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Branding is essential for business survival and growth, particularly for small firms in their early development. However, small firms approach branding differently than large organisations. This study aims to delve into the evolution of small firm brands over time, emphasising the role of founders’ personal identities on shaping their firms’ brands. It also explores how these firm brands develop through ongoing interactions with stakeholders.

Over eight years, empirical material was collected through a longitudinal multi-case study of small firms and their brands, using in-depth interviews over time with founders as the primary data source. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the empirical data.

This research reveals the intertwined relationship between founders’ identity work and small firm branding. The authors emphasise how founders use their personal identities to shape their small firm brands, influencing recognition, differentiation and value creation. As firm brands evolve over time, they often deviate from founders’ identities due to stakeholder pressure from within and outside the organisations.

This study addresses a significant gap in the literature by focusing on the branding processes within small firms, which have been largely overlooked in favour of larger organisations. By exploring the transformative journey of small firm brands from inception through development and ownership changes, this research elucidates the intricate entanglement of founder identity and brand. It highlights the distinctive challenges faced by small firms, offering new insights into their branding dynamics.

This study investigates the impact of open branding on consumer brand attitudes, as mediated by brand warmth and brand competence, and moderated by power distance belief.

This study employs two one-factor (brand strategy: open branding vs closed branding) between-subject experimental designs and a 2 × 2, namely (open branding vs closed branding) × (power distance belief: high vs low) between-subject experimental design to test the hypotheses.

The study indicates that open branding can enhance consumer brand attitudes, and that brand warmth and brand competence mediate the impact of open branding on consumer brand attitudes. Furthermore, power distance beliefs (PDB) moderated these relationships. Specifically, the impact of open branding on consumers brand attitudes is stronger for consumers with low PDB than for those with high PDB.

Brand managers should consider adopting an open branding strategy to enhance consumers brand attitudes when encountering consumers’ unauthorized use of brand-related intellectual property. Additionally, when implementing an open-branding strategy, brand managers should use appropriate language to enhance consumers’ perceptions of brand warmth and brand competence.

This study contributes to the interactive marketing literature by empirically examining the impact of open branding on consumer brand attitudes. Furthermore, it investigates the underlying mechanism of how and the boundary conditions when open branding increases consumer brand attitudes, enriching the current knowledge.

The purpose of this study is to examine branding consistency for wine labels. The front label on wine bottles is important for identifying the brand and aiding purchase. Many brands are part of brand families, with the sub-brands linked to the overall brand family. This research provides an overview of how the front label varies across product portfolios of wine brands, noting the importance placed on branding elements and the level of consistency in their use across the brand portfolio.

The authors propose and test a new method to measure branding consistency on labels from the same brand family. Two coding frameworks were created. The first recorded the incidence of brand elements and wine attributes. The second coded wine labels within a company’s portfolio based on the consistency of various brand elements. A total of 3,000 branding elements and wine attributes from 300 wine labels were examined across 60 wine brands from a list of Australian wineries.

Grape variety, brand name and region are used across >90% of wine labels. Branding is presented more prominently than wine attributes. Sub-brand, region, price and variety did not influence branding consistency. Logo presence, logo image on label and colour elements contribute to the greatest variation in branding consistency across a product portfolio.

This study proposes and tests a novel method to measure branding consistency on wine labels and explores the extent to which consistent branding is used across product portfolios. Descriptive research is the first step to theory building. This study provides industry norms for attribute use and a measure of branding consistency for product portfolios giving valuable descriptive knowledge.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between being an inclusive city and branding oneself as such, as more cities adopt the inclusive city concept as part of their brand identity.

This paper builds theory by introducing a typology that categorizes cities based on their level of inclusion and degree of branding, supplemented by an analysis of the branding practices and identities. Integrating the literature on inclusive city and city branding, with a specific focus on the inherent conflict between their sharing and competing attributes, this research postulates that a city may choose to engage in being inclusive and branding itself as such in various ways depending on its dominant motivations of altruism or entrepreneurialism.

