Branding Process Research Articles

Implementation of Sabu Raijua Culture as Branding Reinforcement in Office Building Interiors

The existence of cultures in East Nusa Tenggara is a resource with great opportunities for design exploration. Sabu Raijua has various types of culture ranging from dances, traditional houses, and woven fabrics with traditional motifs. The image and characteristics of an office building are formed through a branding process. The purpose of this paper is to examine how the implementation of Sabu Raijua's local culture in the interior becomes a branding reinforcement for office buildings. The research uses a qualitative descriptive method with a Design Thinking approach with data collection through field survey and literature study. The aim for this research is to indicate how interior element streghten the characteristic, furthermore it reinforcing the brand. The result also shows that local wisdom are being preserved and celebrated as it should.

Strategic family winery brand launch in the VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, ambiguity) market: Three case studies from Serbian market

The purpose of this study is to extend previous research on brand innovation by uncovering the process of family winery branding in relation to the new product launch in the VUCA market on the case of three Serbian wineries. The study deploys qualitative oriented and empirical approach in presenting a multi-case study. Three semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with owners and/or managers in these three wineries. The results demonstrate that all three family wineries are offering high-end product for the domestic market with smaller one still experimenting with strategic direction of innovating for high-end market while the two larger ones putting focus either on autochthonous grape varieties with eye-cathicng labels or authentic brand identity with strong storytelling. Another important aspect identified is the frugal nature of product launch in the family wineries due to limited resources. The paper presents is among only few studies on new product development in wine business literature.

Evaluating Name, Image, Likeness Partnerships for Women in the NCAA

This case tasks students with navigating the endorsement process for brands seeking to partner with student-athletes as a result of their ability to now legally accept payment for their name, image, and likeness. Students will help a marketing consulting firm as they make recommendations about which athlete to select; identify how a brand (Brave Hydration) can work with the athlete to activate this partnership; and how much each partnership might cost compared with other current student-athlete Name, Image, and Likeness partnerships. The case pulls from principles of endorsement marketing, brand management, and social media management and can be transformed with extended case questions depending on the needs of the instructor and course.

ИССЛЕДОВАНИЕ ПРАКТИКИ БРЕНДИНГА МАЛЫХ ГОРОДОВ: ОПРОС РУКОВОДИТЕЛЕЙ ГОРОДСКИХ АДМИНИСТРАЦИЙ

This paper aims to study the practice of city branding in small cities and towns, and to identify the characteristics of this process through an expert survey of the heads of city administrations. For this purpose, the expert survey was conducted among the heads of small cities and towns and their deputies in charge of city development issues. The sample consisted of one representative from 33 small cities and towns in Russia. The survey used a questionnaire characterizing city branding objectives, stakeholders involved, decision-making, brand promotion measures, resources and effects. The questionnaire was developed based on the analysis of scientific and practical literature on city branding. As a result, it was revealed that, with some exceptions, branding practice in the studied cities is weakly related to the objectives of city development and has a short-term orientation. The administrations have a tendency to solve branding problems relying solely on their own resources, which leads to city branding resource constraints. These findings contribute to the city branding research by providing data on the implementation of branding practices in small cities and towns. The results also expand the practice of using municipal officials’ expertise in the city branding studies by attracting expert officials to analyse the management practice of city branding process.

СТВОРЕННЯ ТА РОЗВИТОК E-COMMERCE БРЕНДІВ В УМОВАХ ЦИФРОВІЗАЦІЇ

The article presents a comprehensive study of the creation and development of e-commerce brands in the digital environment. Digitization involves the large-scale integration of digital technolo-gies into various aspects of business, creating new opportunities and challenges for e-commerce brands. Therefore, one of the key tasks for entrepreneurs is to create a strong and unique brand that can stand out in a competitive digital environment. The authors presents a comprehensivestudy aimed at studying the key aspects of the creation and development of brands in the field of electronic commerce in the conditions of the rapid spread of digital technologies. The paper focuses on exploring the branding process, which includes developing an appropriate identity that reflects the brand’s values and goals, as well as creating a user-friendly and attractive website. An important stage is the definition of the target audience and the development of a strategy of interaction with it. For the study, interviews were conducted with e-commerce experts and entrepreneurs to gain objective insight into the challenges and strategies involved in building and developing a brand. In addition, the author’s own experience in creating brands makes it possible to better understand the peculiarities of the development of e-com-merce brands in the conditions of digitalization. This article emphasizes the importance of adaptation, innovation and a strategic approach to the creation and development of e-commerce brands in the dig-ital environment. This study is extremely relevant, as the issue of creating and developing e-commerce brands in the digital environment is important, as it allows us to understand the main aspects of this activity of modern business. The research findings address the pressing challenges of building and grow-ing e-commerce brands, offering valuable insights for entrepreneurs, marketers and business strategists.

