Aspects Of Brand Research Articles

Atividades marcárias na vida cotidiana dos consumidores: descoberta de uma nova forma de se pensar as marcas?

Apesar da crescente importância dada às marcas no marketing contemporâneo, sabemos pouco sobre como os consumidores as entendem e definem. Com isto em mente, desenvolvemos o presente estudo exploratório, com o objetivo de identificar o que os consumidores dizem sobre as marcas quando interagem entre si. Para tal assumimos que nas interações sociais as impressões de uns interferem nos juízos dos outros, tornando possível aos consumidores definirem certos aspectos das marcas e expressarem o que pensam a respeito delas. Para acessar o pensamento dos consumidores sobre as marcas, uma etnografia da comunicação foi realizada por meio da observação participante da interação cotidiana de pessoas de diferentes grupos sociais (Hymes, 1986). Tal procedimento nos levou à identificação de 38 aspectos das marcas, os quais nomeamos de atividades marcárias, com base na noção de atividades de fala, que assume que o que falamos são ações (Austin, 1990; Wittgenstein, 2005). A teoria social de Max Weber e sua tipologia da ação social nos ajudou a compreender nossos achados de pesquisa. Uma abordagem reflexiva nesta direção nos propiciou sugerir a descoberta de uma nova forma de se pensar as marcas, no que propomos um arcabouço preliminar. Por fim, discutimos contribuições do nosso estudo, tanto para a academia quanto para a gestão de marcas.

Personal Brand in Online Advertisements: Comparing White and Brazilian Male Sex Workers

We examine marketing strategies used by Brazilian and white American male sex workers in their online advertisements and the degree to which ethnicity is emphasized as an aspect of personal branding. The results show that both groups emphasize similar aspects that are important in the sex trade, particularly their physical attributes, although emphasis and details vary. The results also suggest that male sex workers are cognizant of ethnic and racial preferences or fetishes and use them to enhance marketability in their online advertisements.

Place branding within a security paradigm — concepts and cases

This paper argues that place branding is playing an increasingly important role in international politics. It examines the cases of the European Union, the US, as well as China to illustrate the relevance these great powers attach to their security brand. It also studies several cases where negative branding (by others) has become a serious matter of security. This paper concludes that the security aspect of place branding is an area of study in international politics that requires further exploration. Some conceptual clarity is emerging, but more effort needs to be made to examine how place branding can illuminate an area of international politics which remains largely dominated by a Realist security paradigm.

Compulsory Higher Education Teacher Training in Sweden: Development of a national standards framework based on the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

Today visible proofs of excellence in teaching and learning are increasingly important aspects of institutional branding in higher education (HE). Teaching competence is brought forward as a central aspect of the quality of programmes. Still, the induction of new university teachers is managed in many different ways. Approaches may vary according to how teaching competence is perceived; as growing from practice only, requiring formal courses or, for instance, outlined in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) movement. In Sweden, the HE Ordinance from 2002 states that to get permanent positions, lecturers should have completed Compulsory HE Teacher Training (CHETT). The size and organisation of the courses were not regulated in the Ordinance and institutional practices varied. In a three‐year project intended learning outcomes for CHETT was suggested. These outcomes are based on SoTL and linked to an estimated work‐load of 10 weeks. Based on a national survey in 2006, institutional responses to t...

A chemometric study of pesto sauce appearance and of its relation to pigment concentration

AbstractBACKGROUND: Pesto sauce is a typical example of a food matrix in which aspect is of key importance to the final judgment of the consumer, and whose color strongly depends on the production process and on the ingredients. In view of this, the aim of the present work is to evaluate the possibility of quantifying the variability of visual aspect of different brands of pesto sauce, and its relation to the concentration of the main pigments.RESULTS: Sensory evaluation of the appearance of 12 commercial pesto samples was carried out by a panel of 16 assessors who evaluated quantitatively six visual attributes, suitably defined for the description of pesto aspect. A quantitative estimate of the performance of the panel was carried out by means of both univariate and multivariate–multiway chemometric tools (parallel factor analysis, PARAFAC). In addition, the relationship between the mean sensory scores values and the concentrations of chlorophylls, pheophytins and carotenoids was investigated by principal components analysis (PCA). Both PCA and PARAFAC showed good clustering of the samples and a satisfactory degree of homogeneity of the assessors.CONCLUSION: Data analysis showed that assessors fundamentally agree about the main visual characteristics of pesto sauces, which are partly correlated with the concentration values of the main pigments. Copyright © 2008 Society of Chemical Industry

