The brand as a person: a Swedish perspective
Abstract: Oscar Wilde once wrote that a cynic is someone who knows the price of
everything but the value of nothing. He might as well have been talking
about the attitude many chief executives have towards their brands and,
indeed, the ways in which the organization itself is managed as a brand. It
is only relatively recently that senior managers have started talking about
brands as assets and brand personality as a major component of their
organizations market place value. If anyone doubts the value of brands and
their personality, they need to consider two things: Look at what managers
are prepared to pay for top brands and observe the extent to which the
market capitalization of brand-led organizations exceeds the value of their
tangible assets. This purpose of this thesis focuses on how companies treat
the brand as a person. This purpose is reached through research questions
which focus on the brand having a name, a personality, and how the brand is
positioned. Research was conducted via case studies at four Swedish
companies. The findings regarding the brand personality show that no clear
brand personality strategy is developed. The study show that companies are
aware of the lack of this kind of strategy, yet they still they put more
emphasis on positioning strategy.
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