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This paper aims to examine the impact of corporate logos on corporate image and reputation in creating competitive advantage in the context of Persia and Mexico as emerging markets. The paper provides an extensive links between corporate logo and its dimension and internal stakeholders’ attitudes towards advertisement, familiarity and recognisability as intermediaries to corporate image and reputation.

A qualitative exploratory approach was undertaken, comprising 12 face-to-face interviews and 14 skype in-depth interviews with graphic designers, design, communication and marketing consultant in Mexico and Persia based on attribution theory.

The study posits that the more favorable the name, colour, typeface and design of the company logo, the more favorable the attitude Mexican consumers have towards the corporate logo, corporate image and reputation. However, in comparison for Persia these factors have less effect on customers’ judgment and behaviour, towards the corporate logo, corporate image and reputation. The research findings suggest that the selection of colour in a corporate logo is related to its marketing objectives, cultural values, desired customer relationship levels with the organisation and organisation’s corporate communications.

Corporate logo has received little attention in marketing literature and rarely researched in the context of emerging market. This is the first research of its kind to find the effect of the compound logo in emerging markets of Persia and Mexico. Therefore, this research makes significant contribution towards the corporate visual identity literature by developing of the sphere of influence of the corporate logo and its antecedents and consequences (corporate image and corporate reputation).

Social media as a competitive marketing tool deliver online platforms for retailers to get closer to their consumers/visitors/shoppers through continued interaction. The purpose of this paper is to scrutinize how customer values (functional, social and experimental) enhance satisfaction, loyalty and identification, and how such relationships, in turn, impact users’ continuance interaction intention.

A mixed-method approach was designed to identify the consumers’ perception toward high-end retailers of worldwide brands. In all, 12 interviews with experts in retailing and a survey among 390 respondents were conducted. Structural equation modeling/AMOS was employed to gain insight into the various relationships and influences.

To augment users’ continuance interaction intention, the results indicate that retail managers should focus more on customer-based values when they design marketing strategies for brand pages on social media. The findings also provide guidelines for retail marketing and social media managers to generate consumer value in the retail environment via information quality, product-related learning and economic benefits (functional value); interaction, collaboration and social presence (social value); and experiential value (intellectual and effective value).

The paper offers critical managerial contributions by presenting a comprehensive picture of the condition in which a favorable brand social media page could be constructed within a brand to satisfy consumer value and achieve satisfaction, loyalty, identification and continuance interaction intention, all of which are critical objectives for every company. In other words, a clear knowledge of the dimensions of consumer value concepts can assist retail communication managers to improve consumers’/visitors’/shoppers’ intention to continue their interaction in a competitive market. The current study is one of the very few emerging research studies to have examined the relationships between consumers’/visitors’/shoppers’ functional values, social values and experimental values empirically, and to have further explored the relationships between the research constructs.

Finding an efficient way for enhancing brand reputation by using social media among customers and business partners has long been the main purpose of every business. However, due to micro and macro changes in the business field, strategies to find a way to improve brand reputation with business partners and customers have altered from transaction marketing to newer approaches such as employing a social media platform. However, not all brands make use of social media to enhance their reputation. The present study uses Apple as an example of the one of the best known brands which does not benefit from social media platforms as to the degree expected.

This study aims to identify integrated marketing communication (IMC) antecedents and the consequences of planned brand identity in the context of higher education, and empirically test a number of hypotheses related to the constructs of these antecedents and consequences.

A model of the IMC antecedents and consequences of planned brand identity was tested in a survey conducted among stakeholders in two London-based universities. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was applied to gain insight into the various influences and relationships.

The study identifies and confirms key constructs in planned brand identity. IMC antecedents of planned brand identity, such as brand elements, service attributes, public relations and place/country of origin, were found to positively influence the planned brand identity consequences of awareness, image and reputation. However, websites, social media, advertising and direct marketing were not found to have significant influence.

The focus on two UK universities limits the generalisability of the findings. Future research should be conducted in other country settings to test the relationships identified in the present study. Also, future research may build on the study’s findings by investigating the attitudinal and behavioural consequences of brand identification in the higher education context.

Professionals responsible for universities’ promotional and branding activities need to evaluate the relative contributions of the IMC antecedents of planned brand identity. Brand elements such as design, colour and name, for example, should be reviewed to determine whether modifications are required in different international markets. The increasing prevalence of social media, one of the key antecedents of brand awareness, offers opportunities for universities to engage in brand co-creation by interacting with past, present and future students on relevant digital platforms. Finally, the place/country-of-origin cue is of particular relevance to institutions of higher education given the increasing numbers of students at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels who are choosing to study abroad (Melewar and Akel, 2005). The attraction of the UK as a country to study in, or the appeal of individual cities such as London, should be fully integrated into universities’ IMC strategies.

