Master’s Thesis
A study on how MIILD can expand their market segment
Authors:
Amani Hammou (2240) Ulla Mustafa (8781)
Study Program: Cand.ling.merc.
Supervisor: Jørgen Leif Stilling Date: September 14th 2018 Characters: 202.919
Abstract
The purpose of the thesis is to explore Danish consumers' behavior towards natural and organic cosmetics and it explores the extent to which these behaviors have an influence on their purchase intentions towards the newly upstarted Danish makeup brand MIILD. Moreover, the goal of this research is to investigate how a brand like MIILD can reach a larger market segment through their marketing strategies, mainly social media marketing. While there has been an increasing amount of research and literature on consumer behavior towards the consumption of organic goods, mostly food, a significant absence of research and literature on organic cosmetics is noticeable.
The application of theories on consumer culture, the extended ‘self' and social media marketing is therefore central in order to examine the relationship between the consumer and the consumption of MIILD.
The thesis holds a philosophical standpoint within the paradigm of social
constructivism, and the structure of the research design enables the combination of data collection techniques, which consist of both quantitative and qualitative methods. Findings are presented from an online survey questionnaire, MIILD's online social networking sites and an interview with the co-‐founder of MIILD, Tine Emilie Svendsen. This is also referred to as a triangulation, which stands for the application of several data collection techniques in one study. The study explores different types of consumer engagement on SNSs, while also
investigating the motivations and antecedents behind such engagement. Results from the analysis indicate that the variables, giveaways, entertainment, and information, are the main motivations behind consumer engagement on MIILD's SNSs. This is supported by research that suggests consumers who engage with inner self-‐expressive brands that offer rewarding activities, information content qualities, entertaining and relatable content influence and generate brand awareness, and here consumers are more likely to offer WOM. These results are also the base for the proposed recommendations that will ultimately increase MIILD's market segment.
Table of Contents
Abstract ... 1
1. Introduction ... 4
1.2 Introduction to MIILD ... 6
1.3 Research question ... 7
1.4 Thesis structure ... 8
2. Theoretical framework ... 10
2.1 Consumer Culture theory ... 11
2.1.1 Introduction to consumer culture theory ... 11
2.1.2 Brand love and WOM outcomes ... 12
2.2 Beyond the Extended Self ... 13
2.3 Social Media ... 14
2.3.1 Introduction to social media ... 15
2.3.2 Creating brand awareness through social media ... 15
2.4 Motivation for engagement on Social Networking Sites ... 20
2.4.1 Engagement behaviors ... 21
2.4.2 Motivations for using brand SNSs ... 22
3. Methodology ... 25
3.1 Philosophy of science ... 25
3.1.1 Social Constructivism ... 26
3.1.2 Epistemological approach ... 28
3.1.3 Ontological approach ... 29
3.1.4 Implications of social constructivism ... 30
3.2 Research Approach ... 31
3.3 Methodological design ... 32
3.3.1 Limitations of resources ... 33
3.3.2 Coherence between the philosophy of science and methodology ... 33
3.4 Research design ... 34
3.4.1 Multiple methods choices ... 34
3.5 Quantitative Research Design ... 36
3.5.1 Survey design ... 36
3.5.2 About the survey ... 38
3.5.3 Limitations and difficulties faced during collecting data process ... 38
3.6 Qualitative Research Design ... 39
3.6.1 Interview ... 39
3.6.2 Interview preparing ... 40
3.6.3 Data Processing ... 41
3.6.4 Limitations ... 41
4. Analysis ... 42
4.1 The Natural and Organic personal care industry ... 42
4.1.1 Overview of certifications within the organic and natural industry ... 43
4.1.2 The Danish and Nordic market ... 46
4.1.3 MIILD's position in the organic and natural cosmetic industry – Porter's five forces ... 47
4.1.4 Kotler’s 4Ps of marketing ... 53
4.1.5 SWOT-‐ Analysis ... 60
4.1.6 TOWS matrix ... 62
4.1.7 Sub-‐conclusion box 1 ... 66
4.2 MIILD's market segmentation ... 68
4.2.1 Analysis of MIILD's current market segmentation ... 70
4.2.3 Potential market segment for MIILD to pursue ... 72
4.2.4 Sub-‐conclusion box 2 ... 75
4.3 Consumer behavior towards natural and organic cosmetics ... 76
4.3.1 Influence behind consumer behavior ... 77
4.3.2 Possessions of natural cosmetics in relation to ones 'self' ... 78
4.3.3 Consumers' purchase intentions towards natural and organic cosmetics -‐ MIILD ... 80
