Author: Simon RoderPublisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :
Book Description
Research shows that the country-of-origin effect is strongest in cases where a country is respected for a particular industry. In such cases, many companies from the same industry might strongly rely on the positive associations towards their origin, such as in the Swiss cheese industry. How-ever, strategy literature postulates that brands need to find a distinguished positioning that allows achieving a unique selling proposition. Therefore, the objective of this study is to reveal whether brands can both, benefit from the country-of-origin effect and achieve a distinguished positioning in the market. The study revealed that it is possible to benefit from a strong country-of-origin effect in a typical industry while assuring a distinguished positioning in the market. The main success factor is to use the origin as part of a co-branding strategy to support and justify selected image dimensions such a quality while focusing on establishing a distinctive positioning. That positioning then needs to be communicated consistently over time over all parts of the marketing mix. Success factors that can be observed at the examples Appenzeller, Antje, Lindt, Toblerone, and Leonidas are consistency in the positioning and branding strategy over time. Especially Antje, Lindt, and Appenzeller continue to communicate similar stories, although they adjust them to not be perceived as old-fashioned. Brands that are marketed less consistent over time using stories that often change include Gruyère and Emmentaler. These brands are mainly associated with their origin and the values Swiss cheese stands for rather than an independent image. In the two industries covered in the thesis at hand, Switzerland and the Netherlands provide brands with stories and pictures such as mountains for Switzerland and flowers and windmills for the Netherlands. Switzerland and Belgium provide their brands with a promise for high quality which can be used to achieve a pr.