Four distinct types of inclusive city branding are identified: inclusion ambassadors (high inclusion and high branding); innate champions (high inclusion and low branding); façade marketers (low inclusion and high branding); and silent segregators (low inclusion and low branding). Furthermore, it underscores that inclusive city branding is shaped by the interplay of entrepreneurialism and altruism, not just a city’s inclusion. Different branding practices, such as media-generated images, narratives and events, are emphasized when entrepreneurialism is the primary motivation, whereas iconic architecture buildings, flagship projects and long-term policies are more associated with altruism.

This study develops a typology to unravel the paradoxical aspects of inclusive city branding. Examining the intersection of city branding motivations and practices enriches existing literature. Moreover, its findings offer valuable insights for cities grappling with the implementation of contentious inclusive branding strategies, thereby bridging theory with practical applications.

This study examines the relationship between place branding and economic growth, addressing the gap in literature that directly links the two. Recognising the importance of place branding in attracting investment and fostering economic development, the study aims to substantiate the commonly held belief that place branding contributes to economic prosperity.

Employing a scoping review methodology, this study analyses 129 articles to assess the evidence supporting the impact of place branding on economic outcomes. The review spans a wide range of fields and includes both direct and indirect evidence, highlighting the complexity of establishing a clear link.

The review uncovers a significant literature gap, with only a small fraction of the articles providing direct evidence of a link between place branding and economic outcomes. While many articles imply a positive impact, the evidence is not sufficiently generalisable, indicating a yet unverified assumption in the field.

This paper contributes to place branding scholarship by critically examining the assumed economic benefits of place branding. It suggests that while the belief in place branding’s economic influence is widespread and reasonable, there is a crucial need for more rigorous studies to establish a firm empirical foundation for this relationship.

Personal branding is a strategic tool of marketing and communication to define success in organisations. While it constitutes a conscious attempt to commodify self and audit self, it must be intentionally managed to obtain its optimum results. This study aims to illustrate how personal branding may also pose unintentional and unconscious strategic tool for women academics in academia to help them get wider visibility and increase their chances of getting into leadership positions.

We employed a case study approach and convenience sampling to select our unit of analysis. Three universities in both public and private universities in the eastern regions of Indonesia were purposefully selected, and interviews were held with 30 female leaders occupying and occupied middle and lower leadership hierarchies.

Our research shows that, despite their unintentional, unplanned and poorly designed personal branding, women have been able to advance to their current leadership positions by building their own rooms for practising their own preferred leadership values to get them visible and heard. This way is performed through a gendered networking, previous leadership experience and bureaucratic requirements. The consequence of such a practice may limit the range of visibility to getting noticed as worthy individuals for senior leadership roles. This might be one reason why women are scarcely found in senior leadership positions.

We propose that natural strategies of constructing, narrating and marketing or communicating personal branding in academia through authentic actions can also be helpful for the success of women to get to leadership roles in a smaller and ambient environment.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the differences in employer branding between the companies that participate and those that do not participate in employer ranking.

Quantitative data were collected through a survey from 188 companies operating on the Russian labour market. Descriptive statistics, frequency analysis, correlation analysis and multivariate analysis of variance were used to analyse the collected data.

The findings revealed specific profiles of the companies that participated and did not participate in employer ranking. Companies differed in their employer branding orientation, internal branding, employer branding strategy, employer branding programmes and employer branding communications tasks. At the same time, brand orientation did not differ between participants and non-participants of employer ranking.

This study integrates the employer brand equity theory and the signalling theory to better explain the differences between participants and non-participants of employer ranking.

Anchored in the theories of brand gestalt and stakeholder perspectives, this study aims to undertake a comprehensive examination of the brand gestalt concept, emphasizing its multidimensional nature and the process of co-creation.

