Purpose  The purpose of this paper is from a consumer perspective analysis whether or not blogs are affecting a customer?s purchase behaviour to a larger extent compared to traditional marketing methods through TV commercials. Additionally, within the scope of this try to identify the type of consumers that are more influenced to a purchase decision by blog contents compared to others.Methods Through a quantitative approach this study will examine the effectiveness of advertising in blogs. A survey was used in order to collect data where the respondents corresponded to the population in Sweden in the ages 15-79. Initially the size of the blog audience was estimated and thereafter it was examined how many of these that were affected towards a purchase decision by blogs.

The purpose of this study is to compare students (both male and female), from the Linnaeus University in Kalmar, about their perceptions with a particular focus on identity and self-esteem. In regards to the current societal problem concerning obesity and beauty ideals, this paper aimed to study the student?s opinions concerning health and diets in order to fully answer the purpose of the study. The theory used in this paper is in particular regards to identity and self-esteem. In order to answer the study questions, a qualitative approach was conducted in the form of various focus groups.

The advantages with product placement in blogs compared to traditional media is shown in earlier empirical findings where consumers found blog posts more credible and informative than a corresponding article in a web paper. It can therefore be argued that the informal structure and personal tonality of the blog reinforces the effects of product placement on brand attitude and intention to buy as the consumer has no persuasion knowledge and does not detect the rewriting of the product as commercial.This paper?s overall aim is to provide concrete implications for how to manage product placement on fashion blogs. The purpose of the essay is therefore to investigate the communicative effects of product placement in fashion blogs as well as to examine if a revelation of commercial interest behind a blog posts about a certain brand effects the consumers? attitude towards the blog and/or brand attitude and intention to buy.

Syftet med den här studien är att undersöka hur en grupp unga, svenska kvinnor mellan 20-30 år upplever de kvinnliga skönhetsidealen, samt att granska vad målgruppen anser om Doves Campaign for Real Beauty. Syftet är att studera om informanterna upplever kampanjen som ett steg i rätt riktning för att öka diskussionen och vidga begreppet skönhet. Med detta hoppas vi uppnå en större förståelse för hur unga svenska kvinnor ser på skönhetsidealen idag och om kampanjer likt Doves, är rätt tillvägagångssätt för att nå ett förändrat ideal.Teori: Delar av feministisk teori, receptionsstudier samt Stuart Halls teori om inkodning och avkodning.Metod: Två kvalitativt semistrukturerade fokusgruppsintervjuer med totalt sju kvinnor.Slutsatser: Informanterna skiljer på skönhet och skönhetsideal. De anser att Doves kampanj, Campaign for Real Beauty är ett steg i rätt riktning för ett förändrat ideal. Däremot ifrågasätter de Doves uttalade budskap med kampanjen och menar att det huvudsakliga målet skulle vara att öka försäljningen och stärka varumärket, snarare än att öka kvinnors självförtroende..

Academic research indicates that critical publicity can have a detrimental effect on brand attitudes. The negative effects have been showed to be buffered by cognitive bias elicited by strong favourable attitudes, commitment, brand certainty and brand identification. It has been proposed that the influence of such bias in a news reporting context should be studied, something that also is interesting from a brand perspective. The study therefore investigated whether a well-publicised scandal in one period can lead to increased critical publicity in the coming periods. A case study of Swedish grocery chain ICA was conducted.

Today, we live in a consumption society. We buy products to soothe our needs and desires. Thru material things we can express our own personal identity and shopping is seen more as a pleasure than a need to survive. With the background media- and communication studies, the reason of this study was to explore how blogs as a social medium can influence the consumption ideal in society. With dialogical analysis and semiotic analysis we wanted to see if we could find a specific consumption culture in the content of six blogs we did our studies on. We found that the blogs showed us that there is normal to have everyday luxury and spoil oneself with expensive things.

Rhetoric is a difficult discipline to define. For centuries, rhetoricians have argued and discussed the question: what is rhetoric? Over the past 20 years, Sweden has seen a new breed of companies enter the labor market - the rhetoric consultants. If the adverts are correct, these consultants will help you become a better speaker, a greater debater and a more critical and conscious listener. In other words, you can pay to become a greater rhetorician.

ABSTRACTTitle: Elle & Café ? a study of fashion magazines cover pages.Number of pages: 38Author: Greta SimonssonTutor: Amelie HössjerCourse: Media and Communication Studies DPeriod: Spring Semester 2008University: Division of Media and Communication, Department of Information Science, Uppsala UniversityAim: The purpose of this essay is to:? Analyze the cover images from the 2007 editions of the magazines Elles and Café, using semiotic analysis.? Analyzes eventual resemblances or differences between the two magazine's cover images based upon the result of the semiotic analysis.Material and methods: The study of Elles's and Café's cover pages has been done using a model built upon semiotic analysis, developed with the purpose of suiting observation and examination of cover pages of fashion magazines. The cover pages were analyzed from the categories character, context, and environment.Main results: The main results include the observation that both Elles and Café chooses well-known figures from women's fashion industry as prime characters on their covers. In Elles, all main characters are famous women emerging from the music, television and fashion industries. The women in Café are known for similar professions.

