Made available in DSpace on 2016-10-13T14:09:53Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Michele Candeloro Herminio.pdf: 10468301 bytes, checksum: 8d961ddffe55128a29a39dd32d3dc620 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-06-19 / This work aims to: 1) describe the Colombian nation branding experience, entitled Colombia es Pasión based in the process steps: a) engagement; b) analysis; c) strategy; d) execution and audit and 2) assess the a) image impacts from an international perspective and b) the economic impact, in export, tourism and foreign direct investment areas. In order to do so, initially were presented concepts that support the understanding of the topic, as country brand, country brand identity, country image, place branding, destination brand and country of origin; following the case study, built from bibliographical, documentary and field research evidences, was presented. The case description and its interpretation in the light of process stages and phases can be found in Chapter 4. The impact assessment of the international image was conducted by content analysis of articles which contained the word Colombia in the title, in the newspapers The New York Times and El País, employing the software Atlas/TI. An index image was developed and its shows an improvement of 81.57% in the country image during the period that Colombia es Pasión was active, however, it was not possible to draw a causal link between the image improvement and the nation branding initiative. The economic impact of the program was evaluated by econometric models that considers the three target variables of the program: exports, tourism and foreign direct investment. The econometric analysis suggests that the program had positive economic impacts on exports and on the number of foreign tourists. The overall result of these two variables is, on average, equivalent to 1.28% of GDP in 2011. However, the most significant impact is on the dependent variables, taken as the program target. The effect of the program, on average, corresponds to 16.73% of exports and 13.63% of the number of foreign tourists in the year preceding the start of the program internationals actions, that is 2005. / Este trabalho tem como objetivos: 1) descrever a experiência colombiana de branding, entitulada Colombia es Pasión, com base etapas do processo: a) engajamento; b) análise; c) estratégia; d) execução e auditoria e 2) avaliar os impactos: a) de imagem, na perspectiva externa e b) econômico, nas áreas de exportação, turismo e investimentos estrangeiros diretos. Para tanto, inicialmente foram apresentados conceitos que apóiam a compreensão do tema, como marca país, identidade de marca país, imagem de país, place branding, marca de destino e país de origem; na sequência foi exposto o estudo de caso construído a partir de evidências bibliográficas, documentais e de campo. A descrição do caso e sua interpretação à luz das etapas e fases do processo podem ser encontradas no capítulo 4. A avaliação do impacto de imagem na perspectiva externa foi realizada por meio de análise de conteúdo de artigos que continham a palavra Colômbia no titulo, nas mídias The New York Times e El País, utilizando como ferramenta o software Atlas/TI. Foi desenvolvido um índice de imagem que apontou uma melhora de 81,57% na imagem do país, no período em que o Colombia es Pasión esteve ativo, no entanto, não foi possível estabelecer a relação causal entre a melhora de imagem e a iniciativa de branding. O impacto econômico do programa foi avaliado por meio de um exercício econométrico que considera as três variáveis-alvo do programa: exportações, turismo e investimento estrangeiro direto. A análise econométrica realizada sugere que o programa teve impactos econômicos positivos sobre exportações e número de turistas estrangeiros. O resultado total sobre estas duas variáveis representa, em média, o equivalente a 1,28% do PIB do país em 2011. Entretanto, mostra impacto mais significativo quando comparado com a magnitude dos fluxos originais das variáveis que tomou como alvo. O efeito do programa corresponde em média a 16,73% das exportações e 13,63% do número de turistas estrangeiros do ano anterior ao início das ações internacionais do programa, ou seja, 2005.

