Perceptions of green branding and identity building amongst small Finnish textile producers

The textile industry is one of the most polluting industries in the world. The amount of air and water pollution it causes puts a burden on the environment. There are companies who have taken the environmental and social aspects into account in the their production and chosen to operate in a green manner. This thesis studies how the phenomenon of green branding is seen from the perspectives of small Finnish textile companies. The theory used in this thesis has to do with green branding and identity building. The theory is used to analyze the results of the empirical findings. The main research question that the thesis aims to answer is how green branding is perceived within the Finnish textile industry. In order to answer the main research question, empirical data was collected from five relevant companies within the Finnish textile industry. The companies interviewed for the study were WST, Saana ja Olli, RCM, R-collection and Tiensivu. The study was conducted as a multiple case based study where multiple experts from green companies were interviewed. The experts were all owners or employees of companies that have a so-called green brand identity. The data was collected through semi-structured interviews, where the relevant experts from each company were interviewed either by themselves, in pairs or in groups. The data that was collected for this study was primary data, and the results of the study are mainly based on the experiences and opinions of the experts interviewed. The data collected does not cover the entire green textile industry within Finland, but study does however give a fairly comprehensive view of the phenomenon, as the textile industry in Finland is quite concise. The general findings of the study show that all experts from the companies interviewed agreed that a green brand identity does benefit their company in one way or the other. The findings also show contradictions with the older theory (eg. Charter et al. 1999, Pickett et al. 1995), and perhaps give a more modern view of the thoughts within the industry.

Facebook brand fan pages and their impact on online branding and marketing strategy

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Management from the NOVA – School of Business and Economics

The relationship between b2b branding and industrial buying in the digital era: evidence from Finnish gas industry

The aim of this study is to understand the importance of b2b brands in different phases of the industrial buying process in the digital era. The research problem is approached by examining a b2b supplier brand in the context of gas supplier selection. The data was collected by interviewing individuals from ten different companies. The findings contribute to previous theory by showing that as industrial buying behaviour is eventually individual behaviour, brands can influence decision making. The relevance of a brand depends on individual’s personality and preferences. Digital media cannot be ignored in managing brand image as buyers are present in the online environment. The results reveal that traditional personal selling is, nevertheless, in a key role in brand image building and is a source of added value. The salesperson influences buyers’ perceived associations of a brand and gives the brand a face.

Branding and Marketing Communications of Lifestyle Prescription Drugs in a Strict Legislative Environment

This thesis discusses the different possibilities to brand and promote a patented prescription lifestyle drug through different marketing communications practices. This thesis aims in explaining how branding procedures can be built in circumstances, where the legislative environment is strickt and furthermore, the environment consists of both B-to-B and B-to-C market characteristics simultaneously.

Store experiences and their influence on store performance and brand strength: Case Samsung Experience Store

Experiential marketing is increasingly seen as a new magical key to consumers’ hearts. Brands are turning brick-and-mortar stores into state of the art retail spaces where memorable experiences and strong brand relationships are hoped to be born. Around the globe, several brands have opened up a special format of stores – the experience store. Although many speculations on the positive effects of experiences have been presented, few studies have provided empirical, quantified evidence for the link between store experiences and brand success. In consequence, research was needed to find out whether experience stores truly are so special. The purpose of this thesis was to investigate whether store experiences are capable of building brands and influencing store performance. For this purpose, empirical research was conducted in the Samsung Experience Store Helsinki. As main constructs of the study, store experience, brand equity, store performance, and product class involvement were measured, along with relevant background variables. Data was collected with an electronic survey from actual customers of the store, resulting in a sample of 131 respondents. Partial least squares structural equations modeling (PLS) was used for the analysis of the research model. Also, regression analysis was conducted to account for mediation and moderation effects. The results showed that store experiences do positively influence first, store performance, and second, separate dimensions of brand equity (that is, brand awareness, brand personality, and brand loyalty). Also, the effect of store experiences on store performance was found to be mediated by brand equity. Interestingly, customers’ product class involvement was detected to moderate the effect of store experience on store performance. That is, those who were highly involved with electronics had greater store experiences, and also displayed a stronger linkage between store experience and store performance. The results encourage marketers to continue with efforts to create great experiences for their customers. Experience stores can – and should be seen – as both powerful brand building tools and profitable sales channels. The creation of exceptional experiences can act as an important function of physical stores in the face of severe online competition.