Efetividade da propaganda na comunicação de marcas com diferentes graus de funcionalidade e simbolismo

Functional and symbolic brand aspects were surveyed to determine their influence in the communication of product attributes, both intrinsic and extrinsic, when seeking more effective advertising. An experiment was carried out using hypothetical scenarios. Methodology included interviews with advertising professionals, creation of advertising copies and use of a questionnaire for undergraduate business students from a major Brazilian university. Data were evaluated by frequency analysis, general and graphic comparison of averages, distance and proximity measures and a t-test, as well as multiple and logistic regressions. Results indicate that products with high degrees of functionality and symbolism provide more effective copies when copies focus predominantly on intrinsic attributes. The same is true for products with a high degree of functionality and low symbolism. In both situations extrinsic attributes also merit attention. For products with low functionality and high symbolism, the extrinsic attributes should be communicated predominantly. These management implications deserve reflection, not for direct application in practice, but as additional information for insight and enlightenment in relation to more effective advertising.

Identity for sale: Construction of a national identity for the needs of tourism

In this text the construction of national identity has been analyzed through the example of national tourism strategy in Serbia framed within the contemporary state's process of 'branding' the nation. Through the analysis of Marketing strategy and recently published tourist brochures designed for foreign tourists, the aim is to investigate the ways in which representation of a new national identity, utilized for consumption and selling to the Others, is constructed. The text points out to the perspectives of cultural management and strategic government of national representation as a way of repositioning the bad image of Serbia. The analysis shows that, rather than negative connotations that 'follow' the notion of balkanism, tourist reformulation leads to changed, but still ambiguous and undefined representation. In this text I point out to the aspect of branding - as marketing process which uses cultural recourses - that leads to pacification of the image. Seen as a strategic mean by which the stigma could be averted, the paper shows that this process does not offer a structural solution of the problem which represents the obstacle of Serbia's further development.

Ain't misbehavin' — consumption in a moralized brandscape

How can one explain the phenomenon that a consumer is able to protest against worker exploitation in the third world outside a Nike outlet and a day later walk in and buy a pair of shoes from the same outlet? In this article we try to conceptualize how consumers handle the expressive and functional aspects of brands in a moralized brandscape. By introducing the idea of `de-coupling', we suggest that both the production and the consumption of brands rest on a logic where the functional and expressive values are separated from one and another. This implies that consumption is not merely an expressive activity operating on the sign level, but rather that consumption must be understood as an intricate play where the relationship between brand image and buying behaviour needs to be further explored.

Universities: a prime example of branding going wrong

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present a call to action for universities to practice what they preach in developing and communicating differentiated brands.Design/methodology/approachReviews some recent literature on university branding and contrasts this with other industries.FindingsFor the benefit not just of intending students, but also for the benefit of potential and existing staff as well as research clients and graduate employers, universities should develop meaningfully differentiated brands to communicate their strengths.Research limitations/implicationsUniversity brand managers should seek to clearly differentiate their offerings from the competition. Aspects of a university's brand attract students, staff, and industry seeking staff or consultancy.Originality/valueThe large amounts of expenditure on university marketing would be more efficiently used if the principles of brand management taught within them were applied properly.

