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Cultural intermediaries perform to mediate how goods are perceived by intended receivers; by adding symbolic value, they legitimate culturally no-yet-legitimate goods and facilitate market dynamics. Previous research on cultural intermediaries has demonstrated the way in which cultural intermediaries make markets, many of which have focused on advertising, branding, food industry and other related industry. Other studies in this field have examined the factors that affect their intermediary work and some of them have researched on specific cases which are cultural taboos or culturally not-yet-legitimate, such as sex toys and entomophagy. This qualitative longitudinal study extends the existing literature by using a non-Western product - baijiu (Chinese alcohol) and exploring baijiu cultural intermediaries in the same market line but different stages. 25 baijiu practitioners in the UK and China participated in the research, with detailed evidence gained from the interview with them. The key feature of the methodology is the interview with upstream cultural intermediaries (marketing managers, brand representatives etc.) and downstream cultural intermediaries (bartenders, restaurant servers etc.), which enabled the analysis of cultural intermediaries in the same market line but different stages. Through their narratives, the similarities and differences of cultural intermediaries in the same market line are highlighted and deeper insights are provided into how cultural intermediaries perform under a non-Western context. The research findings have implications for the study of cultural intermediaries as they fill the gap of previous studies which lack of consideration on non-Western products. They also provide insights into the interconnections between cultural intermediaries within market chains, which can be a nuanced difference compare to previous research, and the future studies in this field can take. The findings also offer implications for the study of branding, especially in alcohol industry, and provide practical implications for marketing and brand managers.

City image advertising has become one of the most used means for Chinese cities to promote their images inside and out of China. This thesis aims to investigate city image adverts as a type of advertising from the perspective of media and communication, gain a better understanding of the subject from the production practitioners, and further link the domains of content and production. This thesis takes a sequential research design from a mixed-methods approach and employs three research methods, drawing on the data of the video city image adverts issued in Guangzhou, China, in 2017-2018. By using content analysis, the study examines the city imagery (the visual, verbal and aural representations) and city imaginaries constructed in the adverts. This study is then complemented with a multimodal analysis of the meanings and ideologies carried in the city imagery and city imaginaries. Lastly, semi-structured interviews with production practitioners were conducted to investigate the definition of city image adverts from the practitioners' perspective, the production process, and most importantly, the influential factors on the content in the production process, which links these two important domains. The central contributions of this thesis are the definition of city image adverts in China, from both the perspectives of academic research and production practitioners; a hierarchical system of the constructed different places' identities from the lens of 'self' and 'other'; a model to link the city imagery, city imaginaries and the influential factors on them in the production process; and a linear model of power relations among the three main agents (advertisers, creative and production teams).

Issues of identity are prominent in the globalised consumer culture of the 21st century. Consumer objects surround us, have become crucial for our everyday lives, and serve as markers of our identity. I argue that consumer culture and its objects impact how identities are constructed, narrated, and perceived in literary texts. I seek to expand discourses around the role of consumer objects by examining how consumer literacy, a skill required to understand their narrative value, is used in contemporary Austrian literature to construct and convey identities - from individual identities, through familial identities, to ultimately an Austrian national identity. Consumer objects find their way into literature where they become narrative tools. I make a case for the ways in which processes of consumer culture charge consumer objects -branded and non-branded - with meaning that is intertwined with their national context. In the Austrian case, as will be shown based on works of e.g. Rathkolb, Bushell, and Menasse, this context itself is shaped by marketing and self-stylisation, in particular by a specific touristic imagery. Since one of the main facets attributed to an Austrian national brand is the focus on high culture and literature, the status of writers too needs to be examined. They are no longer 'merely' authors, rather they become consumer objects of their own, commodified, advertised, and branded alongside their texts, and are integrated into Austria's brand image. I will assess what I term 'consumer literacy' through close reading of a corpus of post-2000 Austrian novels - Haas' 'Das Wetter vor 15 Jahren', Glavinic's 'Die Arbeit der Nacht', Geiger's 'Es geht uns gut', Edelbauer's 'Das flüssige Land' - with the aim of illuminating how consumer objects are employed as narrative tools, how the authors use them to construct, criticise, or disseminate an image of Austria and, ultimately, how Austrian literature and its authors themselves become brands in the process. Chapter 1 provides an in-depth examination of Austria's current image and self-stylisation based, i.a., on the works of Rathkolb, Bushell, and Menasse and introduces crucial theories of consumer culture, including the works of McCracken, Dunn, and Olins, which inform my close reading and provide the basis for my concept of a literary iteration of 'consumer literacy.' Throughout the subsequent chapters 2 to 4, Haas' text is analysed alongside Glavinic's (in Chapter 2), examining the ways in which consumer literacy allows for the decoding of individual identities constructed through the use of consumer objects; next to Geiger's novel (in Chapter 3), revealing the narrative power these items can unfold in the context of familial and national identities; and in connection with Edelbauer's debut novel (in Chapter 4), tracing the impact of Austria's own touristic branding on the texts and their characters. Chapter 5 then applies a similar technique to the world beyond the text itself and addresses the (self-)stylisation and 'brand images' of the authors of this corpus. My approach towards the texts and their authors not only emphasises the validity of an application of consumer literacy and the relevance of consumer objects as literary tools. Indeed, in revealing the ways consumer culture informs the texts from my corpus I demonstrate how a national brand of Austria, an image of the nation that is shaped by processes of consumer culture, from deliberate branding efforts to public and literary discourse, permeates the texts and becomes visible once it is read through the lens of consumer literacy.

Branding has ontological roots in commercial disciplines and is heavily tied to marketing to differentiate one organisation from another in the mind of the consumer. Museums, as (for the most part) non-commercial organisations, have adapted this concept to consider the role of visitors and other stakeholders in creating brand value through their shared experiences within these institutions. In this sense, museum brands are thought to be created in the mediated relationships between particular sets of individuals and the physical aspects of these institutions (such as the architecture and the collection). However, when social media technologies were introduced in museums, they effectively helped them transcend their physical spaces to engage with online communities and to communicate their brands digitally. Due to their technological and participatory nature, social media challenged the 'passive' role of online audiences and highlighted their capacity to create and share their own cultural narratives. Still, social media tend to be considered largely as broadcasting communication tools that help museums communicate to their audiences, rather than engage with them. This thesis questions this passive and limited perspective of social media (technologies and audiences) in relation to museum brands. Accordingly, the thesis is driven by two main aims: to critically discuss a reconceptualisation of museum brands as actor-networks that result from the mediated and performative relationships between heterogeneous actors (including human and non-human, as well as digital and physical actors); and to explore the potential role of social media (including technologies and users) within these networks. This investigation is developed around a single case study, the Manchester Art Gallery, as it was embroiled in a mediatised debacle about its institutional purpose following an artist takeover event in 2018 - where Twitter users drove the online conversation that would later be informally dubbed 'Nymphgate'. Using a longitudinal approach to its methodological framework of Actor-Network Theory (ANT), and drawing on a critical analysis of secondary literature, Twitter data and interviews with Gallery staff, the thesis examines the events that led up to the takeover event, and the impact that the event, its subsequent online conversation, and its legacy had to the Gallery brand network. The examination provides evidence of a mode of ordering that prioritises decision-making human actors and physical non-human actors as they mediate the Gallery brand in their relationships. Despite social media not being considered as an actor in the Gallery brand network, the Nymphgate Twitter event demonstrated that online audiences used the technological affordances of the platform to challenge the symbolic value of the Gallery brand. The impact of social media to the Gallery brand is thus the result of various relationships between human and non-human actors over time, as well as the perceptions of these continuous performances. In this sense, these perceptions and renegotiations simultaneously co-produce as well as limit the impact of social media to the Gallery by continuously delineating the brand network. The thesis goes on to argue that museum brand networks are organised in the contextually dependent and performative relations between specific actors and, therefore, social media have a limited potential to decentralise and destabilise the structure of these networks. In this sense, the brand network is a medium in and of itself and, therefore, that museums and museum brands can only be 'recoded' (or reshaped and redistributed) inasmuch as digital technologies, particularly social media, are perceived to be mediative.

