German auto engineering, Swiss chocolate, French perfume - this month's issue looks at which countries are in the Top 20 of the 'made in' index and why. Which are the world's most valuable brands? How much do consumers really care where a product is produced? And are there some types of products where 'made in' matters more?
The presenters argue that a true understanding of the appeal of hip-hop can have valuable implications for marketers seeking to connect with young people. Hip-hop incorporates a number of key values which resonate powerfully with the youth target. This presentation seeks to describe and explore these values and how they work, before articulating the interaction between hip-hop and the world of brands - an interaction which has rich potential if it can be properly harnessed.
Current concepts of brands pay full attention to the rational and symbolic but often overlook their sensory, experiential or synaesthetic aspects. This paper helps open up this complex and fascinating topic by identifying the principles of Synaesthesia which are integral to experience of brands. A number of qualitative methods are described for accessing Synaesthesia in brands and consumer experience, together with a range of case studies to amplify and illustrate the effects. What the paper demonstrates is first, an enriched view of what brands are in everyday life; second, very practical conclusions for positioning, communication, NPD; and third, a rich addition to qualitative techniques and practice, which leads to new views of the holistic, inter-connected world in which brands and consumers live.
This paper describes aspects of successful brand management supported through Marketing Research. Branding issues from the global strategic perspective of a leading manufacturer of adhesive products for the professional market are addressed. Case studies are used to demonstrate the threats and challenges to brands in mature adhesive markets and how state-of-the-art-marketing research can successfully support strategic brand steering in a highly competitive environment.
The paper discusses the role played by nationality in branding. Increasingly, European markets are a battleground for local brands, other European brands, and brands from the USA, Japan, and other countries. It is shown that consumers have strong images of other countries, their people, and the products they are making, and the services they are offering. These images have themselves developed from historical strengths in particular markets, through to the modern era where perceptions of strong brands have driven images of their parent country, according to whether and how they have used their nationality. The images of each of the main European countries, and the USA and Japan, are discussed in detail, and observations are drawn on the future role of nationality in developing international brands.