Many marketers choose to position their brands as underdogs instead of top dogs in the marketplace. Research shows that underdog positioning may help marketers to create competitive advantages, although when and why consumers respond favorability to such positioning strategy is not fully understood. While a handful of studies found that underdog positioning is more effective than top-dog positioning for certain types of brands or consumers, little is known about how consumers'psychological state may influence their responses to underdog positioning. Existing literature on underdog positioning mainly attributes consumers' favorable responses to its ability to elicit empathy for the brand, neglecting the potential benefit that consumers can gain from their underdog support. To address these gaps, this thesis examines how personal control influences consumers' responses to underdog (vs. top dog) positioning. It was proposed that brands positioned as underdogs are preferred over those positioned as top dogs by consumers whose personal control is low because underdog positioning can inspire those consumers to restore their threatened control. Five experiments were conducted to test the hypotheses. Experiment 1 demonstrates that when consumers' personal control is low, consumers prefer brands positioned as underdogs over those positioned as top dogs. Experiment 2 uncovers the underlying mechanism of the observed effect: The relative preference for underdog positioning among low-control consumers occurs because the passion and determination exemplified in such positioning can inspire those consumers to cope with their loss or lack of control. In line with this mechanism, Experiment 3 provides supportive evidence that the acquisition of the brand positioned as an underdog, but not the acquisition of the brand positioned as a top dog, increases low-control consumers'feelings of control. The last two experiments show that low-control consumers' relative preference for underdog positioning is further moderated by both their shopping orientation and the causal attribution for their loss of control. The findings of this thesis contribute to the growing research on underdog positioning and customer inspiration, and the results have practical implications for marketers in terms of effectiveness of marketing communications.

Within the East coast and West Coast oyster market, oysters are generally marketed using product attributes and brand name. However the Gulf oyster market does not involve branding. Using choice experiment method and online survey data, the study estimated the effect of branding Gulf oysters on Gulf and Non-Gulf consumers’ willingness to pay. Alternative-specific conditional logit, Nested logit and Alternative-specific multinomial probit methods of analysis were used to investigate the Independence of Irrelevant Alternative assumption made about consumers. Pooled and scaled models were used to analyze the identified data categories from which consumers were found to share the same oyster preferences. The results found that consumers on the average were willing to pay more for the oysters harvested from their own region relative to those harvested from outside their region. They were willing to pay a less for oysters harvested outside their region.

Brand advocacy occurs when consumers who feel very passionately about a brand seek to promote it to others and defend it against its naysayers. These consumers are valuable to brands as information between consumers is more easily and rapidly shared than ever before, and as consumer distrust of brand-sponsored messages is high. As a result, brands are dependent upon their brand advocates to leverage the perceived reliability of peer recommendations to recruit new customers. However, thus far in the marketing literature, an adequate conceptualization of brand advocacy has failed to emerge. Instead, when discussed, brand advocacy is often measured using a proxy variable such as positive word-of-mouth. It is the supposition of the author that these two constructs are not synonymous and using one as a proxy for the other severely limits researchers’ understanding of the brand advocacy and its impact. The goal of this research is to define brand advocacy and develop a valid scale to measure it. Following Churchill’s (1979) paradigm for scale development, a series of four studies were undertaken to validate the new scale. The first two studies are qualitative in nature and help identify the domains of brand advocacy. Based on the results of the first study, a series of depth interviews, and the second study, an open-ended questionnaire, the following definition of brand advocacy is put forth: Brand advocacy is a combination of customer-motivated behaviors, including proactively recommending the brand and defending the brand against detractors, intended to maintain the customer’s relationship with the brand and promote it to others. The construct was determined to be a higher-order construct comprising two distinct sets of behaviors that address advocates’ need to not only defend the brand to naysayers but also to proactively spread positive brand communications to others. The third and fourth studies use quantitative data to complete the scale development process by proposing and validating a nine-item scale to measure the multi-dimensional construct of brand advocacy as well as provide evidence that it is a distinct construct from PWOM. The results of this research provide a definition and valid scale of brand advocacy.

