This study explores some of the main questions about the processes of creation and increase of brand equity through advertising. The basis of this thesis is the internship developed in the advertising agency Nylon from march to july. This internship allowed both a participant observation and a cooperation in several projects of the agency with some of the their clients, which contributed with real cases about the way advertising can influence the brand equity of a brand, and on the other hand, how brand equity impacts its performance. In fact, that was the inicial question for this study – “How does brand equity influences the performance of a brand?” - and through the combination between the studied literature andthe Nylon study case, it was possible to answer this question accurately. With regard to the literature, it was made a review where the main issues that relate to brand equity are briefly addressed. The beginning goes through a chapter on communication, addressing this topic the most current way possible , through the communication trends. Next, a chapter about advertising is addressed. In this chapter the goal was theorizing in the most practical way possible, starting with a chapter about advertising communication to bridge the previews chapter. The writing follows with the steps of the creative process and the advertising strategies used by agencies to answer the demands of its consumers. As the main theme of this study is the creation and increase of brand equity, a theorization, although briefly, about branding had to be included. Thus, in this chapter, some topics are clarified, such as what is a brand and what are its emerging characteristics, the principles of branding and the brand functions. It’s also made an approach to the branding strategy of a brand and to the topic of differentiation. Finally reaching the prime chapter of this theorizing – brand equity – is commented the evolution of brand equity definition, believing the most complete and well-structured belongs to Keller and Kotler written in 2009. In this chapter the principles of brand equity are exposed and the two models, from Aaker (1997) and Keller (1993), are explained. In here, the importance of the brand loyalty and awareness is realized, as well as the mental and emotional associations that consumers can create towards a brand. Tied up the conceptualization, an exploration of Nylon case study is carried out, where the study object are the brands worked by the agency during the internship period noted above. The brands and theirs concepts are explained, and so are the advertising strategies adopted for each. For a deeper exploration, four brands – Super Bock, Playboy Condoms, Amb3e and Portugal Incoming – with different advertising strategies were chosen: affectionate, brand image, approach to resonance and preemptive claim, respectively. Finally, the junction of the four cases is performed in a thread, which results in four main conclusions – continuous investment in brand equity contributes to a brand become a symbol, the inclusion of an already mature brand in a new market sector leads to increased brand equity, brand activation is one of the best tactics to increase brand awareness and brand association, and so, the brand equity, and the copywriting is the most important element of advertising to build a message that reaches to the consumer. After this conceptual and empirical analysis, and the correlation of the two , it’s possible to provide an answer to the original question - A good brand equity strategy will offer the consumer an intimate relationship and trust with the brand, will make him feel special, and share the values and messages that follow the brand. The constant investment in brand equity will make the brand become, not what sells, but what the consumer sees, which means, become the favorite in the consumer's mind and in the buying decision process. It can be said that the increase of the brand equity makes the brand grow both quantitatively and qualitatively.
| Date of Award | 19 Jan 2017 |
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| Original language | Portuguese |
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| Awarding Institution | - Universidade Católica Portuguesa
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| Supervisor | José Gabriel Andrade (Supervisor) |
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