Brand Positioning

Marketing choices are crucial components of a strategic marketing process. At this stage of planning, decisions are made in order to indicate the direction of the marketing mix not to mention the way products are going to be perceived in the market place. These marketing choises group consumers together based on common needs with the ultimate goal to affect the buying decisions of the target customers for these products, which stands for segmenting, targeting and positioning strategy.  In other words, STP is a marketing signification that associates the way to evaluate and choose a target market for specific product or service. Considering the factors related to this topic, the question of what specific consequences arise when addressing this topic must be elaborated. This research is particularly outstanding for the reader because it will analyze the STP strategy of a well-known company that produces sports equipment, which is Nike.

The effectiveness estimation of positioning strategies perceived by consumers is a challenge for marketers and confusion is still there in their minds, at the same time in the mind of strategy makers that which strategy is more successful.Successful positioning and its well established perception on consumer side are the symptoms of company’s long run progress and product’s success. Empirical, the relative effectiveness of taken positioning strategies is measured. A multidimensional scale is used to measure the effectiveness. The scale is constituted by the four dimensions including dissimilarity, uniqueness, favorability and credibility. Each dimension is assessed by the associated elements that are seventeen in total. Practically, three print advertisements from cellular industry are selected with the
experts’opinion. Each advertisement represents the given positioning strategy. Quantitative data were gathered by showing these advertisements to the 100 consumers that are selected via purposive sampling technique.The statistical technique, ANCOVA is applied herein the study.The results showed both benefit
positioning strategy and surrogate strategy received the much higher and significant score against the three dimensions of positioning effectiveness (i.e., favorability, dissimilarity and uniqueness) whereas results are not significant for credibility dimension.

While prevailing marketing practice is to encourage ever stronger relationships between consumers and brands, such relationships are rare and many consumers are relationship-averse or content with the status quo. The authors examine how marketers can more effectively manage existing brand relationships by focusing on the psychological distance between consumers and brands in order to match close (distant) brands with concrete (abstract) language in marketing communications. Through such matching, marketers can create a beneficial mindset-congruency effect leading to more favorable evaluations and behavior, even for brands that are relatively distant to consumers. Study 1 demonstrates the basic mindset-congruency effect and Study 2 shows it is capable of affecting donation behaviors. Study 3 documents two brand-level factors (search versus experience goods, brand stereotypes) that moderate this effect in managerially relevant ways. Study 4 shows that activation of the mindset-congruency effect influences consumers to spend more, and that these behaviors are moderated by consumer category involvement. The authors conclude with marketing and theoretical implications.

Strict policy control and real estate market downturn affects large-scale real estate enterprises performance. We surveyed large Chinese real estate enterprises and the internal factors that affect their competitiveness. Verified by the hierarchical regression and structural equation modelling approach, the results mainly show that profitability, capital ability, management and operation ability, human resource ability, brand name, and innovation ability play positive roles in the competitiveness of large real estate enterprises. Management and operation ability plays an intermediary role between human resources and the improvement of competitiveness. Real estate enterprises’ capital sources play an intermediary role between brand names and the improvement of competitiveness. Moreover, landbank area and quality and sales are three major factors that impact the competitiveness improvement of real estate enterprises, while the ability for marketing innovation and the payment collection of enterprises has a relatively small impact. All in all, this paper provides practical implications concerning factors that affect the competitiveness of large real estate enterprises. The findings are helpful to improve the sustainable development of real estate enterprises in the future. As research on factors that affect large-scale real estate enterprises is scarce, this study aims to fill this gap.

Many businesses are managing a sharp decline in sales during the
ongoing coronavirus crisis. An instinctive reaction may be to cut low-performing products from their menu of offerings — but this isn’t always the best way forward. The authors lay out a case for adding an ultra-expensive product to their portfolio. There are five reasons to do it: To increase sales across other products; to communicate expertise; to convey prestige; to garner publicity; and to move upmarket.

O Brand Model Canvas, permite a visão holística sobre sua estratégia de marca. Baseado em conceitos de Human Centered Design, ele começa analisando os problemas que a marca resolve de seu usuário, e faz a triangulação de dados de mercado, usuário e empresa, sempre com o olhar multidisciplinar, colaborativo , otimista e orientado a experiência nos pontos de contato e na mensuração de indicadores estratégicos.

The objective of this research is to analyze the repositioning strategy in a time of crisis and its importance for the survival of the brand. The strategy adopted by Gympass in 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic, was specifically observed as a case study for this research. During this period, the company made rapid changes to its services portfolio to ensure the preservation of its business model. It started offering online classes in partnership with gyms and personal trainers, as well as providing access to wellness applications (such as meditation, therapy, nutrition). For this analysis, the methodology used was that of the case study, based on primary sources (semi-structured interview) and secondary sources (articles and interviews available in the media). It is therefore a documentation-based investigation to understand the processes that led to the repositioning of the brand, in addition to its effectiveness and relevance. In the end, it is concluded that, in the face of great social and cultural transformations, an agile repositioning may be responsible for the survival of the brand.