La competició de països, nacions, ciutats i regions per captar recursos, talent, infraestructures o esdeveniments, entre altres aspectes, ha provocat l’adveniment d’una lluita renovada per la singularitat, pel reconeixement i per la diferenciació, per una hegemonia simbòlica que cotitza a l’alça en el context d’una emergent economia de la identitat. En aquest context, els territoris cedeixen les seves projeccions habituals d’identitat territorial a una nouvinguda identitat simbòlica, gestionada, en part, mitjançant la transformació de territoris en marques. La determinació d’un estat de la qüestió amb voluntat holística, que endreci i alhora ordeni el que s’ha dit i el que s’ha fet sobre això, per tal de situar en perspectiva les implicacions inherents a la construcció de marques (branding) per a espais geogràfics, esdevé un dels objectius principals d’aquesta investigació, al qual s’hi arribarà amb l’ajut d’una triangulació metodològica d’investigació. En primer lloc, mitjançant una revisió amb voluntat interpretativa i crítica de la literatura existent vinculada a les marques de territori, en segon lloc per mitjà d’una consulta a un panel d’experts (mètode Delphi) i, finalment, i en tercer lloc, a través de l’estudi de tres marques de territori implícites (el Lluçanès, el Priorat i la vall de Camprodon) analitzades per mitjà de l’organització de tres grups focals de discussió (GFdD). Així mateix, la concreció d’un model teòric d’anàlisi per a la marca experiència individual amb el territori des d’una perspectiva transdisciplinària coincideix amb el segon gran objectiu que pretén abastar aquesta tesi doctoral. / La competición de países, naciones, ciudades y regiones para captar recursos, talento, infraestructuras o eventos, entre otros aspectos, ha provocado el advenimiento de una lucha renovada por la singularidad, por el reconocimiento y por la diferenciación, por una hegemonía simbólica que cotiza al alza en el contexto de una emergente economía de la identidad. En este escenario, los territorios ceden sus proyecciones habituales de identidad territorial a una recién llegada identidad simbólica, gestionada, en parte, mediante la transformación de territorios en marcas. La determinación de un estado de la cuestión con voluntad holística, que incorpore y a la vez ordene lo que se ha dicho y lo que se ha hecho al respecto, con el fin de situar en perspectiva las implicaciones inherentes a la construcción de marcas ('branding') para los espacios geográficos, resulta ser uno de los objetivos principales de este trabajo, al cual se llegará mediante una triangulación metodológica de investigación. En primer lugar, a través de una revisión pretendidamente interpretativa y crítica de la literatura existente vinculada a las marcas de territorio; en segundo lugar, por medio de una consulta a un panel de expertos (método Delphi); finalmente, y en tercer lugar, a partir del estudio de tres marcas de territorio implícitas (el Lluçanès, el Priorat y la vall de Camprodon) analizadas mediante la organización de tres grupos focales de discusión (GFdD). Asimismo, la concreción de un modelo teórico de análisis para la marca experiencia individual con el territorio desde una perspectiva transdisciplinaria coincide con el segundo gran objetivo que pretende alcanzar la presente tesis doctoral. / The competition between countries, nations, cities and regions to attract resources, talent, infrastructures or events, among others aspects, has caused the coming of a renew struggle for singularity, recognition and differentiation, for a symbolic hegemony that is rising in the context of an emerging economy of identity. In this context, places transfer their usual projections of place identity to a newly arrived symbolic identity negotiated partly by the transformation of places in brands. The determination of a current status of the issue with a holistic wish that organize and at the same time arrange what it is said and is done about the topic, in order to locate in view the inherent implications to the building of brands (branding) for geographic locations, becomes one of the main aims of this research, which is going to reach through the help of a methodological triangulation of investigation. Firstly, through checking the existent literature linked in the place brands with an interpretative and critic wish, secondly, by means of consulting an expert’s panel (Delphi method) and, finally and thirdly, through the study of three implicit place brands (el Lluçanès, el Priorat and the Camprodon’s valley) analyzed by the organization of three focal groups of discussion (FGoD). Likewise, the specification of a theoretical method of analysis for the individual experience brand with the places from an interdisciplinary perspective coincides with the second main aim that this doctoral thesis expects to reach.

