The Swedish retail business has been characterized by a small number of ruling distributors. These distributors have been affected negatively by the internationalization which has made it possible for international distributors to establish their stores in the Swedish market. These international distributors are focused on low price stores. Their establishment on the Swedish market has led to a decrease in market shares for the Swedish distributors, which has damaged their profitability. Another change that has affected the Swedish distributors is that the behavior and needs of the customers has changed.

AbstractTitle: Brand identity vs. Brand image ? a study of Löfbergs Lila, ZOÉGAS and Classic.Number of pages: 38Author: Jessika Löwling HelmerskogTutor: Peder Hård af SegerstadCourse: Media and communication sciencePeriod: Spring semester 2010University: Informatics and media, media and communication science, Uppsala University.Aim: The aim is to study the brand identity as well as the brand image for each of the brands:Löfbergs Lila, ZOÉGAS and Classic. Furthermore the aim is to determine whether the brandsidentity comport with the brands image. Ultimately the study will establish whether or not thebrands can be considered as strong brands.Method/Material: This thesis will first and foremost explain a number of theories related tothe subject which will give a deeper understanding in the subject as well as providing thereader with necessary knowledge to fully understand the study.To create a broad and correct picture of each brand interviews have been made with both thepeople behind the brand as well as with the consumers.The interviews with the brand makers have been made by a questionnaire with questionsabout the brand and its identity.The interviews with the consumers have been made through focus group interviews; twogroups with four people in each group.

The Swedish retail business has been characterized by a small number of ruling distributors. These distributors have been affected negatively by the internationalization which has made it possible for international distributors to establish their stores in the Swedish market. These international distributors are focused on low price stores. Their establishment on the Swedish market has led to a decrease in market shares for the Swedish distributors, which has damaged their profitability. Another change that has affected the Swedish distributors is that the behavior and needs of the customers has changed.

 The luxury market has steadily grown from the industrial revolution and onwards. Changes in society, trends and the increased living standards has enabled more people to consume luxury goods.The world is going through a major economic crisis at the moment. Studies shows that companies that have focused on added value rather than lowering prices has survived past financial crisis. It is also obvious that companies act very different during times of crisis. Adding to the problem is trends that point to a more careful consumption and environmental awareness.

The Swedish retail business has been characterized by a small number of ruling distributors. These distributors have been affected negatively by the internationalization which has made it possible for international distributors to establish their stores in the Swedish market. These international distributors are focused on low price stores. Their establishment on the Swedish market has led to a decrease in market shares for the Swedish distributors, which has damaged their profitability. Another change that has affected the Swedish distributors is that the behavior and needs of the customers has changed.

Many companies choose to market their products and brands with help from celebrities. This is not a new phenomenon, though, this strategy is something that we consumers start to get used to and the risk that the consumer unconsciously unselects the message grows. A recently much-disputed theory is the use of incongruent marketing. This means that companies uses a marketing message with the objective to not match the consumer?s expectations.

The aim of this thesis is to investigate how a valuation of a company preceding an acquisition can be affected by the fact that a strong brand is attached to the target company. Techniques to value a company and theories of brands are well developed, but the link between them is partially missing even though the needs to value brands have increased. A case study of five Swedish acquisitions is conducted to identify possible complicating and simplifying factors and how these are handled in the context of a valuation of an acquired company with a strong brand. Important findings are that a decreased volatility of future earnings can lead to more accurate prognoses and valuations due to the existence of a strong brand. A strong brand can, on the other hand, also make the valuation of the target company more difficult due to the fact that it is a subjective asset which increases the overall risk of the company.

The authors study the effects of brand salience on how consumers form brand attitudes and how consumers value the importance of various brand attributes. The study was conducted through two separate tests, the one focusing on the link between brand salience and brand attitudes and the other focusing on the link between brand salience and evaluations of attribute importance. Both tests measured brand salience as the ease with which brands are recalled by respondents who have been cued with a specific product category. The results show that brand salience has direct effects on both brand attitudes and the evaluation of attribute importance. As brands are recalled, high brand salience for a brand creates a more positive attitude towards that brand in the mind of the consumer.

The purpose of this study is to analyze and specify the characteristics of servicescapes in the hotel industry and its role when building a brand. Further, the aim is to put forward how Management in this sector strategically utilizes the location to manage the staff in order to help build a strong lasting brand. To fulfill our purpose we have targeted one overall question - What purpose does servicescape have when building a solid brand name in the hotel sector?In today?s society brands play an integral part in influencing our buying behavior and are now considered to be a new business tool to communicate a business trough. Also services have become a widespread phenomenon, which is seen as a competitive tool not only for companies in the service sector.

Background: Today many companies are competing to get space in our minds. Companies spend a tremendous amount of money on building strong brands. It is not just about making us aware of their logo, today it?s more about giving the brand a ?soul? and to load it with different values. Due to today?s globalization there is also interesting to look at it from a cultural perspective.

Within the last year many companies have proactively started to communicate their flaws and weaknesses, believing that this will lead to they being perceived as more personal and human. Dominos Pizza is one of many examples of a company using this practice as a strategic tool for communication. However, the problem concerning the above arises as we found that there was a very limited amount of research defining the effects of communicating flaws, where the company's both dispatcher and initiator. Our study aims to fill the gap between this growing trend and the limited research explaining the communication effects. The study was carried out as an experiment where a total of 420 respondents participated.

The thesis provides with the broad overview about the consumer awareness of the gender dimension within brand personalities. The research contributes to branding theory and gender studies and demonstrates that consumer gender influences does not influence the perceived brand personality gender. However, it also shows that consumers prefer brands with a clear gender, but not necessarily the same gendered brands..

This study views literary authors as brands and their books as products. The essay examines if different marketing activities will influence attitudes and intentions towards these brands, depending on how famous the author is and how much knowledge the consumer possess about the product category. The theory, which the hypotheses are based upon, mainly consists of research about culture, brands, attitudes and intentions. The study is quantitative and has an experimental design consisting of different written scenarios. These scenarios are based on background information about a fictive fiction author and type of marketing campaign.

Studies conducted on event marketing have mainly focused on larger events. Managerial implications, marketing techniques, and theories in the field have hence dominantly addressed events of larger nature. Event marketing however is a growing phenomenon in the marketing mix. Brands are using event marketing to a greater extent. Brands are increasingly using small events as a marketing tool in order to create brand awareness and brand image; this goes for both small brands and large brands.

The purpose of this study has been to analyze the relationship between commercial brands and a subculture, with a focus on a number of elements of success. These elements could be in the nature of sale stats as well as that of influence within the subculture. All of this within the context of the snowboard culture. In accossiation to this we have formulated a question of study:What marks brands which gains influence within a subculture in addittion to becoming an important factor in the self-expression process of the cultural members?In this study, we have practised a qualitative method based on six (6) independant interviews with participants, active within the snowboard culture as well as one outside marketing executive and one ethnological reseracher.