Matching Items (4)
Filtering by
- All Subjects: Branding
- Creators: Gray, Nancy
Description
As firms increase the number of channels that they operate and distribute their products and services on, they run into new challenges with branding. One sub-industry where many firms have used multi-channel branding is the specialty apparel segment of retail. Many firms of this kind are using a four-channel approach with physical stores, brand websites, social media pages, and direct mail catalogs to market their products. Yet, there are few specialty apparel retailers that do this well across all four channels. A particular technique used to market products in this way is visual merchandising. Visual merchandising for apparel products pieces together full outfits with multiple clothing items and shows them, in some way, being worn. Beyond just marketing products, however, visual merchandising can provide firms with benefits of branding such as brand expertise, positive consumer attitudes, and increased consumer purchase intent. To do this, firms must develop quality brands using traditional branding practices. To use as guides, J. Crew and Anthropologie's branding and visual merchandising practices were analyzed in case studies. Testing consumer perceptions of these brands and their success, primary research about consumers' behavior relative to specialty apparel retail brands and their visual merchandising displays was an outcome. From this research, it was found that consumers best respond to in-store visual merchandising displays. In showing products, a variety product combination strategy is preferred as it enhances the value consumers perceive in brands and builds brand character. Consumers also feel that visual merchandising impacts their knowledge of the brand and its products as well as personal styling. If brands successfully use visual merchandising to brand themselves, brand consistency, brand expertise, and positive consumer attitudes are an outcome. Recommendations for specialty apparel retail brands have been developed using these findings, and the potential such firms are able to realize in using these will greatly benefit them.
ContributorsTaylor, Allyson Nicole (Author) / Montoya, Detra (Thesis director) / Gray, Nancy (Committee member) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
This paper is rooted in the field of business, with an emphasis on entrepreneurship in the fashion industry. The questions we tried to answer were the following: What are factors of success for current fashion brands? What is important to our target market when shopping? How can we deliver these attributes to our target market? How can we use our findings to create a fashion brand? First, we conducted in-depth external analysis about existing retailers including, Forever 21, Zara and Brandy Melville. After doing so, we created brand molecules and learned about other people's perceptions in relation to these existing brands. Next, using our own qualitative and quantitative research, we sought to understand the many gaps in the overall shopping experience for college students and young working professionals. Our research revealed many common themes and trends that we will integrate into our proposed business plan in efforts to fill the gaps. Through our data analysis, common trends included how our demographic learns about new fashion trends, statement pieces versus mix-and-match basics, online shopping versus in-store shopping, price sensitivity of our target market, and lastly, the quality of customer service and the store's return policy. After our extensive research and data analysis, we began to construct our brand. We propose a new business model that targets our fashion-forward consumer with a memorable shopping experience that delivers high-quality and trendiness to their wardrobe. Using the elements and trends we identified, combined with our own vision, we combined them into one brand, The Capsule Collection. ur brand will feature high-quality, reasonably priced basics ranging from everyday casual to business casual. We will have store locations in cities where there are many young working professionals, and target them through social media advertising. Our store will feature an open layout with clean and minimalistic displays, keeping everything in neutral tones and accented with plants. The goal of The Capsule Collection is to make shopping as easy and exciting as possible, and focus entirely on the customer's experience.
ContributorsMeyyappan, Rathna (Co-author) / Aggarwal, Payal (Co-author) / Gray, Nancy (Thesis director) / Samper, Adriana (Committee member) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
Branding is one of the most important tools a business can use. Whether consumers know it or not, every purchasing decision that they make – be it for a product or service – is rooted in the brand. Thus, it is somewhat of a surprise that branding for individuals did not become popularized until 1997, with Tom Peters’ article “The Brand Called You.” In his article, Peters remarks on how changes in the marketplace and technology make developing a personal brand more accessible, as well as more important. The increasingly competitive marketplace combined with the rise of social media means that personal branding is even more important and more attainable today. Thus, it is vital for students entering the workforce to develop a brand that will allow them to distinguish themselves. This research examines whether or not students understand what personal branding is and if they have taken the steps to develop their personal brand. The research questions are as follows:
• Do students understand what personal branding is?
