Content Creation As A Catalyst For Global Brand Building

PurposeThe education services sector faces ever-changing global market dynamics with creative disruptions. Building knowledge brands can push the higher education sector beyond its geographical boundaries into the global arena. This study aims to identify key constructs, their theoretical background and dimensions that aid in building a global knowledge brand. The authors' research focuses on adapting and validating scales for global knowledge and education services brands from well-established academic literature.Design/methodology/approachThe authors have adopted a mixed methodology approach and a systematic literature review. Authors interviewed 18 subject matter experts as part of content and face validity to arrive at select constructs, dimensions and items. Quantitative methods with random sampling were adopted as the primary methodology. Initially, the survey was administered to 390 students to test preliminary results. The survey was also administered to 5,112 students at a later part of this study. Valid responses stood at 3,244 with a 63% response rate. Further, the authors conducted confirmatory factor analysis, exploratory factor analysis and structural equation modeling to test the reliability and validity of scales. This study analyzed composite reliability, convergent validity and discriminant validity to finalize items for scales. The authors also validated the hypotheses based on the discriminant validity assessment scores.FindingsAuthors' key research findings are that academic stimulus, campus infrastructure and student intent play a significant role in campus culture and events design and experience at campus. Authors were able to bring out 16 key constructs and 55 critical dimensions vital to global education services brand building. This study also adapted and validated 99 items that meet construct validity and composite reliability criteria. This study also highlights that constructs such as student intent, academic stimulus, campus infrastructure scalability, selection mechanism, pedagogical content knowledge, brand identity, events experience and campus culture play a vital role in global brand recognition.Research limitations/implicationsThe authors' work is fairly generalizable to education services and the higher education sector. However, this study must be extrapolated and empirically validated in other industry sectors. The research implications of this study are that it aided the authors in building theoretical background for student brand loyalty theory, student expectation theory and study loyalty theory. This study adds to the body of knowledge by contributing to theoretical concepts on students, knowledge culture, events, infrastructure and branding. Researchers can adopt the scales proposed in this study to build research models in higher education branding. This study acts as a catalyst for building theories in education services areas. Researchers can delve deep into proposed research aspects of campus infrastructure, knowledge infrastructure, campus knowledge culture, events design and events experience.Practical implicationsThis study aids educators and brand managers to develop global education services and optimize their effort and budget. Administrators in the education services sector must focus on practical aspects of student perception, campus infrastructure, culture and events experience. Practically administrators can reorient their efforts based on this study to achieve global brand recognition.Social implicationsThis study highlights that students are not customers but are co-creators of value in the education sector. This study provides scales and dimensions needed to build co-creation frameworks and models.Originality/valueMost research in higher education branding has not covered wider aspects of global brand building. Existing theories proposed in higher education and education services articles cover only narrower aspects of campus infrastructure, culture, events design and branding. This study presents a comprehensive list of critical factors that play a vital role in global knowledge brand building. This study highlights the constructs and scales integral to building a global education services brand.

The new strategic brand management: creating and sustaining brand equity long term

The study focuses on the critical role of global branding for international companies operating in today’s globalized and digital economy. With increasing globalization, companies can expand into international markets faster than ever, facing significant competition from both local and global players. The key to success lies in implementing a well-structured global branding strategy that ensures brand recognition while allowing for adaptation to diverse cultural and consumer needs. A primary focus of the study is on glocalization, which allows companies to retain their global identity while adapting marketing strategies, products, and communications to local preferences. This balance between global uniformity and local relevance helps minimize risks and increases brand acceptance in diverse markets. The study highlights that the evolving nature of global consumer trends necessitates constant adaptation of branding strategies. Digitalization has profoundly transformed the way brands interact with consumers. The research explores how digital marketing, social media, and e-commerce platforms have made real-time engagement, content personalization, and reputation management vital components of global branding. Companies that leverage technological innovations such as artificial intelligence, augmented reality, and data analytics are better equipped to meet the demands of the digital age, driving brand loyalty and market presence globally. Brands with high capitalization provide added value and serve as protective assets during economic fluctuations and crises. Key research findings emphasize that global branding requires a combination of core elements, including: global brand identity; localized adaptation (glocalization; unified communication strategy; sustainability and corporate social responsibility; reputation management. Global branding is not limited to creating a unified brand identity but also involves building long-term customer trust and loyalty through adaptive and sustainable strategies. Companies that understand how to balance these elements are better positioned to succeed in the dynamic international business environment.