There are a lot of different business strategies for any company. However, in the fashion industry, the best way to become successful is to develop the brand using special branding strategies. Hence, a brand is the main weapon for fashion companies, which helps to launch international market and to create loyal customers around the world. Nowadays, due to the difficult current political situations and the collapse of oil and the dollar a lot of companies in different industries have to change their business strategies. It is especially true for fashion companies, because they depend on consumers ' income and their purchasing power. In the case of the fashion industry, branding strategy development can be more effective, than just business strategy. Hence, this thesis discusses the following problem: What branding strategy should Russian and Swedish fashion companies choose in order to build a strong brand and enter the international market.  The purpose of this thesis is to analyze various branding strategies of Russian and Swedish fashion companies during the process of entering foreign markets. At the end of this thesis, practical contribution in their process of international branding strategy creation will be discussed. In order to answer research questions more broadly and accurately, the mixed research method, using quantitive and qualitative study through interviews and survey was chosen. Semi-structured interviews were made with the CEO and brand managers of Russian and Swedish fashion companies. Moreover, the survey was made with two different questionnaires: for Russian and for Swedish customers. In the case of qualitative research, the author found that fashion companies from Russia and Sweden have got not just some features and differences, but also common aspects. The primary data from interviews allowed the author to understand the specifics of brand management in the fashion industry. It was found, that there are some useful aspects in Swedish strategies, which can be used by Russian companies to develop their brands on the international market. In the case of quantitative research, preferences of consumers from Russia and Sweden were analyzed and also some features were identified. Survey results provided the author with a common understanding about purchase habits, attitudes and perceptions to fashion brands. According to these, some hypothesizes, which are formulated in the first part of the thesis, have been proven or disproven. It was found, that preferences of Russian and Swedish people are pretty the same, however Russian customers do not like to risk with new brands and prefer well-known and trusted brands while Swedish customers are open for any brand, which can satisfy their tastes.

This paper starts by an explanation of the context of personal branding and online personal branding and the problem identified by the authors. Thus, the purpose of the study is to investigate on the perception of students towards online personal branding through their own personal brand and with the perspective of matching employer’s expectations. A section reviewing online personal branding and related literature is provided in order to describe among others, the several components of the elaboration of an online personal brand and the different employers’ expectations towards this brand. Next, a section describing the different methods used in the study is implemented. The data of this paper is gathered through 13 semistructured interviews based on an operationalization of the different concepts presented in the theoretical framework section. The results are then presented in the empirical investigation section following recurrent identified themes bring by the respondents: The need to fit the norm, to stand out and of control. Then the data is analyzed through the theories and is therefore following the different components of an elaboration of a personal brand including the different items related to employer’s consideration and practices. Then the conclusion is drawing in order to answering the research question as well as providing some acknowledgement and recommendations. This paper has permitted to describe the perception of student towards online personal branding with the perspective of matching employers’ expectations. This perception is a rather incomplete online personal brand, consisting of a normalized image of the self, a tool for a certain self-realization towards a limited audience and a have a certain perception of an overall control of this online personal brand.