This thesis examines the question of why ISIS followers were so easily convinced to join the group in 2014–2017 in spite of its public demonstration of brutality and numerous reports confirming its crimes. The phenomenon of ISIS’s propaganda is explored through the prism of the emotion-driven choice model, which originates from marketing, and explains how customers can be convinced to choose a particular brand. The model demonstrates that ISIS manipulated its followers’ emotions by appealing to their desire for self-expression and being a part of a ‘cool’ group. ISIS constructed its propaganda in a way that offers the group’s potential recruits a number of attractive self-images, which the recruits could use to construct an identity as a better version of themselves. The feeling of excitement caused by the newly acquired identities made the recruits fully adhere to the group’s ideology and eventually join it. ISIS also employed several guilt-relieving mechanisms to prevent its followers from disengagement.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has received the attention of researchers and practitioners in the field of brand management due to its significant impact on brand performance. A number of studies and practical cases suggested that integrating CSR with branding strategy creates a number of benefits to the brand and its stakeholders mutually. CSR has been found to be effective to increase brand value, develop brand equity, reflect a positive brand perception, and build strong brand identity. From a customer’s perspective, CSR has been found to be effective in maximising the perceived functional and emotional values emphasising the strategic importance of CSR as tool to enhance brand image and sustain a competitive advantage. Consequently, crisis managers and researchers - particularly in public relations - utilised CSR as an effective tool to respond to crisis situations and enhance a damaged brand image. This research aimed at investigating the impact of brand crises on brand image that had been accentuated with different CSR activities. The research examined the impact of two crisis types; performance-related and values related on brand benefits, and considered Carroll’s (1991; 2016) pyramid of CSR as a conceptual theory to compare the different role that each CSR category; economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic CSR has in the context of each crisis. This was aimed to contribute to the understanding of the significance of CSR to brands through examining whether positive CSR records would attenuate, increase, or make no difference to the negative impact of performance-related crisis and values-related crisis. A research model with a set of hypotheses was developed in the literature. The hypotheses were tested through a 2 x 2 x 5 experimental research designed that consisted of 5 different questionnaires, legal CSR, ethical CSR, economic CSR, philanthropic CSR and no CSR. Specifically, the research tested 20 different situations: (values-related crisis, and performance-related crisis) X (functional/experiential benefits, and symbolic benefits) X (legal CSR, ethical CSR, economic CSR, philanthropic CSR and no CSR). The findings from this study indicated that both crises types damage the perception of functional/experiential and symbolic brand benefits. The perception of benefits perceived was negatively affected by the crises’ incidents. Positive records of CSR activities at a pre-crisis stage were found to vary in terms of anticipation to the negative impact of performance and values related crises based on the nature of the CSR activity. Ethical and Philanthropic CSR were found to be effective to protect brand image from the negative impact of performance-related crisis, however, they were found to expose the brand to more damage in the context of a values-related crisis. Finally, the research findings highlighted the importance of developing Carroll’s CSR pyramid to align with customer’s perspective of CSR with brand crisis in mind, in accordance to this a theoretical model was offered.

This thesis explores the political use of branding in international relations by focusing on the branding exercises of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the State of Qatar over the last two decades. In most of the existing literature, branding is theorised as a representational and instrumental practice that is strategically used to increase a country's competitive edge. Adopting a critical constructivist lens to the study of International Relations (IR), this thesis challenges this reading and argues instead that branding is a productive and inherently political practice that (re)produces dominant interpretations of state-identity rather than merely describing them. Based on the core constructivist claim that much of politics revolves around the competition to give meaning to the world, this thesis argues that the version of the state promoted through branding is neither neutral nor brand new, but inherently politicised and tied to the conversation and legitimation of the incumbent political regime. Inspired by the ongoing practice turn in IR, the starting point for the analysis is a focus on the display of the state through a range of everyday practices long ignored by IR scholars. In particular, it focuses on how the political leadership in both Kazakhstan and Qatar has used the urban development of their capital cities, the hosting of international sports events, and the construction of 'world-class' universities to present new ideas about their state to various inter/national audiences. Using an original data corpus of multimodal primary and secondary material, the analysis traces how branding practices produce and normalise a certain interpretation of Kazakhstani and Qatari statehood, and then interrogates how we can understand this interpretation as politicised and tied to the interests of the regime. The goal of the analysis is twofold. First, this thesis aims to elucidate how relevant instances of state- branding unfold and travel across different empirical contexts (Kazakhstan and Qatar) and cases (urban development, sports and education). Second, it aims to push current scholarly understandings by (re)conceptualising branding as a genre of contemporary identity politics, and produce broader insights about the characteristics and mechanisms of this increasingly normalised - yet often as politically non-salient dismissed - practice of international relations.

This thesis is the first to study the history of champagne in nineteenth-century Britain, a period in which the usage and style of champagne changed fundamentally. From a sweet, lightly effervescent wine drunk on its own or with desserts, it became a fully dry and fully sparkling wine drunk throughout the meal. The central questions I address are why these changes occurred and what role the marketing and branding of champagne played in these changes. This analysis integrates production studies (including marketing and branding) and consumption studies by drawing on the rich vein of contemporary consumption data and the evidence of the day-to-day practice of the London agents of the French champagne houses. The thesis demonstrates that champagne was able to develop uniquely powerful brands that were managed in ways that closely prefigure the marketing practice of modern luxury brand owners. Historiography: Whilst there have been many books on the subject of consumption in the last three decades, very few of these have focused on drinkers and drinking. There have also been many different approaches to consumption studies from sociologists, anthropologists, literary scholars and historians and this work draws on all those traditions. My own interest lies in the changing daily habits of consumption and I have therefore drawn extensively not just on the historical scholarship but also on the writings of modern experts on branding and marketing to understand how consumer choice is currently understood and managed. The commercial importance of food and drink means much work has been done in these areas - not excluding wine. The history of drink in the last three centuries, however, has had relatively little interest until recently. Recent works by John Burnett, Charles Ludington and James Simpson illuminate the general history of wine in Britain but, though there are many general books on champagne, there has only been one history, that published by André Simon in 1905. Simon, agent for a champagne producer, was well placed to understand the trade and his work remains an important source. I have endeavoured to review all these works through the lens of the nineteenth-century British press and the archives of selected champagne producers and their British distributors.

Purpose: This research studies the relationship between corporate heritage brand identity and customer satisfaction of John Lewis Partnership (JLP) which is one of the most successful British retail heritage brands internationally. It conceptualizes and addresses the key factors of corporate heritage brand identity including brand price, quality, design, and symbol. It examines the corporate heritage brand experience of JLP customers through which corporate heritage brand identity influences customer satisfaction. It also establishes the moderating role of brand innovation, word of mouth and multiple time dimensions on these relationships. Design/methodology/approach: A conceptual framework of corporate heritage brand identity is developed from the literature review. To improve the validity of this study, semi-structured interviews were carried out with JLP managers, senior partners and their loyal customers recommended by JLP. These interviews have verified and advanced the hypotheses informed from the reviewed literature. This study mainly adopts the quantitative survey research method approach to test the conceptual framework. An online questionnaire was sent to JLP customers through social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Off-line paper-based survey questionnaires were collected from customers in JLP stores located in five cities in the UK (London, Manchester, Liverpool, Leicester and Southampton). In total, a sample of 596 clean questionnaire responses were collected and used for this study to test the developed hypotheses. Findings: Data analysis results have confirmed the dynamic and essential role of heritage brand identity on attaining and sustaining customers' satisfaction of a corporate heritage brand from the retailing industry in the UK. The results revealed that corporate heritage brand identity dimensions (price, quality, design and symbol) are effective in representing the strength of corporate heritage brand identity. The confirmed that the dimensions of the corporate heritage brand identities of this study are indicating positive impacts on corporate heritage brand experience according to the data analysis results. The findings also suggest that these brand experience dimensions (sensory, affective, behavioural and intellectual) have a positive influence on improving customer satisfaction. Additionally, brand innovation and the time stream in this study strengthens the relation between corporate heritage brand identity and corporate heritage brand experience. Furthermore, word of mouth and the prospect future of a corporate heritage brand are of significance to improve customers' satisfaction through positive heritage brand experience. Originality/value: This is one of the few attempts to develop a conceptual framework of corporate heritage brand identity. The conceptual framework has confirmed the multiple dimensions of corporate heritage brand identity (including brand price, quality, design and symbol) and their impact on customers' experience and satisfaction. This study also identified the moderating role of brand innovation, word of mouth and multiple time dimensions on the relationships between corporate heritage brand identity and customers' experience and satisfaction. This is one of the first attempts to study corporate heritage branding management in the retailing industry sector. Managerial implications: The corporate heritage brand identity dimensions identified from this study have the potential to help brand managers develop and augment their corporate heritage brand management strategy, especially for the retailing industry as revealed in this study. Marketers and brand managers need to be aware of their corporate heritage brand treats such as price, quality, design and symbol to satisfy and sustain their customers. The findings reflect the importance of sustaining the traits of corporate heritage brand and being responsive and innovative to the market on time. Additionally, the fundamental function of Word of Mouth (WOM) in extending the communication channels between a brand and customers. The findings confirmed that Time Streams have a central role in demonstrating the identity and sustainability of a corporate heritage brand.

