Understanding Of Branding Research Articles

Corporate greenfluencing: a case study of sponsorship activation in Formula E motorsports

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how companies activate their sponsorship of Formula E (for Electric) championship races to influence consumers' opinion of them as sustainable businesses.Design/methodology/approachDrawing on an original combination of promotional outputs (YouTube spots, social media releases and sustainability reports) from Formula E race title sponsors in the 2017–2019 seasons, the paper is a qualitative analysis of how these sponsors solve the value clash between traditional motorsport imagery and environmentalism to achieve “narrative authenticity”.FindingsFindings show that sponsors do not address this clash directly. Instead, the conflict itself is reframed as a question of what sponsors do to improve the environment, not what they ndo not do. Second, the timeframe for action is redefined, which means that the future is what counts, not the situation today or given aims like the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.Originality/valueSponsorship activation through Formula E as way of generating green brand equity would come across as more credible if companies improved the use of cross-platform synergies to convey narrative authenticity. To qualitative researchers on sport sponsorship, the findings strengthen the understanding of brands as “cultural narrators”.

Cultural equity: knowledge and outcomes aspects

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to propose cultural equity as a construct to better understand the characteristics that define a culturally symbolic brand and the downstream consequences for consumer behavior and nation branding in the era of globalization.Design/methodology/approachThis paper is an empirical investigation of the knowledge and outcome aspects of cultural equity with a total of 1,771 consumers located in three different countries/continents, 77 different brands as stimuli, and using a variety of measures, surveys, lab experiments, procedures and consumer contexts.FindingsCultural equity is the facet of brand equity attributed to the brand's cultural symbolism or the favorable responses by consumers to the cultural symbolism of a brand. A brand has cultural equity if it has a distinctive cultural symbolism in consumers' minds (brand knowledge aspect of cultural equity: association with the central concept that defines the culture, embodiment of culturally relevant values and embeddedness in a cultural knowledge network), and such symbolism elicits a favorable consumer response to the marketing of the brand (outcome aspect of cultural equity: favorable evaluations and strong self-brand connections).Practical implicationsThis paper offers a framework that allows marketers to develop cultural positioning strategies in hyper-competitive and globalized markets and identify ways for building and protecting their brands' cultural equity.Originality/valueThis paper advances our understanding of brands as cultural symbols by introducing cultural equity and integrates prior research on brand equity, cross-cultural differences in consumer behavior, country-of-origin effects and nation branding.

How does brand loyalty interact with tourism destination? Exploring the effect of brand loyalty on place attachment

The research examines to what extent emotional place attachment is impacted by people's feelings towards international companies associated with the place, and what mechanism and conditions drive such effects. The research draws on the feelings-as-information perspective and empirically tests the relationships in three international multi-method studies. The results demonstrate that brand loyalty plays a key role in place affective image and emotional place attachment. The study theorizes and empirically shows the importance of affect, authenticity, and cultural distance in such relationships. Critically, it enriches understanding of brand–place relationships and identify key boundary conditions. Tourism marketers need to appropriately manage perceptions of local brands' authenticity and consider cultural distance when designing destination campaigns in their efforts to strengthen place attachment.

What Drives Sustainable Brand Awareness: Exploring the Cognitive Symmetry between Brand Strategy and Consumer Brand Knowledge

The explosive development of social media has given great opportunities to academic and industry research on consumer brand knowledge. Particularly, the brand associative network has been most frequently used to describe consumer brand knowledge structure. However, few researchers have examined the embedded connotation of the brand knowledge structural measurement in regard to sustainable brand performance and adjusted their brand strategies accordingly. Combining psychological cognitive theory and the network analytic method, this paper aims to extend this area by investigating the relationship between brand structural position in consumers’ associative knowledge network and sustainable brand awareness. Using a monthly dataset of around 130 million user posts, we find that compared to a prior determined brand strategy, brand network centrality in consumer’s brand associative knowledge network shows a much more significant positive effect on sustainable brand awareness. Importantly, we further examined the symmetric matching of brand positioning strategy and consumer’s brand knowledge structure for sustainable brand awareness. We find that sustainable brand awareness will be promoted by a symmetric matching brand positioning strategy with its position in the associative knowledge work. Our study facilitates an understanding of brands based on consumer perceptions for managers and enables businesses to adjust their relevant strategies for the achievement of sustainable brand performance.