МОДЕЛИРОВАНИЕ МЕХАНИЗМА УПРАВЛЕНИЯ БРЕНДИНГОМ ТЕРРИТОРИЙ

The purpose of this paper is to elaborate the governance mechanism of place branding process that ensures the integration of branding into the territory development system. For this purpose, the three-level place branding process structural scheme was formulated and justified, and the existing place branding models have been studied. Then, the theoretical and empirical data on place branding process organization were incorporated into holistic model based on three-level structural scheme. As a result, the conceptual model of place branding governance mechanism has been elaborated. The model reflects three levels of place branding organization: the level of brand as a dynamic system of associations related to the territory, the level of branding as the process of territorial brand creation, and the level of branding as a tool of territory development. The model is described in two versions: the basic version, which reflects place branding as a process coordinated by regional administrations, and the extended version, which describes place branding as a co-creation process by independently acting stakeholders. The originality of the proposed model is that it describes in detail the governance of place branding process, which is currently an understudied aspect in the modern literature. The proposed model also consolidates into a holistic system three levels of place branding process, which are usually studied separately.The model could be used in practical cases of place branding implementation for designing a brand management system and serve as a basis for further elaboration of place branding theory.

I just work here! Employees as co-creators of the employer brand

ABSTRACT This study explores the role of employees as both a target group and co-creators of employer brand equity in tourism and hospitality. Extant research has largely focused on the effects of external employer brands; however, studies on internal employer branding have been lacking. The research problem is addressed through the conceptual lens of employer brand equity. To provide empirical insights into employee experiences, exploratory in-depth interviews were conducted with 16 employees in hotels, restaurants, and retail stores in Northern Sweden. While employees constitute a target market for internal employer branding, they also co-create the employer value proposition. Employees act as brand members, representatives, advocates and influencers, increasing knowledge about the organization internally and externally. However, in practice, companies in the service sector seem to place more focus on the customer experience than on reminding the employees of the brand promise towards them. This study identifies and describes the role of employees in the employer branding process by developing a new conceptual framework. Thereby, it adds to the understanding of co-creation in employer branding, an under-researched area which has been suggested to become a new paradigm in the employer branding literature.

Branding the Creative City of Design: Lesson from Singapore

Over the last two decades, creative cities have become an issue of interest as governments in several countries have worked to develop ecosystems where the creative class can innovate and share ideas. Many city governments focus more on developing creative cities and pay less attention to their city's branding. This study aims to see Singapore as a newly appointed UNESCO creative city brand, even though it already has a destination brand. There are challenges about which brand should come first or how to strategically brand a city and ensure all interests are accommodated in the branding process. This study uses a qualitative method with in-depth interview data collection techniques with the Head of the Singapore Polytechnic Department of Architecture and Design, literature studies through books, journals, newspapers, and related matters, as well as observations in the city of Singapore. The results of this study show that Singapore's branding as a creative city of design is a component of the city-state's leading branding. First, the city branding process includes identifying the uniqueness of the city brand. In this case, the emphasis on Singapore is built and grown by design. Next is the development of a brand identity that differentiates Singapore from other UNESCO design creative cities. Finally, the delivery of brand messages to all relevant stakeholders. This research contributes to the development of branding concepts related to creative cities.

The Impact of Brand Awareness and Country of Origin in the Advertising Effectiveness of Greek Food Products in the United Kingdom: The Case of Greek Yogurt.