Resumo

Esta pesquisa busca analisar a estratégia de reposicionamento em um momento de crise e sua importância para a sobrevivência da marca. Foi observada especificamente a estratégia adotada pelo Gympass em 2020, durante a pandemia do Covid-19. Nesse período, a empresa fez rápidas alterações em seu portfólio de serviços para garantir a manutenção de seu modelo de negócios. Passou a oferecer aulas online com academias e personal trainers, além de acesso a aplicativos de bem-estar (como meditação, terapia, nutrição). Para essa análise, a metodologia utilizada foi a do estudo de caso, baseado em fontes primárias (entrevista semi-estruturada) e secundárias (artigos e entrevistas disponíveis na mídia). Trata-se portanto de uma investigação baseada em documentação para compreender os processos que levaram ao reposicionamento de marca, além de sua efetividade e relevância. Ao final, conclui-se que, frente a grandes transformações sociais e culturais, um reposicionamento de marca ágil pode ser responsável pela sobrevida da marca.

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to comprehensively explore marketing issues for foreign industrial companies of large, small and medium size entering emerging markets (EMs), particularly transition economies in Eastern Europe. The vast majority of current studies about emerging markets focus only on defining suitable strategies related to large consumer goods corporations.

Design/methodology/approach
The research adopted a multiple case study approach. Five Italian companies belonging to different business-to-business industries that have entered emerging countries in Eastern Europe were selected for investigation.

Findings
Empirical analysis uncovered recurring issues related to: institutional factors causing market uncertainty and instability; difficulties in building a sales network; a need for product adaptation to guarantee satisfactory performance; choices related to communication, branding and trade fairs; and considerations about competition and first mover advantage. Results can be interpreted as an extension of the analysis of institutional voids by Khanna and Palepu (1997).

Research limitations/implications
The study is based on the analysis of five case studies of companies operating in specific emerging markets, namely in Eastern Europe Countries (EEc) Further research based on different samples and different emerging countries is needed before generalizing results.

Practical implications
The study shows that the main institutional void affecting business-to-business companies entering emerging markets (EEc) is the lack of locally developed sales and after-sales networks. This institutional void slows the entry process of business-to-business companies in EMs. Given these constraints, from the perspective of business-to-business SMEs, it may be fruitful to pursue niche positioning in EMs.

Originality/value
The study analyzes emerging markets opportunities and entry strategies from the business-to-business marketing perspective, uncovering the most critical issues.

O Brand Model Canvas, é segunda versão de um template que permite a visão holística sobre sua estratégia de marca. Baseado em conceitos de Human Centered Design, ele começa analisando os problemas que a marca resolve de seu usuário, e faz a triangulação de dados de mercado, usuário e empresa, sempre com o olhar multidisciplinar, colaborativo , otimista e orientado a experiência nos pontos de contato e na mensuração de indicadores estratégicos.

Download: https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv5cg94w
The automotive sector represents more than a simple industry. Since the late nineteenth century, it has embodied the economic and technological power of nations, the lifestyle, the dynamics of urban and territorial development, and it has acted as a national barometer of economic success and failure. This book explains how the car industry works and analyses the challenges both for the sector and for the economies that rely on the industry for jobs, growth, and innovation. It explores an industry that has been under severe pressure in industrialized countries for many years—factories have shut down, jobs have gone, and brands have disappeared—yet world production has never been so high, reaching new peaks annually. Fabio Cassia and Matteo Ferrazzi investigate as well the new trends of urban mobility and the characteristic of " car of the future " : the traditional landscape of car production and usage will be driven by technological advances, connectivity, car sharing, and by one the most fascinating advances, the self-driving car. How different will be the automotive sector in a decade? Will the traditional players be challenged by new entrants such as Google, Apple, Uber?

First chapter download: https://agendapub.com/images/pdfs/chapters/9781911116721_chp.pdf

La marca se ha convertido en un elemento estratégico para la
diferenciación, no solo desde el punto de vista empresarial, sino también para la consecución de un posicionamiento adecuado de territorios. En este sentido, el objeto fundamental de este trabajo es realizar un análisis de cómo diferentes territorios se están configurando en marca (“marca territorio”), contribuyendo así a construir un posicionamiento diferencial y difundir la identidad y valores de cada una de las regiones a través de la comunicación.

Membangun Brand Positioning di Perpustakaan Sekolah " Salah satu upaya KI dalam membangun sense of belonging pemustaka adalah dengan memajang karya unggulan siswa di dinding-dinding perpustakaan. " (Septian Sugara, Doddy Rusmono, dan Susanti Agustina, 2016:15) Penggalan kutipan di atas bermaksud bahwa dalam pengimplementasian Brand Positioning dapat berupa mengajak para siswa-siswinya lomba menggambar, menulis puisi, membuat suau karya tertentu yang akhirnya karya tersebut dapat dipajang di perpustakaan. Sehingga anak yang memiliki karya yang dipajang tersebut akan kembali datang ke perpustakaan karena ingin melihat karya dia sendiri lagi yang ia buat dipajang di perpustakaan. Tidak menutup kemungkinan juga dia mengajak teman-teman sebayanya untuk datang ke perpustakaan. Alasan lain selain untuk melihat kembali karyanya sendiri yang dipajang adalah perasaan bangga yang dimiliki oleh siswa-siswinya yang karyanya dipajang. Walaupun tujuan datang mereka ke perpustakaan bukan untuk membaca atau sebagainya. Mungkin hanya sekadar untuk bermain dan bersantai. Tidak masalah, karena lama-kelamaan pun jika anak yang datang ke perpustakaan akan mencoba meraih sumber pengetahuan yang ada di perpustakaan sedikit demi sedikit. Peran pustakawan pun dalam hal ini, diperlukan. Adanya bimbingan atau rangsangan yang diberikan oleh pustakawan kepada pemustaka (siswa-siswi) pun sangat dipentingkan. Diharapkan makna perpustakaan yang identik dengan serius itu perlahan berubah, karena nyatanya perpustakaan itu sangatlah asik dan friendly.