PurposeWhile an increasing number of global brands are of emerging country origin, research about emerging global brands remains scare. The purpose of this paper is to provide the first theoretical effort to understand how consumers in the developed regions evaluate global brands from emerging countries. Building on globalization and social identity theory, the paper aims to shed light on the effect of global identity on consumer attitude toward emerging global brands, the process of such effect, and the boundary condition for it as well.Design/methodology/approachThe authors used two non-student surveys in the USA and UK in which respondents’ global identity was measured and two laboratory experiments in which respondents’ global identity was primed. The operationalization of dependent variables is also divergent, either directly measuring attitude toward the global brands from developing countries or measuring consumer relative evaluation. Convergent results were reported from four studies.FindingsThe results show that when consumers’ global (vs local) identity is accessible, those from developed regions will show more favorable evaluations of global brands from emerging countries. And this effect is mediated by the positive association between global identity and globalization. Further, this effect emerged when consumers view global and local cultures as compatible with each other but disappeared when consumers view global and local cultures as oppositional to each other.Practical implicationsThe findings have practical implications for global brand marketers from emerging economies to enter developed country markets, and to make their brands real global. Specifically, global identity consumers should be targeted and the compatible view of global and local cultures should be pronounced.Originality/valueFocusing on global brands from emerging countries, this paper examines the global identity effect in developed country markets for the first time. The finding add new knowledge to the literature of globalization, global branding, and assimilation effect of global identity, and help to reconcile the heated debate on whether country of origin is still relevant to the globalized world.

Purpose– The purpose of this paper was to examine psychological variables of young Chinese to determine their impact on identification with global consumer culture, attitudes toward global and USA brands and intention to buy USA brands. The independent or psychological variables examined were self-monitoring, life satisfaction, brand relevance, social demonstration effect, change-seeking behavior and reference groups (interacted and non-interacted). The goal was to understand what forces drive global and USA brand preferences.Design/methodology/approach– Data were collected in Guangzhou, China, in 2013 through a survey administered to 152 young Chinese respondents. Confirmatory factor analysis and reliability coefficients verified the psychometrics of each scale. Subsequently, the sample was divided into high versus low groups for each of the independent variables to perform mean tests for each on each of the four dependent variables.Findings– The results showed that all the hypotheses were supported to some extent. The sample had a positive attitude toward all the dependent measures: identification with global consumer culture, global and USA brands and intention to buy USA brands. Self-monitoring and change-seeking behavior had the least association with the dependent variables. Brand relevance, social demonstration effect and interactive and non-interactive reference groups were all found to have strong support.Research limitations/implications– The authors used an urban sample of young Chinese. Examining an older sample or one that was less urban would also be useful. Future research could also examine other emerging markets such as Brazil or Indonesia to identify the impact of the psychological variables.Practical implications– Multinational firms wishing to grow revenues of their USA and global brands in China must be attuned to the social aspects of positioning their brands. The implications show that brand relevance, social demonstration and reference groups can be used for positioning of global and USA brands. As China is a collectivist society, using appeals that establish a brand’s desirability or relevance and its ability to allow users to socially demonstrate the brand to reference groups is likely to work well.Originality/value– No study has assembled the variables in the manner investigated in this research, nor have other studies looked at young Chinese in terms of USA brand attitudes and identification with global consumer culture.

<p>The global marketplace is centred around products and brands that reflect certain identities. Social media can act as vehicles of meaning transfer for social identification between brands and social media users with a global social identity. Recognizing the importance of the psychological and sociological needs that draw social media users to build relationships with global brands, the purpose of this thesis is to explore the relevance of the global social identification process to global social media branding strategy. More specifically, this research considers the role and influence of social group membership dynamics to explore how brand-generated and user-generated content are part of the global social identification process. In that, this research aims to fill the gap where social identity theory has not been applied as a lens through which to understand and evaluate the social media content strategy of a global brand. This gap is important to fill due to the global social media arena’s social-centric nature and transparency in displaying social group memberships. An interpretive paradigm was used for this research, with a qualitative case study approach that consisted of interviews with global social media users/global brand representatives and a content analysis of the focal brands social media pages. The study found that the global social identification process on social media consists of two stages, global identity priming and global identity expression. Global identity priming occurs when the psychological and sociological function of global brands is transferred to brand-generated content through a semiotic meaning transfer process. Global identity expression can occur after, as a result of global identity priming, social media users with a global identity categorize the global brand into their in-group. Once in-group categorization takes place, creation and/or sharing of user-generated content with the global brand can be considered an act of identity expression and validation by those with a global identity. This has implications for a global brand’s social media content strategy, as the findings revealed that brand-generated content featuring certain symbolic global values facilitates the global social identification process on social media. Moreover, the findings revealed that user-generated content created by social media users for global identity expression purposes is of considerable value to global brands. Understanding how the global social identification process transpires on social media can guide global brands to consider how their content strategy can prime global social identification and meet the identity expression needs of those with a global identity. This has implications for content strategy design, social media interactions and ongoing global brand-user relationships.</p>

