app-to-date428022/fulltext01.pdf · arla. their arla cookbook app is one of the most downloaded in...

App-to-date

– A study about how mobile applications can

help companies to get an image that fit their

corporate identity

Authors: Marie Andersson,

Marketing, Master Programme

Sanna Jörgensen,


Johanna Olsson,


Tutor:

Sarah Philipson

Subject:

Marketing

Level and semester: Master's Thesis, Spring 2011

PREFACE

We as authors want to thank those who helped us with the work with this thesis.

First, we would like to thank Sarah Philipson for excellent tutoring and spell checking.

We would also like to thank Pressbyrån, Company X and Max

Hamburgerrestauranger AB because you took your time to participate in our

interviews. We thank the respondents in our focus groups because you took your time

when others let us down. We would also like to thank ourselves because we started

the thesis journey in Milan where we found a lot of inspiration.

Finally, thanks Campus for these four unforgettable and crazy years. It is time to

grow up…

---------------------------- ---------------------------- ----------------------------

Marie Andersson Sanna Jörgensen Johanna Olsson

2011-05-31

Abstract Authors: Marie Andersson, Sanna Jörgensen and Johanna Olsson

Tutor: Sarah Philipson

Title: App-to-date -A study about how mobile applications can help companies to get an

image that fit their corporate identity

Keywords: Corporate Identity, Image, Mobile Applications

Background: The number of smartphones has increased rapidly in the last years. With the

expansion of smartphones came the increased development and use of mobile applications.

Companies market their company through applications because they want to reach, inform

and remind their customers. Depending on the companies, its size and the industry, companies

have different purposes with their apps.

Purpose: We intend to study how mobile applications can help companies to get an image

that fit their corporate identity

Method: Our thesis is based on multiple case studies of three Swedish companies. We have

chosen to use a qualitative research method. We have gathered our empirical data by doing

telephone interviews and focus groups.

Conclusions: Consumer form their image trough reputation, communication and experience.

Building a strong corporate identity is the main factor that helps to improve a company’s

image. The use of mobile applications can both improve and worsen a company’s image. It is

therefore necessary that the application is well made and has a clear connection to the identity

to be able to improve an image.

Suggestions for further research: A more extensive industry study could be done, by adding

more companies. Other age segments could be studied. The influence of mobile applications

that cost could be studied. It could also be interesting to study consumers that had

downloaded the mobile applications on their own will.

Table of content 1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 1

1.1 Background .................................................................................................................................... 1

1.2 Problem discussion ........................................................................................................................ 2

1.3 Purpose .......................................................................................................................................... 3

2 Theoretical framework ......................................................................................................................... 4

2.1 Corporate Identity ......................................................................................................................... 4

2.2 Image ............................................................................................................................................. 6

2.3 State of the art .............................................................................................................................. 9

2.4 Research question ....................................................................................................................... 10

3 Methodology ...................................................................................................................................... 11

3.1 Research design ........................................................................................................................... 11

3.1.1 Case study ............................................................................................................................. 11

3.1.2 Telephone interview ............................................................................................................. 11

3.1.3 Focus groups ......................................................................................................................... 12

3.2 Population and Sample ............................................................................................................... 13

3.3 Operationalization ....................................................................................................................... 14

3.4 Validity ......................................................................................................................................... 15

3.5 Reliability ..................................................................................................................................... 15

4 Empirical data ..................................................................................................................................... 16

4.1 Company backgrounds ................................................................................................................ 16

4.1.1 Pressbyrån ............................................................................................................................ 16

4.1.2 Company X ............................................................................................................................ 16

4.1.3 Max Hamburgerrestauranger AB ......................................................................................... 16

4.2 Matrixes ....................................................................................................................................... 17

4.2.1 Matrix A- Company interview .............................................................................................. 17

4.2.2 Matrix B- Focus groups ......................................................................................................... 19

5 Analysis ............................................................................................................................................... 23

5.1 Corporate identity ....................................................................................................................... 23

5.2 Image ........................................................................................................................................... 25

6 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................................... 32

7 Further suggestions ............................................................................................................................ 33

References ............................................................................................................................................. 34

Appendix ................................................................................................................................................ 38

Appendix A- Interview guide, companies .......................................................................................... 39

Appendix B- Interview guide, focus groups ....................................................................................... 40

Appendix C- Pictures of applications ................................................................................................. 41

Appendix D- Interview with Pressbyrån ............................................................................................ 42

Appendix E- Interview with Max Hamburgerrestauranger AB .......................................................... 44

Appendix F- Interview with Company X ............................................................................................ 46

Appendix G- Focus group 1 ............................................................................................................... 48

Appendix H- Focus group 2 ............................................................................................................... 53

Appendix I- Focus group 3 ................................................................................................................. 58

Appendix J- Explanation of patterns ................................................................................................. 64

Andersson, Jörgensen and Olsson

1

1 Introduction

1.1 Background

The number of smartphones has increased rapidly in the last years; in 2010 the market for

smartphone’s increased with 244 percent (pcforalla.idg.se, 2011). A smartphone is defined as

a middle thing between a handheld computer and a mobile phone, simply a “smart phone”

(cellphones.about.com, 2011). Reasons for the rapid increase of smartphones are that more

and more users are discovering the flexibility and freedom of surfing with their mobile phone

(mynewsdesk.com, 2010).

With the expansion of smartphones came the increased development and use of mobile

applications. A mobile application, also known as an “app” (will be used from now on), is

software that can run on a mobile device. (hudsonhorizons.com, 2011) 2,5 billion apps were

downloaded in 2009 and the downloads are expected to increase distinctly. Most of the apps

downloaded in 2010, 82 percent, were free. (telenor.se, 2010) Each month 40.000 new

applications are created and released (metro.se, 2010) and an average user around the world

spends more than 30 minutes on apps each day (gizmodo.com, 2010).

Companies market their company through apps because they want to reach, inform and

remind their customers. Hence mobile marketing should not only be seen as the creation of

cool apps, but about creating apps that inform and remind consumers about the company’s

message, brand, location and opening hours, etcetera. (nyheter.widespace.com, 2011)

Since several new apps are released every day, companies’ apps need to stand out against the

rest of the apps. One of the Swedish companies who have been successful with their app is

Arla. Their Arla cookbook app is one of the most downloaded in Sweden. An average user

uses the mobile cookbook frequently and has shown the application to 2.8 persons, thereby

promoting the Arla brand and the mobile cookbook. (goldengekko.com, 2011)

Another way to make use of an app is by trying to seize consumers before they have a need of

using the products or services of the company. Procter & Gamble did that with their brand

Pampers and won the price for 2010’s best marketing app at the yearly mobile phone festival

in Sweden (mobil.se, 2010). The purpose with the app was to increase the interest for the

brand; with this app Pampers could reach more customers and create interest in their product

even before the child was born (mynewsdesk.com, 2010).

http://www.telenor.se/


2

Depending on the company, its size and the industry, companies have different purposes with

their apps. An app can support the company and the brand, for example by apps that are

spread by viral marketing. Apps can be the foundation of a loyalty program, or apps can be a

pure sales channel. (telenor.se, 2010) An app can for example add value and satisfy consumer

needs (x8.telia.se, 2010). An app could also be used as an effective channel of information

(dn.se, 2010). For example an app can guide you to the nearest McDonalds when you are

hungry and the company can thus strengthen the relationship with the consumers

(digitalbroker.se, 2011).

A company can constantly be visible to consumers with an app, since they throughout the day

frequently interact with their smartphones (Smith, 2009). As mentioned, both Arla and

Pampers have developed their brand by the release of an app. They have also managed people

to download their apps and to get people to interact with the company and their brand in new

innovative ways.

1.2 Problem discussion

One way for companies to not be part of the mass, due to increased competition in the

markets, is to build a strong corporate identity. Balmer (1999) states that to acquire a

favorable image and reputation, as perceived by the audience, it is necessary to have a well-

managed corporate identity. Corporate identity can be seen as “the sum of all the factors that

define and project ‘what the organization is’, ‘what it stands for’, ‘what it does’, ‘how it does

it’ and ‘where it is going’” (Melewar, 2003:197). It includes a company’s visual and verbal

presentation, the position in the marketplace and also their competitive differentiation

(Melewar, 2003). Companies can use corporate identity to distinguish themselves from one

another (Markwick & Fill, 1997). It is also a communication process where the company has

the intention to convey a specific message, about themselves to an audience (van Riel &

Balmer, 1997). However, are there only advantages with building up a good corporate identity

or are there any negative consequences that should be considered? It takes time and effort to

change a company’s corporate identity. Hence it is necessary to be clear of the message that

the company wants to communicate to the audience. (van den Bosch et al., 2005)

When a message is communicated the receiver might not get the intended message

(Christensen & Askegaard, 1999). Hence, the image of the company can be very different

from the corporate identity. Barich & Kotler (1994) after Furman (2010:69) choose to define

image as “the sum of objects, attitudes, and impressions that a person or group has of an


3

object. The object may be a company, product, brand, place, or person”. The image is

developed and established in consumers mind through previously experienced events and

communication (Andreassen, 1997). The company does not control the image, it is the

customers’ perception of the company. However, it is impossible for a company to influence

or change the image, or can a strong corporate identity change the consumers’ perception?

Despite that corporate identity can be seen as an effective strategy (Melewar, 2003), it can be

very difficult to communicate a company’s identity to the audience (Christensen &

Askegaard, 1999). Maybe the gap between the corporate identity and the image can be

diminished if the company can communicate in an innovative way? Companies and their

brands have always been communicated and marketed in different ways and through different

channels. Is the common and traditional ways of marketing the most effective to convey a

company’s identity to the consumers? Or are there other options? Since the image is

constructed by consumers, it is very important to communicate a strong corporate identity to

their consumer. Hence, it is necessary to find new, interesting, different and inspiring ways to

communicate with the consumers. We will study if mobile apps can be such a new way to

communicate a corporate identity.

1.3 Purpose

We intend to study how mobile applications can help companies to get an image that fit their

corporate identity.


4

2 Theoretical framework

2.1 Corporate Identity

Many authors have chosen to not define corporate identity because it is highly contentious

(Melewar & Jenkins, 2002; Melewar & Saunders, 2000; Markwick & Fill, 1997). Some

authors view corporate identity as the sum of all the factors defining what an organization is

(Melewar, 2003). This is also what Balmer (1999) states and also means that corporate

identity includes; history, philosophy, business scope, strategy, the range and type of product

and services they offer and how they communicate themselves both formally and informally.

Others describe corporate identity as a set of symbolic representations, including; graphic

design and organizational behavior (Abratt, 1989; Olins, 1978; van Riel & Balmer, 1997 after

Balmer, 1999).

The interest in corporate identity has increased over the years due to changes in technology,

consumer behavior, values and market dynamics. Some factors that have contributed to this

are; deregulations, internationalization and more sophisticated consumers. (Melewar, 2003)

Cornelissen et al., (2007) state that the corporate identity concept has grown out of the design,

marketing and corporate communications communities. This is also stated by Melewar (2003)

who says that the concept of corporate identity has contributions from different disciplines

and includes behavior, culture and communication. Initially the concept was restricted to

logos and elements of visual design, but it has gradually come to include communication and

other forms of outward-facing behavior in the market that gives the company its specificity

and coherence (Cornelissen et al., 2007; Christensen & Askegaard, 1999).

The concept of corporate identity refers to the distinct attributes of an organization and it

deals with the questions `Who are we?´ and `What are we?´. The identity of an organization

contains many values that are derived from a group of subcultures, which can be found both

externally and internally in the organization. These values are evolving and the mix of values

is what gives the organization its distinctiveness. (Balmer & Gray, 2003) Cornelissen et al.

(2007) focus more on the external factors, where the corporate identity is connected with

questions concerning the way a company positions themselves and how the organization

promotes themselves to others. We agree that corporate identity is something that needs to be

created both internally and externally, though we argue that it is important to have a clear

corporate identity internally before trying to communicate it externally. Hence, it is important


5

to know who and what the company is before the company decides where to position and how

to promote themselves.

It is important to build a strong corporate identity so the audience can recognize and

distinguish the company from others (Abratt, 1989). Margulies (1977) after Christensen &

Askegaard (1999:29) describe it as important since it is: “the sum of all the way a company

chooses to identify itself to all its publics; the community, customer, employees, the press,

present and potential stockholders, security analysts, and investment bankers”. Corporate

identity is also important since it can be seen as a strategic tool and a source for competitive

advantage. It is regarded as a strategic resource, since it builds credibility and support among

stakeholders and since it can give competitive advantage in a new business environment.

(Melewar, 2003)

Christensen & Askegaard, (1999) explains that corporate identity should not only be seen as a

symbolic factor, but also as a communication process, where the company is the sender and

the audience is the receiver. The problem is that the company wants consumers to have an

image of the company that fits the corporate identity, but that is difficult to manage. It is

almost impossible for the company to send out messages that will be received in the same

way by the audience. (Christensen & Askegaard, 1999) Researchers’ state that it is highly

important that the corporate identity and the image fit. If not, there is a risk of employee

disengagement and consumer dissatisfaction. (Cornelissen et al., 2007)

Melewars (2003) model “The proposed corporate identity taxonomy” gives seven core

components a company need to include in the process of building the corporate identity;

corporate communication, corporate design, corporate culture, behavior, corporate structure,

industry identity and corporate strategy.

Corporate communication is defined “as the management of the perceptions of an

organization and the management of change” (Chaloner, 1990 after Melewar, 2003:199). It is

about how the organization communicates with its stakeholders (Melewar, 2003) and every

message it will send and every activity it is involved in will have an impact on stakeholder’s

perception of the company (Baker & Balmer, 1997). Corporate design is the corporate visual

identity that can be seen as “the outer sign of the inward commitment of a company” (Abratt,

1989; Melewar & Saunders, 2000 after Melewar, 2003:201). Hence, the corporate visual

identity is what makes an audience recognize and differentiate the company from other

companies. The visual identity includes five main components; organizations name, slogan,


6

logotype/symbol, color and typography. These can be conveyed through advertising and

promotion. Corporate culture is the organizations core value, behavior and beliefs. Behavior

of employees and management behavior is also a part of the process of corporate identity.