Branded Employee Behaviour as a Double-Edged Sword: How Perceptions of Service Employees Impact Job Seekers' Application Intentions

Prior brand experiences affect job seekers’ application decisions, as they recall service encounters with brands which they have experienced as customers. As brand representatives, service employees play a critical role in these recollections. Their behaviour might inform job seekers’ understanding of the employer brand, thereby affecting their application decision. The impact of the service employee’s behaviour might be even more impactful if this behaviour is branded, meaning that the employee’s appearance and manner are representative of the brand values. In this paper, we analyse whether and how branded service employee behaviour affects job seekers’ application intentions. We argue that branded service employee behaviour provides two opposing signals: it contributes to consistent evaluations of the brand, leading to more brand trustworthiness and enhancing job seekers’ application intentions. However, it may also be perceived as inauthentic, reducing job seekers’ application intentions. Findings from a scenario experiment provide evidence of both effects.

Selling places: a community-based model for promoting local food. The case of Rhondda Cynon Taf

PurposeThis paper aims to evaluate how places approach the promotion of local food products and what it means to produce, consume and support local produce in a rural region.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses a participatory action-reflective approach through a series of three focus groups held over consecutive weeks with nine participants. This included local food producers, artists and community members, with data collected through focus group discussions, reflective video diaries and a questionnaire. The research was conducted in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, a region with entrepreneurial potential but lacking a reputation for food.FindingsFindings demonstrate confused perceptions of local identity, leading to a clichéd image of the region. As such, an origin brand may do little to enhance the value of local produce or increase economic prosperity in places that lack an established identity. Places with a more recognised reputation for food, such as Wales, could benefit from an origin brand, similar to Brittany.Originality/valueThe study extends the academic understanding of place branding by investigating the value of using origin branding in promoting food products. The context of a lesser-known region highlights the importance of awareness and reputation for the successful implementation of the brand. Additionally, the unique community-led action-reflective methodology provides a holistic model in exploring the effective development of the brand.

Building strong nation brands

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to offer a new conceptual model for nation branding, rooted in the marketing literature, with associated tasks for the nation brand marketer.Design/methodology/approachThe paper draws on the extant literatures on brand identity systems, cultural branding and brand equity to develop a conceptual model for nation branding. The author also identifies five key challenges faced by the nation brand marketer.FindingsNation branding has captured the attention of policy makers around the world, but has only received limited attention by international marketing scholars. Much of the work on nation branding is done by practitioners who regard nation branding as a separate field of inquiry. The author argues that nation branding is an important emerging new form of branding, and that we should use and adapt the rich branding literature to deepen our understanding of nation branding and develop plans for action. The author proposes a model for nation branding, which consists of six stages. Furthermore, the author identifies five issues that keep the nation brand marketer awake at night.Originality/valueThe paper integrates three streams of work on branding to develop a new, six-step model for building strong nation brands. For each stage, the key tasks for the nation-branding marketer are identified.

Assessing Consumer Perceptions of Neolocalism: Making a Case for Microbreweries as Place-Based Brands

The current study considers microbrewery taproom customers’ perceptions of neolocalism and the influence that these perceptions have on relationship quality (i.e., satisfaction and trust) and the subsequent influences on place attachment and brand attachment. The current study also utilizes a discussion of neolocalism to posit that the current understanding of place-based brands should be extended to consider the social aspects related to a place. Results indicate that perceptions of neolocalism have a significant positive influence on relationship quality, and relationship quality has significant positive influences on place attachment and brand attachment. Practitioner and academic implications of the research are discussed in detail.

