassadors in the new branding landscape was determined from literature. The new branding landscape as a whole was described to provide a context for the study and the impact and affect thereof on the different generations. The increasing popularity of using brand ambassadors in marketing campaigns due to their ability to increase brand awareness, create or strengthen brand image as well as to achieve brand differentiation was discussed in depth. The literature also focused on brand ambassador transgressions and the impact thereof on brand perception. Mini-case studies which focussed on Tiger Woods, Lance Armstrong, Oscar Pistorius, Wayne Rooney and Charlie Sheen were provided as basis for the empirical research. An empirical research study has been launched to determine how different generational cohorts (Generation Y, Generation X and Baby Boomers) perceive values (both personal values and organisation brand values), brands and brand ambassadors as well as brand ambassador transgressions based on the provided case studies. The questionnaire was distributed to consumers in different generational cohorts. The results of the research indicated that: - There is no clear differentiation between the different generations’ perception on personal values. However, there was a greater amount of variance between the generations regarding their perceptions on brand values. - There is a definite difference between the different generational cohorts regarding perceptions regarding brand ambassadors. - The majority of the respondents stated that the mentioned brand ambassador transgressions did not negatively influence their perception of the brand, which was endorsed. Furthermore, the brand ambassador’s transgression did not cause the consumers to refrain from purchasing products which was endorsed by the specific brand ambassador. - No clear differentiation between the different kinds of transgressions and the severity thereof was made. - When brands stopped endorsing brand ambassadors when their transgressions came to light it mostly had a positive impact on the consumers’ perception of the brand. - The Generation Y respondents, who are also more social media active than the other generations, were more forgiving and were not as easily influenced negatively by the brand ambassadors’ transgression. - Consumers are more brand-orientated than brand ambassador-orientated. It can be concluded that the use of brand ambassadors in marketing campaigns holds many advantages. It is imperative that brand ambassadors should be decided upon carefully, although a brand ambassador does not define the entire brand. Brand ambassador transgressions’ have a more important impact on the consumers’ perception of the brand ambassador than on the brand itself. Consumers also feel that transgressions should be punished and are positive towards brands which ended brand ambassador agreements after transgressions, indicating that certain standard values are applicable for at least three consecutive generations of South-Africans and should be taken into account when branding decisions are made. / MBA, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Syfte – Denna rapport syftar till att undersöka hur företag kan arbeta med employer branding för att främja skapandet av engagerade medarbetare som genom positiv staff word-of-mouth (SWOM) är villiga att sprida information om företaget som arbetsgivare samt dela med sig av sina erfarenheter till potentiella medarbetare. Metod – En litteraturstudie utfördes för att undersöka vad som redan studerats inom ämnet som därefter sammanställdes i ett teoretiskt ramverk. Det teoretiska ramverket utgjorde sedan grunden för datainsamlingen som gjordes i form av en fallstudie på ett svenskt energibolag genom semistrukturerade intervjuer på det företag som utgjorde fallet för studien. Resultat – Resultatet visar att faktorerna person-organisation fit (POF), intern kommunikation, ledarskap samt arbetstrivsel påverkar de anställdas grad av engagemang och i förlängningen vilja att sprida positiv SWOM. Detta gäller för såväl front-line-personal som back-office-anställda inom energibranschen. Samtidigt indikerar resultatet att bland dessa faktorer så var arbetstrivsel och ledarskap de viktigaste faktorerna för att anställda ska känna engagemang. Teoretiska implikationer – Resultatet tyder på att arbetstrivsel och ledarskap anses vara de viktigaste faktorerna för att skapa engagerade anställda. Vidare framkom att den interna kommunikationen blir mindre betydelsefull ifall de anställda upplever en hög person-organisation fit. Resultaten indikerar även att front-line-personal efterfrågar mer information gällande vad som lovats till kund samt information kring de olika avdelningarna i jämförelse med back-office-anställda. Eftersom back-office-anställda har exkluderats från tidigare forskning som utförts inom området utgör detta ett nytt bidrag till forskningen. Praktiska implikationer – De praktiska implikationerna är att företaget där studien utfördes har lyckats väl i arbetet med employer branding vilket leder till att de anställda agerar ambassadörer och sprider positiv SWOM om företaget till utomstående. Vidare resulterade studien i förslag på utvecklingsmöjlighet främst inom området intern kommunikation, så som ett systematiserat sätt för det interna kommunikationsflödet, men även inom ledarskap gällande målstyrning och chefernas roll som förebild. Resultaten indikerar att företag i allmänhet bör förmedla information både muntligt och skriftligt samt säkerställa att det finns en samsyn mellan chefer och medarbetare gällande ansvarsområden.