An effective repositioning means the target customers have developed a positive and favorable perception of the altered product offerings and satisfied with service delivery. Passengers of an Australian carrier were surveyed to determine whether its repositioning strategies have been effective. The findings reveal that passengers define product characteristics differently from industry and academia, resulting in a knowledge discrepancy, which in turn has a significant impact on the formulation of positive and favorable perception and satisfaction. We suggest an effective repositioning lies in managing consumers' knowledge strategically to minimize the knowledge gap.

Since from the conception, there have been way too many impediments towards the success of Tata Motors dream project – Nano. It seems evident that Tatas have had problems with the entire marketing mix for Nano. There were initial safety issues with the product; they couldn’t hold on to their original pricing promise due to rising costs; there was a tough time with the distribution due to serious mismatch between demand and supply; and there wasn’t a proper promotional campaign to begin with. This explorative case study looks beyond the mistakes and attempts to throw light on the consumer psychology regarding Nano’s initial low market acceptance; which seemed to be quite different from what the company and industry had speculated in the beginning. While making qualitative assessment of the perception, attitudes and behavior of the consumers, the case study also explores the continuous hurdles that Tata Motors had gone through and the others that it still tries to overcome to ensure “Nano – the people’s car”, gets  it’s truly deserving position in the market.

Croatian Abstract: Elektronsko izdanje monografije Licnost brenda: Razlika koju je najteže kopirati, autorke dr Slađane Starcevic, objavljeno je u izdanju FEFA, 2016. godine i domacim citaocima detaljno predstavlja jedan veoma popularan koncept u marketingu.Licnost brenda predstavlja metaforu koja se odnosi na potrosacevo opažanje i doživljaj brenda kao osobe tj. opisivanje određenog brenda kao ljudskog bica. Brendovima se cesto pripisuju fizicke karakteristike (lep, privlacan itd.), pozitivne i negativne osobine svojstvene ljudima (npr. harizmatican, odlucan, bojažljiv, neprilagođen, besan itd.) i demografske karakteristike kao sto su pol, godine, status itd. Naime, potrosaci kupuju određene brendove da bi pomocu njih izrazili licni identitet ili imidž, posebno kada su u pitanju bredovi koji se javno konzumiraju. Ova i slicna zapažanja su i uvela pojam licnosti brenda u marketing. Danas se mnogi teoreticari i prakticari marketinga slažu oko toga da licnost brenda predstavlja veoma ...

Positioning is the mental space which every marketer craves to imprint in the consumer's mind. A marketer always desires their consumers to imagine, when they come across with a brand name. In order to keep a hold in the market, the marketers strive to get the best positioning strategies by understanding how customers perceive their brand with respect to the available varieties. As Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) market is booming day by day, five shampoo brands were being considered as cases. With the technique of perceptual mapping, this study identified the effectiveness of the brand positioning strategies, the consumers' perception and the attributes influencing the consumers' buying behaviour towards the selected brands. The study investigated how consumers' associate the attributes in different dimensions with reference to leading shampoo brands. The study revealed that the consumers perceive the selected brands equally and positively as far as their usage is considered. Positioning of these brands effectively influences the consumers' and their buying behaviour and they plan and project the campaigns in accordance with the consumers' perception.

Purpose-The purpose of this study is to identify the factors affecting brand competitive positioning (BCP) and its components in the home appliance industry and also to develop a scale for it, considering both the seller's and the buyer's side. Design/methodology/approach-The factors were investigated both qualitatively and quantitatively. Data was collected from findings of previous research as well as interviews with experts in the industry. After conducting thematic analysis, the extracted factors were confirmed by experts. A total of 400 samples was used to test the BCP scale. Respondents were the customers of some selected home appliance brands. Findings-The results of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses indicated that seven main factors influenced BCP, including product quality, service quality, perceived price, sales and distribution, marketing communication, market orientation and reputation and background. Also, the five components of BCP are distinctiveness, desirability, credibility, value for money and top of the mind awareness. Originality/value-Modelling a new scale on BCP is of considerable importance. Using mixed method, the current study presents a new scale named Brand Competitive Positioning Scale.

Construction progress monitoring has been perceived as one of the key factors that prompt the achievement of a construction project. However, assessing the progress is time consuming, costly and obliges specialized personnel to reduce disagreements and approximate the actual performance to the original plan as close as possible. Image processing is a promising method that has been developed for automated monitoring of construction projects. It has attracted increasing attention for progress monitoring, quality assurance and work space analyses. Nonetheless, remarkable drawbacks still remain in image processing, particularly for outdoor environment such as construction progress monitoring. The principle downside of image processing goes back to the image resolution. Ambient lightning condition significantly affects the image quality which does affect the accuracy of data, extracted from related images. Much research strives to reduce the level of errors for data extraction but so far none has been able to deliver complete satisfactory and reliable result. In this research a novel approach based on thermal image analysis is presented. The new method consists of three phases: First, collecting the thermal and original images by utilizing Infrared-Camera. Second, estimating the position of captured images by the use of wireless sensor network implemented in the work space. Finally, the 3D plan will be updated automatically in the Building Information Modeling (BIM) software. The preliminary experimental results from an actual concrete building construction site show the feasibility of inferring the actual state of progress by the use of thermal images to overcome the limitation of vision monitoring. 

