Denna studie handlar om Celebrity Endorsements, det vill säga samarbeten där kändisar borgar för en produkt eller ett företag i syfte att utbyta värden och förhoppningsvis öka försäljningen. Tidigare forskning inom detta område är fokuserat på vad en kändis kan tillföra företaget. Denna uppsats undersöker fenomenet från andra hållet, det vill säga vad företaget gör för kändisen. Vi vill ta reda på om svenskarna, fotbollsspelaren Zlatan Ibrahimovic samt Robin Carlsson, även känd som popartisten Robyn, genom respektive celebrity endorsement-aktion gällande kampanjen “Made By Sweden” med Volvo, övertar värden från företaget. För att applicera våra resultat på existerande teoretiska ramverk och därigenom kunna besvara våra frågeställningar har vi valt att förhålla oss till tidigare forskning om celebrity endorsement, teorier om hur budskap överförs exempelvis Meaning transfer model, samt marknadsteorier om varumärkesidentitet. Genom tre fokusgruppsintervjuer fick vi av respondenterna fram en image av de två utvalda kändisarna som låg till grund för vår analys. Genom att jämföra intervjupersonernas image med företagets profil kunde vi avgöra huruvida värden hade överförts från företaget till kändisen. Vår studie kom fram till att värden inte överförs från företag till kändis. Värdeord inkodade av företaget fanns inte representerade i den image som våra svarspersoner redovisade gällande de två olika kändisarna. Studien visar dock på att en kändis kan få helt nya värden genom en celebrity endorsement- kampanj. / This study regards Celebrity Endorsements, meaning collaborations where celebrities vouch for a product or a company in order to exchange values and hopefully increase sales. Previous research within this field is focused on what a celebrity can provide for the company. This essay examines the phenomena from the other direction, meaning what the company can provide to the celebrity. We want to find out if the swedes, football player Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Robin Carlsson, also known as the pop artist Robyn, through separate celebrity endorsement actions regarding the campaign “Made by Sweden” by Volvo, assumes values from the company. In order to apply our results on existing theoretical frameworks and thereby enabling ourselves to answer our questions, we have chosen to relate to previous research regarding celebrity endorsements, theories regarding how messages are transmitted, for instance the Meaning transfer model, as well as marketing theories regarding brand identity. Through three focus group interviews, we received an image of the two celebrities from the respondents, making the foundation for our analysis. Through comparing the image created by the respondents with the profile of the company, we could determine whether values had been transmitted from the company to the celebrity. Our study concluded that values are not transmitted from company to celebrity. Values encoded by the company were not represented in the image pictured by our respondents regarding the celebrities. The study does however show that a celebrity may gain new values through a celebrity endorsement action.

Yes / For decades, animals have been widely used in advertisements, and yet little is known about the effects on consumer reactions along the entire purchase decision process. This study disentangles the effects of using animal stimuli in isolation or jointly with a human model in print advertisements. Empirical evidence is derived from 126,220 consumer evaluations of 302 actual print advertisements across 18 product categories. Animals do not only support a positive attitude change, they also influence how products integrate into consumers´ relevant set and the purchase intention by itself. By comparison, female consumers react more pronounced than their male counterparts on animal stimuli. However, it should be avoided to combine an animal stimulus with a human model to preserve a better influence over consumer reaction.

Syftet med uppsatsen var att förklara hur svenska kvinnliga Millennials attityd och köpintention påverkas av influencers på Instagram inom modebranschen. För att besvara syftet har influencerns effektivitet analyserats genom fyra variabler; dessa är source credibility, source attractiveness, product match up och meaning transfer. Studien har grundats i teorier om celebrity endorsement och influencer marketing och olika sätt att mäta hur effektiva endorsern är. Hypoteser formades för att kunna bekräfta samband mellan de fyra variablerna och attityd och köpintention. Empirin samlades in via enkäter till kvinnliga Millennials i Norrbotten där respondenterna fick besvara frågor baserat på en bild och utifrån bilden besvara vilket ord som stämde bäst överens med deras åsikt. Uppsatsen testade nio hypoteser och fem av dessa kunde styrkas. Resultatet visade att source credibility påverkar köpintentionen, det finns ett samband mellan source attractiveness och attityd men attraktivitet är inte en tillräcklig stark källa för att övertyga konsumenter till köp. Product match up påverkar Millennials köpintention, meaning transfer har ett positivt samband till konsumenternas attityd och attityd påverkar köpintention. För vidare forskning föreslås en kvalitativ undersökning för att få djupare förståelse av Instagram-influencers påverkan paå Millennialskonsumenter. / The purpose of this report was to explain how Swedish female Millennials attitudes and their purchase intention were affected by influencers on social media. This has been done by analyzing four variables; source credibility, source attractiveness, product match up and meaning transfer. The study was based on theory about celebrity endorsement, influencer marketing and different ways of measuring how effective the endorser is. Hypotheses were formulated to be able to confirm relationships between the four variables, and attitudes and purchase intention. The data were gathered from female Millennials in Norrbotten via an online survey and the respondents got to answer questions based on a picture and answer what word which best described their opinion of the picture. The report tested nine hypotheses and five of these could be confirmed. The result showed that source credibility affects the purchase intention. There is a relationship between source attractiveness and consumer attitude, however attractiveness is not a strong enough source to convince the purchase intention of consumers. Product match up affects Millennials purchase intention, meaning transfer has a positive relationship towards consumer attitude, and attitude affects purchase intention. For future research, it is suggested to make a qualitative study in order to gain deeper understanding the effect of Instagram-influencers on Millennial consumers.