Internet påverkar vår vardag i allra högsta grad. Våra rutiner har förändrats och därmed ställs det även krav på företagen att möta sina kunder där kunderna finns. En bransch som tagit stor hänsyn till detta är bankvärlden. Men hur möter de kunderna på den digitala arenan? Hur hanterar de sitt varumärke ur ett digitalt perspektiv?   Denna studie har som syfte att undersöka just detta och se på fyra av de svenska rikstäckande bankernas digitala varumärkeshantering och hur de arbetar med kommunikation i digitala kanaler. Det intressanta är att se de tendenser som finns idag men även hur de undersökta bankerna ser på framtiden inom varumärkeshanteringen. För att få en tydlig teoretisk grund har författarna valt att göra studien utifrån ett redan utformat teoretiskt ramverk kallat i-Branding.  Den metodologiska grunden för uppsatsen är kvalitativa djupintervjuer med representanter för utvalda banker. Vidare har studien en hermeneutisk ansats och har som syfte att vara tolkande.   Viktiga resultat som studien visar på är att samtliga av de undersökta bankerna ser den digitala varumärkeshanteringen och internet som viktig. De ser dock inte någon större skillnad i hur man traditionellt arbetar med varumärkeshantering jämfört med den digitala varumärkeshanteringen. Samtliga banker påpekar att det är kundmötet som är det viktiga, oavsett var det äger rum. Många av bankerna hade även funderingar på hur man skulle kunna ta tillvara på de möjligheter som internet ger, men den faktiska aktiviteten inom området var mindre. Angående framtiden var samtliga banker av samma åsikt om att internets betydelse kommer öka och att traditionella massmedier kommer få en mindre del av marknadskommunikationen. Två av bankerna framhöll även mobiltelefonen som nästa stora kanal för bankernas kommunikation. / The fact that internet affects our everyday lives cannot be argued. Our routines have changed and so have the routines for companies. The companies now have to communicate to their customers using new methods. One industry that early adopted the digital technology is the banking industry. But how do they meet their customers on the digital arena? How do they manage their brands from a digital perspective?  The aim of this study is to see how four of the Swedish banks are working with online branding and communication through digital channels. The study has two interesting viewpoints, to see the trends in online branding for banks and to see the future for brand management in the banking industry. As the theoretical foundation the writers has chosen to make the study through a theoretical framework called ”i-Branding”.  The method used in the study is qualitative interviews with key persons from the different banks. Furthermore the study has a hermeneutic viewpoint and the goal is to interpret the results and through this describe and explain the phenomena.   Key results that the study shows are that all of the banks see online branding and the internet as very important in their work with brand management. The banks however cannot separate online brand management from the traditional brand management. All the banks state that it is the meeting with the customer that has to be the central point, wherever it takes place. The banks also had a lot of thoughts on how the internet could be of better use in their brand management but it was a lack of actual activity from the banks. Regarding the future, all banks said that the impact of internet is going to increase and take shares from the traditional mass media. Two of the banks also said that they thought that the mobile phone is the next big channel for communication.

<p>Internet påverkar vår vardag i allra högsta grad. Våra rutiner har förändrats och därmed ställs det även krav på företagen att möta sina kunder där kunderna finns. En bransch som tagit stor hänsyn till detta är bankvärlden. Men hur möter de kunderna på den digitala arenan? Hur hanterar de sitt varumärke ur ett digitalt perspektiv?  </p><p>Denna studie har som syfte att undersöka just detta och se på fyra av de svenska rikstäckande bankernas digitala varumärkeshantering och hur de arbetar med kommunikation i digitala kanaler. Det intressanta är att se de tendenser som finns idag men även hur de undersökta bankerna ser på framtiden inom varumärkeshanteringen. För att få en tydlig teoretisk grund har författarna valt att göra studien utifrån ett redan utformat teoretiskt ramverk kallat i-Branding. </p><p>Den metodologiska grunden för uppsatsen är kvalitativa djupintervjuer med representanter för utvalda banker. Vidare har studien en hermeneutisk ansats och har som syfte att vara tolkande.  </p><p>Viktiga resultat som studien visar på är att samtliga av de undersökta bankerna ser den digitala varumärkeshanteringen och internet som viktig. De ser dock inte någon större skillnad i hur man traditionellt arbetar med varumärkeshantering jämfört med den digitala varumärkeshanteringen. Samtliga banker påpekar att det är kundmötet som är det viktiga, oavsett var det äger rum. Många av bankerna hade även funderingar på hur man skulle kunna ta tillvara på de möjligheter som internet ger, men den faktiska aktiviteten inom området var mindre. Angående framtiden var samtliga banker av samma åsikt om att internets betydelse kommer öka och att traditionella massmedier kommer få en mindre del av marknadskommunikationen. Två av bankerna framhöll även mobiltelefonen som nästa stora kanal för bankernas kommunikation.</p><p> </p> / <p>The fact that internet affects our everyday lives cannot be argued. Our routines have changed and so have the routines for companies. The companies now have to communicate to their customers using new methods. One industry that early adopted the digital technology is the banking industry. But how do they meet their customers on the digital arena? How do they manage their brands from a digital perspective? </p><p>The aim of this study is to see how four of the Swedish banks are working with online branding and communication through digital channels. The study has two interesting viewpoints, to see the trends in online branding for banks and to see the future for brand management in the banking industry. As the theoretical foundation the writers has chosen to make the study through a theoretical framework called ”i-Branding”. </p><p>The method used in the study is qualitative interviews with key persons from the different banks. Furthermore the study has a hermeneutic viewpoint and the goal is to interpret the results and through this describe and explain the phenomena.  </p><p>Key results that the study shows are that all of the banks see online branding and the internet as very important in their work with brand management. The banks however cannot separate online brand management from the traditional brand management. All the banks state that it is the meeting with the customer that has to be the central point, wherever it takes place. The banks also had a lot of thoughts on how the internet could be of better use in their brand management but it was a lack of actual activity from the banks. Regarding the future, all banks said that the impact of internet is going to increase and take shares from the traditional mass media. Two of the banks also said that they thought that the mobile phone is the next big channel for communication. </p><p> </p>

Everyday Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) plays a bigger role in companies’ work. People become more aware of how different organizations take care of their network. Certain consumer groups have expectations from companies’ CSR work, and they are willing to pay more for the brands of these firms compared to others. These facts have forced the companies to put more effort into their CSR work. On the other hand it has become an opportunity for corporations, which are forerunners in this area. CSR can be interpreted so that communities have expectations from the firms and the work the latter do for society’s good. Corporate Philanthropy (CP) is a part of CSR and a particular form of it. The reasons behind CP are not always apparent. Brand is the bridge between consumer and the product. One motive behind CP could be creating brand value and implementing particular products for consumers who appreciate the companies’ work for society’s good. Therefore we have formulated our research question as follows: What are the main reasons behind corporate philanthropy and how is it conducted in the firms? Our aim in this thesis is to emphasize CP as a part of CSR, to study how it is exercised in practice and to explore how firms’ philanthropic actions add value to their brands. We have limited our study to company perspective in order to get as accurate results as possible. To indentify the reasons to CP we have completed a qualitative study in the two Nordic countries: Finland and Sweden. The study has been done by semi-structured interviews for four companies, two in both countries. These companies are of two different sizes, large and small. Our study design is multiple-case study. Interpretivism and subjectivism constitute the philosophical basis for this research. The applied approach is deductive with inductive elements. In the theoretical framework we discuss CSR, philanthropy and branding in their different forms. We have linked these main theories together by relating older and recent theory to each other in a natural way. Earlier theories, which directly merge these two areas, do not considerably exist. Therefore we have had to make our own decisions to find the best path to reach our goal and find the main reasons behind CP. In the final part, analysis, we have related theoretical framework to empirical findings. We have linked different theories together and found if there is a connection between Corporate Philanthropy and creating brand value. We have also reflected on whether there are differences in the actions and aims for CP between the companies in these two Nordic countries.