Corporate structure consists of both branding structure and organizational structure. Industry

identity refers to features that are fundamental to the industry, such as competiveness and size.

Corporate strategy refers to the overall strategies on the market(s) where the company has

chosen to compete. (Melewar, 2003; Melewar et al., 2005) Through the development of a

positive corporate identity a company can hopefully manage to keep the consumers from

creating negative associations to the company (Melewar, 2003).

2.2 Image According to Aaker & Myers (1082) after Furman (2010:68) image is defined as a “…set of

meanings by which an object is known and through which people describe, remember, and

relate to it. That is, it is the net result of the interaction of a person’s beliefs, ideas, feelings,

and impressions about an object”. Christiansen & Askegaard (1999) have another approach;

they argue that the image can be seen as a false representation of an organization because the

symbolic representation is only a partial reflection and does not often match the company’s

reality. Some authors use the concept of corporate image instead. Furman (2010) argues that

the definition of corporate image is a bit unclear and persons often have their own view and

idea of the concept but one way to describe corporate image can be through asking two

questions; `Who do they think we are?´ and `Who do they think we should be?´. However,

whatever the definitions, Gray & Balmer (1998) tries to explain the concept corporate image

as the first picture of the company that a stakeholder get in his or her mind when they think

about the company.

We are from now on going to use both the concept of image and corporate image. However, it

is important to remember that image is not something that the company can send out or

manage directly. The image is a perception in the mind of the consumer and not something

that the company can manage.

In the communication process, where the identity and image is in the opposite ends of each

other, the image is something that is outside the limits of the company. Hence, it is “sent”

back to the company through external analyses. These analyses can be thoughts of individuals

or a group that has the same image about the company and these images are external to the

organization. (Christensen & Askegaard, 1999)


7

Gray & Balmer (1998) argue that image and reputation is what the viewer perceives and that

it is necessary to manage image and reputation. This is something that becomes even more

important since the world is getting more globalized, which leads to more competitors. To

succeed, despite increasing competition, the company needs to have a positive image. (Gray

& Balmer 1998) It is important to have a good image but the image is nothing that a company

can control and manage itself. So, even if a company's goal is to have a good image it can be

hard to reach this goal. Gray & Balmer (1998) state that the image can be established faster

and easier than the reputation. The image can be built up through co-ordinated image-building

campaigns, which embraces a formal communication system, name, logo, signage, corporate

advertising and public relations (Gray & Balmer, 1998).

A purpose with the corporate identity is to build an “intended image” in the minds of the

company’s consumers, through creating strong brand recognition among the company’s target

stakeholders, but also by creating a good reputation in their minds (Gray & Balmer, 1998). A

company can have a really good reputation without having a prominent image. For example a

small company can have an excellent reputation and trustworthiness for their business,

communicated through word-of-mouth. Even though the reputation is really good they need to

have a good and stronger image if they want their business to grow. (Gray & Balmer, 1998)

According to Philipson (2010) the concept of image can be seen as how customers perceive,

interpret and judge a company. If the customers are positive to the company, it is the result of:

How good the company knows the identity of the target group

Their business idea of how they deliver value to their target group

Their ability to get the employees to accept and behave in accordance with the

business idea. This builds the corporate identity.

How well they communicate the corporate identity

The affect of competition and the environment, including uncontrolled word-of-

mouth, and their own experiences of the company and how it affects the target

groups perception of the corporate identity

(Philipson, 2010)

There are several reasons why companies should realize the importance of good image. One

reason is that a good image influence the behavior of people, another important reason is that

people often do not have experience and knowledge about the company, hence it is important


8

to try to create a good image (Furman 2010). Andreassen (1997) states that image is important

because it affects consumers purchase decisions and hence, to have a good image is important

so the consumers choose your brand instead of competitors.

A company wants their stakeholders to have a correct and positive image of the company; this

means that the company always needs to consider the value of a good image. The purpose is

therefore that the stakeholders perceive the image in the right way. (Gray & Balmer, 1998)

This is confirmed by Markwick & Fill (1997) and Karaosmanoglu & Melewar (2006), whom

argue that an image is the summary of what a company’s stakeholders have in their mind

when they think about the organization identity. As discussed earlier, the stakeholders’ image

of the company is extremely important, because if stakeholders have a negative image to it

will affect the company negatively (Gray & Balmer, 1998).

According to Andreassen (1997) image is related positively with perceived quality, customer

satisfaction and customer loyalty. The image is developed and established in consumers mind

through previously experienced events and communication. If the customers are satisfied with

the company, they will also have a good attitude to the company. This is why image become

complex, because it includes both attitudes and beliefs of consumers. (Andreassen, 1997)

Both Javalgi et al., (1994) and Andreassen (1997) argue that image is important both for the

company itself, but also for the evaluation of the company. Abratt (1989) argues that image is

a key to get public trust for a company. The image could be seen as the result of a process that

includes various types of information that reaches the consumers. The information could

come by advertising and word-of-mouth. (Weiwei, 2007) All authors above argue that image

affects a company in several ways. We argue that the impact of image is as strong for the

company as it is for the consumers. The image that a company has in consumers’ minds plays

a significant role in the consumer decision making.

Gürhan-Canli & Batra (2004) state that it exist different types of image associations and prior

research has shown that innovation, trustworthiness and corporate social responsibility is

especially important. A company’s level of innovation is important for the consumers to know

because it gives a hint of what the company stands for and what they want to develop in the

future. Hence, it affects the consumers’ evaluation of the company, in turn affecting the

image. Another important part that affects the image is trustworthiness; the company’s

reliability, honesty, credibility and benevolence. If consumers feel that they can trust the

company and are positive to it, the image will probably be stronger and more positive. A


9

company with corporate social responsibility often has a better image than companies that do

not. (Gürhan-Canli & Batra, 2004) We believe there are other types of image associations that

are of equal importance as these three. Maybe the author argues for these because they are

more important for his study or for the companies in the study and therefore we do not believe

these are the most important associations for all companies.

Berman & Evans (1995) after Weiwei (2007) argue that image could be seen as a function of

the accumulation of purchasing experience overtime and it has two components: functional

and emotional experiences. The functional component includes tangible attributes and the

emotional component includes psychological dimensions like feeling and attitudes to a

company. The feelings often come from the consumer’s own experience and thoughts about

the company, but also from information which in turn leads to the creation of the image.

(Weiwei, 2007)

Richins (1983) argues that both positive and negative Word-of-mouth (WOM) can influence a

company and its image in many ways, and that are almost impossible to manage. Negative

WOM is a problem for a company, positive WOM gives a lot of benefits. If a consumer is

satisfied with the product/brand they will continue to buy the product and tell other people,

which may influence the image. When a consumer is dissatisfied with the product/brand they

will probably not buy it again. If the number of consumers that are dissatisfied is high it will

affect the company and their image negatively. (Richins, 1983)

Competition is another factor that affects and influences a company’s image. Competition is

not always bad; it can strengthen the company, as it makes the company aware of competitors.

Another benefit of competition is that it forces the company to constantly develop. The image

can also change because of competition. If a consumer like or dislike a competitor it will

affect their perception of another company in the industry. (Till et al., 2011)

2.3 State of the art In this thesis we have used the two concepts of corporate identity and image. We mainly

found accepted, but hardly any empirically validated, theories.

There is no clear definition of corporate identity. Many authors have their own view of what

the concept stands for. van Riel (1995), Balmer (1999) and Markwick & Fill (1997)

statements are accepted, but there are not enough with empirically validated data to consider it

to be a dominant definition. Theories from Melewar (2003), Christensen & Askegaard (1999),


10

Cornelissen et al., (2007) are emergent, in the sense that they are some acceptance in the field.

There is no significant validation for these theories.

All theories we found about corporate identity states that companies need to work hard to

develop a strong corporate identity. Christensen & Askegaard (1999), Melewar (2003)

Cornelissen et al. (2007) describe the importance of communicating with stakeholders, while

Balmer & Gray (2003) highlights both internal and external factors to be necessary tools,

when the company wants to build a strong corporate identity. van den Bosch (2005) and van

Riel & Balmer (1997) state that the company’s mission is to get a favorable reputation. Since,

all theories are emergent it is hard to determine which is most accepted.

We have found several definitions of image and “corporate image”, but we have not

discovered any well-accepted definition of image. The definitions of Gray & Balmer (1998),

Andreassen (1997), Furman (2010), Christensen & Akergaard (1999), describes image as

something that occurs in the consumer's mind and a sum of all impressions of an object.

Although, the authors do not have exactly the same definitions, they are still similar. Even

though much research has been done in this field it is not empirically validated and therefore

we argue that the concepts of image can be considered as emerging theories.

A good image is important, but there are different opinions of why it is important. Furman

(2010) argues that a good image is important because it influences the behavior of people, but

also because people often do not have experience and knowledge about the company.

Andreassen (1997) on the other hand, states that image is important because it affects

consumers’ purchase decisions. These two authors have different views of why image is good

and hence these theories are conflicting, though Andreassen’s theory is more accepted and

can be considered as an emerging theory.

None of the authors have explained how a company can send an indented identity in an

effective way so that it will fit the perception/image of the company. Therefore we consider

this to be a theoretical gap. Also on a more detailed level, there is no research done on how

mobile applications can be used to influence the image. Hence, we consider this to be a gap.

2.4 Research question Can mobile applications be useful when a company wants to improve their image?


11

3 Methodology

3.1 Research design According to Bryman & Bell (2007) qualitative studies is appropriate when the researchers

wants to study values and attitudes, or they want to gain a deeper knowledge of a specific

subject. In this thesis we found that a qualitative approach was most suitable, since we were

going to study image, which is a question of values. In this way we would get a better

understanding of the phenomena we studied and a closer relationship with the respondents in

the study. One main disadvantage with a qualitative study is that it is hard to make the study

generalizable (Bryman & Bell, 2007). Since the chosen phenomenon is quite new, we

considered it to be more important to go deeper and hence take the risk of losing

generalizability.

3.1.1 Case study

A case study is a detailed analysis of an individual case. A case can for example be described

as a company, a specific event within a company or the launch of a new product or service. A

close study of these will hopefully give the researcher a better understanding. One main

disadvantage with a case study was that it is not as generalizable as other methods. Benefits

with doing a case study were that the researcher gets a better feeling about reality and also

new discoveries that would not be found in other studies. (Yin, 2007) Therefore we found

multiple case studies to be the most suitable for our thesis since we wanted to get an

understanding for how companies explain and use their corporate identity.

3.1.2 Telephone interview

Telephone interviews are usable when it would require too much time to do face-to-face

interviews. An advantage with the conduction of a telephone interview was that there were

possibilities to ask the interviewee follow-up questions and it also gave the interviewee

opportunities to elaborate their answers. (Bryman & Bell, 2007) Telephone interviews also

reduced the “interview effect”, meaning that the interviewer’s presence could make the

respondent uncertain and behave abnormal (Jacobsen, 2002). Disadvantages with telephone

interviews were that it was harder for the interviewer to create a personal connection with the

interviewee and there was also no way to see how the respondents reacted and understood the

questions. Hence, there was a higher risk of misunderstanding than with other interview

methods. (Bryman & Bell, 2007) In our study the choice of doing telephone interviews was

appropriate since we considered that face to face interviews were unnecessary considering the


12

time it would have demanded and we believed that it would not have given us any better

information.

In this study telephone interviews were conducted with, Pressbyrån, Max Hamburger-

restauranger AB and Company X. The same interview guide was used for all the interviews

(see Appendix A). The first interview (2011-05-11) was with Mariette Kristenson, Director of

Marketing at Pressbyrån (see Appendix D). The second interview (2011-05-11) was with

Henrik Eriksson, Director of Marketing at Max Hamburgerrestauranger AB (see Appendix E).

The third interview (2011-05-18) was with X, Web Director at Company X (see Appendix F).

3.1.3 Focus groups

A focus group is a form of an open group interview, where a discussion is held about a

relatively limited phenomenon. This method is useful when the researcher want to gain new

knowledge about a phenomenon. It also works well when the researchers want to know the

individuals experience about a specific subject, but also when the interviewer wants to know

why the respondents hold an opinion. Another advantage with focus groups was that the

respondents sometimes asked other respondents questions, which lead to more discussion.

Something that was important to consider was that if the interview themes were too wide, the

discussion will be to wide too and will possibly derail and be hard to analyze. (Jacobsen,

2002) Since the chosen subject of the thesis was new, there was not much previous research

done, hence we considered focus groups to be the best choice for gaining profound knowledge

to the thesis. It was also suitable since we wanted a discussion about the apps.

The data collection consisted of three focus groups, since according to the theory it was most

appropriate to work with two or three focus groups (Jacobsen, 2002). The focus groups

consisted of 6-7 respondents per group and the same interview guide (see Appendix B) was

used for all three focus groups. We choose this number of respondents because it gave all the

respondents a chance to discuss what they thought and give their own opinion. The

respondents were first asked and had a discussion about their general image of the company in

question. After that they were introduced to the mobile application of the company (see

Appendix C for pictures of apps). Then a discussion followed concerning the perception of

the application and if the perception of the company had changed. No one in the focus groups

has had any previous contact with the companies’ applications.


13

3.2 Population and Sample A convenience sample was made for the focus groups in this study. This sampling method is

conducted by choosing people that is easy to get access to. Advantages with this kind of

sample were that it was cost-effective and less time-consuming. Disadvantages were that

relevant groups might not be selected and hence the study would be hard to generalize from

sample to population. (Jacobsen, 2002) In our focus groups we chose people that were

between 20-30 years old. We considered this to be a relevant segment for the study, since they

were active users of their smartphones. This study will therefore only be generalizable for this

specific segment.

In this thesis we chose to study three Swedish companies, in different industries, and their

mobile applications. The reason for why we chose to study only three companies was to get a

deeper understanding, since the subject was fairly new. Why we selected Swedish companies

was because it would then be more generalizible to Swedish companies.

The three companies are: Pressbyrån, Company X and Max Hamburgerrestauranger AB. We

chose these companies to see if there were differences between industries. A second reason

was because the companies had three completely different apps. The intention was not to

make a complete industry study. Hence, we chose to study only one company in three

industries and to get a deeper rather than wider understanding. All of these companies are

brick and mortar companies and hence, we cannot generalize this study to companies that are

not in this segment.