This master thesis will discuss elements of using celebrity in marketing communication. Theory will cover basic communication process, Elaboration Likelihood Model, and meaning transfer model but main focus will be in discussing various celebrity selection theories, identifying different risks involved in using celebrities in marketing communication and investigating ways how to utilize celebrities to enhance the communication. Several examples are included to provide connection to real life use of celebrities.

Syfte: Syftet är att undersöka skillnaden mellan en mänsklig influencer och en virtuell influencers effekt på en konsuments varumärkesattityd och köpintention när ett varumärke marknadsförs på sociala medier. Metod: Studien tillämpar en kvantitativ forskningsmetod med en deduktiv ansats. Populationen som avses studeras är svenska Instagram-användare mellan 15 och 60 år. Urvalet är baserat på ett icke-slumpmässigt urval. Data har samlats in genom en webb-baserat enkät. Enkäten resulterade i 182 godtagbara svar som har analyserats via statistikprogrammen Jamovi och SmartPLS. En deskriptiv analys, ensidiga och parade t-tester, korrelationsanalys samt strukturerad ekvationsmodellering har använts för att tolka studiens resultat. Resultat och slutsats: Studiens resultat visar att både en mänsklig- och en virtuell influencer har en effekt på en konsuments varumärkesattityd och köpintention. Effekten av en konsuments köpintention förmedlas i båda fall genom den varumärkesattityd respektive form av influencer genererat. Utifrån studiens teoretiska ramverk har studien även kunnat visa att olika faktorer har en relation till en mänsklig- respektive virtuell influencer, trots att de marknadsför samma varumärke. Bidrag: Studien bidrar till teoretisk kunskap om att en virtuell influencer har en effekt på en konsuments varumärkesattityd samt köpintention. Studien bidrar även med kunskap om att det finns olika faktorer som har en relation till en konsuments varumärkesattityd och köpintention i relation till en mänsklig- respektive virtuell form av influencer. Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Vidare forskning föreslås undersöka personlighetsdrag som är kopplade till en större omtyckbarhet gentemot virtuella influencers. En replikering med modifiering föreslås även samt studier om vilka organisationer/branscher som kan dra fördelar från att använda en virtuell influencer i sin marknadsföring. / Aim: The purpose is to investigate the difference between a human influencer and a virtual influencer's effect on a consumer's brand attitude and purchase intention when a brand is marketed through social media. Method: The study applies a quantitative research method with a deductive approach. The population to be studied is Swedish Instagram users between the ages of 15 and 60. The selection of respondents is based on a non-random sample. Data has been collected through a web-based survey. The survey resulted in a total number of 182 respondents. The data has been analyzed through the statistical programs Jamovi and SmartPLS. A descriptive analysis, one-sided and paired t-tests, correlation analysis and structured equation modeling have been used to interpret the study's results. Result and conclusions: The result of this study shows that both a human- and a virtual influencer have an effect on a consumer's brand attitude and purchase intention. In both cases, the effect of a consumer's purchase intention is mediated by the brand attitude the influencer has generated. Based on the study's theoretical framework, the study has also been able to show that different factors have a relationship to a human- and virtual influencer, even though they are marketing the same brand. Contribution: The study contributes to theoretical knowledge that a virtual influencer has an effect on a consumer's brand attitude and purchase intention. The study also contributes to the knowledge that there are different factors that have a relationship to a consumer's brand attitude and purchase intention in relation to a human- or virtual form of influencer. Suggestion for future research: Further research is suggested to investigate personality traits that are connected to a greater likability towards virtual influencers. A replication with modification is also proposed as well as a study on which type of organizations/industries that can benefit from using a virtual influencer in their marketing.