AUTOMATED CONSTRUCTION PROGRESS MONITORING USING THERMAL IMAGES AND WIRELESS SENSOR NETWORKS. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/275024236_AUTOMATED_CONSTRUCTION_PROGRESS_MONITORING_USING_THERMAL_IMAGES_AND_WIRELESS_SENSOR_NETWORKS#share [accessed Sep 11, 2015].

Globalisation is dramatically changing the context of urban communities and the premises for urban development policy. In the context of global intercity competition, cities' major goal is to increase their competitiveness, in which the positioning and attractiveness of a city have a critical function. Attraction-oriented development strategies aim at effective absorption of external resources from the global space of flows. At the core of attraction strategy are business promotion activities with appealing incentives, but it is assumed that such a competition is risky and may lead to a race to the bottom. Therefore the emphasis is increasingly on less costly and more synergistic city marketing, which utilises city branding and “city profiling” that aim at attract high value-adding services or high-tech firms. This paper proposes a city attraction hypothesis that states that global intercity competition is essentially about a city's ability to attract the highest possible value from global flows of values in order to promote urban development. The result of such a global intercity competition determines cities' functions and positions in the global division of labour and thus in the global urban hierarchy, and ultimately determines their ability to increase prosperity and welfare in urban communities.

Research Question: Social media platforms provide opportunities for athletes to promote their personal brands and attract engagement from consumers. Through this research, we examined the factors that influence social media engagement (likes and comments) with athlete content on Instagram. Research Methods: We monitored the posting habits of every MLS player with a public Instagram profile over a one-month period. In total, 1727 Instagram posts from 289 male professional athletes were included in the study. Drawing upon self-presentation theory, the Model of Athlete Brand Image, and relationship marketing, each post was dummy coded according to its content type and the overarching marketing orientation reflected by the characteristics of the post. Results and Findings: Results from ANOVA and hierarchical regression tests indicated the Athletic Performance content type attracted higher rates of consumer engagement than other content types. Posts containing good quality photos, and the athlete's teammates positively influenced engagement rates; whereas including hashtags negatively influenced engagement. Implications: Overall, this research extends knowledge surrounding athlete branding via social media and supports that impression management adopting a relationship marketing approach facilitates improved consumer engagement. Through this research we develop the Model of Athlete Branding via Social Media, which athletes and sport professionals can use to guide their social media strategy. ARTICLE HISTORY

Purpose - Financial Technologies (FinTech) is emerging as the core of digital innovation in the finance sector with promising technology and infrastructure. FinTech organizations are driven by data- finance, commodities, currencies, investment, payment systems, trading, exchange markets, regulation, consultancy services, banking, transaction settlement, financial intermediaries, and corporate governance. The purpose of this paper is to understand the consumer behavioural intentions in using Fintech Service, basis on the TAM, integrating brand and service trust to understand the influence on behavioural intention. Approach - To understand the consumer behavioural intentions in using Fintech Service, this study basis on the TAM, integrating brand and service trust to understand the influence on behavioural intention. By using convenience sampling, 220 consumers’ samples were collected. The results showed: Brand and service trust has a significantly positive effect on attitudes toward using Fintech Service. Perceived usefulness has a significantly positive effect on attitudes toward using. Perceived ease of use has a significantly positive effect on attitudes toward using. Attitudes toward on using have a significantly positive effect on behavioural intention to use. The use of latest ICT technologies lightens up the finance operations and services to exponential levels. The study tests the model in adoption of technology with innovation, and other adoption issues. The paper also presents a review of academic journals, literature, and assess the adoption of technology in the fintech revolution. Findings - This finding reveals the importance of understanding the behavioural intention toward using Fintech Service. First of all, the exploratory factor analysis for consumer behaviour showed that the acceptance of new technology 5 domains (brand and service trust, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, attitude toward using, and behavioural intentions to use) This shall be of significant interest to researchers, professionals, academicians, and practitioners.

Special issue on Brand Management and Co-creation-lessons from tourism and hospitality
JOURNAL OF PRODUCT AND BRAND MANAGEMENT 30(1)
Guest Editors: Dimitrios Buhalis, Sangwon Park

https://www.emerald.com/insight/publication/issn/1061-0421/vol/30/iss/1

Buhalis, D., Park, S., (2021) Brand Management and Cocreation-lessons from tourism and hospitality: Editorial, Journal of Product & Brand Management, Vol.30(1). pp.1-11. https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/JPBM-10-2020-3158/full/html

Hussain, K., Jing, F., Junaid, M., Zaman, Q.U. and Shi, H. (2021), "The role of co-creation experience in engaging customers with service brands", Journal of Product & Brand Management, Vol.30(1), pp.12-27. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-08-2019-2537

Cheung, M.L., Ting, H., Cheah, J.-H. and Sharipudin, M.-N.S. (2021), "Examining the role of social media-based destination brand community in evoking tourists’ emotions and intention to co-create and visit", Journal of Product & Brand Management, Vol.30(1), pp.28-43. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-09-2019-2554

Yousaf, A., Amin, I., Jaziri, D. and Mishra, A. (2021), "Effect of message orientation/vividness on consumer engagement for travel brands on social networking sites", Journal of Product & Brand Management, Vol.30(1), pp.44.57 https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-08-2019-2546