Brand Empowerment and Brand Consistent Behavior: Mediating Role of Brand Psychological Ownership and Employee Brand Understanding

This study aimed to investigate the connection of brand empowerment with employee brand understanding, brand psychological ownership, and brand consistent behavior. Secondly, mediating role of brand psychological ownership and employee brand understanding in the relationship of brand empowerment and brand consistent behavior was also examined. Survey method was used to collect data from 274 employees of banking sector through multistage sampling. Measures of Brand Consistent Behavior Scale (King, Grace, & Funk, 2012), Employee Brand Understanding Scale (Piehler et al., 2016), Brand Psychological Ownership Scale (Chang et al., 2012), and Brand Empowerment Scale (King, So, & Grace, 2013) were used. Results affirmed the positive relationship between brand empowerment with brand psychological ownership and employee brand understanding. Moreover, brand psychological ownership and employee brand understanding had positive relationship with brand consistent behavior of the employees. Findings further indicated that the relationship of brand empowerment and brand consistent behavior was mediated by brand psychological ownership and employee brand understanding. Implications of the study were also discussed.

The Interplay Between Brand Globalness and Localness for Iconic Global and Local Brands in the Transitioning Chinese Market

Focusing on the transitioning Chinese market, this study examined the interplay between perceived brand globalness and localness for local and global brands. Focus groups and in-depth interviews were first conducted to explore Chinese consumers’ changing meaning-making of iconic global and Chinese brands. The qualitative findings illuminated consumers’ evolving understanding of global and local brands, and the complicated dynamics between perceived brand globalness and localness. An online survey was subsequently administered to empirically assess the connection between brand globalness and localness across different iconic local and global brand pairs. The impacts of these brand perceptions on brand prestige and quality were further evaluated.

Reframing the awareness funnel and lead nurturing strategies to increase B2B brand awareness and quality lead generation

Many business-to-business organisations tend to focus their efforts predominantly on intent marketing strategies owing to the very nature of the buyer’s understanding of, and willingness to buy, their product. For the most part, this strategy makes sense — when someone is actively looking to buy your product or service, it is an easy win for your organisation. However, adding well-executed paid social strategies is an effective way to reach and educate a wider audience, nurturing their intent and feeding your lead generation machine. Intent marketing strategies are great at reaching a certain subset of your target market — but more needs to be done to reach larger audiences who may not yet have intent to buy your product owing to lack of understanding and knowledge of your brand and service. This paper, outlines tried and true strategies aimed at increasing brand awareness while simultaneously educating and nurturing intent.

Examining the drivers of employee brand understanding: a longitudinal study

Purpose The purpose of this study is to extend previous research by using a longitudinal design to examine the differential contribution of brand understanding (BU) drivers at various moments in the early tenure of service employees. Employee BU is a prerequisite of brand promise delivery among service employees. Previous studies, using cross-sectional samples, established that brand-oriented recruitment, training and leadership are significant BU drivers. Design/methodology/approach A three-wave survey was collected from a 105-member panel of recent hires at a restaurant chain that displayed a strong brand culture and adopted internal brand management (IBM) practices. Structural equation models with carryover effects were estimated to measure the impact of BU drivers on Day 1, as well as at four and seven months of tenure. In addition, a latent growth model of BU was estimated using random coefficients modeling. Findings Results show a significant positive effect of IBM practices on BU at each point in time; however, despite this, by the seven month milestone, BU is still not fully developed. Research limitations/implications As with most organizational longitudinal studies, there was sample attrition because of the high turnover that characterizes the restaurant industry. This attrition is not believed to be correlated with the variables measured in the study. Practical implications Managers seeking a differentiated customer experience should not assume new hires attain a good understanding of the service brand even after the first seven months of tenure. Hence, brand training and leadership should extend well beyond this time frame. Originality/value This study is the first, as per the authors’ understanding, to use a longitudinal design to model BU as a dynamic variable because it befits the learning trajectories of new employees.