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.

El presente trabajo de investigación tiene como objetivo principal determinar si existe una relación entre la actitud del consumidor hacia el anuncio y la intención de compra generada por el influenciador de moda en Instagram, para las MYPES en Lima Moderna. El panorama actual propone la implementación del “Influencer Marketing” como una estrategia impulsora frente a un mercado global en el cual el consumidor está más informado y confía en opiniones de expertos que brindan sus experiencias de moda. Surge entonces la necesidad de que las micro y pequeñas empresas logren comprender la importancia del Marketing Digital dentro de su plan estratégico, con el fin de incrementar su cartera de clientes y ser más competitivos en el mercado global. En base a ello, las MYPES en Lima moderna utilizarán influenciadores en redes sociales que generan mayor credibilidad en los usuarios. Sin embargo, en Lima Moderna aún existe indiferencia hacia el Marketing Digital. Es por ello que resulta fundamental lograr que las MYPES conozcan el efecto que tiene el Marketing Digital sobre el consumidor actual. También se buscó identificar quienes son los influenciadores de moda más seguidos por los jóvenes. Asimismo, a partir del análisis de regresión múltiple utilizado en la herramienta SPSS, se demostró que todas las variables usadas en el presente estudio influyen en la intención de compra. / The main objective of this research work is to determine if there is a relationship between the attitude of the consumer towards the advertisement and the purchase intention generated by the influence of fashion on Instagram, for the MYPES in Modern Lima. The current scenario proposes the implementation of "influence marketing" as an impulsive strategy against a global market in which the consumer is more informed and confident in the opinions of the experts who provide their fashion experiences. The need arises for micro and small companies to understand the importance of Digital Marketing within their strategic plan, in order to increase their client base and be more competitive in the global market. In this sense, the MYPES in Lima will used that strategy to improve the credibility of users. However, in Modern Lima there is still indifference towards Digital Marketing. That is why it is essential to achieve that the MYPES join the effect that Digital Marketing has on the current consumer. We also seek to identify who is the fashion influence most followed by young people. Likewise, from the multiple regression analysis used in the SPSS tool, it was shown that all the variables under study influence purchase intention. / Tesis

L'acte d'achat de produits monastiques est un moment de rencontre entre deux mondes que tout semble opposer : le monde monastique, silencieux et détaché des biens matériels, et le monde sécularisé de la consommation, bruyant et matérialiste. Notre recherche très contextualisée se place dans la perspective culturelle de la consommation. La problématique est centrée sur la compréhension de l'influence des contextes sur le contenu de l'expérience vécue par l'acheteur de produits monastiques alimentaires et cosmétiques. Notre recherche empirique, fondée sur une approche qualitative de nature ethnographique, est pratiquée en immersion dans le monde de l'économie monastique française. Nous interrogeons les acheteurs sur le sens qu'ils donnent à leur expérience d'achat de produits monastiques dans des magasins physiques d'abbayes, sur une galerie marchande virtuelle d'abbayes, et dans une enseigne physique laïque. Un premier palier de résultats apporte une compréhension contextualisée de l'écosystème monastique, et du contenu de l'expérience d'achat dans trois types de points de vente. Ils mettent notamment en lumière les liens étroits entre achat, don, plaisir et partage, ainsi que la dimension patrimoniale des produits. Un second palier de résultats moins contextualisés défend la thèse que le point de vente physique est un instrument de transfert de sens des contextes extérieurs vers le cœur de l'expérience. Nous mettons ainsi en lumière les limites du e-commerce pour les produits ancrés dans l'histoire et le territoire, et proposons aux décideurs des pistes d'adaptation pour les sites marchands. / The act of purchasing a monastic product is a situation when two apparently contradictory worlds come together: the monastic world, silent and detached from material goods, and the secular world of consumption, noisy and materialistic. Our research is highly contextualised and looks at consumption from a cultural perspective. The aim of this research is to understand in which way contexts influence the content of the experience when buying monastic food products and cosmetics. Our empirical research is qualitative, ethnographic in nature, and is carried out inside the world of the French monastic economy. We ask purchasers about the meaning they give to their experience of buying monastic products from abbey shops, from an abbeys' virtual marketplace, and from a secular branded outlet. The first-level results bring a contextualised understanding of the monastic ecosystem, and of the dimensions of the buying experience at the three types of shops. They particularly highlight the close links between purchasing, giving, enjoyment and sharing, and also the patrimonial aspect of these products. The second-level results are less contextualised and support the theory according to which the physical point of sale is the instrument through which the meaning of the external contexts is transferred into the heart of the experience. We are thus able to highlight the limitations of e-commerce for products that are deeply anchored in history and territory, and we advise decision-makers on how best to adapt their strategies for online channels.