A smartphone can both be an iPhone or an Android phone, because of the broader offer that

the iPhone had, we just focused on mobile applications for iPhones. We also chose to focus

on free mobile apps, because of the cost of downloading and due to the fact that there were a

lot more free applications on the market.

We tried to investigate how many Swedish companies, targeting consumers, which have

iPhone apps. We tried to get hold of this information by contacting companies that created

mobile applications and through Apple's headquarter in Sweden. From all places, the answer

was that it was impossible to get access to such statistics and it was not certain that it even

exists. The only remaining way for us to get hold of that information was by doing our own

search for Swedish companies in the iPhone App store. The probability that we would miss a

large number of companies was high, giving a skewed number of companies. Hence, we

chose to not make any statements about how many Swedish companies that have apps.


14

3.3 Operationalization In the following table the operationalization of this study is shown. Based on the theory we

formulated questions to the interviews and focus groups, which became the basis for the

collection of empirical data. We linked the theory with the empirical data and the

operationalization model then became the starting position for how the analysis would be

structured and written. In the operationalization model we did not include mobile applications

since there are no existing theories concerning that. Also it is neither the subject of the thesis.

Theoretical concept Interview theme

Company

Interview theme

Focus groups

Empirical data

Corporate identity

2.1

The company’s stated corporate

identity

-How they perceive it

-How they convey their identity

Matrix A

The purpose with corporate

identity

-Why it is important

-Benefits

Matrix A

Components of the company’s

corporate identity

Matrix A

The influence of corporate identity Matrix A

Image

2.2

What is an image?

The importance of image

Matrix B

What influences the creation

of an image

Matrix B

What can contribute to a

positive image of a company

Matrix B


15

3.4 Validity Validity is based in full and accessible explanation of all phases of the research and it argues

if the study generated the result it was aimed to generate (Bryman & Bell, 2007). Validity

indicates whether we measure what we want to measure. Focus groups measure the views or

give an appearance of agreement or disagreement within a group. (Jacobsen, 2002) We

compared the respondents’ opinions and statements in the focus group against each other to

get what differentiated and what was common among them. Since we used a multiple case

study we compared each interviewed company’s opinions and statements against each other

and were able to find patterns from the three companies. This in combination with a

thoroughly made operationalization we could more easily and better connect the theoretical

framework to our collected empirical data. We also considered that our sample was relevant

for our study and contributed to a higher validity. We felt that we largely received the data we

had hoped to get and thereby we have been able to measure what we intended to and hence

we consider the validity in this thesis to be rather high.

3.5 Reliability According Bryman & Bell (2007) the result should be reliable to make the results credible in

the eyes of others and if a study is conducted with high reliability the results should turn out

similar when doing the study again. To make this thesis reliable we interviewed three

companies and held three focus groups. The expectations were that the companies would give

a relevant picture of the companies’ identity and explain the purpose with their mobile

application. The focus group in turn would discuss what image they had about each company

and what they thought about their apps. By doing that we would get different perspectives of

each company that we could combine and then select relevant key words for our empirical

data. Various methods, such as individual interviews and focus groups greatly affect the

studies reliability. In interviews and focus groups, the interviewer's behavior may have had

affected the respondent, which may have created biased results. The place where the interview

is conducted could also affect the reliability of the study. (Jacobsen, 2002) Also even though

the respondents may have had the same attitudes and thoughts about a topic, the answers

might not be the same if the respondent would be asked again in another study. Hence, the

reliability is usually low in a qualitative research. (Bryman & Bell, 2007) Although, we

consider that the results would be fairly the same if the study would be done again given that

we explained well the choices we made. Hence we consider the reliability to be rather high in

this thesis.


16

4 Empirical data

4.1 Company backgrounds 4.1.1 Pressbyrån

Pressbyrån is a Swedish chain of convenience stores with approximately 325 stores

nationwide. Pressbyråns consumers often want to eat or use what they bought directly.

Therefore, the supply consists mainly of confectionery, drinks, fast food, tickets, lottery

tickets, newspaper, magazines and tobacco. The company’s ambition is to offer this in a quick

and convenient way. Each store is run by a franchisee and the location of the stores will be

where a lot of people circulate. (pressbyran.se)

In Pressbyråns app the consumer can buy mobile gift vouchers that they can send out to their

friends as a gift. The app also provides the consumer with a push notice when there are any

persons in their phonebook that have a name-day. Every day from 13 to 14 the company loads

the app with offers that the consumer can get. All they have to do is press a button sometime

between 13-14 and they will have a chance to win a product at Pressbyrån. The app also has a

store locator, so the consumer can see where the nearest store is. (appstore via iPhone)

4.1.2 Company X

Company X is a Swedish clothing company, which has 88 stores in Sweden, Norway and

Finland. Their mission is to sell a unique mix of fashion and interior design inspired by India,

which will appeal to many. They choose to call their “style” Bohemian Modern - a bohemian

style that is always modern. (Company X.com)

Company X’s app gives the consumer the opportunity to look at new arrivals, receive

discounts, and locate a Company X store. The persons who use the app get an update every

week about the latest in-store collection. The persons can also share their clothes on Facebook

and via e-mail. (appstore via iPhone)

4.1.3 Max Hamburgerrestauranger AB

Max is a Swedish hamburger chain. The company’s ambition is to use the best ingredients

and serve the best hamburgers. Their vision is to become the world’s best hamburger chain.

(max.se)

Max mobile application is called Max Locator. With this app the consumer can find the

nearest Max-restaurant rapidly and easy. There are several service descriptions for each


17

restaurant, like road description, opening hours and telephone numbers. The app also shows

the latest campaigns and gives special offers. (appstore via iPhone)

4.2 Matrixes

From the collected empirical data we found a lot of words that the focus groups and the

interviews had in common but also words that differed. We highlighted these words in the

text and after that we placed the words in one matrix for the company interviews and one

matrix for the focus groups. We could then see patterns from the focus groups and patterns

from the companies. We then created generic key words that summed up what the three focus

groups and companies said as answers for each question. The words we did not find any

pattern for we placed under odd comments. We found several pattern in our empirical data

collection. For explanation of the patterns see Appendix J.

4.2.1 Matrix A- Company interview

A B C D E F

1 Generic keywords Pressbyrån Company X Max

How do you perceive your

company's identity?

2 Responsibility Dependability Social

responsibility

Social perspective

3 Quality Service, quality Taste, good quality

4 Offers Appealing supply Uniqueness

5 Odd comments Fast & Easy,

everyday joy

Perception

What do you want to convey

through your identity?

6 Value adding Added value Good quality, taste

7 Loyalty Building

understanding

Engagement, trust

8 Responsibility Responsibility Social responsibility

9 Odd comments Permeate whole

company

Inspiring,

uniqueness

What is your purpose with

creating a strong identity?

10 Create strength Strengthening Show our strengths

11 Communicate Communication Communication

12 Social responsibility Show

responsibility

Convey sustainable

social responsibility

13 Odd comments Convey

experience,

understanding for

the company

Distinguishment


18

What do you consider to be

advantages with a strong

identity?

14 Create insight Creates an

understanding

Consumer

awareness

Relatable

15 Distinguishing Distinguishing Distinguishing

16 Competition Competition Competitive

17 Odd comments Recognition,

stronger

relationships

More satisfied

customers

Do you believe that you can

influence how the consumer

perceives your identity?

18 Yes Yes, compliance is

important

Yes, constant

work

Yes, through

marketing

Which of these parts are

important for your identity;

communication, symbolism,

culture, employees, structure,

strategy, size and

competitiveness, other?

19 Employees Employees Employees Employees

20 Business strategy Business model

mix

Business strategy

21 Communication Communication Communication

22 Culture/History History History

23 Depends on all

factors

Mix of everything Mix of everything

24 Odd comments Customer

evaluations

Symbolism

What is the purpose/idea with

your app?

25 Pleasure Generate joy Inspiration Entertainment

26 Value adding Core value Value Add value

27 Ease Facilitation Accessibility

28 Communicate Communicate Build loyalty Communicate with

customers

29 Odd comments Complement to

the brand

Is one purpose to convey your

identity through your app? If

yes, how? If no, what do you

want to convey?

30 Yes Yes, through

communication of

all core values

Yes, through

influencing

customer perception

31 Odd comments Important that the

app is fast and

easy

Partly,

complement

Do you believe that you can

influence the consumers

perception of your company

through your app?

32 Yes Yes, if customers

is already positive

Absolutely Yes, but only

fragments of the

customer base

33 Odd comments Hard to influence

behavior

How do you believe that the

customers perception accord

with what you are trying to

convey?

32 Good High accordance Accordance High compliance

where it is already

established


19

4.2.2 Matrix B- Focus groups

A B C D E F

1 Generic Keywords Focus group 1 Focus group 2 Focus group 3

What is an image

for you?

2 Perception Perceive Perceive Perceive, other

perceive something

3 A picture Picture of

themselves

General picture Company try to

convey

4 Want to be/reach Achieve Company’s goal

5 In their mind Association, never

constant, fuzzy

Spontaneous thoughts

6 Odd comments Turn out to be

outward, appear

Experience

How important do

you think it is for a

company that

consumers have a

positive image of

the company?

7 Important 70% important Important Very Important

8 Associations Good

associations

Associate Associate

9 The product decides Depends on the

product

Depends on the

product

10 The price decides Pay more Depends on the price

11 Relationships Longterm customers Increased loyalty

12 Odd comments The image

What affects your

view of a company?

13 The overall experience Personal

experience

Experience Treatment, quality

14 Marketing Marketing Media

15 Appearance Logotype,

homepage

Color, logotype

16 Perception Perception Perception,

compliance

17 Odd comments Social responsibility

What makes you

positive to a

company?

18 Communication Communication Communication Communication

19 Experience Own experience Experience

20 Reputation Reputation Reputation,

recommendation

21 The products Product range Product range,

innovation


20

22 Treatment/trustworthiness Treatment,

openness

Treatment, service

minded, customer

behavior

23 Odd comments Competition, right

values

Price

What is your

opinion of

Pressbyrån?

24 Expensive Expensive Expensive Expensive

25 Generous opening hours Generous

opening hours

Generous opening

hours

Generous opening

hours

26 Availability Availability Availability Availability

27 Boring Boring Boring, less exciting Boring appearance

28 Product range Limited product

range

Basic product range Good range of

products

What do you think

of Pressbyråns

app?

29 The company connection Clear view of

the company

Symbolizing the

company

30 Boring app Boring,

pointless

Boring, confusing

31 Product range Limited product

range

Limited product

range

32 Purchasing possibilities Like the shop Good shop

33 Odd comments Very good, easy

to understand

Budget app Like the name-day, no

connection to the

company

What is your

perception of

Pressbyrån through

this app? Has it

change or is it the

same?

34 Unchanged picture Same image Same picture Same picture

35 Worse image Budget feeling Worse image

36 Still expensive Expensive Expensive

37 Better picture Better image Positive picture

38 No value added Meaningless Pointless

39 Odd comments Availability,

Funny,

innovative,

Budget feeling,

succeed

Worse image

What do you think

Pressbyrån wants

to achieve through

this app?

40 Increased profits More customer More money

41 Join the ”app world” Keep updated, join

the ”app world”

Just to have one

42 Odd comments More personal No purpose, market

themselves,

reputation

Availability

What is your

opinion of

43 Hippie/exotic Exotic, oriental Hippie Hippie, bohemian


21

Company X? 44 Negative experience Bad experience Disappointment Trapped feeling

45 No experience No experience No picture/image,

skew picture

46 Positive experience Positive picture Inspired, comfortable

47 Odd comments Less media

activity

Good interior

products

Different environment

What do you think

of Company X’s

app?

48 Slow app Slow Slow Slow

49 Positive attitude Very good,

visual, inspired

Really good,

serious, well made

Very good, nice,

effective

50 Good content Good offers Highlight offers Useful, a lot to do.

51 Informative Good with

information

Informative

52 Odd comments Missing buy

button

What is your

perception of

Company X

through this app?

Has it change or is

it the same?

53 Professional approach Professional,

quality

impression

Serious approach Professional

54 Better attitude to the company Change

perception

Better picture,

positive

Change image,

positive

55 Odd comments Same picture,

clear connection

Missing connection,

new information

Good offers, odd

company

What do you think

Company X wants

to achieve through

this app?

56 Clarify the approach Clearer picture Market, new

marketing channel

Change image

57 Positive attitude Inspire,

entertainment

Innovate, trendy

58 Identity Quality

impression

Show the product

range

59 Odd comments Just to have an app,

reach existing

customers

Reach new target

group, create benefits,

change image

What is your

opinion of Max?

60 Fresh Fresh Fresh Fresh

61 Origin Swedish meat Swedish Swedish

62 Taste Good

hamburger

Nice hamburger,

quality

63 Distinguish Different Better than

competitors

64 Negative associations Expensive Takes time

65 Positive associations Amazing,

inviting

Successful


22

66 Odd comments Youthful,

genuine

Loyal customers,

social responsibility

Unfresh

What do you think

of Max app?

67 Identity Environmental

aspect

Historical aspect Swedish feeling

68 Negative attitude Very bad Boring, bad offers,

no discounts, too

much texts

Boring, too much texts

69 Good content Good location Good navigator,

informative

Informative

70 Positive attitudes Useful Nice, updated

71 Odd comments Competitive

advantage,

missing order

button/ menu,

little

information, just

to have an app

What is your

perception of Max

through this app?

Has it change or is

it the same?

72 No connection to the identity Missing

connection, why

black?, not

black, not

consistent

Not Swedish,

American

Missing connection

73 Negative attitude Lower image Negative picture

74 Unchanged attitude Indifferent Same positive picture

75 Odd comments Less creative Positive

What do you think

Max wants to

achieve through

this app?