• Are students able to define their skills?
• Do students have a career plan?
• Do students have a plan to promote their brand?
A pilot study was first distributed to students of Arizona State University which found that students lack an understanding of what personal branding is and have a need for the knowledge and tools to develop a personal brand. A workshop was then developed to address these issues. This workshop was held three times: first, for a Landscape Architecture class, second, for a marketing class, and third, for a student sales organization. The workshop discussed branding, personal branding, and then the participants were able to begin working on developing their own personal brand. The students in the first workshop had two sessions and were able to complete their own personal brand process with the workshop leader, while participants from the second and third workshops completed it on their own, after only a single workshop session. After completing the in-person workshop, participants shared their brand with their fellow students in a Google Plus page. Finally, participants completed an exit survey. This exit survey was used to measure the research questions.
The first workshop proved to be most effective, even though the participants in the first workshop were all landscape design students and the majority of the participants in the second and third workshops were business students. It was found that unless the students’ own brand development process was finished during the workshop or affected the students’ grade, it would not be completed. It was also evident in all of the workshops that slides with imagery were more effective at starting discussions than the text-heavy slides. As such, future workshops should be designed with a greater time allowance, the intent of the students’ own brand development process to be completed during the workshop, and the presentation should be redesigned to better initiate discussion among participants.
• Do students understand what personal branding is?
• Are students able to define their skills?
• Do students have a career plan?
• Do students have a plan to promote their brand?
A pilot study was first distributed to students of Arizona State University which found that students lack an understanding of what personal branding is and have a need for the knowledge and tools to develop a personal brand. A workshop was then developed to address these issues. This workshop was held three times: first, for a Landscape Architecture class, second, for a marketing class, and third, for a student sales organization. The workshop discussed branding, personal branding, and then the participants were able to begin working on developing their own personal brand. The students in the first workshop had two sessions and were able to complete their own personal brand process with the workshop leader, while participants from the second and third workshops completed it on their own, after only a single workshop session. After completing the in-person workshop, participants shared their brand with their fellow students in a Google Plus page. Finally, participants completed an exit survey. This exit survey was used to measure the research questions.
The first workshop proved to be most effective, even though the participants in the first workshop were all landscape design students and the majority of the participants in the second and third workshops were business students. It was found that unless the students’ own brand development process was finished during the workshop or affected the students’ grade, it would not be completed. It was also evident in all of the workshops that slides with imagery were more effective at starting discussions than the text-heavy slides. As such, future workshops should be designed with a greater time allowance, the intent of the students’ own brand development process to be completed during the workshop, and the presentation should be redesigned to better initiate discussion among participants.
ContributorsBinsfeld, Jacqueline Rose (Author) / Montoya, Detra (Thesis director) / Gray, Nancy (Committee member) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2015-12
Description
It takes 1/10 of a second to make an emotional impact on your audience. Once you do, customers are eight times more likely to trust your brand, seven times more likely to purchase more, and six times more likely to forgive a mistake. Audiences make deep connections with resonant brands, that is brands that build trust with and provide substantial value to their consumers. Brands that resonate with customers enjoy above average economic gains and business resilience superior to their competition because they rank higher in engaging and connecting with their audience, delivering products/services that matter to those who care, and creating brand loyalty in the form of repeat customers and brand advocates. While resonant brands exceed on both the trust-building and value-providing dimensions, there are also those brands that do not build trust with or provide little value to their consumers, making those brands transactional. Not striving to attain or maintain brand resonance risks not differentiating, becoming irrelevant, and providing transactional value, which can quickly be replaced by alternatives offering a better deal. To avoid from becoming transactional, this study seeks to uncover what elements make for a resonant brand and outline the steps to achieve brand resonance.
ContributorsSimmons, William (Author) / Gray, Nancy (Thesis director) / Mejía, Mauricio (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor)
Created2022-05