The present study aims to investigate the country-of-origin effect and the branding process on the brand equity of Greek yogurt abroad, specifically in the United Kingdom. The research was carried out as a 2 × 2 experiment using a closed-ended questionnaire with the participation of a total of 400 consumers, using two Greek yogurts (branded and non-branded) as the product under study, with or without country-of-origin insignia (viz. the Greek flag) on the packaging. According to the research results, brand equity was found to be higher for the branded Greek yogurt with country-of-origin insignia among the four product categories, as reflected in its three sub-dimensions (brand awareness, loyalty, and perceived quality). It was also found that country of origin influences brand equity regardless of branding, a finding that confirms the significant effect of this factor on consumers' perceptions. This highlights the distinction between perceived quality and the specific image of the country in terms of its production experience for a specific product category. Based on these findings, Greek yogurt companies exporting abroad should lay great emphasis on developing branding strategies to strengthen their product brand, while at the same time incorporate country of origin as an indicator of the quality of their brand. The latter finding applies in particular to less well-known brands, since geographical indication (insignia) or other strategies that promote the country of origin are perceived as important informational cues for consumers.

A Conceptual Framework for Creating Brand Management Strategies

Branding has become a business priority over the past few decades due to the growing awareness that brands are one of the companies’ most valuable intangible assets. Academics and practitioners have proposed models of components to simplify brands into a small number of parts, or dimensions. Nonetheless, there is a lack of specific approaches to brand management models that fit specific business scenarios. The objective of this study was to propose a general framework to create custom brand management strategies that fit specific business scenarios through a set of independent brand dimensions. The framework was applied to the specific case of SME alliance in a B2B export environment as an example of use. This study reviews the most cited brand management models in literature and classified them into 12 independent brand dimensions. The results suggest that regardless of the brand management model, all of them converge on the fact that creating a high-quality brand relationship with the customer is crucial for the branding process. Findings suggest non-evident relationships between dimensions. The findings also suggest that brand dimensions’ and brand dimension relationships’ importance in specific business scenarios shape brand management models in unique ways.

Sport events, brand extensions, and branding Phoenix, Arizona

ABSTRACT The application of branding techniques has emerged as a strategy to identify, position, and differentiate destinations. Brand extensions primarily focus on leveraging a single common brand, which avoids the need for customers to be familiar with another partnered brand. One way DMOs and destination marketers use brand extensions is through the use of sport events. This study used the Phoenix Metropolitan Area, AZ (PMA) as a research site to investigate the process of destination branding by examining sport events as destination brand extensions. A qualitative case study approach was employed, with interviews with key stakeholders. Results suggest that the PMA’s overall destination brand relates to the outdoors, with four individual brand extensions identified: (a) weather; (b) resorts; (c) recreation and leisure activities; and (d) sport/sport events. Major professional sports team events did not fit as congruently as other types of events when serving as destination brand extensions, relative to the Valley’s outdoor parent brand. Results are discussed in terms of sport events’ role as part of greater destination brand range, relationship to other destination brand extensions, and using sport event brand extensions to enrich the destination brand. This study revealed that sport events in the PMA do serve as a prominent asset and selling point that influences the PMA’s overall destination brand. However, sport events are not seen as the area’s primary destination branding strategy, and local DMOs and tourism stakeholders in the PMA must create and maintain a broader and more comprehensive destination brand that showcases other notable attractions.

Emerging Food Tourism in India : Are Foodscape Destinations Strategically Branded? A Perspective

Food tourism is becoming very popular in India as the country possesses a greater linkage of food with culture, tradition, heritage, health, and so on. Tourists across the globe prefer India as their choice for satisfying their food motives. This form of tourism is highly profitable and viable to promote the other tourism types. Though food destinations are branded effectively , a strategic approach of inculcating the critical aspects of sustainability , such as regeneration, rediscovery , and circular economy , in the branding process is unseen. This perspective note indicates the relevance and importance of including those critical factors in strategic food destination branding process for a sustainable future. The perspective evoked in-depth and doable thoughts of blending the sustainability elements in branding the food destinations based on the self-reflection inferences, research readings, and interactions with the destination management organizations and marketers.