Mississippi residents were surveyed to determine how The Food Factor and Extension brands were impacting their intent to change behavior. The Food Factor is a weekly Extension mass media program that communicates research-based information about food, nutrition, diet, and healthy lifestyles. The respondents were split into viewer and non-viewer categories. Viewers were asked about their perceptions of the show and their nutrition-related behaviors. Non-viewers were assigned to a branded or non-branded episode of The Food Factorto determine their perceptions and to see if branding was having an impact on their behavior. The study found that although The Food Factor was perceived positively, it was uncertain if the brand was having meaningful effects on its viewers. Recommendations include future studies surrounding the use of branding in social marketing programs, studying other mass media programs in other states, and further evaluation of The Food Factor brand.

Individuals are motivated to consume brands that allow them to express their self-concept and signal a unique identity to others. However, consumers may not always be able to purchase these brands. Aspirational brands are currently unaffordable “dream brands” that an individual desires to purchase at some point in the future after reaching a higher status or income level. Through aspirational access, an emerging form of access-based consumption, consumers can now temporarily experience their ideal lifestyle for a membership fee. Researchers have begun to explore access-based consumption as an alternative to traditional ownership since consumers are increasingly choosing to access products and benefit from the use, rather than buying and owning them. Most research focuses on utilitarian access-based consumption, such as car sharing. Yet more consumers are using access-based services to facilitate an idealized lifestyle. In the past, these consumers would have to wait to acquire aspirational brands after saving up to purchase, but aspirational access now provides the benefits of these brands in the present allowing aspirational access-based consumers to forego the patience and work of saving long-term for the brand. Four studies are conducted to holistically explore the psychological consequences of aspirational access. Specifically, the following research questions are addressed by employing a multi-method approach in a series of four studies —What do owners of aspirational brands think about aspirational access-based services? How does aspirational access participation influence an accessor’s self- and brand-related perceptions? How can the outcomes of aspirational access be enhanced for accessors through brand curation? Can accessors temporarily using aspirational brands obtain the same level as self- and brand-related outcomes as owners? By exploring these questions, this research aims to understand the nature of aspirational brand consumption and the psychological consequences of accessing versus owning aspirational brands.

Bakgrund: För att kunna överleva på en modern konkurrensutsatt marknad som små och medelstora företag måste de ha kompetent och talangfull personal. Genom att ha ett starkt arbetsgivarvarumärke så blir det lättare att bibehålla den kompetenta personalen men även för att rekrytera nya. Det finns strategier som tas upp genom studiens gång som man kan implementera för att stärka sitt arbetsgivarvarumärke. Problemformulering: Ett problem som förekommer inom små- och medelstora företag är att resurserna alltid inte räcker till för att anställa exempelvis HR-personal som aktivt arbetar med att stärka arbetsgivarvarumärket. Det är dock oerhört viktigt att i små och medelstora företag att arbeta med detta då nyckelpersonerna blir än viktigare eftersom de får större ansvar för företagets olika uppdrag än i stora företag. Syftet: Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur väl små- och medelstora företag arbetar med intern- och extern employer branding. Författarna skall dessutom undersöka strategier som SME:s (Small and Medium-sized Enterprise) använder sig av för att kunna rekrytera efterfrågad personal samt hur man bibehåller kompetent personal för att en ökad förståelse kring begreppet employer branding. Metod: Inom denna studie så har författarna valt att använda en kombinerad metod, både kvalitativ men även en kvantitativ med utgång från en deduktiv metod. Slutsats: Författarna inom denna studie har funnit att arbetsgivarna idag redan implementerar olika strategier inom intern employer branding (internal marketing) för att stärka sitt arbetsgivarvarumärke men som även bidrar till en positiv arbetsmiljö. Många menar på att de vill jobba med employer branding i allmänhet mer än vad som görs idag och har viljan för det, men resurserna räcker inte alltid till. Många arbetar idag även med sitt externa employer branding exempelvis genom sociala medier men där menar många att man behöver bli bättre. / Background: To be able to survive in a modern competitive market as a small and medium-sized enterprise, you must have talented and competent staff. With a strong employer brand comes benefits that help you hire talented employees but also retain them within the company. There are also strategies shown in this study that you can implement to strengthen your employer brand. Problem formulation: A problem that occurs in small and medium-sized companies is that the resources are not always enough to employ, for example, HR employees who actively work to strengthen the employer brand. However, it is extremely important in small and medium-sized companies to work with this as the key employees become even more important because they are given greater responsibility for the company's various tasks than in large companies. Aim: The purpose of this study is to investigate how well SMEs work with internal and external employer branding. The authors will also examine strategies that SMEs (Small and medium-sized enterprises) use to be able to recruit in-demand personnel and how to maintain competent personnel in order to increase understanding of the concept of employer branding. Method: Within this study, the authors have chosen to use a combined method, both qualitative but also quantitative based on a deductive method. Conclusion: The authors of this study have found that employers today already implement various strategies within internal employer branding (internal marketing) to strengthen their employer brand but which also contribute to a positive work environment. Employees say that they want to work with employer branding in general more than what is done today and have the ambition to do so, but where the resources are not always enough. Many employees today also work with their external branding, for example through social media, but where many believe that they need to do better.