4.3.4 Consumers' motivation for online engagement ... 82
4.3.5 sub-‐conclusion box 3 ... 86
4.4 Analysis of MIILD's marketing strategies ... 87
4.4.1 Social Media Marketing ... 87
4.4.2 Engagement level on Facebook and Instagram ... 91
4.4.3 Authentic Marketing ... 93
4.4.4 Sub-‐conclusion box 4 ... 95
5. Discussion ... 96
5.1 Discussion of social identity and community identification ... 97
5.2 Discussion of MIILD's market niche strategy ... 98
5.3 Marketing strategy recommendations ... 100
5.3.1 Relationship building content ... 102
5.3.2 Rewards through Giveaways ... 103
5.3.3 Information Quality ... 104
5.3.4 Entertainment ... 106
5.3.5 Word Of Mouth ... 106
6. Conclusion ... 108
7. Bibliography ... 111
Appendix 1. Interview transcript ... 122
Appendix 2. MIILD Booths at different retailers ... 136
Appendix 3. Email from co-‐founder of MIILD ... 137
Appendix 4. Online survey questionnaire ... 138
Appendix 5. Email from Nilens Jord ... 143
Appendix 6. Quotes from MIILD consumers ... 144
1. Introduction
In recent years, the cosmetic industry has taken an interesting turn in the process of developing and creating makeup products. More brands and especially new makeup brands are beginning to take consumers' wants and needs seriously, and even basing brand concepts and strategies off of them. One of the main consumer requirements that have trended in recent years has been the need for a healthier lifestyle with natural cosmetics in mind. It is as a
response to the increased need for natural cosmetics that the cosmetic industry has shifted their managerial and marketing orientation towards this focus (Dimitrova et al., 2009).
Interestingly, several academic articles have been published in regards to
consumer behavior in relation to organic products like food. However, there is a noticeable absence concerning the product category of natural cosmetics and consumer behavior towards it. The interest in natural cosmetics has increased tremendously, and with the technological advantage of social media, brands are able to work more closely with their consumers and provide products that respond to their needs (Matić and Puh, 2016). This thesis will take a point of departure within the field of natural cosmetics centering on only one brand, MIILD.
As the brand MIILD came to our attention, we were quickly fascinated by their concept of all natural ingredient and organic based makeup products, and their story behind launching the brand. Founded by two makeup artists Tine Emilie Svendsen and Tanja Gregersen, MIILD was created as a solution to their own problems as they both suffered from allergies and eczema. MIILD is considered as an innovative and groundbreaking makeup brand, as all of their makeup products are allergy friendly, natural and organic, and more importantly, it is the first makeup brand in the world to present three acknowledged certifications;
AllergyCertified, the Nordic Swan eco-‐label, and ECOCERT COSMOS (www.MIILD.dk, 2018).
Being allergy friendly and organic are the main elements that MIILD promotes, which made us question if individuals with allergies are their only target market.
Understanding consumer behavior in relation to MIILD sets the basis of the thesis as the goal is to investigate how MIILD can reach a larger market segment.
The inspiration behind this mainly came from a quote stated by Svendsen "But I think we need to be careful about having it (MIILD) being perceived, as "you must have allergies in order to use it". We were actually attending ‘ELLE og Dig', where Anna P told us "Girls you need to remember that you can use it (MIILD) because you think it is pretty, and not because you have allergies or care about what is in it"
because she actually does not care about the overall ingredients, but she is still crazy about the highlighter" (Appendix 1).
The purpose of conducting a thesis on the brand MIILD is to provide a thorough research on consumer behavior towards organic and allergy friendly cosmetics, which we find beneficial considering the limited research in this field. Moreover, the main focus that the thesis hold is to investigate MIILD from two perspectives, respectively the consumers' and the brand itself with emphasis on their
marketing strategies, mainly social media marketing. In addition, we aim to explore the relationship between the possession of MIILD products and the sense of self among consumers. Not only will this benefit the thesis by providing a better understanding of consumer behavior, but also discussing the notion of extended self will give us a better understanding of the relationship between MIILD and the consumers, and how to further enlarge their market segment.