This study is a work of Practical Theology aiming to create an interpretative paradigm within which to evaluate faith brands theologically and identify whether faith brands are problematic or beneficial to Christian faith. The research used qualitative research techniques – five focus groups drawn from a church in the East Midlands, triangulated with interviews with practitioners in both marketing and ministry, and documentary analysis of faith brands. An element of comparison was possible between focus groups by grouping those church members who self-identified as “charismatic/evangelical” into three groups and examining how the data generated in those groups compared with the other two groups, drawn from a more “central Anglican” tradition. The importance of relationships and the motif of the faith being a journey and a process are validated by the data. Some of the problematic issues that faith brands raise for Christian faith – including challenges of ecclesiology, and the risk of a reductionist approach to faith – are considered both from the perspective of faith brands (such as the Alpha course) which might be considered as “McDonaldising” the faith, as well as the perspective of more “localized” faith brands, embodied within the “Fresh Expressions” movement. The results suggest that whilst faith brands do pose risks for Christian faith – including the danger of reductionism, or challenges to traditional ecclesiology - they can also be beneficial where they are utilized in ways that are sensitive to the context in which individuals are relating to them. This PhD makes an original contribution to knowledge through by exploring in detail the impact of faith branding upon some members of East Midlands Churches, in itself an original focus of study. It also makes an original contribution by utilising the insights of Rational Choice Theory to interrogate the data and extends the field of Practical Theology in also beginning to develop a constructive theology of branding. Tracing the contours of an emerging theology of branding, the Apostle Paul’s contextual missionary flexibility is noted alongside an acknowledgement that creation is both fallen, and yet also nevertheless pregnant with goodness and grace. It is suggested (through drawing on insights in the work of Cavanaugh) that faith brands can be located comfortably within an Augustinian framework with respect to notions of choice and desire. Within a theological evaluation, faith brands could be seen to offer a way of seeking to influence the will towards to God – and as such, offer a counterpoint to consumer brands, because they are a means to what is understood theologically to be a true end (God), whereas in consumerism, the end is simply to continue desiring to buy. Finally, the notion of the missio Dei and Bosch & Sherry’s theology of the work of the Holy Spirit are offered as ways of understanding of how God works through human culture and human creativity.

Due to globalization, many companies are expanding their reach into foreign markets that have different cultural contexts. As a result, having versatile branding that can be easily adapted to different cultures becomes extremely important when communicating with consumers from other countries. To develop this branding it is crucial for companies to employ cross-cultural design, which involves much more than simply translating text into the consumers language. In order to successfully expand its products to the Japanese market Glossier will have to apply cross-cultural research to redesign their current branding materials and communication channels. This project focuses on preserving brand cohesiveness while employing cross-cultural design principles to tailor marketing materials in a way that will better reach the target audience when designing across cultures.

Branding directs how consumers view businesses. Focusing on strategy and design equally aids in making a brand comprehensive, cohesive, and effective. Different aspects of brand strategy determine how to effectively build the backbone of the brand. Understanding design elements and the creative process are important in developing the visual identity of the brand. The findings were combined to create comprehensive personal branding for Tiana Joy Creative. This creative application included an archetypal brand strategy with deliverables including a logo and brand elements.

As the reorganization of Higher Education has paralleled that of the welfare-state downsizing, Universities have been challenged by governments to handle to market engagement a key social value. Beyond teaching and research, the emergence of a third mission related to science outreach, cultural/educational tourism activities appeared as an opportunity for Universities to increase revenues. Tourism in university heritage sites became not only a tool for university marketing and enhancement of corporate branding, but also contributed to brand host cities as student destinations (Pawlowska & Roget 2009; Popescu 2012; García-Rodriguez & Mendoza Jiménez 2015). As a contribution to knowledge, this research aimed to enlarge the conclusions of previous studies conducted on the universities’ changing roles and their impacts on society, culture and space (Perry & Wiewel 2008; Goddard & Vallance 2014). Tourism was introduced, not only as a consequence of university internationalization but as a dimension present in organizational behaviour of universities, which produces new place perceptions in the host cities. Consequently, the issue of collaborative place branding amongst different stakeholders in a city emerges in the rational scope of resource dependence theory, as a public diplomacy strategy with planned, concerted actions, also affecting the universities relation to the host cities. Hence, the leading research aims of the thesis are: - To investigate the motives that lead universities to adopt discourses and actions conducing to tourism activities; - To explore collaborative university-city relations in destination branding. This investigation used cross-methods in case-study research and departed from an exploratory participant-observation of the phenomenon in four different universities and countries. The classical use of an ethnographical approach as first exploratory method originated the narrowing of the research into case-studies. As a complement, a scoping questionnaire was designed in order to provide further data for answering the first aim of research. The case-study research was conducted within a qualitative approach through semi-structured interviews and content analysis of university materials in their range of urban institutions communicating the city. The research results suggested that universities have a role in city branding and that tourism plays an informal part in this strategy but following different stages of implementation and approaches. The exploratory first phase of research revealed how universities have the ability to originate and plan tourism activities. The direct involvement of Higher Education Institutions with local governments and tourism stakeholders emerged as part of networking activities, events and direct involvement as tour organizers and owners of tourism interest assets and attractions. The questionnaires and interviews to respondents have indicated that the marketing and communication offices together with the international offices have gained a primary role as bridge organisms with the exterior at the formal level. Despite responding to top-down leadership, these offices have become critical connectors not only to municipalities but also to public and private destination marketing organizations (DMO´s).

The importance of branding in the consumer market has been emphasised in many studies. In contrast, branding in the industrial markets is under researched. Even so, few researches on motor oil have been conducted. Motor oil is a good example of an important industrial brand due to its use in the production of other goods. Thus, by studying branded motor oil products in two distinct economies, Nigeria and the UK, the thesis aims to understand the nature and extent of branding industrial products, based on comparing and contrasting aspects of motor oil branding in the two contrasting economies. The choice of comparing the two economies is significant bearing in mind that global brands operate globally, hence the need for a more appropriate global strategic orientation. The dearth of studies in this area supports the rational for the use of grounded theory as research strategy. To fill this gap, the study employed a multi methods research approach by employing the use of exploratory qualitative approach. The thesis utilised a longitudinal archival study to gain insight of motor oil branding. Participant observations in the supply chain of the two countries allowed gaining understanding of motor oil branding. Interviews and documents contributed to knowledge to allow triangulation of the findings. The findings suggest that a collection of branding strategies are done by focusing on inter firm relationships, purchase behaviour, effective distribution and various supporting services in the aftermarket. The thesis reveals motor oil functions between the consumer and the business markets with several branding strategies to attract awareness and differentiation. Additionally, the thesis develops a model of the branding strategies of low involvement, branded motor oil products. The model shows various branding strategies through the middlemen to the two markets (i.e. garages (B2B) and retail (B2C)). This research contributes to the literature by identifying the branding behaviour of a hybrid brand from the supply chain perspectives, showing an inter link of branding in both markets. The research further extends understanding of market behaviour of low involvement, business brands. The study further contributes to literature by understanding the effect of foreign brands operating in developing economies like Nigeria. In practice, the findings offer improvement of branding strategy especially with global brands that cross borders to operate in different economies.

