University of Twente Student Theses
Get liked of get lost! How Facebook can strengthen customer-based brand equity of fashion brands.
Nijland, Irene (2013) Get liked of get lost! How Facebook can strengthen customer-based brand equity of fashion brands.
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| Abstract: | Nowadays, many organizations have a fan page on Facebook as part of their marketing strategy. This gives them the unique opportunity to gain exposure and to interact with their customers in a direct and non-commercial way. In addition, it brings the possibility to positively influence their brand equity. Up to date little research has been done to the effects of Facebook on brand equity and how companies should use Facebook in order to strengthen this. Today companies are diving into the world of social networking without having a strategy for optimizing their online presence. Companies are simply hoping that their fan page will positively impact their brand and help bring them ahead of their competitors. Therefore this study focuses on the effects of Facebook on the customer-based brand equity of brands. For this thesis the following research questions were formulated: Does Facebook has an influence on the customer-based brand equity of a brand? and Which Facebook elements on a brands fan page have an influence on customer-based brand equity? With a 2 (Facebook versus no Facebook) x 3 (Brands: H&M versus ZARA versus Mango) between- subject design the research questions were answered. Prior to the experiment a focus-group interview was conducted as a pre-test, with the aim of generating a better understanding of how the consumer perceived the Facebook activities of the brands. After analyzing the results a web-based survey was developed. Participants (N=234) were randomly assigned to one of the 2 x 3 conditions. Respondents in the experimental group were asked to give their opinion regarding the Facebook page of the brand. Next, they were asked to fill in the customer-based brand equity scale. The questionnaire of the control group consisted only of the customer-based brand equity questions. The results of this study reveal that Facebook does indeed have a substantial influence on the customer-based brand equity of a brand. This makes Facebook a very promising tool for companies, as it is a targeted, cost-effective, interactive, and engaging medium; which makes a more timely and direct end-consumer contact possible (Kaplan & Haenlein, 2010). An important outcome of this study is the fact that this is especially true for companies with a good Facebook appearance. Therefore, this study is unique as it has been able to show some important elements that a brand’s Facebook page should require in order to strengthen their customer-based brand equity. |
| Item Type: | Essay (Master) |
| Faculty: | BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences |
| Subject: | 05 communication studies |
| Programme: | Communication Studies MSc (60713) |
| Link to this item: | https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/63095 |
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