Background: Alongside the emergence of green marketing initiatives, consumers began questioning the authenticity and transparency of firms utilising such marketing practices, which consequently led to a low level of perceived credibility. Although green marketing has been a topic of research for many years, a gap in academia remains regarding the impact of legislative instruments on consumers' perceptions. As of 2023, the European Union introduced the EU Green Claims Directive, a legal framework that aims to ensure that all environmental claims are accurate and prevent the exploitation of misleading marketing practices. Purpose: The purpose of this bachelor thesis is to investigate the impact of the new EU Green Claims Directive on the credibility of green marketing from a consumer perspective. Specifically, this study aims to examine how the regulatory standards introduced by the EU on March 22, 2023, challenge previous notions of misleading green claims and their influence on consumer perceptions of environmental credibility. Method: The research follows an abductive approach, using qualitative methods to gather and investigate the empirical data. To address the purpose of this research, two focus groups were used, one identified as the control group and the other as the treatment group, allowing for an experimental design to test the impact on consumer perceptions. An expert interview was used to complement the information gathered about the EU Green Claims Directive, as the frame of reference only yields one source (the actual legislative instrument). A thematic analysis was used for identifying and retrieving any relevant data found in the empirical investigation. Conclusion: The results indicate that consumers remain sceptical towards green marketing even after the implementation of the new EU Directive, and the level of perceived credibility is still low. In conclusion, regulatory implementation seems important to consumers, however, the new EU Directive will not be enough to change previous notions of green claims from a consumer perspective.

The subject of this diploma thesis is the design development of marketing communication to enhance brand competitiveness in company focused on fast moving consumer goods. Concretely the Knorr, food brand of Unilever company. The first part provides a theoreti-cal basis for the processing of the issue. In the practical part I have assessed the current marketing communication by using inter alia SWOT, PEST and Porter's analysis. Based on analysis of the current situation, I propose to improve marketing communications, including analysis of time, costs and risk.

Тема диссертации «Разработка маркетингового инструментария управления брендом». В главе 1 были изучены теоретические основы управления брендом, а именно: трактовки, сущность и характеристики бренда, коммуникационная деятельность в маркетинге. Разработан инструментарий управления брендом, учитывающий особенности жизненного цикла бренда и специфических цели и задачи, решаемые на каждом конкретном этапе жизненного цикла. Глава 2 содержит в себе анализ маркетинговой деятельности предприятия ООО «Гесс? СиАйЭс». В главе 2 были применены практические инструменты и методики анализа, такие как SWOT-анализ, анализ целей по технологии целеполагания SMART, анализ миссии компании по факторам, предложенным Ф. Котлером, многоугольник конкурентоспособности, лист оценки конкурентоспособности, отбор конкурентов с использованием методики И. В. Котляревской, сегментированием методом вложенной иерархии с выбором целевых сегментов и обоснованием отказа от нецелевых по критериям, предложенным И. В. Котляревской. Определена организационная структура, маркетинговая концепция, в которой находится предприятие ООО «Гесс? СиАйЭс». Диагностирована эффективность управления брендом методами относительной добавочной стоимости и оценкой атрибутов и силы бренда по Л. Де Чернатони. Глава 3 содержит в себе разработку проекта повышения эффективности управления брендом GUESS. Описана проблематика и замысел проекта, определены негативные эффекты существующего положения компания, на этом основании применен метод структурной декомпозиции и построено дерево проблем и дерево целей. Определены факторы внешнего и внутреннего окружения, которые способствуют и мешают выполнению проекта, составлено календарное планирование проекта по фазам проекта, построена диаграмма Ганта. Проведено управление рисками проекта, описаны рисковые события, источники возникновения рисков, вероятность наступления рискового события, а также мероприятия, способствующие снижению риска, проведена оценка эффективности проекта. / The topic of the dissertation is “Development of marketing tools for brand management”. In chapter 1, the theoretical foundations of brand management were studied, namely: the interpretation, essence and characteristics of the brand, communication activities in marketing. Brand management tools have been developed that take into account the peculiarities of the brand’s life cycle and specific goals and objectives that are solved at each specific stage of the life cycle. Chapter 2 contains an analysis of the marketing activities of the company “GUESS? CIS. ” In Chapter 2, practical analysis tools and techniques were applied, such as SWOT analysis, goal analysis using SMART goal-setting technology, analysis of the company's mission by factors proposed by F. Kotler, competitiveness polygon, competitiveness assessment sheet, selection of competitors using the method of I. V Kotlyarevskaya, by segmentation using the nested hierarchy method with the choice of target segments and the justification for rejecting non-target ones according to the criteria proposed by IV Kotlyarevskaya. The organizational structure, marketing concept, in which the company “GUESS? CIS. ” Diagnosed the effectiveness of brand management by the methods of relative added value and the assessment of the attributes and strength of the brand according to L. De Chernatoni. Chapter 3 contains the development of a GUESS brand management project. The problems and design of the project are described, the negative effects of the existing position of the company are determined, the structural decomposition method is applied on this basis, and the problem tree and the goal tree are built. The factors of external and internal environment that contribute to and impede the implementation of the project are determined, calendar planning of the project for the phases of the project is compiled, a Gantt chart is built. The project risk management has been carried out, risk events have been described, sources of risks, the probability of the occurrence of a risk event, as well as measures to reduce risk, an assessment of the effectiveness of the project has been carried out.