In recent years, the importance of the Muslim market has increased; it is now estimated to consist of 1.8 billion people, and is widely viewed as the next central global opportunity. However, it remains ineffectively exploited, which might be because of designers' lack of understanding of Muslim consumers' culture and needs. In addition, the absence of any guidance to help designers understand the Islamic philosophy, values and hidden meanings is considered the main issue behind many commercial brands' misinterpretation or misuse of Islamic art. As a result, this research investigated the current use of Islamic art in commercial brands and developed a tool to inspire and assist designers in applying Islamic art appropriately, as the misuse of Islamic art can significantly spoil brands' reputations. A mixed-methods approach was employed, including case studies, focus group, user surveys, expert interviews and a creative workshop. The research results indicate that appropriate applications of Islamic art and cultural symbols can enhance brand communication, allowing it to be more pleasurable and memorable. In addition, 32 guideline cards were proposed and evaluated through a focus group. According to the evaluation outcome, the cards provide successful results when compared to existing Islamic art applications relating to products and brands. The cards tool is an effort to assist designers in unleashing hidden values in Islamic art and to guide them to its proper use in branding. The proposed guideline cards tool provides the basis for assisting designers and design teams in concept development and inspiration during the design process. It offers several benefits. First, it provides information on Islamic art, which includes Islamic art philosophy, hidden meanings and fundamental visual elements, with the aim to broaden the designer's/design teams' understanding. It also enhances designers' creativity and confidence to experiment with uncommon Islamic art elements in commercial brands and products, with the aim to help produce more recognised Islamic art and cultural designs. Finally, it provides guidance in terms of what is appropriate and inappropriate in Islamic art and culture, thus preventing any misinterpretation or misuse.

Colour energy and wellbeing in the context of architecture and design are underestimated in terms of the value they bring to design, branding and real estate development in all sectors, ranging from residential to corporate projects, including the hospitality and luxury industry. Colour, with a particular focus on its latent energy, has not yet been sufficiently explored, researched or discussed, and remains one of the great mysteries of perception. Colour is essential for life and survival, and reaches far beyond art and the decoration of space. The sensation of colour, as an expression of the sense of sight, influences wellbeing and is connected to deeply embedded themes and patterns on emotional, cultural, or personal levels, through which it impacts on wellbeing, health, and decision-making in essential ways, not least because vision has replaced odour as the most essential sense for survival. The majority of all conscious and unconscious decisions are affected by notions of colour, a discipline of constant debate in both art and science. Architecture is somewhere in between, and practising architects are expected to provide the client with individual solutions based on informed decisions. When they do this, however, basing their decisions on experience, unspecified knowledge and intuition, they are often perceived as arrogant. Architecture and the design of space are a constant concern for everyone. The desire to build a home, a temple or a public building in a three dimensional environment is a fundamental urge and as old as mankind itself. Yet perhaps because of these strong impulses, the complexity of creating space is often underestimated. Our body records millions of impressions per minute across all five senses. The five senses keep us alive; they warn, nurture, and alert us, and human perception is based on receiving the vibrations caused by energy fields. These sensory vibrations are directly linked with the human body and it is through them that experiences like I am feeling good in this space and even unconscious memories are triggered. Clients may expect the architect to know everything about the perception of space. Architecture, however, is a very complex matter, and in most academic programs little or no time is allowed for the in-depth study of perception, psychology, colour energy, or wellbeing. Even architecture and interior design are often conflated, and treated as one combined subject rather than two complementary disciplines. What is most striking is that colour is often ignored in Western architecture. Furthermore, there is a bias in the literature and education of the West when compared to the holistic approach in the East. In the Orient, holistic means body, spirit and soul. In the Occident, in contrast, it means body, mind and brain. Spirit and soul are missing. And although the sense of something missing becomes more evident in the West, research fights shy of spirit and soul, and leaves unaddressed questions like: 1. What is the relation of colour energy, wellbeing and space in the Occident and Orient? 2. Why is colour not used more often and more instrumentally to improve wellbeing and influence perception? 3. Where do the inhibitions and obstacles come from that prevent occidental architecture and design from reflecting and applying ancient oriental knowledge and belief to colour healing, health, and wellbeing? As a colour theorist, architect and designer I propose that colour energy offers effective principles that provide an invaluable source for informed architectural decisions, which are genuinely independent of subjective taste or contemporary fashion trends, and that enable a truly holistic approach. This research proposes that wellbeing is both timeless and priceless and that wellbeing, health and perception can be stimulated by colour energy.

This thesis is an ethnographic exploration of the ways that music and marketing work in the pursuit and production of spiritual experience within a 'Christian' lifestyle for members of Hillsong Church London, the European Hub of the Australian transnational Hillsong Church, whose music is inseparable from its message. Specifically, it focuses on branding as a co- and re-productive method of organising, patterning and communicating information in a media-saturated consumer culture. While branding is often seen as a top-down, externally focused method of advertising, I argue that, for members of Hillsong London, the church's branding is integral to their experience of self. As a basis for this argument, this thesis posits the brand as an 'educational' resource that relies on participation and agency to 'teach'. Participants seek the sacred experience found in a 'Christian' lifestyle, and the brand provides the material for this and a cultural frame in which to do it. Music is an 'associative enhancer' for the brand, tying its musicians, media and message to its values. Embodied values are central to the production and maintenance of lifestyle. Therefore, this thesis questions 'the value of values'. The Hillsong brand is the discursive framework within which cultural action unfolds and is experienced, but one that is not 'value neutral'. The church provides the branded material and cultural context in which the participant's sacred experience of self unfolds. However, this requires the participant to want to 'do the work' to properly understand, and ultimately embody, the values associated with the brand. Therefore, the brand exerts a kind of Gramscian hegemony that channels the participants' agency toward the reproduction of the Hillsong brand's value system. Modern branding is perceived as valuable to all participants, yet the methods with which it directs individual agency raise important questions related to the modern production of social order.

This research explores through the lens of branding practices at universities how professionals in public sector spaces respond to the influence of corporate marketing practices. Specifically, this research addressed the question of how faculty perceive branding activities in higher education and their role in branding activities at the university. It also sought to understand the impact and influence of institutional attributes such as heritage and location on faculty perception of branding. The research was conducted at three Universities in Ontario Canada, which were selected based on differences in heritage and location. Marketing, organizational studies and higher education studies literature were combined highlighting the differences between product and service based marketing and the interplay between organizational identity, image and culture. My research revealed ambiguous and complex responses from faculty and highlighted the unique values and beliefs inherent in academic culture. While most faculty members appreciated the need for branding under current economic conditions, many perceived branding as representing the unwelcome encroachment of business ideology within the university which had the potential of eroding the university’s contribution to the public good. They also perceived branding as leading to changes in both the structure and culture of the university. Many faculty expressed concern that branding tended toward a claim to be everything to everyone resulting in significant gaps in authenticity; in other words between brand representations and actual practices. The findings raise questions about the applicability of existing theories of branding to higher education institutions and an academic service brand model is proposed that captures the complexity of academic responses to branding. The management implications arising from this thesis reveal that faculty members see branding as a complex balancing act combining multiple attributes and one that requires transparent communication, the cultivation of trust, accessible brand leadership and authenticity.

The dissertation takes the modern business technique/concept of brands and branding, applies them to a historic case study, the creation by James VI and I of Great Britain from 1603 to 1625, and by doing so throws new light on both. It compares two distinct approaches to branding, unidirectional and social interactionist, postulating that the latter would prove better at explaining the success of the brand Great Britain/British. The case study reveals that neither approach is supported by the evidence. Content analysis shows that there was a lack of awareness of the brand Great Britain/British and an inconsistency in its use, hence neither approach can be sustained. However, the same analysis does show that an alternative brand, England/English, existed in the same time and that this brand provides some limited support for the social interactionist view of brands and branding. The lack of success of the brand Great Britain/British during his reign does not appear to have prevented James VI and I from establishing himself as the legitimate King of England in addition to Scotland although the contribution of the brand to this was marginal at best.