76 Facilitate Show location Easier to find

77 Information source Inform the

customers

Inform

78 Odd comments Do not know,

too advanced,

send out core

value

Find new customers be

different, Swedish,

healthy


23

5 Analysis

5.1 Corporate identity

It is difficult to state what identity stands for, because many authors chose not to define what

it is (Melewar & Jenkins, 2002; Melewar & Saunders, 2000; Markwick & Fill, 1997). In our

study we found similar patterns in how the companies described their identity. All stated that

responsibility (Matrix A:C2) is one factor that is included in their identity. Two other

keywords we found were quality and offers (Matrix A:C3;C4). Melewar (2003) describe

identity as the sum of all factors that the company possesses. According to Pressbyrån and

Max it is the mix of everything that the company possesses that is important for their identity

(Matrix A:C23). A company’s identity is often something individual that the company has

developed through their core values and often there are some key words that companies

would like to stand for.

Other elements that an identity includes are; history, philosophy, business scope, strategy,

range/type of product, service and how they communicate themselves (Balmer, 1999). In our

study we found patterns that showed that all of these factors are more or less important parts

of and reasons for building a company’s identity (Matrix A:C19-24). According to Abratt

(1989): Olins (1978); van Riel & Balmer (1997) after Balmer (1999) identity is factors of

symbolical representations. We did not find any patterns that showed that symbolic

representation was important for a corporate identity. This could depend on the choice of

companies. The symbolic representation is more important when the company produces

something where consumers can wear and show off their brand and that is not the case for the

three studied companies. Even though the clothing industry is a good example of an industry

where the symbolic representation is important, we do not consider Company X to be a

“brand” in that sense.

Cornelissen et al., (2007), Christensen & Askegaard, (1999) and Melewar (2003) state that

identity has grown from symbolic elements to include behavior, culture and communication.

This is confirmed by Company X and Max, because they want to show good behavior in the

form of environmental responsibility (Matrix A:C8). Culture and historical aspects are

important for the companies, probably because they want to tell who they are and their

background (Matrix A:C22). Communication is necessary for two of the companies, since

they want to convey what they stand for and try to communicate the core values to their

customer (Matrix A:C21).


24

Melewars (2003) model “The proposed corporate identity taxonomy” gives seven core

components; corporate communication, corporate design, corporate culture, behavior,

corporate structure, industry identity and corporate strategy, which all needs to be included in

the process of building the corporate identity. In our study none of the components is more

important than another (Matrix A:C23), since none of the companies could rank them.

However, we found four factors that were more prominent than the other; behavior of

employees, business strategy, communication and culture/history (Matrix A:C19;20;21;22).

The first factor, behavior of employees, if the employees are a good face of the company it

can create a strong image, but if they are a bad face the opposite might happen. The second

factor, business strategy, is important because the company is build around several factors that

needs to be well made and be clear to everyone in the company. The third factor

communication is important, because every activity will probably have an impact the

stakeholder’s perception of the company. The last one; culture/history, is the company’s core

values and beliefs and the company mission is to convey those values to the audience, to

differentiate themselves from competitors.

According to Balmer & Gray (2003) corporate identity deals with the questions of whom and

what we are. The identity derives from values that are found both externally and internally in

the organization and is what gives the company its distinctiveness (Balmer & Gray, 2003).

Cornelissen et al., (2007) instead state that it is connected to questions concerning how the

company position and promotes itself to others and Abratt (1989) states that it is a way to

make the company recognized and distinguished from others. In our study we that a strong

identity is important, since it creates insight, distinguishes the company and is important in

competition (Matrix A:C14;C15;C16). We can here see that the companies describe identity

to be important mainly because it is important for external reasons, rather than internally as

the theory states. We also found that the purpose of creating a strong identity is to

communicate and become stronger (Matrix A:C11;C10). This can be related to theories from

Melewar (2003), who states that the identity can be a strategic tool for competitive advantage.

It is necessary for companies to build competitive advantage, because of globalization and

stronger competition in most markets. If a company can manage to build and maintain a

strong corporate identity, it will be easier for them to gain competitive advantage. Though the

problem is still there; even though a company believes that they have a strong identity it does

not matter if the consumers’ image of the company does not match.


25

According to Melewar (2003) a strong corporate identity can build credibility. In our study we

found that loyalty was important for the identity (Matrix A:C7). If a company can manage,

through their identity, to show what they are and what they stand for, it will be easier to gain

credibility with consumers and hence create loyalty. Both Company X and Max want to

convey through their identity that they stand for social responsibility (Matrix A:C12). If they

manage to communicate this part of their identity in a good way, people who regard social

responsibility as important will see them as more credible and become more loyal to these

companies in question. This will be what distinguishes them from competitors and gives them

an upper hand against those who is not associated with social responsibility.

Corporate identity should not only be seen as a symbolic factor, but as something a company

should communicate to people. The company tries to communicate their identity and the

audience receives and then creates an image. The problem is that it is almost impossible to

send out a message that will be received in the same way by the audience. (Christensen &

Askegaard, 1999) The companies in the study want to send/communicate their identity

through their app (Matrix A:C28;A:C30), though this identity is not always perceived in the

same way by the respondents in the focus groups (Matrix B:C25-28;C43-47;C60-C66). Max

identity is rather clear for the respondents in the focus groups, since they have almost the

same picture of Max (Matrix A:D2;D5; Matrix B:D25;D26;D28). Even though Max has

succeeded to convey their identity, they have failed to do it through their app. We found that

the focus groups felt that Max was missing to connect to their identity in the app (Matrix

B:C72) and it gave them a negative attitude (Matrix B:C68). If a company wants to

communicate their identity through an app it might be of importance that they do it in the

same way as they communicate in other channels, otherwise the consumers feel that the

identity is unclear. The company might lose the influence over how the consumers perceive

the company.

5.2 Image

According to Furman (2010) the definition of image is unclear, and persons often have their

own idea of what image is. Aaker & Myers (1982) after Furman (2010) state that an image is

what an object is known as, and what kind of feelings, beliefs and impressions persons have

of this object. According to Gray & Balmer (1998) an image is the first picture of a company

that shows up in a person’s mind when thinking about that company. In the focus groups we

found similar statements. According to the respondents, image is the perceptions and pictures

of something (Matrix B:C2;C3). They also consider image to be something that exists in the


26

minds of persons (Matrix B:C5). This shows that even though persons often have their own

idea of what image is, they have the same pattern of thoughts and explains image in similar

ways. Still, it is important to remember that even though image is described similarly, by each

person, the perceptions and pictures of one specific object are most likely different from

person to person.

Furman (2010) states that corporate image can be described by answering two questions; who

do they think we are and who do they think we should be. According to our focus groups

image can also be explained as something that the consumer or company want to be or

something that the company wants to reach (Matrix B:C4). This can be interpreted as if image

is something that is in the control of the company, since the respondents connects image with

something that the company wants to be. According to Christensen & Akergaard (1999) it is

only identity that can be controlled by the company and image is something that is on the

other end of the communication process and outside the limits of the company. We see here

that consumers believe that image is something that the company decides and sends, but in

theory this is not possible. If consumers believe that image can be controlled by the company,

it is also likely that companies believe the same. We argue that it is here the concept of

identity and image gets mixed up. Image is something that only can be “managed” by the

company through the perception of their consumers and something that is external to the

company is always very hard to influence. Since the image is in the consumers’ mind it is

always fuzzy and never constant.

Andreassen (1997) highlights that consumers’ form an image in their mind through

experience and influenced by communication. According to our focus groups the overall

experience that the consumer holds affect their view of a company and decides if they have a

positive image or not (Matrix B:C13). It is therefore important how the company

communicates with their consumer and that can bring positive associations. Further on

Andreassen (1997) states that if the consumer is pleased with what the company mediates,

they the perception will automatically be more positive. We believe that if the respondents

have experience of a company they will automatically have some attitude towards its brand.

It is not only image that is produced in the minds of consumers, but also the reputation of a

company (Gray & Balmer, 1998). According to our focus groups, reputation is a key element

to get a positive attitude to a company, hence creating a good image (Matrix B:C20).

According to Gray & Balmer (1998) companies can try to influence the image by

communicating with the consumer through their name, logo advertising and public relations.


27

When asking the focus groups what affects their view of a company, we found that it was

marketing, appearance, perception, experience and reputation (Matrix B:C14;C15;C13,C16).

If a company works hard with these elements, it will affect the view of the company and if

they can manage it in accordance with their identity the image will be improved. We argue

that the image will be improved even more if the reputation about the company is good and it

is important for the company to try to influence the reputations, even though this is not

something they can do directly. If a company can work interactively with their consumers,

they can increase the possibility of influencing the reputations, and an app might be one way.

According to Gürhan-Canli & Batra (2004) innovation, trustworthiness and corporate social

responsibility are especially important for a company’s image. Our study confirms that

product range and trustworthiness are important factors for consumers’ creation of a good

image (Matrix B:C21;C22). Regarding the importance of corporate social responsibility we

did not find anything confirming this theory. Reasons for this could be that the age segment of

our focus groups does not consider social responsibility to be as important as the theory states.

Instead our study showed that the treatment that the company gives their consumers in

different ways is of higher importance.

According to Gray & Balmer (1998) it is necessary to try to maintain a good image. All the

respondents’ in our focus groups states that it is important for a company that consumers have

a good image of them (Matrix B:C7). Though they also state that the importance of a

company’s image depends on the type of products (Matrix B:C9) that the company sells; for

example consumers feel that the image of the company is more important when they buy

products where the brand is more visible and important. In our focus groups the thought about

Max where that the origin (Matrix B:C61) is important, and hence consumers who feels that it

is important to support Swedish companies will chose Max over other chains.

There are several reasons why companies should realize the importance of good image. A

good image can influence the behavior of people, their knowledge about the company, their

purchase decisions and competition. (Furman 2010; Andreassen 1997) According to our focus

groups it is very important for a company to have a good image (Matrix B:C7). Hence, it is

necessary for companies that consumers have a positive image. If consumers do not have a

good picture of the company they will not purchase their products or speak well about the

company. Companies must also realize what consumers really think about the company and

not just what they believe that the consumers think about them, otherwise they cannot try to


28

change the customers’ perceptions. We found in our study that Pressbyrån is both expensive

and available everywhere (Matrix B:C24;C26), Company X has a hippie/bohemian style

(Matrix B:C43) and Max is fresh and have a specific origin (Matrix B:C60;C61). All those

keywords are perceptions of the companies and hence part of the consumers’ image of them.

They must know what people say about them, because if they do not they will not know if

their identity is clearly communicated. Since the goal is to have a good image, the companies

need to communicate an identity that is clear to the consumers, so they will purchase their

products and choose the company’s brand instead of the competitors’.

Gray & Balmer (1998) state that it is important for a company to build strong brand

recognition. Our study confirms this, since we found patterns that show that it is important for

companies that consumers have a positive image of the company since this creates

associations (Matrix B:C8). Both in the sense that it creates associations/brand recognition to

the company but also if the company has a good image that matches their identity it is easier

for consumers to associate with a specific company. Therefore we say that image is something

that is equally important for the company as it is for the consumer.

Philipson (2010) argues that the concept of image can be seen as how consumers perceive,

interpret and judge a company. If consumers are positive to the company, it is the result of;

how well the company knows the identity of the target group, how they deliver value to their

consumer, how the employees accept and behave in accordance with the business idea, how

well the corporate identity is communicated, and the affect of competition and the

environment which includes word-of-mouth and experience (Philipson, 2010). In our study

we found that trustworthiness and treatment are important for the creation of a positive image

(Matrix B:C22). These keywords can be connected both to value delivering and the

importance of the employees. If a consumer feels that the employees’ treatment is good sends

trustworthiness, the consumer will feel that they get more value, which will lead to a more

positive image of the company. We found that communication is important to get positive

consumers (Matrix B:C18). This means, if the company communicates the corporate identity

well, they will get more positive consumers. The reason is that the consumers get a more

positive feeling for the company if they communicate their identity in a good way. We also

found that reputation and experience are factors that can contribute to a more positive image

(Matrix B:C20;C19). This can be connected to the importance of word-of-mouth and

experience. If a company has good reputation and people talk well about the company, more

people will be positive to the company. Experience also affects if a consumer is positive or


29

not to a company. If a consumer has good experience or persons they trust have good

experience of a company, there is a bigger chance that you as a consumer will be more

positive too. Hence, if a company can manage all these ”factors”, its consumers will get more

positive, in turn leading to several benefits for both the consumers and the company.

Gray & Balmer (1998) state that a company wants their stakeholders to have a correct and

positive image of the company and the purpose is that the stakeholders perceive the image in

the right way. The image is influenced by the company’s identity and the company can

influence the perception people have through their identity. Pressbyråns identity includes core

values as appealing supply and everyday joy (Matrix A:D4;D5). Consumers should perceive

the company in this way. On the other hand Pressbyrån is perceived with keywords as

generous opening hours, availability and boring (Matrix B:C25;C26;27). We can that

Pressbyråns identity fit somewhat with the image consumers have about them. Our study also

showed that Pressbyråns app was related to the image that the consumers had, but not in a

positive way (Matrix B:C34-39). The identity of Pressbyrån is not as strong as it could be and

that could be a reason for why our study showed that their app did not really change the

perception of Pressbyrån. Company X’s identity includes words as uniqueness and quality

(Matrix A:E4;E3). On the other hand the perception of Company X is rather weak (Matrix

B:C45). This means that Company X does not communicate their identity clearly, though they

seem convey a clearer message through their app. Our study showed that Company X’s app

gave the consumers a better attitude to the company (Matrix B:C49-51). This shows that if a

company has a well-made app they can change consumers’ perceptions. If a company has an

identity that is perceived in the right way, the image will be more positive and correct.

If a consumer perceives a product as a high quality product, they are more likely to form

positive attitudes towards the brand (Andreassen, 1997). For Company X’s app many of the

respondents changed their image of the brand, due to the quality and professional impression

that the app mediated (Matrix B:C54;C53). In this case the quality changed the respondents’

attitude. We can see that an app can change an attitude. But it is difficult to create an app that

is professional and in compliance with the identity.

