A Good Name Is Better Than Riches - A Single Case Study of Essity

Abstract

This qualitative single case study aims to examine the concept of brand awareness on social media for a corporate brand. To achieve this, the research was conducted in collaboration with the global hygiene and health company Essity, mainly targeting B2B customers. Essity is a newly established brand that is currently coping with increasing its brand awareness, which made it an appropriate objective for this study. The purpose of this thesis was thereby to expand the literature regarding how companies can create brand awareness through the use of social media platforms since previous research is scarce. This was done by identifying different influencing factors by reviewing separate studies on brand awareness and social media. By combining former studies with the empirical findings of this study, derived from in-depth interviews, nine influencing factors could be stated. These were; Brand Exposure, Personality, Entertainment, Customization, Trendiness, Interaction, EWOM, Employee and Leader presence, and Market Elements. Whereas Market Elements was found as a crucial factor to consider for a global brand since it affects to what extent the other eight factors influence brand awareness. Thus, it was further confirmed during the research process that several internal challenges were apparent, which are suggested to be considered as a foundation to establish a brand awareness strategy, and then acknowledging the nine factors defined in this thesis. The theoretical contribution of this study was therefore to fill the research gap regarding brand awareness and social media, by establishing a possible connection between these two topics. Specific recommendations were also provided to the case company and is thereby the practical contribution of this thesis.