This research study investigates the emerging representation of the brand Poland in the context of implementation of destination branding to the practice of country promotion. The main emphasis is put on the role of meaningful practices undertaken by international and domestic tourism managers and policy makers in constructing and reconstructing the representation of Poland in the broad context of the country‟s EU membership. The researcher does this by studying the examples of national and destination branding practices as well as the levels of understanding and appreciation of destination and national branding among people working in key organisations responsible for tourism and destination promotion both on the Polish domestic level and the level of relevant EU institutions. As national and destination branding is a relatively new phenomenon, specific focus is put on the critical analysis of the perceptions held about it among high ranking officials. The researcher pays particular attention to the power held by tourism in mediating identities of nations and destinations and the role that place branding plays or could play in this equation. The researcher focuses her study on two distinct but nevertheless connected locations: Brussels as a power and knowledge hub of the European Union and Warsaw as the power and knowledge hub of Poland. For reasons of methodological fit this interpretative study relies upon qualitative methods conducted via an emergent research design. Therefore the study is not driven by an up-front hypothesis, but is conducted via qualitative research bricoleurship approach. The research study concludes that although destination and national branding is universally familiar to the experts in the field of tourism and promotion, power holders and decision makers are lagging behind in understanding, appreciation and implementation of these new tools. This is particularly reflected in the case of Poland where first attempts at devising and implementing a national branding strategy were made but failed to be implemented due to budgetary and decision-making constraints at the level of power-holders. A striking conclusion is that in the case of Poland, the main causes of this lack of implementation of a national branding strategy are the very values and virtues that such a strategy might seem to promote. Nevertheless, the researcher observes a growing understanding and appreciation of the long-term benefits of a well designed and implemented branding strategy and its potentially great impact on tourism among the relevant decision-makers both in Brussels and in Poland.

The thesis offers a revised institutional history of US cable network Home Box Office that expands on its under-examined identity as a monthly subscriber service from 1972 to 1994. This is used to better explain extensive discussions of HBO’s rebranding from 1995 to 2007 around high-quality original content and experimentation with new media platforms. The first half of the thesis particularly expands on HBO’s origins and early identity as part of publisher Time Inc. from 1972 to 1988, before examining how this affected the network’s programming strategies as part of global conglomerate Time Warner from 1989 to 1994. Within this, evidence of ongoing processes for aggregating subscribers, or packaging multiple entertainment attractions around stable production cycles, are identified as defining HBO’s promotion of general monthly value over rivals. Arguing that these specific exhibition and production strategies are glossed over in existing HBO scholarship as a result of an over-valuing of post-1995 examples of ‘quality’ television, their ongoing importance to the network’s contemporary management of its brand across media platforms is mapped over distinctions from rivals to 2007. Suggesting much longer institutional continuities and influences for understanding HBO’s success, the thesis outlines the development and influence of these strategies through a critical chronology of the network’s history. In doing so, the thesis aligns with trends for rigorous media histories that consider the origins, long-term precedent and cyclical institutional strategies that govern contemporary industry practices.

The growth of consumerism has meant that individuals are increasingly using possessions as a means of developing their personal identities and forming social connections. Specifically, the consumer culture has seen the increase of brands and branded goods as marketers attach emotional attributes to them. Thus, brands have become communicative symbols which display, amongst other things, the owner's values, beliefs and social status. As a result, consumers are attempting to form their identities, social connections and self-worth by consuming (often branded) possessions which they feel are representative of their self or ideal self and will increase their chances of social acceptance. However, psychological studies in consumer behaviour suggest that the increasing propensity to seek inner happiness and social bonds through external means (consumption), has led consumers to be less satisfied with their lives and hence decreases psychological well-being; the focus on external rewards has reduced the importance that individuals place on personal development and intrapsychic developments.This study investigates the relationship between the consumption culture, branding and British adolescents, with a comparison between high and low-income teenagers. Adolescents are particularly prone to assuming consumer orientations (and hence the consequences thereof) due to their stage in identity development, their need for social acceptance and the fact that they are a very profitable market segment. As a result, teenagers are encouraged to turn to consumption for developing their personal and social identities, as opposed to more traditional means such as personal skill development. Although limited studies have investigated adolescent consumption, little attention has been paid to low-income adolescents who are prone to reduced self-worth but have a restricted consumption scope and thus cannot consume their self-worth in the same 'normal' ways as their peers. In light of previous studies, it was necessary to first develop a new measure of self-esteem which included the vital role of possessions (and specifically brands) in feelings of self-worth amongst adolescents. The scale-development process revealed the functional importance of self-esteem as a marker of social inclusion and hence shed light on the reason for the importance that adolescents place on specific brands; they are a promise of fitting-in. A valid and reliable 23-item, self-report measure of self-esteem is presented. Subsequent to developing the new scale, the research provided empirical support for a model of the psychological characteristics of adolescent consumption (including self-esteem). The result is a 'Vicious Cycle' model of consumption which suggests that there is a relationship between the factors which contribute to a consumer orientation and the likely effects of having such an orientation. For example, the model suggests that reduced self-esteem may contribute to consumerism and a consumption orientation may contribute to a reduction in self-esteem. Furthermore, the comparison between high and low-income teenagers showed that low-income teenagers were significantly more materialistic than their high-income counterparts thus supporting the suggestion that low-income teenagers are more prone to consumerism than their high-income counterparts. With reference to the detailed links presented in the Vicious Cycle model, the author proceeds to explore the efficacy of extant consumerist-curbing strategies and highlight the need for more effective methods if we wish future generations to develop in to more than simply shoppers.

Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) have become recognised as brands in the academic and popular domain, but little is known about the relationship between these senior manager 'brands' and the corporate brand of the organisation they represent. Since stakeholders associate the CEO's reputation with that of the company, they may negatively or positively affect each other, and there is little research into this dynamic. Indeed there is only a limited understanding about the field of people branding in general and much less into CEO brands in particular. Consequently this doctoral thesis investigates the people and CEO brands phenomena, the relationships between CEO, corporate brand and stakeholder's self-image and how these can be effectively managed in order to enhance brand equity for the company. Based on a critical realist perspective, this research examines traditional product brand elements from the literature and develops a new conceptual framework for people brands, which is subsequently applied to CEOs. Furthermore a survey is performed with business school students. The findings are analysed by using content analysis, descriptive statistics and by developing and testing a Structural Equation Model. The contribution to knowledge is threefold. Firstly a conceptual framework of people brands is constructed. Second this model is applied to CEO brands. Third five propositions about stakeholder perceptions of CEO brand differentiation and equity are empirically tested. The main findings are that visual presentation is not the main factor to differentiate CEO brands from each other, nor is their association with the company. Positive perceptions of corporate brands can influence the reputation of the CEO brand and lead to an enhancement of their brand equity. Importantly this indicates that stakeholders do not distinguish between CEO and company. Brand equity is also created if there is a relationship between stakeholder self-image and company brand, which in turn can improve the reputation of the CEO brand. Finally brand equity is enhanced through stakeholder perceptions of an ideal self-image. Overall this research has important implications for academia and managerial practice as it extends the knowledge about people and CEO brands and provides an insight into ways in which the relationships between CEO, company and stakeholders can be managed to enhance brand equity for the company

In mature product markets competitive advantage is increasingly realised by the careful design and engineering of product attributes that emphasise a brand’s values. In the high-luxury automotive segment, user satisfaction appears to be particularly influenced by products that are perceived to be typical to the brand’s lineage. This research aims to explore the links between product specifications and the categorisation of the product as belonging to the brand, by studying the effect with the Bentley brand’s interiors. The research uses cognitive categorisation theory and related methodologies as a basis for understanding the cognitive processes that operate between the input of specific multisensory stimuli and assessments of typicality and therefore satisfaction. These processes are interpreted through Semantic Differentiation techniques in a number of studies of Bentley products and competitor vehicles. The results suggest that by identifying and defining a number of product properties, of varying importance, and measuring subject’s responses to them, brand-based categorisation effects can be visualised and quantified. The research investigates if these effects have been stable over time and finds that some patterns exist that might be used to predict how future products might be categorised. The benefits of the resulting assessment and measurement tool to the product development process appear to be at least two-fold; firstly, by informing the process, product specifications may be set and designs developed, that are considered more accurate, good and right for the brand, resulting in controlled development time and costs and increased consumer satisfaction. Secondly, by enabling the process, property strengths, weakness and competitive threats may be understood that facilitate experimental and actual design modifications to optimise brand distinctiveness.