My generation(s): cycles, branding and renewal in E4’s 'Skins'

In an era of fragmenting audience and diversified viewing platforms, youth television needs to move fast and make a lot of noise in order to capture and maintain the attention of the teenage viewer. British ensemble youth drama Skins (E4, 2007-2013) calls attention to itself with its high doses of drugs, chaotic parties and casual attitudes towards sexuality. It also moves quickly, shedding its cast every two seasons as they graduate from school, then renewing itself with a fresh generation of 16 year old characters - three cycles in total. This essay will explore the challenges of maintaining audience connections whilst resetting the narrative clock with each cycle. I suggest that the development of the Skins brand was key to the programme’s success. Branding is particularly important for an audience demographic who increasingly consume their television outside of broadcast flow and essential for a programme which renews its cast every two years. The Skins brand operate as a framework, as the central audience draw, have the strength to maintain audience connections when it ‘graduates’ those characters they identify with at the close of each cycle and starts again from scratch. This essay will explore how the Skins brand constructs a cohesive identity across its multiple generations, yet also consider how the cyclic form poses challenges for the programme’s representations and narratives. This cyclic form allows Skins to repeatedly reach out to a new audience who comes of age alongside each new generation and to reflect shifts in British youth culture. Thus Skins remains ever-youthful, seeking to maintain an at times painfully hip identity. Yet the programme has a somewhat schizophrenic identity, torn between its roots in British realist drama and surrealist comedy and an escapist aspirational glamour that shows the influence of US Teen TV. This combination results in a tendency towards a heightened melodrama at odds with Skins claims for authenticity - its much vaunted teenage advisors and young writers - with the cyclic structure serving to amplify the programme’s excessive tendencies. Each cycle wrestles with a need for continuity and familiarity - partly maintained through brand, aesthetic and setting - yet a desire for freshness and originality, to assert difference from what has gone before. I suggest that the inevitable need for each cycle to ‘top’ what has gone before results in a move away from character-based intimacy and the everyday to high-stakes drama and violence which sits uncomfortably within British youth television.

A prospective study on the dimensions of global brands, brand equity and brand value

This doctoral thesis is about global brands under several perspectives, starting this study with and overview on the matter, followed by a "step ahead" in the conceptualization of brand equity and brand value. As the global marketplace dynamically increases, there are theoretical and empirical challenges concerning the global brands that ask for more branding researches, trying to tune and to contextualize meanings and attributes. Thereafter, the thesis intends to provide a discussion about the industry and country-of-origin effects (and their interactions) on the brand value and the firm market value. Finally, the thesis offers an interesting comparison about the practitioners’ perspectives on the dimensions of global brands, the brand equity and the brand value, branding and marketing, including highlights on the brand internationalization process. The thesis offers a general approach on the extant literature in the first chapter, and a specific literature review for each other chapter.

A stakeholder perspective on heritage branding and digital communication

How does an archaeological museum understand its function in a digital environment? Consumer expectations are rapidly shifting, from what used to be a passive relationship with exhibition contents, towards a different one, in which interaction, individuality and proactivity define the visitor experience. This consumer paradigm is much studied in fast moving markets, where it provokes immediately measurable impacts. In other fields, such as tourism and regional development, the very heterogeneous nature of the product to be branded makes it near to impossible for only one player to engage successfully. This systemic feature implies that museums, acting as major stakeholders, often anchor a regional brand around which SME tend to cluster, and thus assume responsibilities in constructing marketable identities. As such, the archaeological element becomes a very useful trademark. On the other hand, it also emerges erratically on the Internet, in personal blogs, commercial websites, and social networks. This forces museums to enter as a mediator, authenticating contents and providing credibility. What might be called the digital pull factor poses specific challenges to museum management: what is to be promoted, and how, in order to create and maintain a coherent presence in social media? The underlying issue this paper tries to address is how museums perceive their current and future role in digital communication.

Entrance, Agriculture and Entomology Building, Brisbane

View to entrance.

Stair, Agriculture and Entomology Building, Brisbane

View to circulation stair from exterior.

Entrance, Agriculture and Entomology Building, Brisbane

View to entrance.

Brick detail, Agriculture and Entomology Building, Brisbane

Detailed view of venting in brick work. Bricks used were commons, with prevalent dark blue iron staining.

Door and window detail, Agriculture and Entomology Building, Brisbane

View to side entrance opening and window detail with sliding timber shutters above, from exterior.