Bakgrund: Med ökad konkurrens och då nya marknader som e-handeln växer sig starkare blir det allt viktigare för företag inom modebranschen att arbeta för att stärka varumärket och sina kundrelationer. Den fysiska butiken är en viktig del inom den externa marknadsföringen då företaget kan kommunicera varumärket genom interaktion med kunden. Butikspersonalen bör ses som en av företagets mest betydelsefulla resurser som marknadsförare då de har störst kundkontakt. Därför bör företag satsa på intern kommunikation för att marknadsföra varumärket till personalen. Syfte: Syftet med denna uppsats är att beskriva och analysera hur företag kan använda intern kommunikation för att utveckla och motivera sin butikspersonal till att agera som varumärkesambassadörer. Metod: Undersökningen består av en fallstudie av ett företag som använder sig av konceptbutiker för att marknadsföra sitt varumärke. Studien består av kvalitativ karaktär genom intervju med distriktschef, kvantitativ data i form av enkätundersökning med personalen, samt granskning av företagets årsredovisning. Mindre observationer utfördes även i de olika butikerna. Teorier: Brand Vision, Brand Values, Kommunikations- och attitydstyrning, Intern marknadsföring i form av utbildning och ledarskap, Företags-/Serviceskultur samt Varumärkesambassadörer. Vi har med dessa teorier skapat en modell som vi kommer att använda för att utvärdera företaget och dess förutsättningar till att skapa varumärkesambassadörer av sin butikspersonal. Slutsats: För att skapa en varumärkesambassadör krävs kontinuerlig intern kommunikation som överensstämmer med företagskulturen. Ledaren har en viktig roll i att kommunicera varumärkets gemensamma värderingar till butikspersonalen och måste då även själv leva efter dessa värderingar. Personalen måste kunna ta till sig och dela dessa värderingar samt förstå vilken betydelse deras roll har i företagets helhet.

In today’s society, people do not solely purchase a product for its promised use. Instead, a brand is purchased and along with that brand comes a variety of associations. The associations of a product’s brand are what contributes to the added value that, according to this study, is what distinguishes a brand’s power. In order to create a powerful brand and such positive associations amongst its consumers, this study demonstrates the importance of understanding how a brand’s interest group behaves in their choice of brand. The study investigates the significance of interaction between a brand and its consumers, as well as how such a connection can be utilized in the development of creative advertisement as part of a brand’s construction. Through an instrumental case study, aiming to analyze a specific case in order to discern more general questions within an area of study, Head and Shoulders was selected as a relevant brand to analyze on account of its creative promo using brand-ambassadors in order to change and strengthen its brand. The results of the study can be summarized in three parts. The first part concerns how respondents describe the brand Head and Shoulders and the conclusions of what specifics draw the consumer’s attention making the brand powerful or not. The second part covers how creative advertisement is a suitable manner for a brand to create a dialogue with its consumers and how the use of brand-ambassadors can broaden a brand’s target audience. The third and final part discerns the overall theme throughout all parts of the conducted interviews. This would be how a brand’s consumers are highly focused on their own behavior believing they are being judged by others. In other words, the important point of interest is the theory of impression management. / I dagens samhälle köper en människa inte enbart en produkt med dess utlovade funktion. Det är ett varumärke som köps och med det varumärket kommer en rad olika associationer. Dessa associationer som en produkt får i och med att det bär ett visst varumärke är det som bidrar till det mervärde som enligt denna studie är det som utmärker vad ett starkt varumärke är. För att skapa ett starkt varumärke och dessa posititva associationer hos sina konsumenter har denna studie visat på hur viktigt det är för företaget bakom varumärket att förstå hur deras konsumenter agerar kring val av varumärken. Studien utreder betydelsen av interaktionen mellan varumärken och dess konsumenter och vidare hur denna förståelse kan användas i utformning av kreativ reklam som en del av varumärkesbyggandet. Genom en instrumentell fallstudie, som syftar till att undersöka ett specifikt fall för att genom det kunna få insikt i mer generella frågor inom ett område, valdes Head and Shoulders som varumärke att studera då deras kreativa reklamfilm med användningen av varumärkesambassadörer togs fram för att förändra och stärka varumärket. Studiens resultat kan sammanfattas genom tre delar. Den första delen handlar om hur respondenterna beskriver varumärket Head and Shoulders och hur slutsatser om vad det är konsumenter lägger märke till hos ett varumärke därefter utmärker det som starkt eller ej kan göras. Den andra delen handlar om hur kreativ reklam är ett bra sätt för ett varumärke att skapa dialog med sina konsumenter och hur användningen av varumärkesambassadörer kan bredda ett varumärkes målgrupp. Den tredje och sista delen handlar om vad studien funnit som övergripande tema genom alla delar av intervjuerna som gjorts. Detta är hur människor, ett varumärkes konsumenter, är väldigt fokuserad på sitt eget beteende utifrån tron om att de blir bedömda av andra. Det handlar alltså om teorin impression management.