Hotel internal branding: A participatory action study with a case hotel

Successful hotel branding requires the management of both external and internal branding. External branding has been widely studied to understand how hotel brands connect with customers; however, internal branding targets internal employees, and the practice is not well understood by hoteliers. For that reason, this study proposes a framework for implementing internal branding in hotel organizations. We analyzed an internal branding project for three consecutive years using a participatory action study. The findings of this study support a six dimensions framework for implementing internal branding strategies: (1) corporate support; (2) leadership of managers; (3) reciprocal learning; (4) being proactive at the personal level; (5) characteristics of departments; and (6) performance evaluation. In the proposed framework, we applied a combined social identity and social exchange approach to identify how these approaches function in different paths which contributes new theoretical insights to the understanding of internal branding.

‘Do you wanna come with me?’: The role of the star image as brand for the commodification of cult in mainstream telefantasy

ABSTRACT A key strategy of TV companies in the UK and US since the late 1990s, has been to create distinctive channel brands with flagship TV shows as brands that act to convey the channel’s brand values to audiences. Mainstream quality cult shows, including Doctor Who for the BBC and Game of Thrones for HBO, have conveyed something of the brand of their respective channels in the highly competitive multi-media global TV market. In this essay, I analyse star images as brands (aspects of star image used for economic and promotional purposes), to consider their role as part of the launch and promotion of global cult telefantasy brands through promotional paratexts and their subsequent integration into the TV series narrative. Through the analysis, I argue that key aspects of star brands – particularly authenticity and intertextuality – are a central part of processes of mainstreaming, ‘cult-ification’ and generic balance, necessary to make mainstream cult telefantasy in the contemporary TV landscape. I contend this highlights the increasing importance of cult as a currency in global TV branding and of star brands in shoring up its extensive commodification. In doing so, I add to the understanding of star branding as part of the commodification of cult for mainstream telefantasy, a previously under-studied/theorised aspect of star and television studies.

Facebook brand community bonding: The direct and moderating effect of value creation behaviour

The present research deepens in the understanding of brand bonding in Facebook brand communities, drawing on value creation behaviours, the parasocial interaction paradigm and the attachment theory. Building up on these theories, our proposed conceptual model posits a direct relationship between value creation behaviour and brand community bonding, resulting from users’ interactions with other community members. The study also examines the moderating role of value co-creation behaviour on community members’ predispositions to develop emotionally based relationships with brands. The sample of the study consisted of 370 followers of brand Facebook pages and the model was assessed using PLS-SEM. The results confirm the posited direct and interaction effects, thus evidencing brand community involvement, attachment and advocacy as components of brand community bonding, and members’ value creation behaviour as its driver and moderator. Practical implications for online brand community managers are also provided.

Impact of External Communication on Internal Brand Management Outcomes Using Employees as a Second Audience: A Comparative Analysis of Manufacturing and Service Sectors of Pakistan

This study investigated the effect of External Brand Communications on internal brand management practices using brand commitment and brand understanding as factors determining the phenomenon and subsequently analyzing the effect of both internal and external factors on brand citizenship behavior. A sample size of 300 respondents was selected from manufacturing and service oriented companies and the effects were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling. It was found that there is significant and positive influence of brand understanding in determination of brand citizenship behavior and reflected mediating role of external communication congruence. Furthermore, it has also found that internal brand management practices are more evident in case of manufacturing firm i.e. a reputed Biscuits Manufacturing Company as compare to financial firm i.e. a renowned Private Limited Bank. It reveals necessity of work required in case of Private Limited Bank to work on external communication practices and integrate it with internal brand management practices to increase its role in determination of employee behavior and their role in propagating brand image as second audience.