Both the theory and the respondents accentuate that consumers positive image is of high

importance for the companies (Javalgi et al., 1994; Andreassen, 1997; Matrix B:C7) There are

a lot of factors that affect the view of a company, we found, experience, marketing,

appearance and perception (Matrix B:C13-16). The experience factor was of high relevance

when the respondents were asked which factors that made an impact on the positive attitudes


30

they hold towards a brand (Matrix B:C13). This is also stated by Berman & Evans (1995)

after Weiwei (2007) who argue that the image is often formed through own experience and

thoughts that the consumer have about a company. It is important that companies do not only

focus on the existing consumers, but also try to catch new consumer so that they can develop

a purchasing experience. Companies try to reach new consumers by marketing themselves

through untraditional channels. Apps can be seen as an untraditional marketing method; hence

companies’ can try to attract new consumers in new target groups by using an app.

Image could be seen as the result of a process that includes various types of information that

reaches the consumers. This information could come by word-of-mouth and advertising.

(Weiwei, 2007) We found in our study that marketing and reputation were factors that affect

the respondents’ view of a company (Matrix B:C14;C16). Through a company’s marketing

activities the firm can influence the attitudes that people possess of a company. Hence, it is

important that the advertising that the company does is cohesive to their identity. We consider

an app to be a form of advertising and should therefore be equally thought through as all of

the company’s other advertising campaigns. This could also be seen in our study were the

respondents felt that Pressbyrån only had an app “to have one” (Matrix B:C41). We believe

that Pressbyrån could do a better app if they invested more in it. As discussed above,

reputation affects the image of a company. We interpret reputation as a form of word-of-

mouth. According to Richins (1983) a negative word of mouth can affect the company

negatively and it will be difficult to change the consumers’ attitudes. One way to try to change

a negative word of mouth could be through an app. If a company can manage to create

something that is useable and entertaining, this will easier be spread and with it the reputation

of the company will hopefully change. This is probably not enough, but it is a good start and

it might affect some consumers’ attitude.

According to Till et al. (2011) competition is a factor that can influence consumers’ attitudes

towards a brand. If a consumer dislikes a competitor they are more likely to have positive

attitude to another brand in the same industry (Till et al., 2011). In our study we could not

find that competition is important when consumers form attitudes towards a company. We

believe that competition is an influencing factor, but we feel that this is something that is

influencing the consumers more unconsciously and hence our study did not show any result of

this.


31

Even though the intention of the companies in our study was to communicate their identity

(Matrix A:C30), they had more than that as purpose (Matrix A:C25-28). We found that the

companies in the study think they can and want to communicate their identity through their

app, but important purposes were also to add value, make it easier for the consumer, give

delight and create relationships through the app (Matrix A:C25-28;C32;C18). The focus

group on the other hand felt that Company X’s purpose was to clarify their approach and their

identity with their app (Matrix B:C56;C58), Max wants to facilitate and give information

through their app (Matrix B:C76;C77) and Pressbyrån wants to increase their profits and only

has an app to join the ”app world” (Matrix B:C41). With this in mind, we could see that it

depends on the company if they succeed to deliver what they want and what the purpose is

with the app. Company X and Max delivered their purpose rather well, while Pressbyrån

failed since the focus groups did not feel that the purpose with their app was to ease, build

relationships or add value (Matrix A:C25-28). The companies must be more convincing over

what they want to communicate and then do it in such a way that it becomes clear to the

consumer/user of the app. Otherwise the app will have no effect on the consumers image

building and it will be rather useless for the company.


32

6 Conclusion Research question: Can mobile applications be useful when a company wants to improve their

image?

Based on our theoretical framework and empirical findings, the results of this study indicate

that:

Consumers form their image trough reputation, communication and experiences. To

be able to improve a company’s image it is necessary to affect these keywords. This is

possible through an app since it can create reputation, communicate and give

experience.

Building a strong corporate identity is a main factor that can help to improve a

company’s image, since the corporate identity creates insight and distinguishes the

company. If a company chooses to market themselves through an app it is therefore

important that the identity is clearly conveyed in the app.

If a company has a weak identity it will be hard to convey this identity through an app,

the image that the consumers have will not be influenced and the app will be rather

useless for that purpose. If a company has a strong identity but a rather weak image it

will be easier for the company to improve the image if the app is well made and shows

a clear connection to the identity. If a company has a strong identity and a good image,

it is even more important that the app is well made and clearly conveys the identity,

otherwise there is a higher risk that the consumers will be scattered and the image

might worsen.

Hence, the use of mobile applications can both improve and worsen a company’s

image. A company’s app must be well made and have a clear connection to the

identity to be able to improve an image. On the other hand if the app is unclear the

consumers might become confused; if the company sends conflicting messages, a

worse image of the company become the result.


33

7 Further suggestions

This thesis only studied mobile applications that were free. It would therefore be of

interest to study if the result will differ if apps that the consumers pay for were

studied.

We only studied three companies in different industries. A more extensive industry

study could be done to see if there are any patterns to be found regarding if mobile

applications can be used to improve the image of a company depending on industry.

We studied the age segment between 20 and 30 years, further research could therefore

be done in other age segments.

The respondents in our focus groups had not used the applications previously and

hence it would be interesting to study consumers that have downloaded the

applications themselves.


34

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38

Appendix


39

Appendix A- Interview guide, companies

Hur uppfattar ni företagets identitet? Beskriv:

Vad vill ni förmedla genom er identitet?

Vad har ni för syfte med att utveckla en stark identitet?

Vad ser ni för fördelar med att ha en stark identitet?

Tror ni att ni kan påverka hur kunden uppfattar er identitet?

En identitet kan baseras på många olika delar i ett företag. Vilka av dessa delar är

viktiga för er identitet? Rangordna dem:

o Hur ni kommunicerar med allmänheten

o De symboliska/visuella elementen

o Er kultur

o De anställdas beteende

o Företagets struktur

o Företagets strategi

o Storlek och konkurrens

o Annat

Vad är syftet/ tanken med er app?

Är ett syfte att förmedla er identitet genom appen? Är det huvudsyftet? Om ja, hur

gör ni det? Om nej, vad vi vill ni förmedla ut istället?

Tror ni att ni kan påverka era konsumenters syn på ert företag genom er app? På

vilket sätt?

Hur tror ni att kundernas uppfattning stämmer överens med vad ni försöker

förmedla? Når det fram till era konsumenter? Tycker ni det är viktigt att det stämmer

överens?


40

Appendix B- Interview guide, focus groups

Vad är image för er?

Hur viktigt tror ni att det är för ett företag att konsumenterna ha en positiv bild av

företaget?

Vad påverkar er uppfattning av ett företag?

Vad beror det på om ni är positiva till ett företag?

Introducerar Företag X:

Vad har ni för uppfattning av detta företag?

Introducerar Företag X mobila applikation:

Vad tycker ni om deras app?

Vad får ni för uppfattning av företaget genom denna app? – förändras den eller är den

detsamma?

Vad tror ni att företaget vill åstadkomma genom denna app? – varför?


41

Appendix C- Pictures of applications

Pressbyrån

Application: Pressbyrån

Company X

Application: Company X

Max Hamburgerrestauranger AB

Application: Max Locator


42

Appendix D- Interview with Pressbyrån

Intervju med Mariette Kristenson, Marknadschef (2011-05-11)


Pressbyråns identitet kan beskrivas genom våra fyra kärnvärden som speglar Pressbyråns

identitet; snabbt och enkelt, pålitlighet, lockande utbud och glädje i vardagen.


Att dessa fyra kärnvärden ska genomsyra hela organisationen och att kunden ska förstå vad

Pressbyrån gör och står för.


Syftet med dessa kärnvärden och därmed en stark identitet är att alla som jobbar med och

inom bolaget och även kunderna ska ha en förståelse för vad Pressbyrån är. Dessa kärnvärden

ska genomsyra deras kommunikation, urval, tjänster, i praktiskt tagit allt dem gör. Alla som

kommer i kontakt med företaget ska ha en förståelse för vad vi vill förmedla. Kunderna ska

uppleva och förstå detta och det måste genomsyra allt Pressbyrån gör.


Fördelarna som en stark identitet kan ge är främst att kunderna vet vilka vi är och att det

skapas en bättre relation mellan kunderna och bolaget. Kunderna kan då göra ett aktivt val.

Jag tycker det är jätteviktigt att ha en en stark identitet, identiteten måste vara tydlig så att

kunden förstår vad Pressbyrån står för. Kunden ska kunna veta vad de kan förvänta sig och

vad de kan få. Deras identitet måste uppfattas av konsumenterna och identiteten måste

uppfattas på rätt sätt. Därför måste ett företag arbeta med att undersöka om identiteten

verkligen gå fram till konsumenterna och uppfattar de då identiteten rätt.


Det tror jag att vi kan göra, genom vår identitet men för att det ska fungera måste

kommunikationen stämma överens med kundens förväntningar, att allting känns genuint. Det

är också viktigt att kundens förväntningar stämmer överens med var de upplever inne i

butiken.



Hur ni kommunicerar med allmänheten

De symboliska/visuella elementen

Er kultur

De anställdas beteende


43

Företagets struktur

Företagets strategi

Storlek och konkurrens

Annat

Pressbyråns identitet är baserad på vår historik och bakgrund, affärsmodellen,

kundundersökningar och de anställda. Identiteten är en samling av allt detta och alla olika

faktorer är viktiga men jag tycker inte det går inte att rangordna dem i någon speciell ordning.


Syftet med Pressbyråns app är att den generera glädje och förmedla kärnvärdena alla fyra

kärnvärderna. Appen ska också kunna berätta nyheter och om utbudet. Genom appen kan

detta kommuniceras ut på effektivt sätt.

Är ett syfte att förmedla er identitet genom appen? Är det huvudsyftet? Om ja, hur gör

ni det? Om nej, vad vi vill ni förmedla ut istället?

Det är absolut ett syfte, speciellt eftersom appen delvis är skapad för att kommunicera ut

kärnvärdena och därmed identiteten. Appen måste därför leva upp till dessa kärnvärden. Jag

skulle välja att beskriva det som en del av huvudsyftet. Vi vill verkligen att alla kärnvärden

ska framträda. Det som är extra viktigt att det kommer fram genom appen är att det ska vara

snabbt och enkelt att använda sig av appen precis som Pressbyrån vill att det ska vara att

handla i deras fysiska affärer.

Tror ni att ni kan påverka era konsumenters syn på ert företag genom er app? På vilket

sätt?

Om konsumenten redan har en positiv bild så kan den påverkas och förstärkas men samtidigt

är det väldigt svårt att påverka någons beteende. Eftersom det är så svårt att påverka

konsumenters beteende är det nog svårt att göra det med en app.

Hur tror ni att kundernas uppfattning stämmer överens med vad ni försöker förmedla?

Når det fram till era konsumenter? Tycker ni det är viktigt att det stämmer överens?

Vi anser att vår identitet stämmer överens med hur konsumenterna ser på Pressbyrån och ja,

det är väldigt viktigt.


44

Appendix E- Interview with Max Hamburgerrestauranger AB

Intervju med Henrik Eriksson, Marknadschef (2011-05-11)


Begreppet identitet beskriver vi som hur man uppfattas av konsumenter. För oss innebär en

identitet en bild av företaget som vi försöker skapa. Vi vill försöka skapa en del av

verkligheten som vi sedan ska kunna förmedla till våra kunder. Vår företagsidentitet är att vi

har Sveriges godaste hamburgare. Vi vill visa att vi står för ett företag som har bra kvalitet.

Vår identitet är även uppbyggd på ett socialt perspektiv.


Vi vill förmedla att Max har Sveriges godaste hamburgare, och att kunden kan förvänta sig

bra kvalitet. Vi vill också förmedla att vi tar socialt ansvar.


Syftet med vår identitet är att kunna visa att vi är ett företag som anser att det är viktigt med

bra kvalitet i våra produkter. Vi vill även kunna visa att vi värnar om ett hållbart socialt

ansvarstagande och att vi är ett hållbart företag. Om vi har en stark identitet kan vi lyckas

förmedla ut detta.


Det gör oss mer konkurrenskraftiga. Om man har en stark identitet kan det leda till nöjdare

kunder. Men bara om den identiteten vi förmedlar även upplevs av kunderna i verkligheten

vilket i sin tur leder till ett bra rykte. Det är ju väldigt viktigt att man inte säger något i

reklamen om det inte är eller upplevs så i verkligheten. Det är jätte viktigt för ett företag att ha

en stark identitet, för genom den får man en utgångspunkt som kunder kan relatera till och det

är något som man som företag måste ha. Vi måste även ha något som särskiljer oss från andra

och ge folk en anledning till att komma till oss, därför är det viktigt med en stark identitet. En

stark identitet gör oss alla mer konkurrenskraftiga helt enkelt.


Genom vår identitet kan vi absolut påverka ett till exempel ryktet. Genom till exempel extern

marknadsföring så som appar, kan vi försöka ge en bra image.



o Hur ni kommunicerar med allmänheten

o De symboliska/visuella elementen

o Er kultur


45

o De anställdas beteende

o Företagets struktur

o Företagets strategi

o Storlek och konkurrens

o Annat

Det är många delar som spelar in och är viktiga för vår identitet, så jag kan inte rangordna

dem i en speciell ordning men de anställdas beteende, hur vi kommunicerar med allmänheten

och företagets strategi är faktorer som är väldigt viktiga för oss.


Vi har flera syften med vår app. Vi vill finnas tillgängliga mobilt för kunderna. Det ska vara

lätt för dem att hitta närmaste restaurang och hur man tar sig dit och det ska även lätt gå att

hålla koll på kampanjprodukter. Men det primära syftet är att det ska vara en underhållande

app som ligger i linje med vad Max står för, det ska i slutändan ge mervärde för kunder.



Syftet är att påverka konsumenter syn genom appen, så ja det kan man väl säga är vårt

huvudsyfte.


sätt?

Det kan vi nog göra, men denna kanalen är väldigt mycket mindre än andra kanaler vi

använder oss av. Detta ger bara en bråkdel i kommunikationssamlingen.

Hur tror ni att kunders uppfattning stämmer överens med vad ni försöker förmedla,

når det fram till er konsumenter? Tycker ni det är viktigt att det stämmer överens?

Max har funnits länge och vi anser att våra kunder har en ganska bra syn av oss och vad vi

står för, detta speciellt i Norrland. Detta skiljer sig dock från ort till ort, i nya orter är inte

bilden av oss lika klar, i Norrland stämmer kundernas uppfattning bra med vad vi

kommunicerar ut. Det är viktigt att man inte säger en sak och levererar en annan, det får inte

bli en missmatch mellan detta.