Cognitive, affective attributes and conative, behavioural responses in retail corporate branding

PurposeThe main aim of the present study is to empirically test a model of antecedents and consequences of corporate brand image (CBI) in two book retailers, one selling exclusively online, and the other selling exclusively offline in a British context.Design/methodology/approachThe study employed a survey to investigate the relationships of the antecedents and consequences of the CBI. The sample (n=511) comprised experienced customers of these two bookstores (visitors and shoppers of the site or bookstore). The antecedents of CBI which were the functional aspects of brand attributes (such as ease of use, secured web site, interactivity/building relationship, customer care and reliability) were combined with the CBI itself (emotional aspects of the corporate brand or personality traits of the company) and, further, the consequences of these emotional aspects such as customer satisfaction and loyalty were tested using a cross‐sectional study.FindingsUsing two separate structural equation models, the study found an empirical relationship between the brand attributes and the corporate brand image (the emotional values). This relationship in turn influences the customer's responses (loyalty).Research limitations/implicationsBy combining two methodological approaches of brand image evaluation: cognition (assessed through tangible and intangible brand attributes) and affect/emotion (assessed through brand personality scale) this study intends to add to the current understanding of consumer brand knowledge, in particular when the consumer is assessing a company's brand image (the CBI) and also learn how important the effect of cognitive attributes (such as brand attributes of a store and web site) is in explaining the subsequent CBI, and the integration effect on consumer responses such as brand loyalty. Do cognitive evaluations drive conative, behavioural actions in retail buying decision making? Are cognitive evaluations directly related with satisfaction with the retailer and consumer loyalty?Practical implicationsExplicitly, the present study offers practitioners a research framework, aimed at guiding them as to how they could understand their defined or desired brand values (the corporate core values) among their consumers.Originality/valueIn general, the present study adds to the existing literature in cognitive and affective attributes in consumer judgement and corresponding conative or behavioural attitudes in branding and reputation management. It brings together the concept of functional brand attributes, emotional brand attributes (the CBI), and the dependent variables such as customer satisfaction and loyalty in a unique context (internet), and compares this with the bricks and mortar context.

The Penguin's Window: Corporate Brands From an Open-Source Perspective

The open source (OS) movement allows us to re-vision corporate branding from a corporate to a coproducer perspective. Corporations own their brands and unilaterally determine their positioning and evolution. Power and control are centralized and hierarchical: producers produce brands, which customers then consume. With OS, power and control are radically decentralized and hierarchical: producers and consumers coalesce into “prosumers.” The authors introduce marketers to the OS phenomenon and develop a typology of brand aspects that can be “open” or “closed”: physical, textual, meaning, and experience. The authors elaborate new dimensions for brands and revisit the functions that brands perform and link these to the evolutionary trajectory of branding, arguing that OS represents a final phase in the evolution of corporate brands from closed to open brands. The article concludes with a research agenda.

CREATING CONTEXT – ENTREPRENEURIAL OPPORTUNITIES IN A CONSUMER MARKET SETTING

This paper focuses on entrepreneurial opportunities in a consumer market setting. The purpose is to explore how the corporate branding process influences emerging entrepreneurial opportunities. The empirical results show the importance of symbols and images influencing emerging opportunities, rather than isolated product innovations. Here the importance of examining all the people involved in the entrepreneurial process, rather than just focusing on the entrepreneur or the entrepreneurial organization, is emphasized. The case illustrates the intensity and the devotion invested in the creation of a context that holds the Nav products. In this process the interplay between identity and image is described in a corporate branding perspective. I show how, by whom, and where, the creation of context becomes distinct. Introducing the creation of context to entrepreneurship theories change the opportunity discussion from a situation where organizational aspects are primarily focused on, to a situation also emphasizing the consumer market side of entrepreneurial opportunities. The theoretical results illustrate how branding theory and marketing/entrepreneurship interface theories shift the interest from organization aspects to market related aspects of the entrepreneurial process. The overall conclusions are that branding aspects of the entrepreneurial process are becoming more challenging in a society and on a market generally characterized by fragmentation.

Zoo technical production conditions important from the aspect of geographical brand of origin of native white cheese from sjenica

Main characteristics of zoo technical conditions that are important for geographical brand of origin of native white cheese from Sjenica are presented in this paper. General characteristics of farms, as well as typical methods of breeding cattle and sheep in this part of the Republic of Serbia are described. Basic condition necessary for one product to find and preserve it's place on the market is the continuous presence on the market without any oscillations in regard to the quality. In order to achieve this goal, the availability of main raw material must always be secured, in case of white cheese from sjenica - milk, whether sheep or cow milk. Precisely the providing of essential raw material of good quality represents the greatest problem. Owners of farms which are included in the research project "Optimization and standardization of the technology for production of white cheese from Sjenica with protected brand of origin" have expressed the desire to increase their production by introducing new animals to their breeding stocks. In this regard, it is necessary that the government proceeds with systematical measures to support the efforts of those farmers who are interested in livestock production and production of native products with protected geographical brand of origin, among which white cheese from Sjenica has important role.

