<p>Date: June 5, 2008</p><p>Course: Master Thesis (International Marketing)</p><p>Course Code: EF0705</p><p>Authors: Bingchao Zhu 840501-P613 bzu07001@student.mdh.se</p><p>Songxue Jiang 840506-P386 sjg07001@student.mdh.se</p><p>Tutor: Tobias Eltebrandt</p><p>Title: A study of brand image of ANTA Company in China’s sportswear market</p><p>Problem statement: What are the mismatches between ANTA Company’s wanted brand image and the perceived brand image by the target consumer group?</p><p>Purpose: The aim of this study is to find out the mismatches between ANTA Company’s wanted brand image and consumer’s perception about ANTA’s brand image in China’s sportswear market in order to suggest how ANTN Company should deal with those mismatches.</p><p>Methodology: The method of this case study is mainly based on the primary and secondary information. The primary information mainly comes from the interview with the manager and questionnaires from the respondents. The books, articles and internet are used as the secondary information.</p><p>Conceptual Framework: The theoretical framework includes three aspects which consist of marketing mix, brand image and attitude.</p><p>Conclusion: The conclusion arises from the analysis and research based on the methods, theoretical framework, finding. And there are 5 mismatches which ANTA Company need to deal with. In order to deal with the mismatches, it is very necessary for ANTA to adjust the current marketing strategy and analyze systematically the mismatches for improving the brand image.</p>

Date: June 5, 2008 Course: Master Thesis (International Marketing) Course Code: EF0705 Authors: Bingchao Zhu 840501-P613 bzu07001@student.mdh.se Songxue Jiang 840506-P386 sjg07001@student.mdh.se Tutor: Tobias Eltebrandt Title: A study of brand image of ANTA Company in China’s sportswear market Problem statement: What are the mismatches between ANTA Company’s wanted brand image and the perceived brand image by the target consumer group? Purpose: The aim of this study is to find out the mismatches between ANTA Company’s wanted brand image and consumer’s perception about ANTA’s brand image in China’s sportswear market in order to suggest how ANTN Company should deal with those mismatches. Methodology: The method of this case study is mainly based on the primary and secondary information. The primary information mainly comes from the interview with the manager and questionnaires from the respondents. The books, articles and internet are used as the secondary information. Conceptual Framework: The theoretical framework includes three aspects which consist of marketing mix, brand image and attitude. Conclusion: The conclusion arises from the analysis and research based on the methods, theoretical framework, finding. And there are 5 mismatches which ANTA Company need to deal with. In order to deal with the mismatches, it is very necessary for ANTA to adjust the current marketing strategy and analyze systematically the mismatches for improving the brand image.

The purpose of this Bachelor’s Thesis Project in Business Administration is to investigate how companies communicate their company brand identity online. The writing of this paper has been motivated by a lack of researches regarding the companies’ dimension in term of identity communication and the brand identity promotion process online. This paper is based on a quantitative research on companies from French and Swedish. The research question is formulated as follows: How companies communicate their brand identity online through virtual media? In order to investigate the companies, a questionnaire was implemented and shared by an emailing process. This questionnaire, following a quantitative approach, has been constructed by combining several theories about the branding process, the brand identity concept, its keys concepts and also the online business landscape since the development of the Internet. According to our analysis, companies mainly share their brand identity online through two main vehicles, Website and Facebook. These media are the ones mainly used to share the three identity dimensions and to support the tools to communicate this company brand identity communication. By this analysis, deeper knowledge was created in order to provide useful data for future analysis.

The video game industry is a rapidly growing industry due to technology advancements andhas made video games to a mass phenomenon. The diffusion of today’s technologies has created and expanded the video game market, both demographical and geographical, which has attracted more customers and increased the intensity of the competition. Companies in the industry have to professionalize their marketing processes and business strategies in a moreflexible and quickly fashion than before to be able to stay competitive. An overcrowded market with thousands of products released every year creates problems for actors to get recognized. The purpose of this dissertation has been therefore to study small start-ups brand identity in its inception phase within the video game industry to assist their brand strategic approach and be able to strengthen their competitive advantage in a saturated market. The dissertation has adopted the corporate brand identity matrix framework by Urde (2013) and investigated the brand-driven elements in a start-up context; thus, the framework has only been applied incorporation-setting where the companies are large and known. Five indie game developers from northern Sweden participated in the study’s field research. The dissertation shows that the corporate brand identity matrix is adaptable for start-ups and are not dependent on the company size. Findings confirm early signs of brand identity and found correspondence between competence and value proposition, expression and personality and culture and relationship, which address interconnection between its brand-elements and its brand core. The unique findings where they all show signs of social engagements, passion and a fan-centric ambition of doing business and most of all everyone had a “community first” approach and were more inspired to deliver value to its customers rather than how they can achieve value for themselves. A concept model for start-ups in the inception phase of the video game industry has been made based on the empirical results of the study that can be adopted early in a company's start-up process and provide guidance and support for its future brand identity development to address the issues of discoverability.

No / Purpose: The aim of this research is to investigate how local company web sites can contribute towards the value and characteristics of city brands online, particularly where post-industrial cities are concerned, and to establish a predictive model for this. Design/methodology/approach: Interviews were conducted to gain an understanding of how post-industrial city brands can be influenced by local companies, leading to the notion of a 'constructed' city brand. An overarching brand model was developed based on the works of Christodoulides et al. and Merrilees and Fry and a survey of company web sites conducted. Structural equation modelling was then fitted to these data. Findings: Trustworthiness, responsiveness, online experience and emotional connection were confirmed as dimensions of company online brand value. It was further shown that company brand and constructed city brand are influenced by customer perceptions of brand value. Company brand was not, however, related to constructed city brand for the case study of Bradford, UK, which has a pervading negative reputation. Originality/value: A model incorporating company brand and city brand has been developed and validated for a typical post-industrial city that is in decline. The influence that local companies can exert on these brands via their web sites and behaviours was established. It is further demonstrated that company brands become disassociated from a city if it has a negative brand image.