Mobilities of toponymic place branding in an autocratic post-Soviet city: The Mayak Minska (the Lighthouse of Minsk) and the Minsk-Mir (the Minsk-World) megaprojects

ABSTRACT This article analyzes the spatial politics of profit-oriented place naming (toponymic commodification) in connection with two urban megaprojects in the Belarusian capital. We focus on the Mayak Minska (the Lighthouse of Minsk) and the Minsk-Mir (the Minsk-World), by far the largest residential-commercial urban developments in post-Soviet era Minsk, and actualizations of the Belarusian regime’s urban growth and multi-vector foreign policies since the mid-2000s. Theoretically, we elaborate on three toponymy-related mobilities: the traveling of neoliberal policy models, investment-attraction strategies that seek to benefit from transnational real estate financing, and the globally circulating thematic variants in toponymy. Our data covers the names of 185 residential high-rises and quarters. The findings unveil that the high art –evoking toponyms in the Mayak Minska and the sixteen geographically and thematically organized toponymic categories in the Minsk-Mir are carefully branded toponymic productions based on the logic of symbolic mimicry. Meanwhile, the toponymic commodification in the analyzed developments has been propelled forward through transnational state-business relations: through situation-specific alliances with the Russian and the UAE-based investors, and in particular through the Belarusian regime’s close-knit collaborations and reciprocal promotional propaganda with the Serbia-originated BK Group and its real estate business affiliates. The documented processes of toponymic place branding have been an attempt at legitimating the prevailing Belarusian political system via its achievements in facilitating urban growth and modernization; however, they have co-occurred with the heavy-handed treatment of domestic political opponents and media critics in Belarus.

THE ROLE AND IMPORTANCE OF PEOPLE DIMENSION IN CITY BRANDING IN DIGITAL AGE

City branding, as a relatively new concept and research topic, has been positioned as one of the most important factors for overall city image and its further development. Besides location, infrastructure, natural beauty, heritage, prerequisites and potential, people are also seen as an integral part of city branding, especially in digital age. Local population represents an important pillar of city branding due to its characteristics, hospitality (joviality and friendliness), as well as lifestyle (relaxation, enjoyment in food and drink, friendship, music). The aim of this paper is to analyze the role and importance of the local population in city branding in the digital age. This paper may be valuable for city leaders and residents who are involved in the city branding process, because it analyzes and provides guidance on how the local population affects the general atmosphere of the city and its brand in the digital age.

Preference for branded fresh produce and consumers' need for uniqueness: A mixed-methods investigation of consumer choice and thought process

Branding is an important tool to increase a product's value. Fresh fruits and vegetables are largely unbranded. This study aimed to 1) investigate consumer preferences for brands (including brand transfers) of fresh produce, compared with other extrinsic attributes, 2) identify consumer segments and describe them with the psychological scale “food and beverage need for uniqueness” (FBNFU), and 3) explore consumer thought processing of brands during choice. We applied a concurrent mixed-methods approach: a discrete choice experiment and latent class analysis (quantitative) and a think-aloud interview (qualitative). Results showed that brands are not generally the most important attribute for choice. Experimental brand transfers received the lowest preference rating (i.e., part-worth utilities). However, for certain consumer segments, branding is most important. The consumer segments with the strongest preference for brands showed the highest level of FBNFU. Consumers' thought process during choice typically starts with brand recognition, and associations follow. Consumers with negative or no associations, or who were unfamiliar with the brand, disregarded the brand as the choice process progressed. Our results provide insights into the value of fresh-produce brands for consumers. Practitioners should target the FBNFU mindset and maximize brand awareness when promoting branded fresh produce.

Evolution of COVID-19 tweets about Southeast Asian Countries: topic modelling and sentiment analyses

Despite the global scale of this pandemic, comparison and contrast of topics, sentiment and emotions of tweets among countries are limited. Further, most previous studies covered a short timeframe due to the recency of the event and the large volume of tweets. The purposes of this research were to (1) identify the multiplicity of public discourse about countries during the COVID-19 pandemic and how they evolved, (2) compare and contrast sentiment levels and (3) compare emotions about countries over time. The research scope covered 115,553 tweets that mentioned ten countries in Southeast Asia (SEA) from 22 January 2020 to 31 July 2021. This research presents the infoveillance methods—using a topic modelling algorithm (LDA), VADER and NRC sentiment analyses—that elucidated the evolution and the emergence of public narratives and sentiment affecting country brands during the pandemic. Results also shed light on the role of word-of-mouth (WOM) communications in the place branding process.