Focused within the context of the Wonderful Indonesia brand, the research draws upon a rich qualitative data set derived from in-depth interviews conducted with 18 international tourists, supplemented by netnography (or internet ethnography) of websites, social media and online articles related to Wonderful Indonesia. Using grounded theory methodology, the qualitative data undergo rigorous analysis to identify emergent themes and patterns.

The research elucidates the four dimensions (4S) comprising brand gestalt: storyscapes, sensescapes, servicescapes and stakeholderscapes. Each dimension is further delineated into essential categories, providing a comprehensive understanding of brand gestalt. This study highlights the collaborative nature of brand gestalt, emphasizing the involvement of multiple stakeholders in shaping the brand's identity and perception. Consumer perceptions of co-creation are identified as significant contributors to brand gestalt, enhancing the brand's value proposition.

Destination management and practitioners can use the insights from the research to refine their brand management and marketing strategies by leveraging the dimensions of brand gestalt. Recognizing the collaborative construct of brand gestalt can guide businesses in fostering meaningful relationships with stakeholders and aligning branding efforts with collective visions. Understanding the role of consumer co-creation in brand development can inform strategies aimed at enhancing brand equity and fostering consumer loyalty.

This study extends existing literature on brand gestalt by providing a comprehensive examination of its four dimensions and essential categories. By emphasizing the collaborative nature of brand gestalt, this study contributes to advancing the understanding of brand co-creation paradigms. The identification of consumer perceptions of co-creation as a significant factor in brand gestalt adds novel insights to the literature, offering valuable implications for brand management and marketing strategies.

Music and sound have been used pervasively to enhance the tourism and hospitality experience. Incorporating music into a brand’s identity has the potential to influence consumer perceptions and decision-making. This study aims to identify how sonic branding influences consumer attitudes and engagement patterns with hotel brands by using feelings as information theory and applying the effects of music on neurochemical phenomena in the brain. It also explores how sonic branding differentially influences the decision-making of consumer segments.

Experimental studies are used to examine how sonic brands influence consumer perceptions and engagement tendencies. Study 1 (n = 92) adopts a single-factor experimental design to investigate the main effects of sonic branding (presence vs absence) on customers’ responses. Study 2 (n = 204) uses a 2 (sonic branding: present vs. absent) × 2 (purpose of travel: leisure vs business) design to examine the interaction effects. Participants were recruited through Prolific.

Results indicate that the use of sonic branding increases engagement tendencies for a hotel brand. In addition, sonic branding interacted with the purpose of travel such that business travelers exhibited more favorable attitudes and higher engagement tendencies toward a hotel brand than leisure travelers when a sonic brand was used.

Given the proliferation of audio-centric environments, this research provides insight into how tourism and hospitality brands can engage and connect with customers by developing sonic brands that can be used throughout the customer journey.

音乐和声音被广泛用于提升旅游和酒店体验。将音乐融入品牌的身份有可能影响消费者的感知和决策。本研究旨在通过使用感觉作为信息理论和应用音乐对大脑神经化学现象的影响, 识别声音品牌如何影响消费者对酒店品牌的态度和参与模式。它还探讨了声音品牌如何对不同消费者群体的决策产生差异化影响。

采用实验研究来检验声音品牌如何影响消费者的感知和参与倾向。研究1（n = 92）采用单因素实验设计, 调查声音品牌（有 vs. 无）对客户反应的主要影响。研究2（n = 204）采用2（声音品牌：有 vs. 无）× 2（旅行目的：休闲 vs. 商务）设计, 检验交互效应。参与者通过Prolific平台招募。

结果表明, 使用声音品牌会增加消费者对酒店品牌的参与倾向。此外, 声音品牌与旅行目的的交互作用表明, 当使用声音品牌时, 商务旅行者比休闲旅行者对酒店品牌表现出更有利的态度和更高的参与倾向。