The study makes two main contributions. First is the theoretical contribution by identifying the core IMC antecedents and consequences of planned brand identity for universities and from this extrapolate key directions for future research. Second it is indicated that a number of managerial implications are designed to assist in the formulation of improved professional practice.

How organizations view, value and manage their place architecture in relation to identification and corporate identity has received little research attention. The main goal of this paper is to provide an integrative understanding of the relationships between corporate identity, place architecture, and identification from a multi-disciplinary approach. It is assumed that the characteristics of the organization and of the way a corporate identity and place architecture are managed will affect employees’ and consumers’ identification.

The paper uses a theory-building case study within the phenomenological/qualitative research tradition. The data were gathered through 15 in-depth interviews with top management who were working at a London-Based Business School. In addition, six focus groups were conducted with a total of 36 academics, and new empirical insights are offered. NVivo software was used to gain insight into the various influences and relationships.

Drawing on one case study, the findings confirm that firms are using the conceptualizations of corporate identity and place architecture, including the leveraging of tangible and intangible forms of consumers’/employees’ identification, toward a university business school. The insights from a single, exploratory, case study might not be generalizable.

The relationships between corporate identity, place architecture and identification have received little research attention and have hardly been studied at all from the perspective of this paper. This paper has value to researchers in the fields of marketing, corporate identity, place architecture, design, as well as professionals involved in managing a company’s architecture. Drawing on the marketing/management theory of identity and architecture alignment, managers and policy advisors should devote attention to each element of the corporate identity and place architecture and ensure that they are meaningful, as well as in dynamic alignment.

This paper aims to operationalise and juxtapose variables related to identity, strategy and communications, and then examine the impact of such integration on organisational stakeholders’ trust, loyalty and commitment by using commitment/trust theory.

This research design utilises explanatory research at the preliminary stage, as informed by the literature and conceptual framework. The subsequent model was examined via a positivist survey carried out among stakeholders in high-end retail stores in London. Structural equation modelling (SEM) via AMOS was conducted to gain insight into the various relevant influences and relationships.

The results indicate that identity and strategy are key drivers of integrated corporate communication, and they serve to build stakeholder trust, loyalty and commitment.

The paper shows that while practitioners have indicated that integrated marketing communication is important for organisations, there are a few other areas of concern with regard to consequences related to trust, loyalty and commitment, especially in a retail context. This paper empirically examined relationships between these constructs by validating a conceptual model by using SEM.

This paper aims to examine corporate logo as an effective means of communication, by synthesizing knowledge from various domains to explore its relationships with corporate image and reputation.

The data were gathered during seven in-depth interviews with UK communication/design consultancy agencies and experts, and four focus-group discussions were conducted with a total of 24 people (17 men and 7 women) to encourage a sufficient level of group interaction and discussion on corporate logo.

Findings reveal convergence in views concerning fundamental components of corporate logo among managers, employees and consumers. The categorization described herein provides a framework to further develop corporate logo to advance a favorable corporate image and corporate reputation.

Corporate logo has received little attention in marketing literature. This study extends current academic understanding about the role of corporate logo in strengthening the relationship between corporate image and corporate reputation. Therefore, this study makes a significant contribution toward the corporate logo, design and identity literature by developing the sphere of influence of the corporate logo and its antecedents and consequences. Its findings will be valuable for marketing decision-makers and practitioners who are engaged in improving the logo of any company, considering the perceptions of managers, employees and consumers about its reputation and image. Implications exist for marketing scholars, as well as for general and cross-functional managers involved in managing a company’s corporate visual identity, and marketing decision-makers.

This paper aims to develop a framework that links the concepts of place branding, place image and place reputation. Focusing on the antecedents and outcomes of place branding in the context of an emerging country, namely, Iran, the model further examines critical moderation variables.

A qualitative approach was undertaken, comprising face-to-face in-depth interviews with 15 respondents, involved in communicating about their country for various purposes such as encouraging tourism, promoting exports and attracting investments. Based on analysis of the qualitative data, a comprehensive framework for place branding was formulated.

Findings indicate that the key indicators of identifying a place brand come under two headings, namely, national culture (country’s name, country’s brand, country attributes, social changes, geography and environment, people, culture (history, language, etc.) and infrastructure (security, economic condition, technological advancement, tourism development goals, place marketing and promotional strategy), which influences on the favorability of place branding. In addition, five main moderators of the outcomes of place branding were identified, namely, political perception, social media and news, place awareness, place association and tourism experience.

Effective place branding could help a country attract tourists, visitors, traders and investors. Place branding should be considered a constructive tool that can be successfully applied to managing a country’s image.

Place branding has received little attention in the context of emerging markets. This is the first known study undertaken with a view to understand and develop a place branding model that links with place image and place reputation in an emerging country. The study identifies 12 antecedents of place branding and five important moderators. Findings will help policymakers, country brand managers and communication professionals more generally who deal with a country’s image and reputation and those involved in improving the tourism industry in Iran.