Tjandra, N.C., Rihova, I., Snell, S., Den Hertog, C.S. and Theodoraki, E., (2021), “Mega-events brand meaning co-creation: the Olympic case", Journal of Product & Brand Management, Vol.30(1), pp.58-73 https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-08-2019-2539

Chung, S.-Y.(. and Byrom, J. (2020), "Co-creating consistent brand identity with employees in the hotel industry", Journal of Product & Brand Management, Vol. 30(1), pp.74-89. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-08-2019-2544

Lee, S. and Kim, D.-Y. (2021), "Brand tourism effect in the luxury hotel industry", Journal of Product & Brand Management, Vol. 30(1). pp.90-103. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-09-2019-2574

Oh, H., Lee, M. and Lee, S.A. (2021), "Global or local brand? Hotel selection in global travel context", Journal of Product & Brand Management, Vol. 30(1), pp.104-117. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-08-2019-2509

Micevski, M., Diamantopoulos, A. and Erdbrügger, J. (2021), "From country stereotypes to country emotions to intentions to visit a country: implications for a country as a destination brand", Journal of Product & Brand Management, Vol. 30(1), pp.118-131. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-09-2019-2563

Quoquab, F., Mohammad, J. and Mohd Sobri, A.M. (2021), "Psychological engagement drives brand loyalty: evidence from Malaysian ecotourism destinations", Journal of Product & Brand Management, Vol.30(1), pp.132-147 https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-09-2019-2558

Giannopoulos, A., Piha, L. and Skourtis, G. (2021), "Destination branding and co-creation: a service ecosystem perspective", Journal of Product & Brand Management, Vol.30(1), pp.148-166. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-08-2019-2504

Zelenskaya, E. and Elkanova, E. (2021), "Designing place brand architecture: the potential of a sub-brands strategy", Journal of Product & Brand Management, Vol. 30(1), pp.169-179. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-08-2019-2551

Tran, P.K.T., Nguyen, V.K. and Tran, V.T. (2021), "Brand equity and customer satisfaction: a comparative analysis of international and domestic tourists in Vietnam", Journal of Product & Brand Management, Vol.30(1), pp.180-194 https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-08-2019-2540

What is the brand of an institution? What is a powerful university brand? What confusions
are being made? What is the difference between a product brand and a service brand? How do we
create and maintain an institution’s brand? How is branding achieved in a higher education
institution? These are some of the questions to which this paper will find possible answers.
If we refer to Romania, the social, economic, cultural and education contexts in today’s
Romania are very complex and very dynamic. Thus, universities, as higher education providers,
need a strategy for permanent modernization and adaptation to answer current needs. We are
referring here to both the needs and expectations of students, as prime beneficiaries of academic
training, and to the demands of the labor market. It is almost unanimously acknowledged that
education - the education and training system - is at the basis of other strata of society, that it is a
national interest in continuous flow. This is a normal thing since the labor market keeps changing
in its turn. An efficient higher education system is one that succeeds in training experts in the fields
needed by society, also in ever-growing change, and even in fields that do not yet exist, but might
come up in the near future.

This particular case study examines the McDonald's brand with the objective of analyzing their participation in the food industry and their strategies of nutritious and sustainable repositioning, and elects viable actions to minimize the critical impacts to supply “fast food”, considering the consumption trends of postmodern society.

Businesses may not be in a position to satisfy all of their customers, every time. It may prove difficult to meet the exact requirements of each individual customer. People do not have identical preferences, so rarely does one product completely satisfy everyone. Many companies may usually adopt a strategy that is known as target marketing. This strategy involves dividing the market into segments and developing products or services to these segments. A target marketing strategy is focused on the customers’ needs and wants. Hence, a prerequisite for the development of this customer-centric strategy is the specification of the target markets that the companies will attempt to serve. The marketing managers who may consider using target marketing will usually break the market down into groups and to target the most profitable segments. They may adapt their marketing mix elements, including; products, prices, channels, and promotional tactics to suit the requirements of individual consumers. In sum, this chapter explains the three stages of target marketing, including; market segmentation (ii) market targeting and (iii) market positioning.

Marlboro is a brand of cigarette famous for its flavor, billboard advertisements and magazine advertisements of the Marlboro Man. By 1992, Financial World ranked Marlboro the world's No. 1 most valuable brand, with a market worth of $32 billion. In 2001 it was the most popular cigarette brand in the U.S. What are the ethical issues involved in its brand building practices?