The development of non-traditional communication channels in recent years has progressively created a world more digital, networked and interlaced by a myriad of communication tools than ever before. With Facebook being the most prevalent social network, this study aims to guide local organisations to use Facebook optimally to communicate with their customers. The study strives to incorporate the latest ideas about social media marketing in the relevant literature with the opinions of local social media marketing experts. The generally ineffective use of Facebook as a communication channel by small, inexperienced organisations is seen as a justification for identifying a set of criteria to guide organisations in using Facebook pages as a driver of communication. The empirical phase of the research produced a list of seven guidelines on the optimal use of Facebook pages for marketing purposes, which might assist South African companies in developing their marketing strategies. / Business Management / M. Com. (Business Management)

Forskning inom marknadskommunikation har traditionellt varit beläget inom den företagsekonomiska disciplinen med fokus på hur företag kommunicerar med sina kunder. Men marknadskommunikation som område innefattar även andra kommunikativa processer vilka berörs inom den medie- och kommunikationsvetenskapliga forskningen, men som inte definieras som marknadskommunikation. Genom att utmana marknadsföringsstrategin country-of-origin ur ett medie- och kommunikationsvetenskapligt perspektiv teorigranskar studien marknadskommunikation som tvärvetenskapligt forskningsfält mellan disciplinerna. Studien är en jämförande case study som synliggör ett samband mellan vilka värden Volvo Cars och Svenska Institutet kommunicerar om Sverige. Volvo Cars värden är definierade utifrån en tematisk funktionell kvalitativ textanalys av reklamfilmen Vintersaga och Svenska Institutets värden är förankrade i deras varumärkesstrategi. Resultatet av jämförelsen, tillsammans med det medie- och kommunikationsvetenskapliga perspektivet, bidrar till en begreppsutveckling av marknadsföringsstrategin country-of-origin. Begreppsutvecklingen kontextualiseras i relation med studiens syfte; hur disciplinerna företagsekonomi och medie- och kommunikationsvetenskap kan förhålla sig till varandra genom marknadskommunikation som ett tvärvetenskapligt forskningsfält. Studien betonar vikten av kommunikativa perspektiv för marknadsföringsforskningen och vikten att ge medie- och kommunikationsvetenskapen ett tydligt område för forskning relaterad till marknader. Studien stipulerar att marknadskommunikation ska erkännas som ett tvärvetenskapligt forskningsfält mellan disciplinerna medie- och kommunikationsvetenskap och företagsekonomi. / Research in marketing communications has mainly been situated within the business administration discipline, focusing on how the company communicates towards its customers. But the marketing communications area includes other communicative processes. Processes which are reviewed in research within media and communication science but not labeled as marketing communications. By challenging the marketing strategy country-of-origin from a media and communication study-perspective this study examines how marketing communications can function as interdisciplinary field between the business administration discipline and media and communication studies. The study is a comparative case study that reveals a connection between the values Volvo Cars and Svenska Institutet communicates about Sweden. Volvo Cars values ​​are defined through a thematic functional qualitative textual analysis of the commercial Vintersaga and Svenska Institutet’s values ​​are rooted in their brand strategy. The result of the comparison, together with the media and communication perspective, contributes to the conceptual development of the marketing strategy country-of-origin. The concept development is then contextualized in relation to the purpose of the study; how business administration and media and communication studies can relate to each other through marketing communications as an interdisciplinary field of research. The study emphasizes the importance of communicative aspects for marketing as well as give media and communication a clear area for research connected to marketing. The study stipulates that marketing communications should be recognized as an interdisciplinary field of research between the disciplines of media and communication studies and business administration.