<p>The global marketplace is centred around products and brands that reflect certain identities. Social media can act as vehicles of meaning transfer for social identification between brands and social media users with a global social identity. Recognizing the importance of the psychological and sociological needs that draw social media users to build relationships with global brands, the purpose of this thesis is to explore the relevance of the global social identification process to global social media branding strategy. More specifically, this research considers the role and influence of social group membership dynamics to explore how brand-generated and user-generated content are part of the global social identification process. In that, this research aims to fill the gap where social identity theory has not been applied as a lens through which to understand and evaluate the social media content strategy of a global brand. This gap is important to fill due to the global social media arena’s social-centric nature and transparency in displaying social group memberships. An interpretive paradigm was used for this research, with a qualitative case study approach that consisted of interviews with global social media users/global brand representatives and a content analysis of the focal brands social media pages. The study found that the global social identification process on social media consists of two stages, global identity priming and global identity expression. Global identity priming occurs when the psychological and sociological function of global brands is transferred to brand-generated content through a semiotic meaning transfer process. Global identity expression can occur after, as a result of global identity priming, social media users with a global identity categorize the global brand into their in-group. Once in-group categorization takes place, creation and/or sharing of user-generated content with the global brand can be considered an act of identity expression and validation by those with a global identity. This has implications for a global brand’s social media content strategy, as the findings revealed that brand-generated content featuring certain symbolic global values facilitates the global social identification process on social media. Moreover, the findings revealed that user-generated content created by social media users for global identity expression purposes is of considerable value to global brands. Understanding how the global social identification process transpires on social media can guide global brands to consider how their content strategy can prime global social identification and meet the identity expression needs of those with a global identity. This has implications for content strategy design, social media interactions and ongoing global brand-user relationships.</p>

Introduction. In an increasingly interconnected global marketplace, brands face the challenge of adapting their identities to diverse cultural and regulatory environments while maintaining a consistent global presence. Localization, beyond simple translation, plays a key role in aligning brand messages, products and services with local market expectations and norms. This study examines the impact of localization on global branding, focusing on how brands can effectively balance global consistency with local relevance. By analyzing the latest research and emerging trends in localization, the study aims to provide insights into optimizing localization strategies to succeed in international markets. Purpose. The purpose of this study is to analyze the role of localization in the development of successful global brands, exploring how brands can effectively balance global relevance with local relevance, as well as to examine the impact of localization strategies on brand success in international markets, identify emerging trends, and provide practical recommendations on how to optimize localization efforts to strengthen market presence and consumer engagement. Method (methodology). The study used the information method of a comprehensive review of the available literature and recent research on localization and global branding, methods of system analysis, classification and comparative analysis, as well as generalization to theoretically substantiate and summarize the material. Results. The study examines how, while translation is a fundamental step, effective localization involves subtle adaptations that fit the local cultural and regulatory context. Emerging trends are identified, such as hyperlocalization, the use of artificial intelligence for real-time localization, and an emphasis on cultural sensitivity and sustainability. These findings highlight the need for brands to integrate both global consistency and local relevance into their strategies. The insights gained can help brands develop effective localization strategies that cater to local preferences while maintaining a unified global identity.