This research thesis has researched about how employer branding and its relationship to person - organization fit. It focuses on personality traits of applicants and how it can impact their attractiveness of the organization advertised in job adverts. The purpose of this research thesis is to explain what relationship employer branding via job advertisements has when it comes to establishing P - O fit. In this case between future business students and organizations. The thesis had a deductive approach a cross - sectional research design was applied. A quantitative research method (logistic regression) was used and came from primary data. The research findings show that employer branding has a positive relationship to creating attractiveness of firms and also has an impact upon person-organization fit. Our findings also indicated that personality characteristics is hard to categorize in order to see what specifically in employer value proposition can attract a specific employee preference. The limitations were the number of respondents, a larger sample unit could have impacted the results more. Also, using a qualitative method in terms of semiotics could give a more detailed output on respondents’ personality traits. The original value of the research thesis is that it focused specifically on business students and to what degree employer value proposition is related to person-organization fit.

[pt] Esta tese apresenta um estudo sobre o contexto contemporâneo de valorização do sujeito comum que, no âmbito das práticas publicitárias e de consumo, engendra processos de construção e afirmação de identidade e estilo de vida, visibilidade, performance de autenticidade e dinâmicas de reconhecimento e prestígio, relacionados a aspectos da Comunicação. Nesta via, traz como foco de investigação estratégias de marcas que promovem engajamento e relacionamento com influenciadores, em especial embaixadores de marca, estabelecendo uma afiliação com estes sujeitos que, embora comuns, são dotados de um significativo potencial de influência dentro do seu grupo. Tais práticas criam um tipo de mensagem hibridizada que ganha corpo e amplitude expositiva, sobretudo, nos sites de redes sociais, ao se concretizar nas narrativas de si construídas - espera-se - de maneira autêntica por esse potencial consumidor, elemento chave no processo. O objetivo principal deste estudo é, portanto, compreender quem é, como se define e o que representa para os outros um sujeito comum que empresta sua vida, no limite, sua própria identidade para a marca. Defende-se a ideia de uma natureza paradoxal própria dessa figura emblemática que pode ser entendida como um sujeito comum-extraordinário, que se torna destacável por sua ordinariedade, e também uma representação-mídia, já que é familiaridade e ancoragem de identidade acessível e estilo de vida distintivo, interessante para aqueles que o seguem pelo aspecto comum e para a marca pela possibilidade de enunciação de mensagens e estabelecimento de elo de conexão com os demais consumidores. Nesse contexto, a autenticidade se revela como valor importante, sendo garantida e gerenciada através de performance de si de qualidade dupla, porém extremamente imbricada: no âmbito subjetivo e no papel de influenciador. A análise do fenômeno a partir de um objeto empírico, como os projetos observados, além das entrevistas em profundidade realizadas com embaixadores de marca permitiram inferir que as práticas publicitárias e o consumo têm contribuição especial no processo de conformação desse sujeito comum extraordinário, garantindo-lhe a chancela que atribui distinção e notoriedade. Somam-se a isso a atuação reflexiva de apresentação de si para o outro, tanto nas redes (digitais) com nas rodas (de conversa), nas ruas, e as possibilidades oferecidas pelo ferramental tecnológico, resultando no reconhecimento e prestígio (esperados) que acabam por legitimar esse mesmo sujeito. Este estudo busca, por fim, contribuir com reflexões acerca de temas que envolvem o fenômeno, tais como: modelos publicitários adequados à cultura participativa, na qual sujeitos comuns adquirem grande relevância; práticas de consumo e maneiras de se estabelecerem as trocas simbólicas por ele mediadas na contemporaneidade; processos comunicacionais e de construção identitária que subjazem às práticas de exposição de si, gerenciamento de impressões, negociações e articulações de propósitos diversos. / [en] This doctoral thesis presents a study on the acclamation of ordinary subjects in the contemporary context. Within the scope of advertising and consumption practices, this acclamation is the starting point for different processes of construction and affirmation of one’s identity, lifestyle, visibility, authenticity performance, as well as recognition and prestige dynamics, all related to Communication