Dans un contexte de mondialisation, la concurrence accrue entre les territoires, dont l’objectif premier est de capter des habitants, des touristes et des entreprises, exacerbe les enjeux liés à leur attractivité. Afin de se différencier les collectivités territoriales et leurs agences de développement adoptent des approches de marketing territorial et commencent à mettre en place des techniques de marquage (dites place branding). Le place branding reprend plusieurs outils issus du domaine de la marque commerciale. Toutefois, le territoire est un « produit particulier » qui regroupe diverses parties prenantes dont les visions et les attentes peuvent diverger. Le succès d’une marque territoire reposera alors en partie sur la gestion de ces parties prenantes. Dès lors, ce travail doctoral entreprend d’adapter au contexte du place branding des concepts de marketing, en considérant les perceptions de trois groupes de parties prenantes, en vue d’améliorer l’efficacité de la marque territoire. Cette problématique de recherche est abordée selon trois questions de recherche: (1) Quelle est la légitimité publicitaire d’une marque territoire, telle que perçue par ses habitants ? Influence-t-elle l’efficacité des actions de place branding ? (2) Dans quelle mesure les gestionnaires de marques territoires ont recours à des stratégies de marketing communautaire afin d’implémenter une communication marketing intégrée (CMI) ? (3) Dans quelle mesure l’image de la marque région constitue-t-elle un vecteur pertinent de la promotion d’une destination, complémentaire à celle de la marque pays, auprès des touristes internationaux ? D’un point de vue théorique, cette recherche doctorale souligne l’importance d’adopter une approche parties prenantes à la compréhension de la marque territoire. Ce faisant, ce travail contribue à développer des preuves empiriques dans le domaine, notamment à l’échelle de la région qui est sous-représentée dans la littérature. Cette thèse met en évidence les similitudes entre la marque territoire et la marque commerciale, et renforce ainsi la validité externe de trois concepts issus du marketing classique. Différentes approches méthodologiques ont été développées et mobilisées. Ces éléments renforcent par ailleurs la validité interne de la présente recherche et contribuent à exclure l’existence d’un biais déclaratif. Les contributions managériales de cette thèse sont liées à ses implications méthodologiques dans la mesure où diverses grilles d’analyse sont proposées aux gestionnaires de marques territoires. Ces outils prennent en compte les spécificités et les enjeux associés aux principales parties prenantes de la marque, et visent à les impliquer dans les initiatives de place branding. Enfin, la mise en place d’une approche de communication marketing intégrée est conseillée. Premièrement, il est proposé que cette approche soit appliquée entre les différents acteurs du territoire. Les résultats montrent ainsi que l’intégration des habitants dans la démarche de place branding est un véritable enjeu qui nécessite une approche distincte de celle préconisée traditionnellement en marketing. Deuxièmement, l’approche de communication marketing intégrée devrait s’appliquer entre les différents niveaux de territoires de façon à tirer parti de l’image du territoire d’ordre supérieur. / In the globalized world, Nowhere, Place, is directly competing against Powerful, World, to attract residents, tourists and talent, as well as firms and investments, whether the place is a meta-region, a country, a region, a city or other locations. Whilst places and destinations around the world have been proclaiming their qualities for a long time, mainly to create awareness or maintain preference, those marketing communications campaigns are short-term and don’t contribute to unifying the place. To compete in such cutthroat environments, public authorities and place agencies have started to recognize the value of adopting branding techniques by way of practising place branding. Place branding adapts several tools developed in the field of commercial branding to contribute to place development and establish image-building strategies that render places more attractive to identified markets. As such, this doctoral work endeavours to adapt mainstream marketing concepts to the context of place branding, taking into account the views of three groups of stakeholders to enhance place brand efficiency. I address these research questions in a French region-branding context, according to three sub-questions that summarise the chapters of this thesis. First, what is the advertising legitimacy of a place brand as perceived by the residents? Does it influence place-branding efficiency? Second, to what extent do place brand managers use community marketing strategies to operationalize the integrated marketing communications (IMC) role of the place brand? Third, to what extent does the region brand image constitute a relevant vehicle for promoting a destination integral to the nation brand image, as perceived by international tourists? Results show that the representational and functional dimensions of a destination brand impact differently implicit attractiveness and intentions to visit. International tourists also perceive the region and the nation brand images as congruent overall, which contributes positively to their intentions to visit the region. From a theoretical point of view, this research highlights the importance of adopting a multi-stakeholder approach to understanding place branding. Doing so contributes to the development of empirical evidence in the domain, by studying the understudied region branding form. This dissertation also highlights similarities with commercial branding and reinforces the external validity of three classic marketing concepts. The methodological implications of this work come from the different methodological approaches (i.e. measurement tools and methods), developed to meet the specificities and stakes associated with the main stakeholders of a place brand. In addition, this approach reinforces the internal validity of the present research and contributes to ruling out the existence of a declarative bias. The managerial contributions of this thesis are connected with the methodological implications, inasmuch as it provides place brand managers with diverse analysis grids that will enable them to take into account the specificities and stakes associated with the main stakeholders of the place brand, and also involve stakeholders in the place-branding process. Finally, I demonstrate the need for an IMC approach that is per se—for example, through the use of an overall brand positioning that covers shared elements between stakeholders so that they all relate to the place brand, or through the adoption of a bottom-up rather than top-down approach to place branding. This approach also should be able to extend to other place scales, by leveraging the image of a higher-order place.