鉴于音频中心环境的普及, 本研究提供了旅游和酒店品牌如何通过开发声音品牌在整个客户旅程中与客户互动和联系的见解。

La música y el sonido se han utilizado de forma generalizada para mejorar la experiencia del turismo y la hostelería. La incorporación de la música a la identidad de una marca tiene el potencial de influir en las percepciones y la toma de decisiones de los consumidores. Este estudio pretende identificar cómo influye la marca sonora (o audio branding) en las actitudes de los consumidores y en sus patrones de compromiso con las marcas hoteleras utilizando los sentimientos como teoría de la información y aplicando los efectos de la música en los fenómenos neuroquímicos del cerebro. También explora cómo influye diferencialmente la marca sonora en la toma de decisiones de los segmentos de consumidores.

Se emplean estudios experimentales para examinar cómo influyen las marcas sónicas en las percepciones y las tendencias de compromiso de los consumidores. El estudio 1 (N = 92) adopta un diseño experimental de factor único para investigar los efectos principales de la marca sonora (presencia frente a ausencia) en las respuestas de los clientes. El estudio 2 (N = 204) utiliza un diseño 2 (marca sonora: presente frente a ausente) × 2 (Objetivo del viaje: ocio frente a negocios) para examinar los efectos de interacción. Los participantes fueron reclutados a través de Prolific.

Los resultados indican que el uso de la marca sonora aumenta las tendencias de compromiso con una marca hotelera. Además, la marca sonora interactuó con el objetivo del viaje de forma que los viajeros de negocios mostraron actitudes más favorables y mayores tendencias de compromiso hacia una marca hotelera que los viajeros de ocio cuando se utilizó una marca sonora.

Dada la proliferación de entornos audiocéntricos, esta investigación ofrece una visión de cómo las marcas turísticas y de hostelería pueden captar la atención de los clientes y conectar con ellos desarrollando marcas sonoras que puedan utilizarse a lo largo de todo el viaje del cliente.

Brand gestalt has emerged as a crucial concept in marketing and branding, denoting the holistic perception and overall impression that consumers develop about a brand. This concept gains significance as it serves to measure the overall identity of a brand. Despite its importance, both empirical and theoretical exploration of this concept remains limited, particularly in the context of place branding. The present study aims to bridge the theoretical gap surrounding the interplay between brand gestalt, tourist attitude and loyalty within the city branding domain. In particular, it aims to comprehensively explore the dimensional impact of city brand gestalt (CBG) on tourist attitude, satisfaction and loyalty.

The primary data were collected through a self-administered online questionnaire containing 35 items, developed and adapted from the literature review. A total of 314 samples of Bitung City visitors were recruited, resulting in a 79% response rate. Structural equation modeling was performed using SmartPLS 3 to validate the research hypotheses.

The findings of the study indicate that CBG has a substantial and positive influence on tourist attitudes, satisfaction and loyalty. Furthermore, it was discovered that tourist attitude and satisfaction play a partial mediating role in the relationship between CBG and tourist loyalty.

This study is a seminal contribution to understanding the link between CBG, tourist attitude, satisfaction and loyalty. It offers valuable insights for city destination management in designing strategies and interventions to foster positive tourist attitudes, increase satisfaction and sustain loyalty. In particular, it emphasizes the necessity of ongoing investments in maintaining a positive holistic brand experience (i.e., brand gestalt) that aligns with evolving expectations. The study highlights the need to develop a compelling narrative and consistent messaging tailored to the target audience's values and aspirations. Additionally, it underscores the importance of providing exceptional sensory experiences that appeal to the target audience.

To the best of the authors' knowledge, this study is among the first to examine the role of brand gestalt in the context of city branding. Understanding the holistic interaction of the four brand gestalt elements – story, sensescape, servicescape and stakeholders – is crucial for fostering tourists' positive attitudes, satisfaction and loyalty toward urban destinations. The proposed CBG model offers a conceptual framework to guide future research in city branding.