There are many out-of-school time (OST) programs such as sports, art, and community clubs. The majority of these programs have been strategically designed to assist with child development. Non-profit organizations, such as OST programs, struggle to gain funding and parental support due to the inability to communicate their message effectively. Branding is key for the programs to capture the attention of children and parents to better communicate core values and positive intentions. This project will assist a football team's character-building program in its communication of the vision, scope, and sequence. This will help gain parent buy-in and donation of resources.

This thesis investigates the influence of organizational culture on customer experience through a comprehensive study of a global supplier of home repair products. By combining organizational analysis and consumer research, this research draws on anthropological principles to explore the nuances of family governance and their effects on behavior, customer experience, and product design. The results of this study present insightful information on product perception and actionable strategies to improve product design, branding, and messaging in order to enhance customer experience and drive sales. Drawing on organizational anthropology and the utilization of critical reflexivity, this thesis provides a deeper understanding of how family-owned businesses can leverage research to challenge their cultural assumptions about products, consumers, and their organization, in order to effectively implement customer-centric solutions and drive organizational behavior, customer experience, and product development.

Identity and branding in higher education institutions is one of the many attributesof a university that potential students look for when searching for a place to study. Thisphenomenological qualitative study used interviews of eleven current and past students atthe University of the Great Lakes (UGL) to discover what attributes of the universitywere important while contributing to their decisions about attending the university. Theresults indicated that branding and other factors were instrumental in helping thesestudents pick the UGL—a decision that gave the participants the knowledge necessary tobroaden their experiences and shape their future goals. Further findings suggested that theUGL should promote its strengths of student engagement and resources, professors, andtheir brand. Findings also suggested that the negative aspects of the UGL, includingleadership turnover and layoffs of staff and faculty, need to be mitigated going forward.

Food security, also known as having proper access to food to live a healthy life, affects more than 10% of individuals in the United States (United States Department of Agriculture [USDA], 2021b). Other than government aid, to combat food insecurity, various food banks and charitable food organizations such as Feeding America, Why Hunger, and Share Our Strength, provide food and other resources (USDA, n.d.-b). Marketing and communications, as well as brand identity, plays a role in how these organizations operate and raise awareness (Carboni & Maxwell, 2015; Chapleo, 2015; Phethean et al., 2013). However, these organizations’ communications are typically not as successful as for-profit corporations, and there is a gap in literature about the effectiveness of these charitable food organizations’ marketing efforts (Quinton & Fennemore, 2013). There is a need to better understand these organizations’ communications to inspire work with their organizations, which could also lead to a broader response to food insecurity in the U.S. The current study aims to better understand how to improve charitable food branding and communications, as well as how it can influence support for their work. For this study, Gen Z was chosen as the population since these individuals are known as being “digital natives,” leaning more progressive, and preferring online learning (Fontein, 2019; Parker & Igielnik, 2020, para. 4). The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of charitable food organization branding on college students’ support of charitable food organizations—specifically through volunteering, donating behavior, and advocacy efforts. This study used the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), color theory, and semiotics to craft treatments similar to social media images from charitable food organizations (CFOs). There were four treatment groups, all with the same verbiage, but all using either color or no color or with an icon versus an image. Findings suggested Treatment 3, the colorful treatment with a picture of two children, played a role in the relationship between attitudes, social norms, and perceived behavioral control and intent to support CFOs. It was also selected by participants to both catch their attention the most and to make them want to support CFOs. While some of the other treatment models were significant, none included all significant TPB predictors as with treatment 3. These results suggest charitable food organizations should use colorful imagery in their social media posts. Descriptive results also show Gen Z, when comparing past experience and future intent, have interest in advocating for these organizations. Communications should also focus on how Gen Z can better advocate for this reason as well. Future research should future explore this gap in literature, as well as perhaps study additional messaging.

Student-athlete branding opportunities are vastly expanding as more opportunities are given using athlete’s name, image, and likeness (NIL). However, a research gap exists between examining branding opportunities and perceptions of branding among different groups such as female student-athletes. This thesis examined the opinions and perceptions of female student-athlete branding, perceptions of NIL compensation and policies, and perceptions of potential barriers in the brand building process. This quantitative study utilized survey methods to examine any differences between female student-athletes of different academic year, political affiliation, and sport played. A 49-item online survey was distributed to 100 NCAA Division I female student-athletes. Participants were asked to complete the survey which consisted of multiple-choice and 5-point Likert-scale items regarding branding, NIL, and branding barriers among female athletes Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) were run on the data in SPSS to answer the 5 research questions posed in this study. Results indicated that there were significant differences between female student-athlete perceptions of branding via social media, NIL compensation and policies, and perceived branding barriers. The outcomes, limitations, and conclusions are discussed in the corresponding sections of the paper.

The authors investigate the impact of partner brands’ salient personality on brand alliance success in a hospitality context. Hospitality brands often collab¬orate with brands with a complementary personality to enrich their image or brands with a similar personality to deepen their image (pilot study). But our two experiments using both real and fictitious brands indicate that a brand alliance between partners of complementary personality can dilute their salient personality attributes (Study 1) and consumers are less willing to engage in word-of-mouth behavior (Study 2). Personality similarity results in higher perceived fit and greater word-of-mouth intentions, but not necessarily more positive attitudes toward the brand alliance or each partner brand (Study 2). The authors also find that brand alliances have a more positive spillover effect on consumer attitudes and behavioral intentions toward sincere brands than ex¬citing brands while brand alliances between exciting brands are more likely to create buzz and perceived to have the highest fit. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

Name plays a fundamental role in defining and differentiating a company within a category. In this paper we identify how the leaders of 7 innovation districts (22@Barcelona, Ann Arbor Spark, EECi, Porto Digital, Ruta N – Medellín, SK-Skolkovo and TusPark) understand the construction of the names of their innovation districts. We take an inductive approach utilizing two types of data: exploring the innovation district directors' understanding through direct semi-structured interviews and analyzing secondary data consisting of website and brochures. We show how innovation district leaders use more than one classification name for their organization and that these names either tend towards a more strategic or institutional posture. We contribute by extending existing naming theory to include innovation districts, a complex organization composed by actors of the Triple Helix. We also contribute by providing managerial guidance to assist in understanding the importance of the role of their organization's name in long-term positioning.

The practical sense of business in female entrepreneurship as it relates to the concept of intrinsic and extrinsic creative behaviors of female entrepreneurs working in the United States is the main focus of this study. The field of female entrepreneurship is growing with the participation of women with or without full-time jobs in standard employment, with or without formal business education, and with or without equal access to financial resources compared to their male counterparts. This study aims to capture the definition of success and how female entrepreneurs perceive success. Utilizing convenience sampling, this qualitative study conducted semi-structured interviews with 15 successful female entrepreneurs in a major Midwest metropolitan area. With dual roles in work and family, the female entrepreneurs engage in a role of chaotic business management and self-branding with a quest for work/life balance. Their pursuit of a lifestyle business brings about a direction of working within an area of great interest, commonly called a passion. This passion allows for exploring what the female entrepreneur enjoys and a quest to produce a profit from that inspiration. Emergent themes resulting from this study are definitions of success, pandemic challenges, entrepreneurial credibility, social networking, business investment, brand management, creativity, innovation, profit design, and authentic leadership. One core result of this qualitative study is a theory called female entrepreneurial design. The female entrepreneur creates an organizational life unique to her personal style and business brand through personal self-care and professional investment.

