Managing brand equity during an ongoing pandemic : A qualitative study in the tourism- and hospitality industry during covid-19

Sammanfattning: The aim for this study was to explore how small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the Swedish tourism and hospitality industry have managed their brand during the covid-19- pandemic. To fulfill the aim the following research questions were asked; “How have SMEs in the tourism- and hospitality industry managed their brand equity during the covid-19 pandemic?” and “How have SMEs in the tourism- and hospitality industry worked with branding in social media to cope with the pandemic?”. The study was limited to SMEs in the area of Swedish Lapland, since the tourism- and hospitality industry in this area was relatively harmed by the pandemic in comparison to several other industries. A qualitative approach was chosen with an exploratory nature by having semi-structured interviews with SMEs in Swedish Lapland. Findings show that SMEs in this study have been forced to change their work with brand equity due to the pandemic. To strengthen their brand equity the companies have started to collaborate to attract each other's customers. Branding in social media has become more important, and how companies use social media have changed. Activities such as entertainment, interaction and advertising on social media have increased in order to cope with the pandemic.