Aim/Purpose: This research aims to identify the key components of Suzhou’s city brand, evaluate the effectiveness of its integrated marketing communication (IMC) strategies, and propose actionable initiatives to enhance the city's global brand identity. By addressing these objectives, the study seeks to strengthen Suzhou’s position as a cultural and economic hub, providing practical recommendations for policymakers and marketers to improve its global recognition and appeal. Introduction/Background: City branding has emerged as a critical strategy for fostering economic growth, cultural prominence, and tourism development. Suzhou, known for its rich history, cultural heritage, and robust economic profile, faces the challenge of effectively positioning itself as a global city in a competitive international landscape. This study focuses on leveraging Suzhou’s unique assets to strengthen its city brand through strategic IMC initiatives. The research highlights the need to balance tradition with innovation to attract international audiences and investment by aligning the city's historical and cultural identity with contemporary marketing practices. Methodology: This qualitative case study explored Suzhou’s city brand and integrated marketing communication (IMC) strategies through primary and secondary data collection. Primary data consisted of in-depth interviews with 15 tourism brand managers from Suzhou’s cultural tourism industry, selected for their expertise in IMC and branding initiatives. Semi-structured interviews were conducted face-to-face with audio recordings (with consent) and supplemented by notes. Secondary data included reports, academic studies, and official documents, providing historical and contextual insights. Thematic analysis identified patterns within the qualitative data, supported by triangulation to ensure reliability and validity. Member checking allowed participants to review and verify interpretations, further enhancing credibility. This approach revealed both strengths and areas for improvement in Suzhou’s branding strategies. Findings: The study revealed that Suzhou’s city brand is anchored in four primary pillars. First, its rich historical and cultural heritage, characterized by well-preserved ancient architecture, classical gardens, and vibrant traditions, forms the cornerstone of its identity. Second, the city’s economic strength and market potential, driven by thriving industries and an innovation-focused economy, establish it as a regional economic powerhouse. Third, Suzhou’s high quality of life, combining urban conveniences with natural beauty, significantly enhances its appeal as a livable destination. Lastly, its diverse tourism resources, including UNESCO World Heritage sites and picturesque waterways, position Suzhou as a premier destination for both domestic and international tourists. To strengthen its brand, Suzhou has implemented effective IMC strategies. Social media campaigns promote cultural events, festivals, and tourism packages on platforms like WeChat, Weibo, and Instagram. Online advertising leverages targeted ads to reach global audiences, while promotional events such as trade shows, cultural festivals, and business forums showcase the city’s strengths. These initiatives have significantly bolstered Suzhou’s brand recognition, increased tourism, and enhanced its global reputation. Despite these successes, challenges persist. Inconsistent branding messages across platforms dilute the city’s core identity, while limited use of certain digital platforms and insufficient engagement with international audiences restrict Suzhou’s outreach. Addressing these challenges is crucial to solidifying its global brand presence. Contribution/Impact on Society: This research contributes to the field of city branding and marketing communication by providing actionable insights into how cities can leverage their unique assets to enhance global recognition. The study highlights how cities like Suzhou can integrate their cultural heritage, economic strengths, and tourism resources to create a compelling city brand. It also addresses challenges such as inconsistent messaging and underutilization of digital platforms, offering recommendations for improvement. For policymakers and marketers, the research underscores the importance of coordinated strategies for sustainable urban development, attracting investment, tourism, and talent, and ensuring long-term economic and cultural growth. Recommendations: To further enhance Suzhou’s city brand, it is recommended that a stronger synergy between online and offline marketing efforts be developed, a cohesive and unified visual identity be established, and marketing activities across various communication platforms be integrated. Additionally, existing challenges in marketing implementation should be addressed by focusing more on Suzhou’s cultural heritage, drawing inspiration from global best practices, and targeting specific audience segments, all of which would significantly strengthen Suzhou’s brand identity and appeal. Research Limitation: The study is limited by its qualitative approach and the relatively small sample size of 15 informants, which may not fully capture the diversity of perspectives on Suzhou’s branding efforts. Furthermore, the research focuses exclusively on Suzhou, making it less applicable to cities with differing cultural, economic, or social contexts. Future Research: Future studies should explore the long-term effects of IMC strategies on city branding through longitudinal research, offering insights into strategy evolution and sustained impact. Quantitative approaches could confirm variables in city branding and IMC, enabling a more robust analysis. Additionally, research on audience segmentation using demographic, behavioral, and psychographic data can enhance tailored marketing strategies. Comparative studies across cities could also identify best practices and innovative approaches to city branding.