In the Real Estate market there are a large number of commercial properties with offices. As acompany or business you are faced with many decisions when choosing your office space.This bachelor thesis examines the concept of architectural quality with focus on beauty and itsvalue for office tenants. The ambition is to find out if beauty is a decisive factor in theselection of office and if there is a willingness to pay for it.The selected question is studied in a case study of Garnisonen where tenants, a propertyowner and an architect are interviewed, all with connection to the examination object.Garnisonen is well suited as a case study because it is Stockholm's largest office complexwith buildings from three different architectural eras. Tenants in the survey represent allarchitectural styles and have different industry affiliation.As a theoretical framework a literature study is presented where the importance of beauty forthe individual, the built environment and society are treated, and also how the office can beused for branding purposes. The interviewees? views of beauty and their opinions on beauty atwork in Garnisonen are presented in the results.

Marketing has been developed and revalued the last years. The consumer today is moreeducated and is therefore able to have higher demands. These requirements together with theincreased competition is forcing brands to find creative ways to reach their target market.Fashion has throughout history contributed to, and been influenced by, changes in society.Through all times, people have used fashion and clothing as a way to demonstrate their socialidentity and to be accepted. Companies in the fashion industry can be successful if theydevelop brands that attract consumers. To achieve this, companies must find newcommunication tools to reach out to the consumer, among these tools, we find the fashioneditorials.Our aim is to investigate whether product placement occurs in Swedish fashion editorials.Through our thesis we want to explore how consumers perceive the editorials and alsowhether if they are used as a marketing channel.The method is qualitative and the study is based on semi structured interviews and a focusgroup interview.

The purpose of this study is to examine the teachings of rhetoric?s in schools, more specifically within the Swedish subject; furthermore it examines how Swedish teachers work with rhetoric in the Swedish subject on a practical basis. The study also highlights teachers' approaches to the curriculum for high school. The method I have used to conduct this study, have been to use interviews and inductive ethnography. The teachers whom have been interviewed in my study have similar understandings of what oral presentations actually are, but their idea of what the term rhetoric stands for however differs. Teachers have received similar training in rhetoric; however, they have different experiences within it.

We have studied the effects that blogs have on the society through interviews with influential bloggers, a news director and the founder of Sweden?s largest blogprovider.Existing theoretical work by other researchers have been used as a starting point to our thesis. Via a deductive method we then proceeded to test these existing models and viewpoints on the reality.Through our research we have concluded that blogs, if they co-operate, have an agenda-setting function, and that they can affect newspapers to write about certain topics.We have also discussed blogs role as media watch dogs. Gunilla Sax, news director, questions the blog world?s ability to fully cover all media, and to deliver a systematic and just review of the media.

The Sweden democrats are a political party that has had a time of success duringthe last year. However many people believe them to be a racist party, in contrastto how they view themselves and their political message. How is it possible thatthe views of the same party differ to this extent, it seems to be a large ambiguityin their message. Rhetoric is a tool that everybody uses in some way or anotherand can be crucial to how a political party is perceived by people. Can thereforethe use of rhetoric be a factor that has contributed to the different perception of theparty and if so, in which way?With the help of theories such as semiotics, classical rhetoric and antiestablishmentstrategy, different texts, such as motions, and pictures published bythe Sweden democrats can be analyzed to find ways they use rhetoric.In the analysis it was obvious that they used rhetoric, even though therhetorical quality differed between the leading persons in the party and the peoplewho represented the Sweden democrats in the local government.

For centuries, the human body has been used as a mean to project the norms, moral values and aesthetic preferences that exist throughout society. It has been controlled through constrictive fashion, family and social virtues and through how we perceive gender and sexuality. This essay strives to show, not only how the body and the aesthetic values coexist, but also how they work together and influence each other, with the body as the aesthetic medium. To do this, Michel Foucault?s writings of sexuality and his theories on morality and discipline, as well as Judith Butler?s works on normativity and performativity are being used.

Lindex has a strong fashion position and is one of northern Europe's leading fashion retailers. Unfortunately their logotype no longer measures up to the fashion level that is required. Surveys and interviews have been conducted with employees at Lindex, disscusing their logotype. I have come to the conclusion that what is needed from Lindex side is strict guidlines for the employees to follow so that all information from Lindex to their customers is made with a great touch of fashion to it and in a coherent way..