Building strong brands in Asia: selecting the visual components of image to maximize brand strength

Asian brands have often struggled to develop quality images. The visual aspects of branding have received little attention on how they might be used to strengthen brand perceptions in Asia. Guidelines for designing visual brand stimuli are developed using evaluations of logos in China and Singapore. There is a significant relationship between design and the responses companies seek, including positive affect, perceptions of quality, recognition, consensus in meaning, and feng shui. How designs are perceived, and their effect on consumer responses, were similar between China and Singapore. Companies are encouraged to leverage design to strengthen their brands. In particular, they should select logo designs that are elaborate, natural, and harmonious as these created positive affect and quality perceptions, clear meaning, true recognition, and feng shui. Many of these relationships hold in the United Sates as well, implying that the visual aspects of brand strategies may accomplish companies' goals across international borders.

Wow! Who built that?

The look and feel of products have often been aspects of brand. In this case study, Dannielle Blumenthal demonstrates how this principle is being leveraged by an innovative homebuilder. From the layout of streets to the restoration of local landmarks, from light‐filled spaces to inspiring interiors and careful detailing, these high‐end homes have a memorable style that is attracting a growing number of buyers.

Wow! Who built that?

The look and feel of products have often been aspects of brand. In this case study, Dannielle Blumenthal demonstrates how this principle is being leveraged by an innovative homebuilder. From the layout of streets to the restoration of local landmarks, from light‐filled spaces to inspiring interiors and careful detailing, these highend homes have a memorable style that is attracting a growing number of buyers.

Adoption of New Brands from Multi-Branding Firms by Chinese Consumers

The increasing importance of branding has brought about much academic interest since the early 1980s. So far, however, the area where the most has been achieved is in brand extensions, and academic achievements in other aspects of branding have been modest (Barwise 1993). Multi-branding, as a very important branding strategy, helps the company target different market segments, spread risk, and meet the consumer's need for variety seeking. This paper attempts to explore how consumer knowledge of the multi-branding company, its product and its existing brands could be transferred to purchase intention of the company's new brand.

Establishing the Charles Kennedy Brand: A Strategy for an Election the Result of which is a Foregone Conclusion

We outline the history of the UK Liberal Democratic Party (LibDem) and the context of the 2001 UK General Election and show how the strategy for the General Election campaign evolved within the party. The article traces the presentation of Charles Kennedy MP as the new leader of the Liberal Democrats, the allocation of campaign resources and key events impacting upon the campaign. Particular consideration is given to the branding aspects of the leader role and the interaction between the party and leader in establishing the public perception of the LibDem brand.

A survey of brand risk management

This paper describes the results of an international survey into brand risk management by large corporations. In particular, the following aspects of brands are analysed: significance, perception, risk, protection and valuation. The results are descriptive rather than explanatory and further research would benefit from incorporating more substantial data on brand strength and value.

Building destination brands: The cases of Wales and Australia

At the end of the twentieth century, brands permeate virtually all facets of every-day life — indeed arguably branding is today's most important marketing strategy, having developed into both a valuable equity and a sophisticated science. Although the various aspects of branding continue to be the subject of many academic studies, there is a dearth of research focusing on tourism. In today's highly competitive tourism market, many destinations — from individual resorts to countries — are adopting branding techniques in an effort to differentiate their identities and to emphasise the uniqueness of their product. This paper discusses the role and importance of branding in destination marketing and evaluates whether destinations can indeed be branded in the way that FMCG and services have been. Destination managers face three unique challenges in such branding initiatives: a lack of control over the total marketing mix; relatively limited budgets; and political considerations. Focusing on two case studies, Wales in the UK and Australia, this paper concludes that the adoption of a targeted, multi-agency ‘mood marketing’ initiative can assist in overcoming these political difficulties facing destination brand managers.