46

Appendix F- Interview with Company X

Intervju med X, Webbchef, (2011-05-18)


Vi har en egen stil som särskiljer oss och gör oss unika på marknaden. Vi kallar vår stil

Bohemian Modern.

Alla som handlar på Company X ska kunna göra det med ett gott samvete. Därför vill vi se till

att de som tillverkar våra produkter gör det under bra villkor när det kommer till miljö, lön

och arbetsförhållanden. Vi är också engagerade i våra kunder och visar i handling att de är

viktiga för oss. Kunden ska uppleva att hon har fått mer service, kvalitet och produkt än vad

priset anger. Att man hittar den unika produkten som man kanske inte hittar någon

annanstans, som dessutom är egen designad, har bättre kvalitet, mer hantverk och detaljer än

vad priset anger – det ger kunden värde för pengarna.


Vi vill att kunden ska veta att Company X erbjuder mer än vad andra butiker gör. Förutom att

du hittar unika produkter som jag inte hittar någon annanstans och att Company X har en stil

som du gillar, är det trevligt att besöka en Company X butik. Det är varmare, vänligare och

mer inspirerande än hos andra. Att vårt engagemang känns genuint och att du litar på att vi tar

vårt ansvar för etik och miljöfrågor. Att du känner att du kan handla med gott samvete.


Vi vill stärka vårt varumärke och att det ska vara tydligt för kunden vad Company X är och

varför de ska välja oss.


Att våra kunder är medvetna om varför de väljer oss och vad Company X står för.


Självklart. Det är det vi arbetar med varje dag.



Hur ni kommunicerar med allmänheten

De symboliska/visuella elementen

Er kultur

De anställdas beteende

Företagets struktur

Företagets strategi

Storlek och konkurrens


47

Annat

Vår identitet är baserad på av flera av de här faktorerna;

Hur vi kommunicerar med allmänheten: Det är jätteviktigt att vi är tydliga och ger rätt bild av

Company X. En stor del är också att lära känna våra kunder och vi försöker vara i de kanaler

och forum där våra kunder är.

De symboliska/visuella elementen: Det är viktigt att kunden ska känna igen oss i allt vi gör

och att det är Company X som är avsändaren.

Kultur: Company X’s historia och kärlek till Indien är jätteviktig!

De anställdas beteende: Jätteviktigt. Vi ska bli bäst i branschen på att ta hand om våra kunder.

Företagets struktur, strategi och storlek och konkurrens är inte viktiga faktorer för vår identitet

och därför är de uteslutna och därmed kan vi inte rangordna de olika faktorerna.


Den mobila kanalen i det stora hela skall vara ett komplement till varumärket. Det

huvudsakliga syftet bygga lojalitet hos de kunder som handlar och gillar oss – de som väljer

att ladda ner vår app. Vi hoppas att de får inspiration, förenklar för dem att hitta till oss och att

ge dem något extra i form av erbjudanden.



Det är delvis ett syfte, eftersom det är mer av ett komplement till varumärket.


sätt?

Absolut.

Hur tror ni att kundernas uppfattning stämmer överens med vad ni försöker förmedla?

Når det fram till era konsumenter? Tycker ni det är viktigt att det stämmer överens?

Ja det är viktigt, vårt mål är att vi ska ha en gemensam bild och det är något vi hela tiden

strävar efter.


48

Appendix G- Focus group 1 (2011-05-11 16.00)

Antal respondenter: 6


R5- utseenden, den bilden man framställer av sig själv

R3- vad man framstår som

R1- hur man visar sig vara utåt

R6- hur andra uppfattar hur man ser ut

R5- ja det är snarare det, hur andra uppfattar en

Hur viktigt tror ni att det är för ett företag att konsumenterna har en positiv bild av

företaget?

R5- 70 % viktigt, måste självklart ha produkter/tjänster som är bra och som tillfredställer en

R6- beror på vad det är för produkt

R1- väldigt viktigt

R3- viktigt annars väljer man ett annat företag

R5- finns massa att välja mellan, om du inte tycker om något och det finns snarlikna

ersättningar så tar du något annat

R6- man vill uppfattas som att man går till ett häftigt företag, coolt, bra företag. Inte gå till ett

företag som inte har den statusen man är ute efter

R1- ex med Company X, tröja fick inte lämna tillbaka en tröja. Vill inte gå dit och handla

igen.

R5- om man uppfattas som att inte vara ett bra företag vill man inte ha något med dem att

göra. Alla vill uppfattas som bra men vill inte associeras med något som är dåligt. Nestlé

exempel. Det har att göra med en själv också man vill inte bli associerad med något dåligt.


R6- hemsida

R1- logotyp, utseende

R2- reklam, känner igen den

R5- om något är fel så bryr du dig extra mycket, tar då kontakt med företaget och får ett

bemötande. Man skapar då en uppfattning om företaget. Bara personliga erfarenheter tror jag

R5- produktutveckling, Apple exempel kan det bli negativt om det går för fort fram. Har inte

råd att köpa ny mobil hela tiden.


R3- egna erfarenheter oftast

R1+ R2- vad andra tycker, vad man får höra om det

R5- beror nästan bara på vad de levererar

R6- erfarenhet, rykten, man vill veta vad andra tycker.

R5- om man inte har erfarenhet från företaget tidigare är det viktigt hur det kommunicerar

med allmänheten, ex Loréal kommunicerar bra.


49

R4- för mig är det viktigt att jag kan lita på företaget

R6- beror på hur man är som person om man vill leta efter den information eller inte

R3+ R5- beror på vad man ska köpa, ex dyrare saker lägger man mer tid på.

Vad har ni för uppfattning av Pressbyrån?

Alla- dyrt

R1+R2+R3+R6- nära och tillgängligt, bra öppettider

R6- sista utvägen

R4-snål

R1-tråkigt

R2-utbud inte så bra

R6- du kan göra väldigt mycket, lite av allt. Allt möjligt

Vad har ni för uppfattning av Company X?

R5- hatar Company X, barndomsminne, hade alltid illaluktande rökelser

R1-hatar också Company X

R2- går aldrig in där

R6- vad säljer de? Tog lång tid innan man visste vad de sålde

R3-vet inte vad de säljer

R1-krimskrams

R1-orientaliskt

R6- exotiskt

R5- syns inte mycket i media

R6- har inte profilerat sig vilka de är och vilka de riktar sig till

R1- mer mot yngre senaste åren

R5- har ingen specifik åldersgrupp vid min uppfattning

R6- jag tror att de vet de men de säger vilka de är och vad de står för

R3- hälften vet inte vad de gör, inte så bra

R5- syns inte så mycket i media ”syns man inte finns man inte så mycket” i den digitala

världen

Vad har ni för uppfattning av Max Hamburgerrestauranger?

R6- amazing

R5- mycket trevligare miljö än konkurrenterna

R2- inte speciellt billigt

R6- precis som alla andra snabbmatsrestauranger

R1- rent, fräscht!

R1+R2- tar tid men de är värt det

R5-neutral, bra hamburgare, svenskt kött, bra bild

R6- svensk bild men får ingen koppling till sverige (deras reklam)speciellt inte tv-reklamen

R6-ungdomligt, hamburgare överlag

R3-barnfamilj

R4-familj

R6-genuina, lite mer gatukök än konkurrenterna.


50

R5- inbjudande till att komma in och äta

Vad tycker ni om Pressbyråns app?

R5- skitbra, pressbyrån finns alltid på station, slut på cash, skicka till sig själv, snabba pengar,

skicka presentkort

R6- dåligt utbud

R1+R2 – enkel lätt att förstå, men kanske lite för enkel

R5- klar bild av företaget, lätt tillgängligt

R1- bra går in varje dag för att få erbjudande

Vad får ni för uppfattning av Pressbyrån genom denna app? – förändras den eller är

den detsamma?

R5- alltid tillgänglig, skitbra oftast de saker du behöver när du är stressad

R3- trög app

R6- förstår inte nyttan med appen, fattar inte poängen

R1-rolig påhittig nu än förut

R3- samma image

R5-bra lösning men ändrar ej image

R1-bättre bild av företaget men priserna är höga och de är negativt. Rabatt skulle vara bra.

R3- dyrare här, dåligt

R1-jättekul bra app, bättre bild. Gillar locator

R5- bra namnsdag, många som tycker om att ge bort saker i namnsdagspresent. Bra sätt att

sälja mer produkter.

R3- smart med push noticer

R4+R 3+R5+R6- inte ändrat uppfattning, samma bild

Vad tror ni att Pressbyrån vill åstadkomma genom denna app? –varför?

R3-få mer folk till butik, få mer kunder

R5-försöker meddela att; ”vi tänker på dig”, namnsdags grejen.

R2- personligare

R6-presenterar namnsdag, fyller ingen funktion.

R5- appen i sig är skit tråkig

R1-ja använd den

R3-för lite grejer, sämre bild av denna app än vad jag hade förut

Alla förutom 1 skulle inte använda den igen.

Vad tycker ni om Company Xs app?

R3- seg, men bra med info vad man säljer och priser vilket är väldigt bra.

R6-väldigt mycket info i appen

R5- tycker det är irriterande att man inte kan trycka på köp när man ser något.

R1- mycket bra app

R2-får inspiration genom appen

R6- visuella bilder fint, de har tänkt till

R1+R5- svårt att ändra bilden av vad jag har för bild av företaget


51

R5- saknar köp knappen

R1- sugna på erbjudande tygpåse

R6- bra erbjudande, jättebra om erbjudandet bara är i appen då måste man gå in varje vecka

och kolla, mycket bra.

Vad får ni för uppfattning av Company X genom denna app? – förändras den eller är

den detsamma?

R6- riktar sig till kvinnor

R3- klarar bild av företaget

R3- bra uppfattning, fattar att det är kläder osv.

R6+R5- bättre uppfattning om företaget, vi har allt.

R3- mycket bättre app, proffsig

R5+R6+R1+R2- bättre app den tillför mer

R3- ändrat uppfattning

R5 nej inte ändrat uppfattning

R6-klarare bild av företaget, positiva känslor

R5- intryck större, proffsigare, kvalitetsintryck. Trodde det var en liten kedja men det ser

proffsigt ut med deras app.

R3- ger mer i appen än i butiken

Vad tror ni att Company X vill åstadkomma genom denna app? – varför?

R3- ger mer än bara hitta butiken

R5- inspirerar

R6- vill göra Company X till en sådan butik där man ”alltid går in här när man går på stan”

R5- bättre intryck än butiken, bilderna ger kvalitetsintryck, stilrent, coolt

R6- gillar erbjudande, jättebra grej

Alla- bra app

R5-2 men har inte samma bild det är bättre bild i appen

R6-tydligare bild genom appen

R1-vill åka ner idag till Company X pga erbjudandet

R6- fylligare bild av företaget genom appen

R6-en app måste underhålla

R1- skulle åka dit oftare om de hade en bra app, samma för Pressbyrån, MAX. Borde ha mer

erbjudande i apparna.

Vad tycker ni om Max Hamburgerrestaurangers app?

R6-lista alla Max butiker i hela Sverige, bra. Bra att de visar kampanjer, får

konkurrensfördelar. Kan gå till Max istället om jag ser denna kampanj

R5-skit dålig

R2+R5+R3+R1 - dåligt att man inte kan beställa mat

R1+R2+R5+R3- saknar menyer, skapar inte bättre intryck. Ger mindre än Pressbyrån

R5-för lite info, ger inge mervärde alls. Skapar inte bättre intryck av max

R1-inte speciellt roligt app

R6- trevlig app, miljöaspekterna tycker jag är intressant. Tycker det är en bra app


52

R2- gör det bara för att

Vad får ni för uppfattning av Max genom denna app? – förändras den eller är den

detsamma?

R1- känns inte alls som max, stämmer inte överens med deras identitet. Svart och konstig

R1+R6- svart

R6-men har med deras värderingar att de är svenskt.

R1+R2- sämre bild, blir inte sugen på hamburgare

R3-likgiltig, finns ingen hamburgare på framsidan

R5- underlättare inte för mig att använda appen. Vill se menyer och kunna trycka på beställa.

R1-stressad över appen, får en annan bild av företaget

Vad tror ni att Max vill åstadkomma genom denna app? – varför?

R3- gjorde en app bara för att, de har inte brytt sig om att göra den bra

R6- tycker den är användbar men det är mycket som är konstigt med appen. Svensk tradition

men sen en kampanj hamburgare från hela världen, dubbla budskap.

R5- appen är för avancerad för max, max ska vara enkelt, den säger emot sig själva. Den ser

totalt osvensk ut och tror att appen påverkar folk på ett negativt sätt.

R6- rabatt kod istället tycker jag. Får mervärde av appen då.

R6- grundläggande värderingar, Max Locator låter inte svenskt.


53

Appendix H- Focus group 2 2011-05-12, 16.00



R7- jag ser väl image som att det är någonting som man är, så som man uppfattas, något

svårdefinierat

R6- den officiella bilden av något, alltså den allmänna bilden

R3- jag tänker också att man även ofta tänker på ett företags image

R4- men det är också något som är väldigt luddigt, olika människor kan ju se på saker och

ting på olika sätt, så därför kan man ju säga att en image är svår, den kan ju aldrig vara

konstant

R1- så som man vill uppfattas, men kanske inte är den riktiga sanningen

R4- lite så som man vill uppfattas, tex ett varumärke kan ju vilja uppfattas som exklusivt men

sen kanske det inte är det egentligen

Hur viktigt tror ni att det är för ett företag att konsumenter har en positiv bild av

företaget?

R7- har man inte en positiv bild av ett företag kommer det ju aldrig kunna generera

försäljning. Man vill ju också som kund kopplas ihop med nått bra, känna en samhörighet

med det företaget står för.

R5- jag tror att det kan bero på vad företaget säljer. Till exempel i bensin branschen där

konsumenter bryr sig om pris, tror jag att de bryr sig mindre om vad företaget står för, därför

är det kanske inte lika viktigt för de att kunder har en positiv bild av dem, de kommer handla

där det är billigast ändå. Men generellt är det ju så klart bra att ha en bra image men det kan

finnas undantag.