For six decades, consumer researchers have relied heavily on Goffman's (1963) seminal work on stigma, often limiting themselves to a one-dimensional treatment of it as a static variable that determines the behaviour of homogenous groups. Such views, however, stand at odds with wider paradigm shifts away from modernity, and with feminist considerations about intersectionality. Most importantly, the dearth of studies examining the interplay between structural macro-dynamics and micro-level experiences has meant that rapid changes in societal attitudes have received insufficient attention. Considering the rise of minority portrayals in the past few years and importance of the media in dispersing and ameliorating stigma, there is a need to understand how media experiences differ across generations, sociocultural categories, and individual life-courses. Focusing on lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, and other (LGBTQ+) individuals, and building on Bauman's (2000) concept of liquid modernity as well as Bourdieu's (1994) theory of practice, this thesis explores how stigma experiences of two generations of LGBTQ+ consumers have changed, how this relates to their experiences of LGBTQ+ media portrayals, as well as what this tells us about how (marginalised) consumers navigate their lives and particularly the fragmentation of identity politics through (media) consumption. I followed an intersectional phenomenological enquiry, employing a meaning-based model of media experience that contributes to the literature by extending Mick and Buhl's (1992) work to account for considerations of intersectionality and intertextuality. Life story- and subsequent media experience interviews were analysed individually and across cases. The sample consisted of eight LGBTQ+ members of the Boomer- and ten of the Millennial generation. This study develops a theoretical framework of stigma as viscous instead of static: in constant flux due to the dynamic interplay between the doxic attitudes in social fields, as well as individual embodied dispositions, the stigma habitus. This provides a richer understanding of how it is enacted in consumer culture, enabling a critical analysis of the dialectic relationship between individuals and their environment. Through this framework, my study challenges generational accounts of difference, which are found to be too simplistic to account for diverging (media) experiences. Instead, it is the dialectic between context and (stigma) habitus that shapes dynamic experiences. For participants facing high levels of stigma viscosity, for example, LGBTQ+ portrayals seemed particularly important and experiences revolved around social acceptance. Moreover, lived experiences, as well as doxic beliefs about media, advertising, and a text's 'author' formed an intertextual frame of reference used to evaluate portrayals' authenticity and harmfulness. Importantly, participants' preference for or rejection of 'radical' vs heteronormative portrayals was shaped by tastes that have become naturalised in their habitus, with disparate doxic beliefs generating reflexive guilt and ambivalence. My findings suggest that stigma amelioration may ultimately lead to symbolic violence within the LGBTQ+ community against those who do not adhere to accepted consumption standards. This study also has implications for consumers more broadly as changes in viscosity affect consumption practices. Adhering to a critical approach, I describe a range of recommendations for practitioners and reflexive practices I engaged in following this study.