Latest research on brand relationships: introduction to the special issue

PurposeThis paper aims to outline the role of brands as relationship builders and to offer a better understanding of the recent developments and key literature in the area of consumer–brand relationships.Design/methodology/approachThis paper is an editorial based mainly on a literature review on consumer–brand relationships. It uses the sentiment range and passion intensity to position various brand relationship constructs. This work follows the same bibliometric-analysis approach used by Fetscherin and Heinrich (2014) and looked for publications in the Web of Science on brand relationships, with reference to Fournier’s (1998) seminal work and data collected for the period between January 2010 and November 2018.FindingsFirst, this work presents the key consumer–brand relationship terms and positions the work on brand love, brand like, brand hate, brand dislike and brand indifference. In addition, the bibliometric analysis offers a number of insights into the current state of the academic research in the area of consumer–brand relationships, including a clear indication that the research on consumer–brand relationships is increasing.Originality/valueThis work and the whole special issue together help in the understanding of brands as relationship builders, clearly explaining the continuum from strong positive or negative relationships with brands to no relationship with brands and the current state of research in the area.

Co-constructing loyalty in an era of digital music fandom

PurposeThis paper aims to answer the following question: How can a discursive approach to how music fans construct loyalty in a digital context contribute to a theoretical understanding of brand loyalty?Design/methodology/approachDrawing on insights from theories of brand loyalty and fandom, this interpretive inquiry makes use of data from an online forum dedicated to the rock music band, U2, and interviews with forum members. A combination of online ethnography and discourse analysis are used.FindingsThe analysis shows that music fans mobilise particular discursive resources in constructing loyalty in the digital context, specifically length of time spent as a fan, obsession and the opposition of obligation and choice. These discursive resources reflect a grounded account of an experientially rooted brand loyalty that extends beyond attitudinal and behavioural loyalty and which is particularly salient in music consumption.Research limitations/implicationsThis is a single case study, but as a rich and vibrant online community, it provides fruitful insights into the discursive construction of loyalty. The processes of negotiation, accommodation and conflict, engaged in through online discourse, are important in laying bare the preferences, value systems and meanings that frame the experiences of loyal consumers.Practical implicationsThis socially constructed view of loyalty facilitates a more sensitive and nuanced application of brand loyalty, with implications for segmentation and targeting activities. It provides a possible basis through which precise insights can be gained into the meanings and practices of loyal fans and consumers.Originality/valueExamining loyalty through the lens of online music fandom enables a discursive understanding of consumers’ experience of brand loyalty. It shows how online engagement with other consumers of a brand facilitates a deep engagement with the notion of loyalty.

Augmenting the urban place brand – On the relationship between markets and town and city centres

This paper explores (1) the interrelationship between the commercial performance of markets and town and city centres, (2) the positive and negative spill-over effects between them and (3) the implications for the understanding of the place brand and its management. It employs a network and place branding perspective and applies a multi-method case study approach utilising surveys and semi-structured interviews with stall-, store- and city centre managers in two European cities. Results reveal strong relationships between the commercial performance of the markets and the performance of the city centres. Findings confirm bi-directional positive spill-over effects between markets and city centres. Further, they reveal negative spill-over effects related to infrastructural deficiencies of the city centres and negative by-products of the increased footfall generated by the markets. This research provides insights into the role of markets as key features of urban place products and their potential in augmenting an urban place brand.

PENGUATAN WORD OF MOUTH MELALUI STRATEGI INTERNAL BRANDING DI PERGURUAN TINGGI SWASTA INDONESIA

The purpose of this research is to generate a mapping the level of internal customer internalization of the PTS brands based on intellectual commitment and emotional commitment, as well as its influence on the power of WOM. The sample used is PTS' lecturer in Jakarta area as internal customer. Measurement of brand internalization in this research through the assessment of intellectual commitment, and emotional commitment of lecturers to PTS' brand. Data were collected through answers from questionnaires containing sample opinions on research variables. While the model of the influence of intellectual commitment and emotional commitment to WOM is done by using the model of Structural Equation Model (SEM) processed using the PLS program. The result of this research concludes that the lecturer is in the segment of brand activist. Another result of this research is intellectual commitment and emotional commitment are statistically significant influence on WOM. So that the WOM strength of the lecturer, can be built through the improvement of brand understanding, brand trust and brand delivery lecturers.