The lack of highly educated medical personnel is increasing in small municipalities which therefore makes it interesting to investigate how Region Västerbotten takes into account that they have three hospitals in different municipalities to recruit for. The purpose of this study was to understand how the region communicate in their recruitment communication together with how this communication is decoded by nursing students and medical students. We also aimed to investigate how the students perceive the regions brand in general and therefore Reception Analysis was used in combination with Rhetorical Analysis. We have gathered the material for the analysis by interviewing students and by choosing recruitment material from the region's website and LinkedIn page. The theoretical framework has its point of departure in the field of promotional culture and focuses on the meaning of place branding, employer branding, decoding and the concept of reception. Previous research review communication in public sector and branding in public sector along with its difficulties. The study concludes the relevance of communicating the place brand in combination with the employer brand to create awareness and attractivity for a hospital in a smaller municipality. It was also shown that the communication for the university hospital, which is placed in a bigger municipality, did not include any place branding but instead was built up on authority and credibility. Another finding is also that the employment experience must be clearly stated in the recruitment ad for the student to gain interest in the workplace, they also appreciated when the communication addressed them by using words like you. Therefore, it is essential to incorporate PR and relationship-building communication throughout recruitment. Based on the results of this study we also draw the conclusion that there is a complexity in communicating a uniform brand for three hospitals situated in municipalities of different sizes.

Thesis (M.A. (Communication Studies)) -- University of Limpopo, 2020 / The purpose of this study was to assess the Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) strategies used by the University of Limpopo’s Marketing and Communication, Student Recruitment division. The study focuses on the use of IMC strategies including direct marketing, which includes marketing through branding, face- to -face interaction with customers and other elements including advertising. The other aspect of the marketing strategy is digital communication, which includes social media and web marketing that the university uses to market themselves to their prospective students. The use of marketing strategies by higher institutions of learning was addressed in the literature review and the importance of implementing the strategies was also discussed. The study focused further on direct marketing and digital communication strategies following low student number enrolments in 2016, especially in the faculties of Science and Agriculture, as well as in Management and Law. The study examined the way in which the university presents and sells itself, promotes its services and maintains the relationship between students, both international and domestic. In this work, IMC strategies were explained and outlined for understanding, which allows for proper implementation of the strategies. The use of General Systems Theory (GST) served as a theoretical outline for this study to highlight the importance of marketing strategies that operate in a systematic way. The use of GST also advocated for the implementation of marketing strategies as a system. The theory was able to link both IMC strategies and the organisation of higher learning, wherein IMC is a system itself. There are elements of IMC that work together to create a system in an organisation. GST supports education as it was stated that educational institutions deal with marketing strategies which, need to be approached in a systematic way (Buckey, 1968). Institutions of higher learning are composed of many systems, which should not be viewed as individual, separate units, but as contributing parts to the effective functioning of the whole marketing strategy. The research design utilised grounded theory for philosophical methodological underpinning. The data was collected through semi-structured interviews taken from nine, (9) high school leaners from Zimbabwe and South Africa. International high v school participants were attending an exhibition in different places in Zimbabwe, such as Harare (Gateway High School). In South Africa, data was collected from different areas, such as Capricorn, Vhembe, Mopanae and Blouberg in Limpopo province. Branding and the use of social media was also a concern. Most participants concluded that the university needs to upgrade its marketing strategies and focus more on the digital communication as teenagers spend time on their digital devices, which can be helpful in accessing the information they need.

In this thesis project I investigate how to approach ”the retail apocalypse” as an interior architect. My aim is to show how commercial spaces and physical stores will still be important in the future, despite internet shopping and the climate crisis, as places we will visit to experience things, socialize and where businesses meet with their costumers physically.    Today we are constantly approached by brands and their brand aesthetics while walking through commercial areas. Logos, graphic material and specifik interior for just that brand. In their aim to reach brand recognition from their costumers the brand looks almost the same in all their physical stores. In this thesis project I present a strategy where I don’t see the goal for brands to be brand recognition. Instead I’m working with the idea that brands (small or big) could benefit from adapting their brand to the specifik locality they are situated in. In order to try this out I have done a case study on one commercial area affected by closing stores and too few visitors, a suburban center in the southern part of Stockholm- Hökarängen’s centre.     It is a strategy with a design program that strengthens both the brands and the identity of the place and sees our suburban center not as doomed but as a part of the future. It brings hope for a future where retail is an adaption to the locality, as a vivid part of the local community.