aspects. Hence, we herein investigate brand strategies that are geared towards promoting partnerships between brands and influencers, especially those labeled brand ambassadors. Brands establish an affiliation with these subjects that, albeit ordinary, have the significant power to influence others in their group. In doing so, brands create a type of hybrid message that expands in size and exposure (mainly on social media) when it is reflected on self-narratives constructed—we hope—in an authentic manner by the consumer in potential, key element in the process. Thus, the main objective of this study is to understand who are these ordinary subjects who lend their lives, even their own identity, to a brand, how they define themselves and what they represent to others. We support the idea of these individuals as paradoxical nature emblematic characters who can be perceived as ordinary-extraordinary, since what makes them remarkable is precisely being ordinary. Influencers can also be perceived in light of the pair representation-media, because they represent familiarity and anchorage of an accessible identity and a distinctive lifestyle, interesting to those who follow them, and interesting to the brand itself for the possibility of message enunciations and the establishment of a bond with other consumers. In this context, authenticity is an important asset, being assured and managed through dual-quality selfperformance, though extremely imbricated in the subjective scope and in the influencer role. The analysis of the phenomenon from an empirical object (the observed projects, for instance), and in-depth interviews with brand ambassadors allow us to infer that advertising and consumption practices have a special contribution on these ordinary-extraordinary subjects conformation process, assuring them distinction and notoriety. In addition, it is possible to identify the reflexive self-presentation to others on digital network, on conversations, on the streets, and the many possibilities of technology tools, resulting in the (expected) recognition and prestige that legitimize these subjects. Finally, this study aims to contribute with considerations on themes regarding the phenomenon, such as: advertising models suitable for participatory culture, in which ordinary subjects gain great relevance; consumption practices and ways to establish symbolic exchanges in contemporaneity; communication and identity-building processes that underlie self-exposure practices, management of impressions, negotiations and articulations of different purposes.

Solicitud de envío manuscrito de artículo científico. / Este estudio analiza a los instafamous, personas que al crear su perfil en Instagram y conquistar una comunidad de seguidores, se vuelven famosos en esta red social. Estos personajes digitales son un recurso publicitario empleado por muchas marcas aunque aún no son detectados, conceptualizados, diferenciados y analizados en el mercado peruano. Por ello, en esta investigación se quiere analizar a los instafamous, pero desde la perspectiva interna que en este caso son las embajadoras de marca. Este es un estudio cualitativo que analiza la campaña #QueNoTeHaganDaño de la marca peruana textil Sicurezza lanzada en junio del año 2018. Se realizaron entrevistas semiestructuradas a 21 embajadoras de la marca Sicurezza con un rango de edad entre 25 a 34 años. Los instafamous han sido percibidos de manera positiva contribuyendo favorablemente en la importante conexión entre las embajadoras de marca y Sicurezza. Es importante reconocer el uso de la instafamous Paloma Derteano con la que la mayoría de embajadoras se encuentra identificada, haciendo que se refuerce la predisposición positiva de ellas con la campaña #QueNoTeHaganDaño. / This research analyzes instafamous, people who creating their profile on Instagram and conquering a community of followers, become famous on this social network. These digital characters are an advertising resource used by many brands, although they are not yet detected, conceptualized, differentiated and analyzed in the Peruvian market. For this reason, this research wants to analyze instafamous, but from the internal perspective which in this case are brand ambassadors. This is a qualitative study that analyzes the #QueNoTeHaganDaño campaign of the Peruvian textile brand Sicurezza launched in June 2018. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 21 ambassadors of the Sicurezza brand with an age range of 25 to 34 years. Instafamous have been positively perceived, contributing favorably to the important connection between brand ambassadors and Sicurezza. It is important to recognize the use of the instafamous Paloma Derteano, who most of ambassadors are identified, reinforcing their positive predisposition with the #QueNoTeHaganDaño campaign. / Tesis