Целта на тази книга е да запознае потенциалните читатели с основните принципи и с научноизследователските подходи при проучванията на туристическата среда и устойчивото развитие на туристическа дестинация, създаването на туристически бранд, както и организацията и технологията на стратегическото планиране на местно ниво. Актуалността на темата се свързва с неразпознаваемостта и неефективното използване на туристическите ресурси в община Чипровци на настоящия етап, въпреки включването на килимарските традиции в списъка на световното нематериално културно наследство на ЮНЕСКО. Туризмът не фигурира във визията на програмни документи и практически все още липсват достатъчно реализирани целенасочени местни политики в сектора. Същевременно устойчивото развитие е заложено в Националната стратегия за развитие на туризма и представлява приоритет на Световната туристическа организация. То¬ва налага адаптиране и прилагане на работещ модел и утвърдени методики за устойчиво развитие на туристическа дестинация. Обект на изследване е община Чипровци в качеството на териториална система за отдих и туризъм. Като туристическа дестинация общината притежава ограничени ресурси за развитие на някои специализирани видове туризъм. Съхранената природа, растителното и животинско разнообразие и защитени зони са основна предпоставка за развитие на екологичен и в частност орнитоложки и ботанически туризъм. Благоприятните форми на релефа, в съчетание с малки пещери и водопади, биха могли да привличат туристи за планински, приключенски и екстремен спорт и туризъм. Историческите и религиозни паметници са основа за комплексно предлагане на културен, фестивален и религиозен туризъм. Благоприятни възможности има за развитие на образователен и доброволчески туризъм. Ресурсите на община Чипровци все още не се използват рационално за устойчиво развитие на алтернативни видове туризъм, като основен ограничаващ фактор е отдалечеността на дестинацията от основните пътни артерии, столицата и по-големите областни градове – Велико Търново, Русе и др. Общината няма работеща дългосрочна стратегия за развитие на туризма все още, но вече има усилия на местната власт в тази насока, като за основа е положен научно-изследователски подход и се работи върху Програма за развитие на туризма на община Чипровци 2021-2027 г. Предмет на изследване в книгата са: 1) проучването, анализът и оценката на туристическия потенциал на община Чипровци, като подсистеми на териториалната система за отдиха и туризма) ТСОТ и изследване на взаимовръзките между тях, 2) възможностите за създаване на туристически бранд и 3) стратегическо планиране на устойчивото туристическо развитие на дестинацията. Целта на изследването обхваща анализ и оценка на ресурсния потенциал, създаване на туристически бранд, както и формулиране на стратегически цели и приоритети за устойчиво развитие на туризма в община Чипровци. Във връзка с посочената цел са формулирани следните основни изследователски задачи: 1. Изясняване същността на ТСОТ на местно пространствено ниво и разкриване на взаимовръзките на отделните подсистеми. 2. Анализ и оценка на подсистемите на ТСОТ на община Чипровци за очертаване нейната продуктова политика и насоките за устойчиво развитие. 3. Методика за оценка на туристическите ресурси и извеждане на критерии за оценка на туристическия потенциал на местно ниво. 4. Проучване на съществуващите схеми за туристическо райониране и разработване на туристическа схема за микрорайониране по примера на общини Ботевград, Костинброд и Горна Малина. 5. Проучване на различни аспекти на устойчивото развитие и добри практики в подбрани дестинации; 6. Създаване и управление на туристически бранд Чипровци; 7. Формулиране на цели и стратегически приоритети за устойчиво туристическо развитие на община Ботевград. За постигане на изследователската цел и решаване на основните задачи в книгата е използвана съвкупност от общонаучни и частни методи, съответстващи на интердистциплинарния и хетерогеннен характер на ТСОТ на местно ниво – методи на анализ и синтез, камерален метод, математико-статистически методи, картографски метод , ГИС , SWOT анализ, социологически методи и др. Основните подходи на изследването са системният, свързан със системния характер на ТСОТ и емпиричният подход, използван за набиране на необходимата по обем и характер първична количествена и качествена информация (ниска степен на проученост на обекта на изследване). Използваните методи на изследване стъпват на дедуктивен подход, тоест изводите се извеждат по логически път от общите положения към частните случаи. Използвани са още подход на проучвания и систематизиране на информация на литературни източници и планови документи; набиране, обработка, систематизиране и интерпретиране на статистически данни и документи; метод на критичния анализ и експертна оценка; метод на сравнителния анализ; анкетен метод и натурно обследване; аналитично-прогнозен метод; научен анализ и синтез, работа с фокус групи; теренно наблюдение. Защитаваната изследователска теза е, че постигането на устойчиво развитие на туристическа дестинация на местно ниво е възможно само при системно използване и прилагане на критериите и показателите за анализ и оценка на туристическия потенциал, ясно дефиниране и следване на стратегическите цели и приоритети за устойчивото развитие на туристическа дестинация, съобразно нейната идентичност и репутация. Основните проблеми и ограничения са свързани с липсата на достатъчно актуална и достоверна информация за туристическите ресурси и обекти на територията на общината, доставчиците на услуги и състоянието на туристическото предлагане. При анкетните проучвания, насочени към посетителите, сериозен недостатък се оказа липсата на целенасочена местна политика, свързана с туризма, както и недостатъчен маркетинг и реклама. Пълната липса на предходни научноизследователски проучвания, мониторинг на посетителите и налична статистическа информация възпрепятства изготвянето на задълбочени анализи. Липсата на квалифицирани кадри и традиции в областта на туризма, затихващата функция на туристическите обекти и фактът, че никога преди това общината не е работила целенасочено за развитието на сектора, се оказаха друг сериозен ограничителен фактор. Монографията е предназначена както за студенти, изучаващи туризъм, маркетинг и масови комуникации в различните университети, стопански, журналистически и географски факултети в страната, така и за преподаватели и експерти по туризъм, маркетинг и връзки с обществеността, туристически организации, институции и предприемачи в областта на туризма. Тя е полезно практическо ръководство за местните власти и организациите за управление на туристическите райони в страната.

