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The paper aims to analyze and compare the branding strategies used in the three sectors namely FMCG, services and durables.

Based on the literature review, a more comprehensive list of branding strategies is proposed. A content analysis of 600 randomly selected brands, 200 from each sector, is performed. The branding strategies used in the three sectors are explained and MANOVA is conducted to test the hypotheses about differences in the branding strategies across the three sectors.

The results reveal that the branding strategies vary across the three sectors. Single corporate brand strategy is predominantly used for durables and credence services. On the other hand, in case of FMCG and experience services, individual brand type endorsed by the corporate brand type is the most frequently used branding strategy. Thus, there is a trend towards corporate branding as corporate brand type is popular in all the sectors. Also, other than the single corporate brand strategy, as in case of durables and credence services, single brand type strategy is rarely used. For FMCG brands and experience services brands, companies are trying to leverage brand equity of two or more brand types.

The paper offers insights for designing branding strategies when branding a product/service. Brand managers may rely on corporate brand type when risk associated with a purchase is high, as in case of durables and credence services. However, when the risk associated is low, as in case of FMCG and experience services, individual brand type may be preferred, but at the same time, it should be endorsed by corporate brand type.

This study adds value to the growing body of literature on branding strategies by identifying a more comprehensive and simplistic list of branding strategies which is a major contribution of the paper. Further, this is one of a very few empirical studies on branding strategies and is a pioneering attempt to evaluate the branding strategies in the FMCG vis‐à‐vis services vis‐à‐vis durables sectors. It empirically substantiates that the three sectors are heterogeneous among themselves and homogeneous within themselves with respect to their branding strategies.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the relationship between tourists' user‐generated content on the web and destination branding, as well as to discuss the online strategies used by destination management organizations.

The research adopts an exploratory study of social media sites and destination brands, relying on qualitative research methods, content analysis and field research.

Tourists are largely contributing to destination image formation, while avoiding the use of the formal elements of the brands. The most popular strategies used by destination management organizations exhibit some crucial weaknesses. However, a strategy based on analytics brings new opportunities for destination branding.

The study provides an innovative analysis of tourist‐created content and its impact on destination branding and presents a theoretical model of generic web‐based strategies.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the social media profiles of logistics service providers, and understand how they use social media for elevating their services and differentiating their brands across industrial partners.

A content analysis was conducted on 3,215 social media posts, which were gathered from the official Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn pages of seven logistics service providers operating in Turkey.

The results demonstrated that logistics service providers engage with multiple social media channels with different branding motives, and that each company has a unique social media profile. The benchmarking analysis also revealed the branding strategies commonly pursued by the companies, and also indicated the alternative themes that differentiate their brands across their competitors.

The findings contribute to the literature on the utilization of social media by business-to-business companies, particularly for logistics service providers, and recommend a frame of benchmarks for practitioners in the development of more effective social media branding strategies in services context.

Studies explaining the social media engagement of business-to-business companies in service sector are lacking, and also, the services branding literature in the context of social media is rather scarce. This study investigates the social media profiles of logistics service providers and explores how they use social media for branding their services.

As the popularity of social media increases, sports brands must develop specific strategies to use them to enhance fan loyalty and build brand equity. The purpose of this paper is to explore how two social media platforms were utilised by the Grand Slam tennis events to achieve branding and relationship marketing goals.

A content analytic design was employed to examine Twitter and Facebook posts from the official accounts during, and post-, each respective event.

Both sites were utilised to cultivate long-term relationships with fans and develop brand loyalty, rather than to undertake short-term marketing activations. However, these sites appear to serve a different purpose, and therefore unique strategies are required to leverage opportunities afforded by each. Interestingly, brand associations were utilised more frequently during the post-event time period.

This study offers practitioners with useful insight on branding and relationship-building strategies across two social platforms. These results suggest that strategies appear dependent on the event, timeframe and specific platform. Moreover, the events’ differences in post use and focus may also indicate some differences related to event branding in an international context. Furthermore, sport organisations should look to leverage creative strategies to overcome limitations that platform-specific functionality may impose.

This study offers unique insights brand-building efforts in an international event setting, which differ in a range of contextual factors that impact on social media utilisation.

This paper aims to firstly depict the theoretical links between place branding and strategic spatial planning to provide further theoretical and conceptual foundations. Secondly, it aims to explore the roots of place branding theory and practice in Portugal, as well as how place branding has been approached (or not) in spatial development plans, strategic initiatives and policy documents by stating the territorial, spatial-economic and sectoral development trajectories for the country and its northern region.

A content analysis of 20 spatial development plans, strategies and policy documents (of 30 identified), published by Portuguese authorities, the European Union (EU) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, mainly for the period between 2014 and 2020, has been used.

Empirical evidence shows that tourism-oriented promotion initiatives, investment-oriented marketing campaigns and communication strategies uniquely supported by visual elements and aesthetic values (e.g. logos and slogans) deserve more attention from authorities in charge of spatial planning and policy-making. Place branding is an absent term. Moreover, there is inconsistency between current research and practice on place branding and how it has been incorporated in strategic spatial planning at EU, national and regional levels.

Whilst some of the research findings are place-specific (Portugal and its northern region), this exploratory paper aims to present a better understanding of the way in which places and branding can be conceptually addressed, primarily by assigning a spatial dimension to the idea of branding places and its alignment with strategic spatial planning and spatial plan-making.