The growth within internationalization has changed the world at a rapid pace, with businesses expanding into foreign markets on a daily basis. Similarly, to the growth within internationalization, social media has changed how marketing activities are conducted throughout the world. Influencer marketing has been one of those drivers of growth, changing the way that brands market themselves on a global basis. Therefore, there is a need to understand the relationship between internationalization and influencer marketing but determining the role that internationalization plays in the way that influencer marketing is used within businesses that plan on expanding to new markets. In relation to how traditional marketing tools are adapted through the use of influencer marketing during the internationalization process. For the data collection two interviews were conducted along with one questionnaire with 109 respondents. The study has followed the same structure as can be seen in the frame of reference, according to two main subjects: Internationalization and E-marketing. The findings gathered through the questionnaires showed that credibility was highly valued in relation to that the use of local influencers was preferred to increase trust and credibility between the brand, influencer and their target audience. Along with credibility being more valued by the respondents than an influencer's network size. The findings from the interviews show that the use of influencer marketing is greatly dependent on the needs and preference of the individual market. While one brand preferred a more united front, yet still adapting to the Chinese market in terms of using local influencers and social media platforms. The other brand favored using local influencers in their different markets in order to best reach their consumers. Influencer marketing was used by the two brands to build brand awareness in new markets, through different influencer networks, yet the size of the network was not important for one of the brands, instead it was the connections within the network that were important.

The unprecedented turbulence and uncertainty experienced in global economic and financial markets because of the 'credit crunch' has had a damaging impact on consumer confidence. Trust and credibility have been eroded as many customers feel let down by the banks suggesting the need for banks to rebuild constructive dialogue and long-term, meaningful relationships with their customers again. Though financial service, in this case, is considered a utilitarian service, based on the fact that money is needed to support people‘s daily activities, the present state of financial service has suggested the need for banks to appeal to consumers‘ emotions with the aim of improving their reputation. Also, the competition within the industry also could suggest the need to adopt an emotionally appealing advertisement strategy as emotions are known to play an influential role in building robust brand preference. This study builds on the communication theory, meaning transfer theory and consumer involvement theory, to understand the messages the banks are sending out and to elicit consumers‘ emotional reaction. One thousand, two hundred and seventy-four UK bank advertisements in nine national newspapers were content-analysed to identify the emotional appeals presented by the banks. The perception of these appeals and their associated meanings were sought through semi-structured interviews with 33 participants in London and Luton. The results of the analysis indicated that UK Banks are utilising emotional appeal in their advertisements to reach out to the consumers to convince them to upgrade their account, to open an additional account or switch their account. The most predominantly used appeals were relief and relaxation followed by excitement and happiness or satisfaction with the bank, and finally, security and adventure. However, variations were found in different financial products that employed emotional appeals. It was found that high-involvement products such as mortgages and loans used fewer emotional appeals. Both bank groups - high street banks, including the big four (Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds and RBS) and non-high street banks, such as the new entrants, supermarket brands, and online banks were using emotional appeals. However, it is acknowledged that the communication strategies between these banks could be different as the non-high street banks are more likely to repeat and publish the same messages across many newspapers, instead of publishing different emotionally appealing advertisements. Though consumers acknowledged these emotional appeals in the advertisements, they were more concerned about their relationship with the banks as they don‘t rely on advertisements to make a financial decision. Rather, recommendations from families, friends and associates and also branch location are more important when deciding on which bank to choose. The lack of congruency between financial services and emotional appeals in advertisements is also observed as customers are more likely to be persuaded by rational appeals however this study has not completely ruled out emotional appeals in bank advertisements as the use of both types of appeals is recommended. The study provides important theoretical and managerial contributions to understanding how the consumers understand meaning-embedded advertisements produced by the banks. Managers will be able to consider the implications of advertisements in enhancing their brand equity and building relationships with customers in anticipation that, by word of the mouth and established relationship, their bank‘s reputation will be enhanced. Limitations of the study and opportunities for future research are identified.