The preferences of customers are rapidly changing with the changes in trends. Similar situation is also faced by restaurant sector which forces them to stay in the process of adaptation in relation with the changes in customers’ demands and needs. Some of the challenges which the restaurant sector is facing are; customers’ preferences over healthier food, advancement in technology over delivery of food and dining experience, new entrants, environmental sustainability, marketing strategies, heightened expectations of customers and food processing methods. The businesses can cope up with these challenges through innovation, which is a tool that can provide competitive advantage in order to survive in the rapidly changing and cutthroat environment. This report will elaborate the notions "Innovation" and "Commercialization" in depth which can be beneficial for entrepreneurs to boost their businesses.

STP plays a vital role in the company to get the right consumer. The advantage of this is that it helps in achieving a better target market that will be profitable for the company. It is noted that one of the most noticeable benefits of the STP process is that it enables the management to understand the competitive position of the firm, by focusing on marketing strategies and providing a direction for future growth. Further, the use of targeted advertising, brand differentiation, new product development and other strategies also contributes towards building a competitive edge of the company. On the other hand, use of the STP tool helps to identify and locate opportunities within the market by the help of the proper identification of the new customers. The STP tool helps in the identification of the opportunities within the market by the different growth segments and product uses as well. This essay focuses on the importance of STP from the perspective of a company. Here, a detailed examination of STP and its application in the industry by some examples is shown respectively. This essay will help to explore the importance of STP and other marketing concepts that benefit an organization in the future (Wirtz and Lovelock, 2017).

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to discover how higher education institutions may segment the market in a competitive higher education hub and to assess the usefulness of strategic group analysis as an analytical technique for market and competitor analysis. As a case example of a competitive higher education market, this research investigates how higher education institutions in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) position themselves and compete with one another.
Design/methodology/approach - The research relied mainly on secondary data, which were obtained from the websites of institutions and regulatory bodies. Then, hierarchical cluster analysis was used to identify strategic groups and institutional competitive strategies in the UAE higher education market. A panel of experts helped interpret and explain the cluster results.
Findings - Eight distinct institutional clusters were identified, which include public and privately owned institutions, as well as elite and specialist institutions. Institution and programme accreditation were found to be particularly important in the UAE market. The institutions in each group appear to operate in a particular market segment, targeting students that have similar needs and wants, and who often share similar demographic features.
Practical implications - It is concluded that strategic group analysis may help institutions to evaluate potential markets, select target segments and develop competitive strategies. In the UAE market context, the results demonstrate how institutions may position themselves to create strong and distinctive identities. The results of the research may be of interest to higher education institutions that operate in competitive markets, and particularly those that want to evaluate foreign markets.
Originality/value - This is believed to be the first study to use a strategic group approach for analysing competitors in a higher education hub.

Lencastre, Paulo de & Côrte-Real, Ana (2007). Um triângulo da marca para evitar a branding myopia: contribuição semiótica para um modelo integrado de compreensão da marca. Organicom, 4, 7, 98-113.

Este artigo parte da metáfora da miopia para explicar a visão mais limitada da marca, entendida exclusivamente como o sinal de identidade de um produto. Sendo a marca um sinal, recorre à semiótica, a ciência dos sinais, para aplicar um modelo que alarga o conceito de marca a três dimensões: a do sinal de identidade propriamente dito; a do objeto a que o sinal se refere; e a da resposta do mercado ao sinal.
Palavras-chave: Marca, branding, semiótica, marketing, marketing mix, product mix, identity mix, brand mix, public mix, answer mix, identidade corporativa, extensão de marca, posicionamento da marca, imagem da marca.

This article uses the short-sightedness metaphor to explain the more limited vision of the brand, understood to be the sign of identity of a product. As the brand is a sign, it resorts to semiotics, the sciense of signs, to apply a model that expands the concept of brand to three dimensions: the sign of identity per se; the object to which the sign relates; and the market´s response to the sign.
Keywords: Brand, branding, semiotic, marketing, marketing mix, product mix, identity mix, brand mix, public mix, answer mix, corporate identity, brand extension, brand positioning, brand image.

The monograph offers a research and a planning technology of tourism development in an emerging tourist destination, whose current image does not support, but hinders the development of tourism. Vire this monograph the path from the desire of local authorities to develop viable tourism is traced to the final formulation of practice-oriented guidelines for creating a marketing and communication strategy to promote the municipality of Chelopech as an attractive tourist destination. Here you will find the know-how of each step in tourism development planning, also explained in terms of marketing theory. The valuable thing is that the theory is synthesized and presented logically through practically realized steps - it is a textbook in practice, in research methodology, in methodology of creating a new image, in methodology of product construction of a tourist destination, in methodology of analysis of factors, in methodology of creating rational sectoral policies and targeted actions aiming  sustainable tourism development of the future tourist destination, as well as a practical guide for the local authorities to serve as a guide for tourism development. The theoretical part of the monograph traces all the basic concepts applied in the study, as well as the differences between image and brand, between marketing communications and integrated marketing communications - two current issues of modern marketing, that could be entirely understood only after their practical application. In theory and in practice the main functions of the destination organizations are presented, what the function of almost  all marketing tools is, what the function of the quantitative methods in tourism is, you will see what the selection of the questions in the marketing surveys is and why these questions were selected, how in practice the real state of the image is studied; the state of the tourist development and the supply in the destination are studied; which the system of matrix methodologies is that work in synchrony and these methodologies are interchangeable at each stage of their application to activate resources, to consolidate and to promote the entire product range, which leads to planned, predictable and sustainable product development as a whole.
The empirical researches contribute to supplementing the strong information deficits in the region and it is necessary constant observations and a periodic updating to be carried out in relation to the dynamically changing realities.
The contribution of the present study is that it could serve as a model of local tourism development and branding for other destinations as well. It creates the know-how  about the inexhaustible tourist resources - nature, culture and history, that can be integrated and interpreted through festivals and events in any traditional or new tourist product. At the same time, following the example of Chelopech, the resources of the artistic and creative unions, the community centers in the Republic of Bulgaria, clubs for hobby interests, cultural and other organizations can be integrated for the creation of the long-awaited Bulgarian entertainment industry.
The marketing plan activates and integrates resources to create a wide range of regional tourism products that have the spirit of our history, culture, nature and traditions. Thus, the form, the content and the technology for product realization of Chelopech resource build in the name of tourism, culture and products of Bulgaria a national philosophy and a national vector based on intangible resources.
Indirect effects of applying the proposed methodology for building a viable tourism and turning a small municipality into an attractive tourist destination are: creation of manageable processes for short-term, medium-term and long-term activation of the demand and supply of Bulgarian tourist products; formation of thematic visions and tourist packages - with attractive in thematic profiles sport, cultural, culinary, party, academic and other areas and tours to build a thematic-regional image of tourism; creating the basis of a vision and mission for strategic positioning of the product of Chelopech in the Bulgarian cultural tourist product and activating the tourist resources of the Bulgarian rural municipalities and regions following the example of Chelopech destination.