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I en tid då Sverige står inför en alltmer osäker omvärld och en förändrad säkerhetspolitik så behöver Försvarsmakten växa, och därmed rekrytera med bibehållen kvalité på sin personal. Behovet av ett effektivt employer branding arbete har därmed aldrig varit så stort inom Försvarsmakten. Employer branding är fortfarande relativt outforskat och ser olika ut för varje organisation eftersom arbetet är unikt utifrån varje organisations förutsättningar. Det är även ett arbete i ständig utveckling, på grund av att en föränderlig omvärld skapar nya förutsättningar och behov. Denna studie har som syfte att försöka förstå och förklara den svenska Försvarsmaktens arbete med employer branding. Utifrån deras unika förutsättningar, vad väljer de att prioritera, vad ser de för utmaningar och kommer employer branding arbetet förändras som en effekt av en mer osäker framtid? Studien finner att Försvarsmaktens viktigaste verktyg för att både attrahera och behålla, såväl militär som civil personal, är att kommunicera myndighetens arbete och relevans. Genom detta skapar och kommunicerar man ett förtroende för verksamheten och en vilja att vara en del av något större än sig själv - ett högre syfte. Försvarsmakten har idag ett fokus på att fortsätta attrahera, engagera och inkludera minoritetsgrupper, något som är väsentligt för att kunna vidhålla expansion med bibehållen kvalité. Historiskt så har det funnits många strukturella hinder som man kommit långt med att arbeta bort, även om behovet av ett fortsatt arbete kvarstår. En utmärkande aspekt för Försvarsmaktens organisationskultur är en stark gemenskap och en förbandsanda med starkt individuell identitet för landets förband. Det är inte ett arbete utan utmaningar, men med möjligheter till utveckling. / At a time when Sweden is facing an increasingly insecure world around them, and a changed security politics, the Swedish Armed Forces needs to grow, and thus recruit while maintaining a high quality of its personnel. The need for effective employer branding has thus never been so great within the Swedish Armed Forces. Employer branding is still relatively unexplored and looks different for each organization because the work is unique based on each organization’s conditions. It is also a work in constant development since a changing world creates new conditions and needs. The purpose of this study is to try to understand and explain the Swedish Armed Forces’ work with employer branding. Based on their unique conditions, what do they choose to prioritize, what do they see as challenges, and will employer branding change as an effect of a more uncertain future? The study finds that the Swedish Armed Forces’ most important tool for attracting and retaining both military and civilian personnel is to communicate the agency’s work and relevance. Through this, they create and communicate a trust in the organization and a desire to be part of something bigger than yourself – a higher purpose. The Swedish Armed Forces today has a focus on continuing to attract, engage and include minority groups, something that is essential in order to be able to maintain expansion while maintaining high quality. Historically, there have been many structural obstacles that they have come a long way to undermine, even though the need for continued work remains. A distinctive aspect of the Swedish Armed Forces’ organizational culture is a strong community and a spirit of unity with a strong individual identity for the country’s regiments. It is not a work without difficulties, but also with potential for improvement.

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