As commonly known, Social Media is a rapidly growing area. Since consumers to a great extent are present in Social Media, this new internet environment is increasing in relevance for consumer marketing. For controversial brands that are regulated in conventional marketing channels Social Media is an extra ordinary marketing opportunity, since social media is a legal grey area. More and more controversial brands are taking advantage of this opportunity, but the effects of these marketing activities are fairly unknown. Therefore there is an interest in examining the controversial brands marketing progression in Social Media.

Inspired by the current debate over the effectiveness of Public Relations (PR), the authors of the following thesis have sought to analyze how PR and advertising differ in terms of how they affect consumers. The subject of the thesis was chosen due to the lacking knowledge of how PR shapes consumer attitudes and intentions. The authors wish to upset the institutionalized myths which dominate in the PR-business. One example of such a myth is that the effectiveness of PR can be measured by the number of press releases an activity produces and that PR?s superiority over advertising is due to its higher trustworthiness.

First objective: To bring forward managers? perceptions of the underserved consumers in emerging markets. Second objective: To reveal what implications managers? perceptions of underserved consumers in emerging markets provide for branding in these markets. Our study indicates that managers? perceptions are still lacking consumer insights within five elements (value, loyalty, purchasing power, consumers and consumption).

This study explores how consumers' attitudes and intentions-to-buy towards an atypical product can be influenced by the presentation of the product and consumers shopping goals. Moreover, another product, which was shown together with the atypical piece, was analyzed in order to investigate context effects. The aim of the study is to provide insights into a rather unexplored subject and help retailers in presenting their assortment in a way which will create a better perception and intention-to-buy towards the assortment. The study was conducted with the help of two studies, the first one aimed to find an atypical item and to see how attitudes could be affected by differences in presentation by comparing it with a typical item within the same category. The second study used the identified atypical piece in order to see the how attitude and intention-to-buy could be altered by presentation and consumer shopping goals.

PURPOSE: To analyze how companies in the Swedish beer industry strategically workingwith CSR externally in order to increase their legitimacy.METHOD: Qualitative interviews and text analysis to enable data to stakeholder analysis.MATERIAL: Respondent interviews with key individuals, textual analysis of CSR-relateddocuments of the largest beer producers in Sweden.MAIN RESULTS: The study shows that it is possible to distinguish three main categories ofstakeholders to the beer producers. These have various high stakeholder values, wherecustomers are those with the highest value, then consumers and third critics. That these havevarious high values allows different strategic approach to the key issue of how preventivemeasures, that can be said to work against their own products, affects the beer producerslegitimacy among stakeholders..

PURPOSE: To analyze how companies in the Swedish beer industry strategically workingwith CSR externally in order to increase their legitimacy.METHOD: Qualitative interviews and text analysis to enable data to stakeholder analysis.MATERIAL: Respondent interviews with key individuals, textual analysis of CSR-relateddocuments of the largest beer producers in Sweden.MAIN RESULTS: The study shows that it is possible to distinguish three main categories ofstakeholders to the beer producers. These have various high stakeholder values, wherecustomers are those with the highest value, then consumers and third critics. That these havevarious high values allows different strategic approach to the key issue of how preventivemeasures, that can be said to work against their own products, affects the beer producerslegitimacy among stakeholders..

The purpose of this study is to examine a brand?s green marketing and its consumers? perception of it in order to compare these views. The idea is to find a potential gap and what effect it may have on the brand. A case study has therefore been made with the grocery market brand Coop with focus on organic food. The material used consists of texts from Coop?s website to represent their brand.

Trust is the most important thing for a webshop. The consumers must be able to feel trust to choose to submit their personal information to a webshop. In this study we examine the impact that design has on the consumers trust and confidence. We study six consumers that are engaged in e-commerce in their everyday life. By allowing these participants to be presented with two different webshops, an assessement could be made in both how much design is affecting and also which parts of the design that leads to trust and lack of trust.

This research study constitutes a critical stand, which departure from the increase in welfare, and decrease in quality of life, and is further directed to the sphere of consumption. Contemporary consumers appear to seek for components to construct their self with through consumption, consumerism has become a sphere of life, and has consequently also become a victimizing force steering the identity and self construction of consumers. The alarm bells however are echoing in Western society, and consumers are experiencing dilemmas such as fragmentation, powerlessness, uncertainty and meaninglessness.In this respect we have presented spiritualism as an applicable path of escape or alternative to the scheme of the material oriented consumption sphere. We intend to broaden the scope of the interplay between spiritualism and consumerism in the act of yoga, and we have therefore been researching: what yoga is doing to consumers, and what consumers are doing to yoga. The study is based on an existential epistemology paradigm, which emphasis on the meaning of the yoga experience attained from the subjects of research; the yoga practitioners, and therefore we have carried out three focus group discussions.

The Swedish population is today exposed to more ads than ever. The number of advertising channels is growing, as well as the number of companies and their advertising expenses. As the products are becoming more alike, the harder it gets for the companies to convince the consumers their product is better than their competitors?. In order to succeed they need to understand what they communicate to the consumers through their different marketing activities, and how that affects the consumers? view of the brand and the product.

Background: Pesticides in conventional food may be related to morbidity and mortality. Furthermore pesticides have a negative impact on the whole ecosystem. Organic food can presume better health as they contain less chemicals and toxins and contribute to sustainable development efforts.Objective: The aim was to examine what attitudes consumers have regarding to purchase organic fruit, vegetables and root vegetables.Methods: The association between consumers? views on conventional food and organic food was investigated using questionnaire given to a population sample of men and women aged by 23-65 (N=60) in grocery stores and in a fitness center. The study was based on a cross-sectional study in a municipality in central Sweden.Results: Consumers were interested to buy organic food.

To be seen is essential. Presently, the marketing of different well-known brands within the same product category is done with little variation. To marketing professionals, this creates an opportunity to market products in an unexpected way. The use of incongruent market communication and by creating a discrepancy between a well-known brand?s advertisement and brand scheme, which is already established in customers? minds, is one way to be different.

The market for eco-labelled products has developed rapidly from the early nineties in Sweden. There is a full variety of environmentally friendly products on the market today, and perhaps organic food is the most popular alternative. Eco-clothes have not reached the same amount of success as other eco-labelled products on the Swedish market. In this essay I will discuss and analyze which factors that have influenced green consumers attitude and behavior towards eco clothing. Four interviews with green consumers in Karlstad have been done in order to explore consumers attitude and behavior.

The purpose of this thesis is to contribute to a further understanding of the complexity in green consumer behaviour by examining how and why individuals priorities values, personal norms and identity in green consumer behaviour. The thesis employs a qualitative approach with an abductive strategy. The empirical data was produced through in-depth interviews with green consumers. Based upon the empirical findings and theoretical concepts, a conceptual model was introduced to illustrate how consumers prioritise between several values when assessing green products. The prioritisation is dependent on internalised values as well as the product function and the need that the consumer seeks fulfilled.

The discovered horse meat scandal has had great impact in the media and given many question marks as to how consumers should be facing meat labels. In the survey made lead consumers to ask themselves, whether they think about their consumption of reliable markings discovered at a risk and, if they have changed their consumption habits since discovered horse meat scandal. The survey was carried out in a grocery store in Karlstad city central, where the results show consistent numbers. People do not like change, and in this case, do not like to change their consumption patterns. The same patterns of consumption before and after the horse meat scandal reflects the results but with only three respondents exception.