Eventmarknadsföringens påverkan på varumärkeskapitalet ur marknadschefers perspektiv

Sammanfattning: The purpose of this study is to create an understanding for marketing directors’ view about how event marketing effect the company’s brand equity in four separate businesses. Our question formulation the study aims to answer is: How does event marketing effect the brand equity in international companies? We have chosen to perform a qualitative study with a semi structured research interview to find out how event marketing as a marketing method, can be applied from the perspective of a marketing director in relation to our theoretical reference frame. To create structure and increase the understanding of our thesis, we will describe the basics in brand and sponsorship theory, which will fall in to the marketing method of event marketing. Further we will describe the brand equity model that we will later modify for our purpose. In our modified model we will present the element that creates the foundation to our analysis. The elements are: brand loyalty, brand awareness, perceived quality and brand associations. In our analysis we will present the effects and consequences of using event marketing as a marketing method. Our empirical findings will be presented under the chapter of empiric. Where interviews preformed with marketing directors or respondents with an equal position will be found. We have preformed interviews with Samsung Electronics Nordic AB, Kalmar Industries, Cerealia/Lantmännen/Axa and Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB. Our conclusion is that event marketing is a well used marketing method where the company strategically has analyzed their target market to aim their efforts at the right consumers. The current recession has made the competition on the market keen. Because of this it is more important now than ever for the companies to increase their brand equity. The companies in the different businesses is using event marketing with the main purpose of strengthen their brand equity. The object that highlights event marketing the most is how well all companies tries to associate their brand with the values attached to the chosen event. Event marketing is used as a tool to get the customers to associate the companies’ values with an event, but is also used to create associations between the event and the brand. When using event marketing it is important to associate the brand with quality. The answer to our question formulation is that the brand equity is positively effected by event marketing. Brand association and perceived quality are together the element that effects brand equity the most when using event marketing.