Higher education has changed irrevocably with the advent of globalization, internet technologies and modern methods of learning. Educators' thought process is undergoing a sea of change along with transition towards education brand building. Most of the branding frameworks focus on logo design, style and look & feel rather than covering deeper aspects of building a global brand. This study aims to cover broader aspects of global education brand building from the student perspective and identify key issues emerging economy management institutes face while building a global brand. Mixed method approach was adopted to delve deep into issues in building global management education brands from emerging economies. Open-ended unstructured interviews with 18 education experts resulted in the identification of key attributes and antecedents, also validated with a structured literature review. The extensive literature search resulted in more than one thousand academic research papers, while the structured approach selected 107 peer-reviewed academic articles. This study used quantitative methods with random sampling as the main methodology and utilized structured equation modeling to develop the model. This study's key research findings are that prospective students look at immigration to western countries, global opportunities, and globally recognizable education brands as top reasons while selecting education institutes for their higher education needs. This study's generalizability is fairly limited; however, the model can be extrapolated to other fields to test its validity. This paper brings out a branding framework and global brand-building model for higher education management brands.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether or not the strategy of pursuing a global brand identity by leading Asian firms will produce intended outcomes in consumer responses. For this purpose, the study empirically examines whether global Japanese brands (e.g. Toyota) are perceived as global or Japanese by consumers. Design/methodology/approach Surveys were conducted with Korean consumers for their evaluations of Japanese automobile brands with varying degrees of globalness. As for brands, the study divides Japanese brands into two groups – those with high brand globalness and those with low brand globalness – and to examine if Japanese-origin effects differ between these two groups. Findings In contrast to the hypothesis, global brands were found to be more subject to country-of-origin effects. Research limitations/implications The findings contribute to research on consumer choices and brand globalness by showing country-of-origin effects for global brands. Practical implications The findings suggest that even when Asian firms emphasize the globalness of their brands, they may still need to attend to country-of-origin effects. Originality/value This study examines an unexplored issue of country-of-origin effects for global brands.

From brand identity to polysemous brands: Commentary on “Performing identities: Processes of brand and stakeholder identity co-construction”

Kalashnikov: What's in a Name? (A)

A qualitative study of 30 leading global employer brands explored the alignment of employer brands with corporate or overall brand identity. Strategic brand management models, including the Kapferer Brand Identity Prism and the Brand Identity Positioning Pyramid, were theoretically applied to the employer brand domain and further examined through primary research into employer brand website content. Qualitative content analysis, followed by reflexive thematic analysis, yielded findings in the form of themes, shedding light on how leading global employer brands align with and leverage brand identity, which encompasses the internal identity facets of personality, culture, and self-image. The findings are discussed with examples that highlight leading practices derived from the world’s best employer brands. Insights are synthesised into a set of guidelines for a strategic brand context, within which employer brands not only establish a foundation for brand identity alignment but also identify opportunities to leverage brand identity facets and aspects in building strong employer brands that attract and retain talent whilst fostering brand coherence.

PurposeThe dominant paradigm in international branding research treats perceived brand globalness (PBG) and localness (PBL) as attributes algebraically participating in brand assessment and disregards the perception of brands as humanlike entities actively embedded in consumers’ social environments. Challenging this view and drawing from stereotype theory, the purpose of this paper is to suggest that PBG/PBL trigger the categorization of products under the superordinate mental categories of global/local brands which carry distinct stereotypical content. Such content transfers to every individual product for which category membership is established and shapes brand responses.Design/methodology/approachOne experimental study (Study1,n=134) tests the process of global/local brand stereotype formation, identification and content transfer. Subsequently, two consumer surveys test the impact of brand stereotypes on brand approach/avoidance tendencies (Study2,n=328) and consumer–brand relationships (Study3,n=273). Data were analyzed with experimental techniques and structural equation modeling.FindingsThe findings suggest that upon categorization under the global or local brand class, individual brands are charged with the stereotypical content of the class. Global brands are predominantly stereotyped as competent while local brands are predominantly stereotyped as warm. Localness-induced warmth has uniformly positive effects, whereas globalness-induced competence acts as a double-edged sword which can both help and harm the brand.Originality/valueThis research contributes by proposing a novel conceptualization of global and local brands as groups of intentional marketplace agents stereotyped along their intentions and abilities, empirically establishing the process through which individual brands are assigned stereotypical judgments and demonstrating how these judgments impact critical brand outcomes and consumer–brand relationships.