The spiritual development during the teenage years are pivotal in determining the religious and spiritual values as teenagers transition into adulthood. As serious as this stage of development is, there is a lack of involvement in the faith development of teenagers on the part of parents, specifically Christian fathers. With this lack of paternal support during faith development, the percentage of those leaving the church during adolescents and early adulthood is rapidly increasing. The aim of the research was to understand important milestones in spiritual development of teenagers, why Christian dads are uninvolved in this development, and best strategies for communicating large quantities of development information to dads that already struggle with being involved. To better understand this problem, the following research questions were asked to better understand the problem and possible solutions: 1. Who is Gen Z? 2. Why is Gen Z leaving the church? 3. What does spiritual development look like during the adolescent years? 4. What impact does the parental relationship have on spiritual development? 5. What is the current state of paternal involvement in faith development in the home today? 6. What external sources are impacting spiritual development? After this research was conducted, additional case studies and visual analysis were also conducted to evaluate similar studies and design projects. Based off the research, a brand campaign consisting of a poster series, social media posts, mobile app, website, and activity booklet were created to educate dads on important milestones of teenage spiritual development, challenges to connect with their teenager regularly and have faith conversations and provide guides for creating a safe space to ask and answer tough questions about faith. Through these resources, dads will be better equipped to understand spiritual development and be actively involved in the lives of their teenagers. Additionally, teenagers will also have a better environment for their own spiritual development.

With the emergence and increasing prevalence of social media, the effectiveness of social media influencers (SMIs) is apparent in today’s fast-paced life. Virtual social media influencers (VSMIs), computer-generated influencers with a real human appearance, have gained popularity. The purpose of this study is to examine important VSMI’s characteristics that affect brand image and trust which lead to purchase intention (fast fashion vs. luxury fashion brand). Social exchange theory and source credibility model were adopted to develop a theoretical framework for the present study. Two Instagram ads were developed that included the post’s image and corresponding caption: VSMI endorsing H&M and Gucci. Each participant was randomly presented with one of the two Instagram ads. A total of 163 participants completed the survey (H&M: 93, Gucci: 73). The majority of the sample were female Caucasian American students (68.7%) between the ages of 18 and 40 years old. The results showed VSMIs’ characteristics significantly affect brand image and trust leading young adult consumers’ purchase intentions both fast fashion and luxury fashion brands. For both brands, authenticity significantly influenced brand image and trust and homophily influenced brand trust. For the fast fashion brand, attractiveness influenced brand image and trust, whereas wishful identification influenced brand image only for the luxury fashion brand. Both brand image and trust influenced purchase intention. Findings suggested that both fast fashion and luxury fashion brands would benefit from the VSMIs that present genuine messages Instagram followers resonate with. Fast fashion brands should focus on delivering the message in an appealing manner, while luxury fashion brands collaborating with VSMIs should focus on creating an aspirational message that followers can relate with. By strategically developing social media content according to the type of fashion brand, VSMIs can positively influence brand image and trust motivating followers’ intention to purchase fashion brands.

Twenty first century youth have never known a world without the Internet. From childhood they are increasingly reliant on the Internet for their sense of connectivity, play, communication, and socialization. These habits that are formed at a young age are rewiring children’s brains in a negative light. Psychological effects such as narcissism, escapism, instant gratification, and social comparison have become common issues that the current generation faces every day. This thesis will examine how increased dependency on social media and the Internet affects Generation Z and beyond. To better understand how media is affecting childhood and beyond, research was conducted through a series of research questions: 1. How has the digital age impacted childhood? 2. What is internet addiction? 3. What are the psychological effects of internet addiction? 4. What is narcissism? 5. What is escapism? 6. What is instant gratification? 7. How is social comparison becoming a problem? 8. How has Gen Z been affected? After completing this research, a literature review was conducted in addition to a visual analyses and content analyses. Based off of the research conducted, a visual solution was created in order to educate Generation Z about the dangers of media usage from a young age. The thesis visual deliverable created was a multifaceted brand campaign including posters, environmental graphics, narrative literature, website, and social media graphics. Through these outlets, Generation Z will have a greater understanding of the dangers of relying on media while also equipping them with new ways to create change and better habits with the screen.

In recent years, the positioning of streetwear in the fashion sector has changed. Therefore, it is of interest to understand how streetwear brands achieved this image transformation, specifically the role visual art plays in the image communication of streetwear brands that prefer to engage in a business to consumer relationship with their audience. This work is rooted in the field of strategic communication and aims to provide qualitative insights from an internal company perspective into the streetwear sector. Because this topic depends on internal information to reveal contexts as well as issues of purpose, this research utilizes qualitative expert interviews with streetwear brand owners and creative directors. Results include brand owners describing how art changed the perception of streetwear in the fashion industry, and findings indicate that brand positioning and branding can be identified as the branches with the most extensive application of visual art in the communication strategy. Furthermore, results reveal categories that illustrate how the integration of visual art serves the brand community.

My thesis focuses on the process of branding the University of Oklahoma between 1890 and 1930. I examine the origins of the administrative brand, the shift after Oklahoma statehood, the impact of World War One, and the brand students crafted for themselves. This is a study of the University of Oklahoma using the analytical lenses of modern democratic capitalism, cultural influences, and the process of branding. I explore what the brand seeks to represent and the interpretations of its audience during these years.

ABSTRACT This study examines the influence of relatedness to emotional brand attachment, specifically in the context of Self-Determination Theory. It aims to fill the extant literature regarding a mini theory of Self-Determination Theory (SDT), Relationship Motivation Theory (RMT), which has not been examined in the communication and marketing literature. The study identifies which dimension(s) of relatedness – defined as Acceptance/Support, Connection, Common Interests, and Congruity – are predictors of Emotional Brand Attachment (EBA), specifically in the context of fitness-related non-profit organizations. By use of a survey to fitness-related non-profit supporters, this formative research endeavors to investigate a yet untested facet of emotional brand attachment in a communication and branding context. The scope of this research is not limited to merely predictors of Emotional Brand Attachment under the SDT framework, but also ventures to inform the communication literature so non-profit executives and marketers can more strategically and effectively craft messaging to foster EBA.

Western popular culture often suffers from a lack of understanding of religious doctrine and tradition. A 2010 U.S. Religious Knowledge Survey conducted by the Pew Research Center showed that the level of American religious illiteracy is extremely high: 45% of Catholics in the United States do not know that their church teaches that the bread and wine used in Communion do not merely symbolize, but actually become the body and blood of Christ. 53% of Protestants cannot correctly identify Martin Luther as the person whose writings and actions inspired the Protestant Reformation, which made their religion a separate branch of Christianity. 43% of Jews do not recognize that Maimonides, one of the most venerated rabbis in history, was Jewish. 47% of Americans know that the Dalai Lama is Buddhist. 38% correctly associate Vishnu and Shiva with Hinduism. 27% of Americans correctly answer that most people in Indonesia--the country with the world's largest Muslim population--are Muslims. (Pew 1) Some marketers and advertising executives have been able to capitalize on this illiteracy through organizing branding campaigns and strategies based on generic religious components. This thesis evaluates how some brands, including Apple, Nike, and Disney, have elevated themselves to the status of consumer religions by using familiar religious archetypes, frameworks, and stereotypes. These elements are not only derived from a true theological understanding of religion, but are equally derivative of misrepresentations of religious traditions. This study explores how accurate and inaccurate assumptions about religion inform marketing and advertising strategies. By relying on widespread illiteracy about religion, brands can imitate only the aspects of religion that best sell their respective products to the widest audience. Apple, Nike, and Disney's marketing strategies have incorporated the tenets of religion so powerfully that they have set themselves up as virtual religions.

Using a dataset with over 40,000 property-year observations of hotels in the United States from 2000-2019, we answer the question of whether or not branding a hotel is worth the extra costs incurred. Using a multivariate regression framework to control for hotel characteristics and fixed effects, we find that branded hotels have significantly higher Occupancy and RevPAR as their independent counterparts. We also look at profit measures, and only slightly higher EBITDAPAR for branded hotels. Using standard deviations and a similar regression framework, we are also able to draw conclusions about the risk. We find that branded hotels have lower year-over-year variation in Occupancy, ADR, RevPAR, and GOPPAR than similar independent properties. Putting this together, we conclude that although branding doesn’t have a significant impact on bottom-line profits, it does help even out both top-line and bottom-line performance measures.

Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov has reshaped Chechen society to his ideal image. After two wars that made the city a living hell and an insurgency that was not cleared until the beginning of the last decade, Putin’s policy of Chechenisation that started in 2000 with the late Akmad-Hadji, has started to resemble a perceived peace. This peace provided the region’s inhabitants a sense of security and produces world-class sport fighters, catapulting young Chechen men and sometimes women up the social ladder. Despite the human-rights violations and accusations of funneling fighters to employment in the local armed forces, Kadyrov has been able to shape the image of the ideal Chechen man and simultaneously, reaffirm his power with a slogan, Akhmat-Sila. This slogan be heard in various mediums to the point of proliferation. This thesis will use a historical-digital ethnographic approach with a theoretical framework of nation branding to explain the shifts in Chechen identity and the slogan Akhmat-Sila, providing a background on how Chechen warrior culture and the patronage that gives the slogan agency now. The slogan will be examined on Instagram and supporting media sources. Chapter 1 dives into the Caucasus imaginary and history of Tsarist Russia, leading into the two Chechen Wars and years after. Chapter 2 will expand on the current research of Ramzan Kadyrov and his social media use, parsing out themes found in his Instagram account. Chapter 3 will focus on the theoretical framework that will support the qualitative approach for the phenomenon of the slogan. Chapter 4 will narrate the findings of the data, developing into a conclusion.

The visual aspects of a brand are a powerful communicator. Researchers have spent years investigating the power of suggestion of colors, type-faces, logos, and images in general. Brands depend on visual cues to communicate with consumers in general. The visual aspect of a brand is an integral part of the brand identity, but still only one part of a whole. Visual branding should reflect the strategic goals of the brand and should reinforce the values, principles, and story on which a brand stands. This thesis proposes a theoretical model developed to predict the success of a brand and to provide guidelines for strategists and designers. The Brand Identity Pyramid is based on theoretical principles already explored by researchers combined in a predictive model. Practitioners agree that brand is a reflection of a company, product, or service as the customer sees it; however, most existing models approach brand from the orientation of the strategists or graphic designers. The Brand Identity Pyramid approaches from the perspective of consumer psychology, and was developed after researching the development and market acceptance of a number of brands through the case study method. Further, the validity of the model was tested through the analysis of three case studies. This thesis describes the Brand Identity Pyramid, its theoretical foundations, and proposes the future effectiveness of the model in developing a brand identity congruent with that brand’s strategic goals.

Traditional forms of experiential marketing have been interrupted by augmented reality. As augmented reality continues to grow, a new ecosystem for brand interactions has revealed a world of branded augmented content or “BX”. BX is a concept design that creates a personalized, immersive connection between brand and user through four AR filters.

This project is concerned with the forms of play that modern restaurant companies engage in online and the implications of them. I evaluate the strategies of corporate social media accounts through 3 critical lenses--postmodern theory, affect theory, and critical race theory. Using a combination of methods, including textual and discourse analysis, as well as grounded theory, I deconstruct the various strategies utilized by corporate social media accounts to connect with their consumers. My argument rests on the notion that these interactions represent a larger dialectic between consumers and producers of culture. Social media has impacted this relationship by increasing consumer freedom and agency. As a result, companies have found ways to adjust to this consumer freedom in different ways—through mocking and dismissal, or perhaps a viral social challenge as well as racialized performances. While on a spectrum, these strategies represent the anxiety of modern corporate representation in late capitalism.

In the late 2010s, Netflix assembled a significant collection of teen-centric media on its service, which it extensively promoted on Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. This thesis examines Netflix’s relationship with teen audiences as framed in the social media marketing materials for 13 Reasons Why (2017–2020) and To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (2018), as well as in the service’s intra-industrial communication and engagements with press from 2016 to 2020. Illustrating how Netflix echoed The CW and Freeform’s earlier pursuit of teen viewers, this study highlights the continuities in marketing strategies between emergent streaming services and legacy niche networks. On social media accounts dedicated to targeting young women, Netflix focused on fashion and beauty, boys, and female role models. The teen femininities Netflix promoted most heavily were straight, white, and thin. On other accounts, Netflix’s marketing efforts centered parents or older women instead of teens as key viewers of its teen shows and movies. The different modes of address Netflix cultivated point to social media services as valuable sites through which to examine how Netflix constructs audience segments. Furthermore, Netflix’s social media strategies marked a shift in brand promotion from selling a lifestyle to addressing audiences as a friend.

In the pre-relationship exploration stage of a business-to-business (B2B) relationship, firms find it difficult to evaluate other parties because of the prevalence of information asymmetry. Firms must make informed decisions, otherwise, they end up in a contentious long-term relationship, which adversely affects the performance of both sides. While majority research on B2B relationships is focused in the post-relationship phase, very little has been done to identify strategies that firms can adopt to signal their firm characteristics in the pre-relationship phase. This is important, as such signals can help firms make informed purchase decisions by cutting through the information asymmetry. Also, sending the right signals can help firms extract a price premium from their prospective partners, contributing positively to their bottom line. Therefore, this dissertation consists of three essays with the objective to (i) identify positioning strategies that sellers can use to signal firm characteristics and test which elements of firm characteristics enable them to extract a price premium (ii) identify branding strategies that sellers can use to signal firm characteristics and test which elements of firm characteristics enable them to extract a price premium (iii) investigate signals that affect firm performance.

Tourism is one of the main lines of profit for Split; however there is no unified strategy reflected in one line of tourism. In order to protect that UNESCO heritage site and assure long-term industry success it is proposed to take a shift to building a luxury brand that connects all business located in the site in a unified manner. The purpose of this study is to gain an understanding of the current state and context of the luxury tourism industry, specifically considering the accommodation and dining services in the old city center are of Split, Croatia. The objective is to provide future research areas regarding the luxury tourism industry in Split as well as add new knowledge about the area.

Airbnb and many technology platforms disrupt markets with superior customer functionality and reduced friction. However, as these technology platforms evolve from disruption to mainstream providers, it is imperative for them to also move from being perceived as a “facilitator” brand to a “gratifier” brand in order to retain and grow brand advocates and loyal consumers. This study applies the well-known uses and gratifications theoretical framework, coupled with qualitative research, to explore and understand consumer perceptions of Airbnb within the facilitation/gratification spectrum. This study revealed that consumers in the Gen-Z and college target market perceive Airbnb as a facilitator brand, but have clear aspirations for the brand as a gratifier. Airbnb may build on this study to evaluate and evolve marketing communications to demonstrate tangible gratifications of the brand more meaningfully to consumers

"Emo rap" began to emerge as a distinct musical genre in the early 2010s, combining the lyrical style and bravado of rap music with the emotional anguish characteristic of emo music. In the following years, emo rap artists have gained immense mainstream popularity, impacting the genre's development, its fans and contributors, and American culture. This thesis primarily references six popular emo rap artists - Lil Peep, XXXTentacion, Juice WRLD, Lil Xan, Lil Uzi Vert, and nothing,nowhere - who illustrate and exemplify prominent themes of the genre, such as mental health, drug abuse and addiction, social media and branding, and violence and death, in the content they produce, including music, social media posts, and interactions with the public. The thesis engages with scientific research, magazine articles, and other media that discuss the cultural impact of emo rap and the reasons for its appeal, which can include identification, aesthetic appreciation, and membership in a community. The popularity of emo rap emphasizes the broad reach of the genre, from millions of likes on Instagram posts to hundreds of millions of streams and music video views for songs that discuss issues of mental health and drug abuse and threaten violence against the self and others. The thesis also discusses the unexpected deaths of Lil Peep and XXXTentacion and subsequent effects on the way their music and those of others in the genre is received and branded. The thesis concludes with tentative predictions about how the genre may continue to progress in the future.