R2- man vill gärna förknippas med nått bra och därför kan det ju bli avgörande när man ska

köpa något. Man köper ju hellre något om man vet att man kommer förknippas med nått bra

R3- jag tänker lite mer på osynliga produkter, så som bensin som ni sa tidigare. Din bil

kommer ju inte få ett märke på bilen med var du köpt bensinen. Med sådana produkter är det

ju kanske inte lika viktigt att företaget har en bra image.

R5- jag tror också att man är beredd att betala mer för något som har en bra image och på så

sätt kan mig en bra image.


R1- dels är det väl tidigare erfarenheter. Om jag har hört eller vet att jag tycker nått är dåligt

så nej då kommer jag inte handla där. Men om jag hört eller tycker något är schysst så ja då

kommer jag handla där, så rykten påverkar ju också.

R7- jag tycker att media bilden påverkar väldigt mycket också och kan omforma

uppfattningar man har väldigt mycket.

R6- upplevelser, uppfattningen av ett företag baseras tidigare erfarenheter


54


R5- bemötande och öppenhet och sådant tror jag är väldigt viktigt. Hur företaget agerar både

genom personal och kommunikation

R6- ja, även vilket ansvar de tar

R4- vad andra säger om företaget det man själv upplever av företaget, inte bara det som andra

berättar, utan mest den kontakten man själv får ger grund för uppfattningen man skapar sig

R1- om man jämför företag så tycker jag det är viktigt att de ska saker enklare för mig, gör

dem det så blir jag klart positiv till just det företaget

R7- jag tror också som sagt tidigare erfarenheter men även att företaget står för värderingar

som jag känner att jag kan kopplas ihop med

R3- men det kan ju även vara att man blivit rekommenderad av någon, alltså någon man har

förtroende för


R7- generösa öppettider

R3- tillgänglighet

R2- relativt dyrt

R6+ R5- snål, men ligger på rätt ställe

R4- rätt tid och rätt plats

R7- lite tråkigt, känns inte som att det händer så mycket nytt, väldigt enkelspårigt och inte

direkt någon innovation, mindre spännande

R5- man vet vad som finns, vad man hittar för produkter.

R1- de är ganska basic, inte lika bra utbud som till exempel Seven Eleven.


R6- lite Svensson som försöker vara hipp.

R3- jag skulle nog vilja säga besvikelse. De ger ofta intrycket av att ha mer än de egentligen

har. De lurar lite med sin skyltning

R7+R6- kvinnor i 25-45

R3- bättre inredning än kläder

R2- jag tror jag har en ganska skev bild av Company X

R7- har en ganska negativ bild av Company X

R5+R6+ R4- har positiv bild av Company X

R1- har ingen direkt bild av Company X


R7- svenskt, vilket de verkligen verkar trycka på

R1- försöker få det att verka så fräscht men sen tycker jag inte att det är så fräscht som de

säger att det är

R7- starkt företag med stark framgång, de är duktiga på det de gör

R5- har en väldigt stark kundgrupp, trogna. Tror många unga killar går dit

R4- tror Max är för de som är trötta på det andra, ett substitut för alla åldrar som har tröttnat

på de andra kedjorna


55

R7- tycker att det känns som att de riktar sig mot 1-2 personer, inte mot familjer. De syns inte

så mycket, jag visste knappt vad det var innan jag flyttade hit

R2- många som vet vad Max är och har ätit där föredrar sedan ofta Max. De är inte lika

vanliga, de skiljer sig lite. Man får en känsla av att det är annorlunda, ser bättre ut än andra

kedjor och känns fräscht

R7- jag tänkte på det att de klimatkompenserar ju sin hamburgare, det är ju väldigt smart.

Tycker de borde trycka mer på detta, det kommer inte riktigt fram att de gör det


R7- bra det här med att de har shop, det symboliserar pressbyrån. Men sen kan man inte göra

så mycket mer med appen enligt mig

R4- avskalad känns den för mig

R2- det känns som att erbjudandegrejen känns lite ”Aha” är det bara det här, ett försök som är

mer löjligt. Lite halvvärdelöst.

R5- lite meningslöst med att kunna hitta en pressbyrån funktion eftersom att de egentligen

inte erbjuder nått som ingen annan erbjuder. Kunde haft något som gav användaren något

mer.

R5 +R7- hade kunnat vara lite roligare och lite bättre. Kanske kunde haft ett spel eller nått.


den detsamma?

R7- Appen gör så att namnet cirkulerar mer. Appen är lite tråkig men det är Pressbyrån också

så det känns som samma bild

R1- jag har uppfattningen av att Pressbyrån är ett stort företag men med den här budget appen

så drar det ner deras betyg lite. Det är en bra start men känns som det fattas hälften

R4- om man inte skulle se loggan så skulle man ju inte riktigt förknippa appen med

pressbyrån

R3- tycker ändå att man ser på färgerna på appen att det är Pressbyråns app.

R5- jag tycker nog fortfarande att min uppfattning av Pressbyrån är densamma.

R2- jag får uppfattningen av appen är meningslös

Vad tror ni Pressbyrån vill åstadkomma genom denna app? –Varför?

R2- jag chansar på att Pressbyrån har känt trycket av att de måste ha en app. Många företag

vill ju hänga med, man behöver ju inte ha den bästa applikationen utan det räcker att man kan

söka på deras namn och hitta en app. De kommer säkert inte utveckla den vidare, utan vill

bara visa att man är ett företag som hänger med.

R5- Tror att det största skälet är för att de vill synas och hänga med i appvärlden. Lite tänket

”vi har en app”.

R6- pressbyrån försöker ju skapa någon sorts interaktivitet mellan dem och kunderna.

R3- Vet inte riktigt vad deras syfte är men känns som att de inte kommer utveckla appen

något mer. Tror inte pressbyrån kommer orka lägga tid på att utveckla, känns som att

pressbyrån är ganska tråkiga och enformiga. De ändrar ju aldrig nått egentligen, har ju alltid

samma utbud och erbjudanden.


56

R6- jag håller med, jag tycker mest det känns lite som ett desperat försök, den ger inte så

mycket och tror inte den har något riktigt syfte.

R5- jag tror det räcker för pressbyrån med denna appen, den behövs nog inte utvecklas så

mycket. syftet tror jag är att göra reklam, synas. Och det har de ju lyckats med eftersom det är

en app man har hört talas om av många.

Vad tycker ni om Company X’s app?

R2+ R3+R6- riktigt bra app, den känns väldigt seriös och välgjord. Synd bara att den är lite

seg

R4- den känns väldigt informativ. Bra också att de kan lyfta fram speciella kampanjer de har.

R7+R3- jag tycker att de har gjort appen snyggare än vad deras affärer är.

R5- känns inte riktigt som att det är Company Xs app, deras affärer ger ett annat intryck


den detsamma?

R3- jag får intrycket av att Company X är lite snyggare än vad de är egentligen så på så sätt så

har ju bilden av Company X ändrats något, men sen vet jag ju inte om det stämmer.

R2- jag visste inte ens att de hade kläder. Tycker appen är väldigt snygg och den ger ett

seriöst intryck och känns som att de satsar ordentligt på appen. De gör inte bara något

halvdant utan man får ett mer positivt intryck av Company X.

R6-det känns ändå som att det ger en positivare bild eftersom de lagt ner mycket arbete på att

göra den snygg

Vad tror ni Company X vill åstadkomma genom denna app? –Varför?

R6- de vill använda det som en annan kanal för marknadsföring, för att kunna locka fler

kunder

R7- jag tror mest att det är att använda för att använda.

R6- jag tror att de har mer än bara marknadsföring i syfte.

R1- tror att Company Xs app är väldigt bra för de som redan handlar där.

R4- ja, det känns som att Company X app är mer för nuvarande kunder och inte för att binda

nya kunder


R4- väldigt informativ med vad de står för, tex med deras historia och miljöarbetet.

R5+R3- tycker det är lite väl mycket text som man inte riktigt orkar läsa. Blir för jobbigt så

att man bara bläddrar vidare.

R2- den känns väldigt användbar, bra att det finns en hitta funktion. Max restauranger handlar

ändå mycket om att man kanske är ute och åker där man inte brukar vara och då vill Max att

man ska veta var man hittar dem. Förutom detta så är den ju inte så jätte rolig

R5- för Max känns det relevant att ha en hitta funktion, eftersom att Max har nått specifikt

som man vill hitta till

R3- dåligt att man inte får rabatt eller nått genom de här kampanjerna. De hade ju varit ännu

bättre.

R7- ja det skulle ju vara ett skäl till att välja Max framför andra kedjor.


57


detsamma?

R7- jag får inte riktigt uppfattningen av att det är svenskt när man kollar på appen, den känns

också mindre kreativ än vad jag har för uppfattning av Max, att de är ganska kreativa.

R4- jag tycker inte den ger så mycket intryck av Max

R3- jag associerar inte riktigt denna appen till Max, jag tycker mer det känns som att det

påminner om något amerikanske, till exempel Hardrock Café.

R6- känns som att de spelar mer på bilden av en amerikansk diner.

Vad tror ni Max vill åstadkomma genom denna app? – Varför?

R4- det känns som att syftet är att sända ut vad de är, känns inte som att de bara har en app för

att vara med i svängen.

R2- appen säger ju på namnet vad syftet är egentligen, man ska hitta dit och på så sätt lurar de

ju inte någon. Det tycker i alla fall jag är bra gjort av dem, men det kanske lockar mindre folk

att ladda ner appen.

R2- det känns ju med alla 3 företagen att de vill hänga med i svängen, de satsar ju inte direkt

på appen och jag tror inte att det är någon avgörande grej för om folk kommer handla där eller

inte.

R2- nä den får ju inte mig att förändra min bild, jag tror alla företagen mest har en app för att

hänga med i svängen.


58

Appendix I- Focus group 3 (2011-05-12 17.00)



R2- så som konsumenten uppfattar ett varumärke.

R5- något vi vill försöka få, något man förväntar sig av företaget. En samlad erfarenhet av

företaget.

R3- hur andra uppfattar något och detta håller R2 med om.

R3- vad konsumenten tycker om något. En bra image är något man vill uppnå men det byggs

av vad konsumenten tycker. Man kan inte sätta en image på sig själv.

R2- en image går inte att köpa.

R6- påstår att det är det första jag kommer att tänka på när jag hör ett företags namn eller ser

deras varumärke, alltså mina spontana tankar om något.

R5- något som ett företag försöker förmedla, ett exempel på ett företag som lyckats få en bra

och stark image är Apple.

R3- det är farligt om man tror att man uppfattas så som man själv vill och inte se hur det är i

verkligheten.

Hur viktigt tror ni att det är för ett företag att konsumenterna har en positiv bild av

företaget?

R1- det är jätteviktigt eftersom det är så man förknippar ett företag och skapar sin bild av

företaget.

R5- det är viktigt eftersom du väljer att gå till ett företags konkurrent om du inte har en positiv

bild företaget.

R4+ R6- utan en positiv bild av ett företag så kan företaget inte överleva och detta på grund

av konkurrenterna.

R2+ R5- skulle aldrig handla i en affär som man inte tycker om. Priset på en produkt kan

avgöra min bild av en produkt, om priset är bra då blir jag mer positiv till företaget. Men pris

kan också ha en negativ påverkan, för om priset är för högt eller alldeles för lågt blir min bild

av företaget negativ.

R4- om konsumenten har en positiv bild av företaget kommer företaget gå mycket bättre

ekonomiskt.

R2- det gynnar verkligen ett företag om det finns en positiv bild av dem.

R6- det blir också så mycket lättare för företagen om det finns en positiv bild av dem, de

behöver inte spendera lika mycket pengar på media och folk pratar allmänt mer bra om

företaget om bilden av företaget är positiv.

R1- om det finns en positiv bild av företaget tror jag att företaget kommer få fler lojala och

långsiktiga kunder.


R1+R5+R6- bemötandet.


59

R3- att få mer än vad man hade förväntat sig och att de håller vad de lovar. Ej bli besviken.

R5- kvaliteten på deras varor eller om de har en tjänst och bemötandet.

R1- logotype, färger påverkar min uppfattning. Har de snygg logotype så blir jag mer

intresserad av vad det företaget har att erbjuda.

R2- för mig är det viktigt att den uppfattning jag har av företaget stämmer överens överallt,

om jag går in i en annan butik i samma kedja vill jag ha samma upplevelse som den jag hade i

den förra butiken. Jag kan ha en uppfattning om varumärket i sig men sen en hel annan

uppfattning som jag fått när jag har besökt butiken eller varit i kontakt med företaget på något

annat vis. Alla led i företagen måste kommunicera samma budskap.

R3- det måste finnas genomgående värden på alla ställena, samma service och tillgänglighet

överallt. Detta håller R1 med om.

R5- menar att han kan påverkas av vad företaget kanske gör utåt sett till exempel om de gör

socialt ansvar, då kan han få en bättre bild av företaget jämfört med tidigare.

R1- tror att det går att påverka folks uppfattning om ett företag men kanske inte just mig. Om

de visar att de bryr sig om sina kunder och kanske om miljön, då kommer personer som bryr

sig mycket om miljön köpa deras produkter just därför, för att de stödjer miljön och vill göra

det ännu mer genom att handla av just det företaget som tar sitt ansvar. Jag tror det är viktigt

att mina värderingar stämmer överens med företagets värderingar.

R6- jag tror absolut att vi människor kan bli påverkade av ett företag, hur de beter sig, om de

tar ansvar, om de är trevliga, kundinriktade. Det måste företagen inse själv så att vi som

handlar få en bra uppfattning av dem.


R1+R2- om de är serviceinriktade och har ett bra bemötande.

R1- även om företaget är innovativt och har ett stort produktutbud, att de är uppdaterade.

R3 + R5- att de förstår sina kunder.

R6- om de har det jag är ute efter.

R4- att de försöker göra kunden speciell.

R2- om jag känner att de lyssnar och förstår och vill lösa det jag frågar efter i den mån de kan.

R5- det är lättare att tycka illa om ett företag om de marknadsför sig på fel sätt. Jag blir lätt

uttråkad på en del reklam. Är reklamen störig eller går för ofta blir jag trött på varumärket och

då får jag en negativ bild av företaget.