Effective positioning helps firms attract new customers in the short run, and helps build customer-brand relationships in the long run. In addition, effective positioning by the set of firms in an industry essentially decreases direct competition and offers potential customers choices in the market. While researchers and practitioners alike acknowledge the importance of strategic positioning to the firm’s success, current business trends and a lack of positioning research make executing an effective positioning strategy difficult for today’s managers. This research revisits the concept of positioning, introducing experiential positioning as a strategic process in which firms differentiate themselves on the basis of different experience propositions. This approach is especially appropriate for mature industries or those industries that inherently lack obvious opportunities for differentiation based on the core product or service alone. To demonstrate our conceptual  framework we analyze a large sample of TV advertisements from the online brokerage industry during the growth period of 1999-2000 to demonstrate how firms in this industry effectively created different options for customers when core differences were rather minor. We use archetype analysis and relationship theory to identify the basic forms of relationship experience available within the category of online trading, demonstrating the viability of our approach for positioning in similar market contexts.

Brands have distinctive effects on our lives as of today where production capabilities push the limits of possibilities. Built with the intention of differentiation from similar products, brands deliver a certain strategic advantage to their producers with their meanings and associations created in consumers’ minds. Each action made for creating a certain perception in consumers’ minds, regarding the brand, is identified under brand positioning. Brand positioning may need to be re-evaluated and updated regarding the change of circumstances to gain advantage over the competition and add value to the brand. Luxury market consists of products that have higher demand growth rate in relation to income growth. Positioning in the luxury market is done regarding the core values of luxury items; conspicuousness, uniqueness, extended self, hedonistic values and quality. Brands that lose the luxury perception in the consumers’ minds are lowered to the premium brand position in the brandhierarchy. Gucci a brand that is positioned as a luxury brand in fashion retail needed repositioning in the 1990’s because of certain circumstances and business decisions. In this case study re-positioning of Gucci will be evaluated which resulted in an iconic success.

Chapter 4 discusses what exactly is a service product, its benefits, components, and the Flower of Service model. A service concept includes both the core and supplementary elements. The supplementary elements both facilitate and enhance the core service offering. This chapter also covers branding, tiered service products, and explains how service firms can build brand equity.

IIndonesia is highly populated country, with Jakarta as its capital city. Based on the data from Central Statistical Agency (BPS) in 2011, population in Jakarta has reached 10.187.595. It can be wide opportunity for convenience store to fulfill need of Jakarta citizen for primary and secondary goods. Convenience store become a promising field of business. In Asia, the growth of mini markets from 2011 to 2012 has reached 27%, from 114.000 to 145.318 (Nielsen 2014).  Meanwhile in Indonesia, 18.9% growth rate occurred during 2009 and 22.4 growth rate during 2011. This rate was the second highest compared with Taiwan, Thailand, Korea, Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong. Society in Indonesia generally having consumptive behavior. It is a behavior when people usually buy what they want, instead what they needs. They ignore to look carefully at their true priority (Enrico, Aron & Oktavia, 2014). Moreover in Indonesia culture, people love to chat and hang out, especially teenager and young adult. Most of these young people considered hang out at convenience store as an activity that increasing their prestige. It also able to get them recognized by young society, even if they are refusing the idea of hang out at convenience store and pick somewhere else, like friends’ house, they will be labeled as “not cool” and excluded by the young people society. As the result, convenience store is growing like a mushroom in Jakarta. Many brands growth whether from Indonesia such as Alfamart, Indomaret or franchise from other countries, for instance, 7-11, Lawson, Mini Stop. Jakarta become thigh competition for convenience stores. A distance between one to another convenience store, in many areas, its only 10 – 150 meter away.
Alfamart, one of the giant company of convenience store with approximately more than 7.000 stores crossed Indonesia.  However, it is not instantly secure Alfamart position in convenience store market competition. Alfamart heaviest competitor is Indomaret, and new comer from United States of America, 7-11. An assessment about what they have to conquer local market, and how its marketing works still need to be conducted. This paper will using SWOT to analyze Alfamart position in Indonesia market and compared it with its competitor.