MFIS, Kent State University, 2024, College of the Arts / School of Fashion

The South Korean emerging designer brands are claiming recognition, with an average sales profit of 100 billion won (KRW), approximately 85 million US dollars (Kee, 2024). A surge of South Korean designer brands has led to a saturated market with intense competition (Kim et al., 2018). As a result, new designers experience difficulties in implementing retail strategies tailored to the target consumer group (Shim, 2017). Conversely, more established brands have created a specific niche market and succeeded by differentiating themselves from competitors (Yun, 2017 as cited in Kim & Ji, 2019; Jung et al., 2020). Therefore, the study aims to fill the gap by exploring successful retail strategies utilized by established emerging designer brands and observing how these strategies resonate with target consumers, specifically Millennials and Generation Z. The study explored the success factors of four established brands in South Korea through direct observation of their physical stores. Unbiased and objective data was gathered by conducting site visits at four different stores without involving participants. The findings confirm the importance of physical stores as a successful retail strategy which embodies three key factors: brand identity, storytelling, and distribution strategies (Lehrer & Trenz, 2022; Ma, 2019; Ross & Harradine, 2011). This study contributes to the literature and fashion industry by providing unique aspects of retail strategy through direct observation study.

Committee: Jayoung Hwang (Advisor); Catherine Leslie (Committee Member); Hahn Kim (Advisor) Subjects: Behavioral Sciences; Marketing

MDES, University of Cincinnati, 2015, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning: Design

There are many brand identity guidelines currently being used in the field of graphic design, yet none of them has been specifically created for cross-cultural brands. The aim of the study was to create the methodologies for designing cross-cultural brand identity. The case of Thai Dessert Brand Identity in Cincinnati was conducted and the observations, problems, questions and findings throughout the design process were documented. The methodologies for identifying the appropriate cultural element for the design phase included the primary research, which involved qualitative research method through an in-depth interview as well as quantitative research method through online surveys, and the secondary research in fundamental design principles and existing branding strategy models are studied to help create the framework. To facilitate the data analysis of the qualitative research, the main steps of thematic analysis were applied. The primary result from the design project yields the Brand identity design for the brand `Kati-Kala' with the essential brand assets that are well accepted by the target audience in Cincinnati. The Cross-cultural Branding Design Framework was built using analysis of the documented observations and problems during the design project. Overall the research study provides useful insights for designers and business owners who seek to create visual identity for their brand in foreign countries, as well as emphasizing the importance of understanding the cultural aspects of the brand to create an identity blend that facilitate business success.

Committee: Craig Vogel M.I.D. (Committee Chair); Todd Timney M.F.A. (Committee Member) Subjects: Design

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2014, Business: Business Administration

Visual brand language encompasses the perceptual presence of a brand, which influences consumer brand knowledge. Consumers are known to make brand inferences and attributions on the basis of presented visual elements of design. Elements of visual design -such as logos, graphics on packaging, or composition in assortment can successfully communicate the characteristics of the brands they represent. This research is therefore motivated to investigate how visual brand language relates to consumer psychology to create a synchronized brand experience. Three essays are presented to explore visual brand language of color in a logo, complexity in packaging, and harmony in an assortment. Implications for marketers on how to think about visual brand language to alter consumption preferences and judgments about the brand are discussed.

Committee: Frank Kardes Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Peter Chamberlain M.F.A. M.Phil. (Committee Member); James Kellaris Ph.D. (Committee Member); Karen Machleit Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Marketing

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2010, Business: Business Administration

The marketer may consider a brand to have unassailable importance, but the consumer's view also plays a significant role. Across three essays, this dissertation speaks to questions of when and why a brand may matter to consumers. It examines the phenomenon of consumers developing a sense of connection with a brand and compares it with material possession attachment. It also investigates the extent to which social identity plays a significant role in the appearance and durability of brand resonance, or the outcomes of feeling connected to a brand, sensing a community of brand users, and evangelizing its benefits. Essay 1 reviews brand attachment, material possession attachment, and related literature streams. This review leads to a set of hypotheses and a proposed design for testing them in a controlled setting. Essay 2 presents a Social Identity-based Model of Brand Resonance indicating that brand resonance is a self-sustaining process with factors such as alignment between brand meaning and a social identity combined with identity cultivation stage influencing a consumer's tendency to do more than simply purchase a branded product. Essay 3 reports results of testing the predictions of Essay 1 and the conceptual model proposed in Essay 2 with two studies. Results of testing Essay 1 predictions clarify some similarities and differences between how consumers relate to brands versus possessions. Consumers tend to be more readily attached to brands but reserve a special significance for their most favorite possessions. Results of testing the model from Essay 2 illuminate the crucial role of social identity in determining when a brand matters. Experiences with and use of a brand influence whether a consumer will become an avid user by way of some specific internally and externally focused evaluations of it. This process from experience to appraisal to resonance is changed by how a brand is implicated in a social identity. Taken together, the results of comparing brand (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Chris Allen PhD (Committee Chair); David Curry PhD (Committee Member); Karen Machleit PhD (Committee Member); Robert Kleine III, PhD (Committee Member); Susan Kleine PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Marketing

Master of Arts, Miami University, 2011, Communication Studies

Digital media and Web 2.0 media properties have democratized the authorship of mass culture. At the same time sophisticated marketing strategies have harnessed the creative energy of users to contribute to tasks such as brand building. Through a critical analysis of user generated advertising, this thesis argues that users serve both a cultural and economic function. While users are empowered to create media and engage in social networks, their participation is also harnessed as the basis of the value of commercial web properties. Amateur web videos are analyzed in which users adopt the identity of the Burger King mascot. It is argued that the users' performances serve their own cultural interests in manipulating mass images but also serve commercial interests in social branding. Future studies should further examine the socialization of users into participatory cultures and the blending of individuals and brands in digital identities.

Committee: David Sholle PhD (Committee Chair); Kathleen German PhD (Committee Member); Shira Chess PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Mass Communications

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2011, Media and Communication

Advertisers' use of hybrid messages and branded entertainment continues to increase in response to technologies such as the digital video recorder (DVR) and the TiVo which allow audiences to zip past commercial messages. The purpose of this study is to examine how exposure to one type of hybrid message—brand placement—may impact consumers' identity formation. Three research questions and two hypotheses were proposed in order to gain a better understanding about the role that brand placement in television programming may play in identity formation among 18-25 year-olds, a population known as Emerging Adults. This particular population was selected because during these formative years, emerging adults are shedding their adolescent identities and beginning to develop new ones as they become contributing members of adult society. The undergraduate student population at a small, Eastern college received a survey containing Russell, Norman, and Heckler's (2004) Connectedness Scale in order to find individuals who were most likely to be affected by incidents of brand placement in television programs. Those who scored highest on the Connectedness Scale and who indicated they would be willing to participate in follow-up interviews provided the majority of the data analyzed for this project. In order to obtain a contrasting view, those who were least likely to be affected by incidents of brand placement (participants who scored lowest on the Connectedness Scale) were also recruited for follow-up interviews. The analysis of survey results and interview transcripts indicates that those who are highly connected to a particular television show can have their identity influenced by instances of brand placement. Purchasing objects associated with their favorite shows, incorporating fashion and personal style brands into their wardrobes, and using products that are placed within the shows, enable emerging adults enact and shape their emerging identities.

Committee: Terry Rentner (Committee Chair); Oliver Boyd-Barrett (Committee Chair); Lara Martin Lengel (Committee Chair); Susan Schultz Kleine (Committee Chair); Jude Edminster (Committee Chair) Subjects: Communication; Mass Communications; Mass Media