Submitted by Silvana Teresinha Dornelles Studzinski (sstudzinski) on 2016-06-29T13:09:14Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Maqueli Scolaro_.pdf: 533251 bytes, checksum: 427177f2786c2d046bf251ebae8058df (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-29T13:09:14Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Maqueli Scolaro_.pdf: 533251 bytes, checksum: 427177f2786c2d046bf251ebae8058df (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-03-31 / CAPES - Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Com o surgimento da Web 2.0 viu-se a introdução de canais alternativos para a comunicação de marketing entre as empresas e seus consumidores, abrangendo plataformas online que são constantemente modificadas pelos seus usuários, como as mídias sociais. Estas plataformas online estão presentes no dia-a-dia dos indivíduos e das organizações e tornaram-se para diversas empresas o principal meio de divulgação da marca e de comunicação com os seus clientes. Identificando esta realidade para o setor hoteleiro da Serra Gaúcha, este trabalho tem por objetivo mensurar o Grau de Uso Corporativo e de Repercussão nas Mídias Sociais (GUCRMS) dos estabelecimentos selecionados através do levantamento das atividades realizadas nas mídias sociais e as reações geradas nos seus seguidores. Para a aplicação da pesquisa, realizou-se o levantamento de dados de 85 hotéis situados na Serra Gaúcha e oriundos de cinco mídias sociais, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+ e YouTube. Os resultados mostram que os hotéis da Serra Gaúcha não tendem a atuar em um grupo de mídias sociais, mas sim, em até duas plataformas online, com destaque para as mídias sociais Facebook e Twitter que possuem o maior fator de impacto para o setor analisado. Em complemento, verificou-se que os seguidores do Facebook são mais propensos a curtir e compartilhar as publicações geradas pelos estabelecimentos se comparado as demais mídias sociais. Por fim, percebeu-se que os estabelecimentos analisados apresentam em sua maioria baixo GUCRMS (51% da amostra), seguido de estabelecimentos que apresentam forte e médio GUCRMS, representando 28% e 21% da amostra respectivamente. Com os resultados pode-se concluir que a mensuração do GUCRMS contribui no direcionamento das atividades dos estabelecimentos, auxiliando na identificação das plataformas online com maior fator de impacto e de estabelecimentos que servem como referência de atuação e repercussão nas plataformas online de maior audiência. / The emergence of Web 2.0 introduced an alternative channel for marketing communication between companies and their consumers, including platforms that are constantly modified by its users, such as social media. These online platforms are present in the day-to-day life of individuals and organizations and became for many companies the primary means of brand communication and communication with their clients. Identifying this reality for the hospitality industry of Serra Gaúcha, this study aims to measure the degree of Corporate Use and Impact on Social Media (GUCRMS) of selected establishments through a survey of activities in social media and the reactions generated in their followers. For the application of the research, there was a survey of 85 hotels data located in Serra Gaúcha and from five social media, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+ and YouTube. The results show that the hotels in Serra Gaúcha do not tend to work in a group of social media, but, within two online platforms, highlighting the socials media Facebook and Twitter that have the highest impact factor for the analyzed sector. In addition, it was found that Facebook followers are more likely to enjoy and share the publications generated by establishments compared to other social media. Finally, it was noted that the analyzed establishments have mostly low GUCRMS (51% of the sample), followed by establishments that have strong and medium GUCRMS with 28% and 21% of the sample respectively. With the results we can conclude that the measurement of GUCRMS helps in directing the activities of the establishments, assisting in the identification of online platforms with high impact factors and hotels that serve as reference performance and effect on online platforms wider audience.

In the early 1990’s more and more companies of the Swedish public sector were exposed to competition, and this started the debate on how such actions might affect the business and even society. The first chapter examines how the public sector and especially health care, is financed and managed. We also explore what it means to be exposed to competition and find that there are many different ways of exposing the public sector to competition. The study examines dental care as an example of a market with both publicly and privately owned companies. The purpose of this paper is to explore how publicly and privately owned health care companies view their relationship with their consumers. The question that this paper seeks to answer is: "Are there any differences between publicly and privately owned dental care companies in how they communicate with their consumers?" Communication in this study refers to planned communication such as advertisement and websites, as well as the message the consumer receives when interacting with the product or service that is delivered. Two dental care companies in the city of Stockholm are examined in this comparative case study, one is owned by the public sector and one is a privately owned company. This paper concludes that publicly and privately owned dental care companies communicate with their consumers in slightly different ways. Privately owned dental care companies include their employees and use word of mouth in their communication to a higher extent than dental care companies owned by public sector. We suggest that this could mean that privately owned companies view their consumers as customers who need to be convinced, whereas publicly owned companies are more informative in their communication suggesting they view their consumers more like patients who need to be educated. Because unplanned communication was not examined in this study, this is suggested as a future field of research, to gain a deeper understanding of the relationship between consumer and company.

Musicians are cultural entrepreneurs, operating as human brands in the South African music industry. The ability to manage their brand effectively may give them an added advantage to compete successfully in this industry. This study sought to explore the integrated marketing communications (IMC) practices of South African musicians in brand promotion. Using a qualitative design, interviews were conducted with practising South African musicians to collect data. The results revealed that South African musicians use multiple marketing communications tools to promote their brands in multimedia campaigns. However, not all the elements required for integrated marketing communications were in evidence. Results from this study may be used by entrepreneurial South African musicians to create a strategy for integrated marketing communications in promoting their brand in the South African music industry and may also contribute towards the practical application of IMC within the broader field of marketing management. / Business Management / M. Com. (Business Management)