Role of celebrity endorsement in promoting employees' organization identification: A brand-based perspective.

Celebrity endorsement has been used for decades to promote products to consumers. As employees are one of the primary stakeholders and are known as second consumers, their concerns about celebrity endorsement effectiveness and pride need attention for building their identification with an organization. This study investigated the internal branding process by examining employees’ brand orientation, celebrity-organization value congruence, and the accuracy of employee portrayal. Data are collected from a leading multinational bank in Pakistan through a structured questionnaire. The results of the study showed that when employees felt celebrity endorsement matched organizational values, the celebrity successfully portrayed actual corporate values. Thus, employees believed that endorsement effectively gained consumers’ attention and built a strong corporate image. The study affirmed that employees’ sense of pride toward their organization motivates them to identify with it. Furthermore, the results showed that value congruence mediates the relationship between brand orientation and endorsement effectiveness, while pride mediates the relationship between endorsement effectiveness and organization identification. Service organizations could use brand orientation to gain accurate employee portrayal that revives their pride and attachment with the organization and enhances corporate identification. The future directions and limitations are discussed.

Examining relationship marketing and strategic branding in b2b Greek SMEs: A family business development

Α survey of relationship marketing, branding, and the family business life cycle is conducted to determine the extent to which these variables ensure their path to the next generation. The study examines whether interpersonal relationships apply to family SME businesses and how they adopt relationship marketing as their main strategy. The study provides an insightful benchmarking approach between family businesses in early stage (1st and 2nd generation) and well-established (3rd and 4th generation) companies. In addition, the adopted branding process is examined. A qualitative method was chosen for the interviews with five B2B Greek family companies in the trading sector. Family businesses are Greek, have a known brand name, and family members are involved in the decision-making process. All participants agree that personal or friendly relationships of the owner-founder with customers, suppliers, and staff are crucial at the launch of businesses, and growth is a synonym for business survival. Data analysis revealed that relationship marketing is not related to the stages of development, as different perceptions were observed among participants of well-established and companies in the early stage. The results also show a significant relationship between different stages of family business’s development and branding strategies, documenting that owners of well-established family businesses focus on organizational structure and culture. In contrast, owners of family businesses in the early stage rely on personal relationships. Branding strategy seems to be the appropriate approach for a family-owned business to survive in the marketplace and have succeed pass on to the next generations.

Winning applicants and influencing job seekers: An introduction to the special issue on employer branding and talent acquisition

AbstractThis article introduces the special issue in Human Resource Management featuring employer branding and talent acquisition. We provide a brief history of talent acquisition and introduce an employer branding approach to this process, especially emphasizing the potential of this approach for building competitive advantage. The challenges of employer branding on social media in the digital age are also highlighted. We then introduce the five papers contained in this issue, each representing a variety of levels of analysis, theoretical perspectives, environmental contexts, and methodological and design approaches to scholarly investigations on this topic. Our introduction concludes with a list of research questions characterizing an agenda for future research based aroundthe themes of (i) macro contextual effects; (ii) strategic employer branding; (iii) psychology and processing of employer brands; (iv) role the time; and (v) methods and approaches.

The Concept of Three and Visual Branding of Laweyan Surakatra Batik

The ‘Concept of Three’ dominated the visual branding practices of Laweyan Surakarta batik prior to the 1970s. The concept can be interpreted from various aspects: scientifically, religiously, socially, culturally, and mathematically. This study aimed to reveal the meaning of the visual branding process of Laweyan Surakarta batik prior to the 1970s, especially regarding the Concept of Three. The data collection methods included document analysis, observations and in-depth interviews. This study employed a symbolic power approach based on Bourdieu’s theory. The findings indicated that the Concept of Three used by Laweyan Surakarta batik-makers was influenced by the thinking of etiquette-makers. Their thoughts were based on their belief in the computations of meaning. Laweyan Surakarta batik-makers upheld the concept of Javanese aesthetics as the main consideration in creating etiquette in addition to taking into account the marketing concept. The cultural values of the community, which have been embedded in the individuals since childhood, have caused the Concept of Three to become rooted in the mentality of the batik community.
 Keywords: Concept of Three, batik etiquette, Laweyan