This paper critically explores the actual or potential roles of place branding as an instrument for the attainment of strategic spatial planning goals through its integration in plan and policy-making. By guiding the attention of academics, practitioners and policymakers towards a strategic spatially oriented approach to place branding, the paper brings an alternative view to the scholarly and professional debate on place branding.

With the rise of digital media and content marketing, business-to-business (B2B) technology firms increasingly use narratives in their marketing strategy. If research has studied the impact of narrative on audiences, the structuration of the narrative strategies is still an overlooked area. The purpose of this paper is to understand the structuration of narrative strategies.

Authors studied the cases of narratives on the Internet of Things produced by two leading technology firms, IBM and Cisco, between 2012 and 2016. Material includes advertising campaigns, blogs, written customer cases, white papers, public speeches and selling discourses.

The research highlights the importance of metanarratives as the core of the structuration of seemingly different contents. It also shows how firms tap into fundamental mythic archetypes and broader sociocultural narratives to try and legitimate the emerging technology. Finally, research also introduces the concept of transmedia strategy and illustrates its use by the two firms studied.

The results are based on only two cases of multinational firms, limiting the generalization of the findings.

The results of the research may encourage firms to use more narrative branding strategies. They also offer directions for the key elements to manage when elaborating a narrative strategy (defining key metanarratives, identifying and using broader sociocultural narratives, designing a transmedia strategy).

The paper is among the first to try to understand the structuration of narrative branding strategies. While exploratory, it contributes to research on B2B branding and digital branding by bringing the narrative into B2B branding research.

This paper aims to examine branding strategies directed at child consumers, used by six high fat, sugar and salt food brands across three different digital marketing platforms. It identifies brand relationship building potential in this digital context.

This study analyses the contents of branded mobile phone applications, branded websites (including advergames) and branded Facebook sites to understand the nature of young consumer–brand relationship strategies that marketers are developing in this digital media marketing environment.

The use of sophisticated integrated branding strategies in immersive online media creates the potential for marketers to build relationships between young consumers and brands at an interactive, direct and social level not seen in traditional media. Categories of relationships and brand tactics are identified as outcomes of this analysis and linked to brand relationship building potential.

The results suggest that branded communication strategies that food companies use in the online environment are creating conditions that appeal to young consumers, fostering new ways to build brand relationships. As this is a dynamic medium in a fluid state of change, this exploratory study identifies and categorises the marketing strategy, but not the young consumers’ response to such branding strategies (a limitation).

This study details the potential for child–brand relationship building in the context of online branding environments. It identifies the potential for longer-term effects of embedded advertising directly to young consumers, within and across three digital media platforms.

The purpose of this exploratory paper is to investigate and understand the most important factors that influence Arab-origin brands to go global and to appear in brand valuation studies.

Initially, content analysis on current literature has been conducted followed by qualitative research in the form of in-depth interviews with marketing experts that own or work for successful Arab-origin brands in Muslim countries. Data has been collected related to brands from Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. A total of 20 in-depth interviews have been conducted by using face-to-face/online voice recorded method. Interviews have been transcribed, coded and analyzed.

Findings revealed that the main factors affecting the global branding process for Arab-origin brands are internal as compared to external factors. Some of the factors are common with factors in current literature such as dealing with local competition, however, many new factors as well have been identified like brand essence/meaning, internal marketing, top management support and entering mature markets. Cultural heritage plays a significant role in the strategy, creativity and leadership related to building global brands in Arab/Islamic countries. A preliminary model has been proposed based on the findings.

This study is just a starting point for further research. The interaction and relationship between internal and external factors could be further investigated. For example, top management support can moderate the influence of local competition in global markets (Carpenter and Fredrickson, 2001). The proposed framework should be quantitatively measured across different brands for further analyzing the main factors that influence Arab/Islamic-origin brands to go global and generalizing findings. Furthermore, the role of each factor may differ from one industry to another. For example in service organizations, frontline employees are crucial to the success of the organization and challenging to standardize across global markets. Investigating the different combinations of strategy, creativity and leadership from one global market to another opens doors for further scholarly work in this area.

This is a pioneer study in attempting to understand the most relevant factors influencing Arab-origin brands to go global as compared to Western brands that are commonly researched in the literature. This study opens doors to further research related to Arab-origin brands globalization process as well as provides interesting insights to marketers and brand owners about the real reasons that may hinder and genuinely influence Arab-origin brands from taking their locally successful brands fully global.

Urban managers increasingly focus on establishing the city as a brand to ensure a competitive force that enables the city to position itself at home and abroad. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the development of city branding from the market orientation of the capital cities of Spain's regional Autonomous Communities.

The analysis uses a set of variables representing the different aspects that shape market orientation, and variables related to the development and implementation of city branding strategies. The methodology for collecting information on the cities under study is based on content analysis, and its specific application to the analysis of websites.

The research carried out reveals the existence of four distinct groups of Spain's cities that can be differentiated in terms of the importance that they give to the different areas of market orientation and the development of city branding strategies.

The cities considered give an insight into the strategies of brand creation and development at major Spanish cities but tell nothing about secondary cities. The scope of the study is purely domestic. The authors intend to expand it to include cities elsewhere in Europe, to enable comparisons to be drawn of the processes of creation and development of city branding in different countries. The municipal web sites used as a source of information show some volatility, and as a result need to be reviewed from time to time.

Although web sites as marketing tools offer significant advantages, such as accessibility of information, provision of relevant information, handling of complaints, low cost, and customer service, there has been very little research into their role in urban management. Using the content provided by each municipality's official web site as a source, this paper offers a different perspective which complements research performed through other methods.