R6- håller med och menar att man lätt ser igenom det hela då.

R1- om jag ska bli positiv till en något, en produkt, då måste jag verkligen tycka produkten är

värd det priset som den kostar. Jag måste bli motiverad till att betala ett pris.


Alla - dyrt, tar överpriser men de är alltid bra placerade.

R5- jättebra öppettider.

R1- stor tillgänglighet.

R1- bra utbud med tanke på den storlek butiken har.

R4- lite tråkigt utseende på butikerna, ofta trevlig personal.


60


R2- får hippie känsla.

R1- bohemiskt.

R4- udda kläder.

R6- känns verkligen som kläderna kommer från Indien eller i den trakten. De har verkligen en

nisch och det lyser genom hela tiden.

R3- grymt bra, annorlunda atmosfär och väldigt blandat sortiment.

R2- lukten i butikerna förstår min upplevelse, rökelserna.

R5- H&M från Orienten.

R4- mycket inredning.

R1- bohemiskt och udda inredning.

R3- känner sig fri på Company X, det är mysigt, mycket färger, bekvämt och inspirerande.

Company X är grymt.

R2-lite instängd känsla.


R2+R3- ofräscht.

R1- fräscha hamburgare, bra ”kvalitet”.

R5-lång väntetid.

R4-Sveriges godaste hamburgarna.

R2- verkligen svenskt. Vilket alla respondenterna håller med om.

R6- känns trevligare än sina konkurrenter, känns som det är värt pengarna mer att gå dit. R1

håller med.

R1- bra att de gör maten när man ser på.

R5- ser det som en seg snabbmatsrestaurang men eftersom hamburgarna är godare och

fräschare är det värt det.

R3- personalens kläder gör att man får ett oseriösare intryck.


R5- gillar informationen om namnsdagar, tycker det var lite kul.

R4- varför namnsdag? Känns som det inte ger så mycket och fattar inte kopplingen till

Pressbyrån.

R4- känns som de vill bli förknippade med att vi är namnsdag kedjan. Borde ha sin logga på

sin framsida.

R2- tycker det är en kul grej att kunna skicka ut/ ge bort varor genom shopen. Kan vara

användbart om man inte har några pengar eller kort på sig.

R4- tycker förstasidan är märklig, förstår inte varför Pressbyrån lagt det som förstasida.

R2- får känslan av att de bara försöker sälja en massa saker. Vad tjänar kunden på det?

R3- konstigt att de börjar med namnsdagsgrejen, men ändå tycker jag poängen är bra.

R6- lite tråkig, finns inget direkt att göra på appen. Ett spel eller någon tävling hade varit

roligare. Borde ha bättre erbjudanden och skriva ut sina erbjudanden typ: ”Kaffe och

kanelbulle 25 kr”


61

R4- om man inte visste att det var pressbyrån skulle jag aldrig fattat att det var deras app. Blir

mest förvirrad av appen.

R1- borde ha fler erbjudanden på appen.

R6- den behöver en uppdatering känns det som.

R1- borde kunna göras bättre, mer genomtänkt.


den detsamma?

R5- har samma bild som innan, inser fortfarande att Pressbyrån är dyrt och den bilden har ju

egentligen förstärkts när de lagt på ett högre pris på varorna i shopen än vad de kostar i den

riktiga affären.

R3- samma bild som tidigare, att jag kan lita på att det alltid finns nära mig. De är lite av

räddaren i nöden eftersom de finns där man behöver dem så därför har jag samma

uppfattning.

R2- har fått lite positivare bild eftersom jag gillade grejen med namnsdagar.

R6- har en oförändrad bild. R1 håller med.

R4- tycker appen gav så lite så jag har väl inte direkt förändrat min bild men om jag måste

välja så kanske den har blivit lite sämre.

Vad tror ni Pressbyrån vill åstadkomma genom denna app? –Varför?

R3- tror att de vill sända ut att det finns i närheten eftersom man kan hitta närmaste butiken.

R5- känns som deras syfte med appen är att tjäna ännu mer pengar och detta ger dem en ny

möjlighet.

R1- känns lite som de har en app bara för att ha en, kanske inte tänkt efter jättemycket vad de

vill sända ut med appen.

R2- lite gulligt att kunna skicka en vara till någon men jag undrar om så många gör det.

R6- de kunde göra appen lite roligare. R1 + R4 + R5 håller med

R4- de kunde utvecklat den mer så det gör att man vill gå in på appen oftare.

R2- det känns som de vill uppmärksamma namnsdagar mer med den här appen, att typ ”här

kan kunden lätt och snabbt fixa namnsdagspresenten”.

Vad tycker ni om Company Xs app?

R5- dåligt att appen var så seg. R1 håller med.

R4- snygg och bra app.

R1- bra och framförallt effektiv app.

R5- verkligen användbar mycket bättre än andra appar.

R2- saknar något kul med appen.

R3- mycket bättre än många andra appar.

R1- tror verkligen att jag skulle förstå att det var Company X även om jag inte visste vem

avsändaren var.

R6- fanns ändå mycket ”att göra” på appen; kolla kläderna, erbjudanden, hitta närmaste affär

och så.

R3- jättebra att kunna kolla på kollektionen på appen.


62


den detsamma?

R2- att de försöker ”rocka till sig”, ändra sin bild av sig själva kanske.

R4- jag får fortfarande fram bilden av att Company X är lite udda. Så jag har samma bild som

tidigare alltså lika högt/lågt.

R3-eftersom jag redan tycker väldigt bra om Company X så blir jag ännu mer positiv för nu

kan jag kolla deras kläder genom appen. Jag kan också hitta bra erbjudanden som jag kan ha

stor användning av.

R6- får en bättre bild av Company X eftersom appen känns proffsig så får jag nu känslan av

att Company X är mer proffsigare än jag trott tidigare.

R1- oförändrad bild men jag tyckte appen var bra ändå.

R5- har samma bild som tidigare. Det överens stämmer med min bild jag hade tidigare och

från när jag varit i en butik.

R3- Company X är en affär som man antingen hatar eller älskar.

Vad tror ni Company X vill åstadkomma genom denna app? – Varför?

R2- jag tror att de försöker ändra sin image genom appen, försöka bli lite mer innovativa och

trendigare. Att kanske försöka få en ny bild av Company X och att de försöker nå lite yngre

människor.

R6- att det finns tillgängliga för alla med iPhones, kanske för att de verkligen vill det eller är

det bara för att de ”man borde ha en app, för att många andra har det”.

R3- jag tror dem vill visa upp sitt utbud och kunna uppdatera det hela tiden.

R1- eftersom de har veckovis erbjudande måste de ju vilja att app användaren ska gå in ofta

på appen.

R4- kanske vill de skapa lite privilegium med att ha appen eftersom man då får ta del av

speciella erbjudanden.


R1- tycker appen är fräsch, känns som den ligger rätt i tiden.

R4- för mycket text om allting. Känns inte särskilt lätt överskådligt.

R3- finns inte så mycket att göra på appen.

R2-tycker ändå man fattar att det är Max app även om man inte visste att det var dem men det

kanske mer beror på att jag känner igen hamburgarna.

R3- varför har de inte menyerna här?

R6- jag tycker inte appen stämmer överens med känslan jag får när jag går in på ett Max

ställe. Där är det mesta vitt och på appen är allt svart.

R3- jag saknar svensk känslan.

R5- tycker ändå appen är bra, ger mig informationen om vad restaurangen och det är oftast det

jag är ute efter.


63


detsamma?

R1- jag har samma positiva bild eftersom det jag oftast undrar över är var ligger närmaste

restaurang och det svarar ju verkligen appen på.

R3 oförändrad, varken positiv eller negativ.

R4 + R5 + R6- samma bild.

R4- jag tror det är väldigt svårt för speciellt stora företag att ändra bilden av företaget genom

en app. Går inte bara att satsa på den för den är bara en liten del av alla andra

marknadsföringskanaler. R5 håller med.

R6- håller med och menar att det är nog lättare för små företag att förändra bilden av sig

själva genom en app.

R2- blivit mer positiv men det beror nog på de tilltalande bilderna.

Vad tror ni Max vill åstadkomma genom denna app? –Varför?

R1- att man enkelt ska kunna hitta till Max. R2 håller med.

R5- att ragga kunder.

R2- att vi vill ej vara som våra konkurrenter. Vi vill vara svenska och mer hälsosamma.

R3- den här appen gav mig inget, den har inget kul att erbjuda utan nästan bara var de ligger.

Designen borde göras mycket bättre.

R4- jag tror de vill berätta och informera om Max, därför de har så mycket information om

företaget, miljöarbete, hållbar utveckling och så.

R3- jag tror man bara laddar ner appen om man gillar Max.

R6- de borde ha ett spel man kan spela medan man väntar på maten eftersom det kan ta

ganska lång tid ibland.

R5- de borde verkligen ha menyerna på appen, för de vill väl sända ut att de vill att vi ska

köpa deras hamburgare och inte någon annans?

R3- känns mest som Max har en app bara för att ha en, den är så tråkig och inte ett dugg

tilltalande.

R2- appar överlag måste bli mer genomtänkta, det är inte bara att göra en för att man bör.

R5- det skulle vara bra om man kunde beställa maten genom appen.


64

Appendix J- Explanation of patterns

Matrix A

From the company interviews we found the following patterns;

All the companies in the study included responsibility in their corporate identity. Since

it is common for all the companies it is also the “strongest” pattern we found

regarding that. Other patterns we found were that quality and offers also was

something that the companies have in their corporate identity.

From the question “what do you want to convey through your identity?”, we found

many patterns but no pattern was common for all the three companies. Value adding,

loyalty, responsibility were the generic keywords we found.

There are varying opinions on what the purpose is with creating a strong identity for

the companies. There were no specific purpose that all the companies agreed on, but

the patterns we found were that, create strength, communicate and social

responsibility were purposes. Some of the odd comments were; convey experience,

understanding the company and distinguishment.

According to the three companies, an advantage with a strong corporate identity is to

create insight, which is a pattern we found. Other advantages with a strong identity

are distinguishing and competition.

We found a common pattern that all the companies believe that they can influence

how consumers perceive their identity. Though, they will do it different ways, for

example by marketing and by constant work.

There are different parts that are important for identity and the clearest pattern we

found were that employees are an important factor for the identity. Other factors that

are important are; business strategy, communication and culture/history. We also

found patterns that symbolism, competitiveness and size are not important factors for

the building of a corporate identity.

The three clear patterns we found according to the purpose with the companies app,

are that pleasure, communication and value adding are three main purposes for the

companies.


65

We found that all the companies have as a purpose to convey their identity through

their app, but in different ways. Hence, we only found a pattern for that but no pattern

for how they will do it.

From the question, “do you believe that you can influence the consumers perception of

your company through your app?”, we found a pattern that all companies believe that

they can do it.

The last pattern we found from the company’s interviews was that all of them believe

that the customers’ perception accord with what they are trying to convey.

Matrix B

In our focus group matrix we found a lot of patterns.

For the question “What is an image for you” some respondents in every focus groups

sad that it is how they perceive something and that it is a picture of something. Other

patterns we found were; what a company wants to be and that it is something in their

mind.

People in every focus group stated that it is important that the consumer have a

positive image of a company. It is also important with good associations. Other

patterns we found was; the product decides, the price decides and relationship.

The question “what affects your view of a company” the majority sad that it is the

overall experience. Other pattern we found was marketing, appearance and perception.

Respondents in one focus group sad social responsibility.

Everyone stated that how the company communicates makes you positive to a

company. Other things that make the respondents positive to a company was;

experience, reputation, the product, treatment and trustworthiness. Competition, right

values and price were things that some respondents in one focus highlighted.

The patterns we found according to the opinions about Pressbyrån are common for all

the groups, they believe that Pressbyrån is expensive, have generous opening hours,

availability and boring. We found several patterns regarding what they thought about

Pressbyråns app but no patterns were common for all three groups. However, the

patterns we found were; the company connection, boring app, product range,


66

purchasing possibilities. When we asked the focus groups about their perception of the

company we got many answers but the ”strongest” pattern we found were that they

had an unchanged picture of the company. Some of the other patterns we found were

worse image, no value added. When we asked the focus groups what they think

Pressbyrån wants to achieve with their app, the focus groups had different answers but

patterns we found were that they think Pressbyrån wants to increase their profits and

they want to join the ”app world”.

We found two distinct patterns regarding the respondents’ opinions of Company X;

hippe/exotic and negative experience was the main pattern. We also found clear

patterns of what they thought about their app; slow app, positive attitudes and good

content. The overall image of what the respondents had for perception of Company X

through their app was very positive. Every focus group stated that the app was

professionally made and the respondents had a better attitude towards the company

when they saw their app. They also thought that Company X wants to clarify the

approach, spread positive attitudes and showed their identity through their app.

When we asked the focus groups about their opinion of Max we got different answers,

but something that were common for all the three focus groups were that they think it

is fresh and has a specific origin. These two generic keywords were the clearest

pattern we found. When we asked questions about their app we got more similar

answers from all the focus groups. The patterns we found then were; the customer got

a negative attitude, clear identity and good content. When we asked the question,

“what is your perception of Max through this app?”, we just found one pattern that

was common for all focus groups. The pattern was that the focus group did not feel the

connection to the identity through the app. Other generic keywords were; negative

attitude, unchanged attitude. On the last question, “what do you think Max wants to

achieve through this app?”, we did not find any pattern that was common for all focus

groups but the patterns we found were facilitate and information source.


67

Linnaeus University – a firm focus on quality and competence On 1 January 2010 Växjö University and the University of Kalmar merged to form Linnaeus University. This new university is the product of a will to improve the quality, enhance the appeal and boost the development potential of teaching and research, at the same time as it plays a prominent role in working closely together with local society. Linnaeus University offers an attractive knowledge environment characterised by high quality and a competitive portfolio of skills.

Linnaeus University is a modern, international university with the emphasis on the desire for knowledge, creative thinking and practical innovations. For us, the focus is on proximity to our students, but also on the world around us and the future ahead.

Linnæus University

SE-391 82 Kalmar/SE-351 95 Växjö

Telephone +46 772-28 80 00

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