Finally, the main goal of the thesis is to determine the conditions for the
motivation on MIILD's social networking sites, which will be referred to as SNSs throughout the thesis, and how the brand can implement these to their
advantage to achieve a larger market segment. As mentioned previously, we will specifically investigate MIILD's use of social media as a marketing strategy, which is suitable when dealing with an expansion of a brand's market segment.
SNSs are spreading all over the world, and even in poor and remote territories have social media managed to make an impact (Barreda et al., 2015). This piece of information is important to consider, as it is an indication of the importance of companies to make use of social media as an opportunity to attract more
consumers and influence their decision-‐making process. Considering the company is relatively new, as MIILD's makeup products were first launched on April 2017 (Appendix 1), it provides a great opportunity to observe MIILD's current marketing strategies and investigate if they are in line with this research and recommendations.
1.2 Introduction to MIILD
Given the thesis is constructed on the basis of the brand MIILD, a proper
background introduction to the brand is necessary in order to provide the reader with the best possible understanding of the case. The introduction to the case will take a point of departure in an interview conducted with the co-‐founder of MIILD, Tine Emilie Svendsen, which can be found in Appendix 1. The interview with Svendsen is considered a primary and reliant source, which is beneficial since we were able to achieve the most correct, valuable and unique information that could only be provided through this source.
Tine Emilie Svendsen and Tanja Gregersen created MIILD approximately three years ago with the help of Gregersen's father as their investor. The main thought and reason behind creating the brand MIILD was the founders' difficulty in finding completely natural and organic makeup. The fact that they could find skincare, shampoo and conditioners with certifications made them wonder why only one makeup brand that they knew of had an ECO certification. Besides this, an ECO certification was still not enough to cover their needs, since they both suffer from allergies. Products that are organic and natural can still contain perfumes and irritating ingredients, and therefore an ECO certification was not enough (Appendix 1). Svendsen and Gregersen made it their goal to create a quality and luxury makeup brand but with the benefits of being organic and natural. The three words Svendsen used to characterize MIILD's values were transparency, honesty, and safety for the consumers (Appendix 1).
As mentioned in the introduction, MIILD is the first makeup brand in the world to have three well-‐acknowledged certifications: AllergyCertified, the Nordic Swan eco-‐label, and ECOCERT COSMOS. Being the only makeup brand in the world to have these three certifications is the main competitive advantage that the brand holds. Their first products were sold in April 2017, through large chains such as Matas, Helsam, online shops and their own website (Appendix 1).
Examples of their products and how they are promoted in different stores can be found in Appendix 2.
In order to cover this topic in the most thorough way, we have constructed the following research question, followed by a number of sub-‐questions that will ultimately lead us to the best possible conclusion.
1.3 Research question
How can MIILD attract a larger market segment besides organic and allergy interested consumers with their social media marketing?
Sub-‐questions:
1. Define the market for natural and organic personal care market.
2. What other segments are profitable for MIILD to pursue?
3. How is the current consumer behavior towards natural cosmetic?
4. What motivates consumers to engage on SNSs, and what influence does social media have on consumers' decision-‐making process?
5. How has MIILD previously engaged with their consumers?
6. What marketing strategy recommendation does MIILD need to implement to reach a larger market share?
1.4 Thesis structure
The following part establishes the structure of our research, which addresses the content of the coming pages. The thesis is divided into six chapters, and these chapters are further divided into several parts and sections.
The first chapter aims at presenting MIILD, the purpose of the thesis, and research question. The second chapter consists of the theoretical framework, where a presentation of the applied theories, within the fields of consumer culture theory and social media marketing is presented. Chapter three introduces the methodology that has been applicable in order to work with the collected data. A reflection and discussion of the applied philosophy of science, research approach, and moreover the qualitative and quantitative methods applied when collecting the data is also clarified. In chapter four the analysis of the findings takes place, and it is divided into four main parts and each part aims at answering one or several sub-‐question(s).
Chapter five is the final chapter before the conclusion and here a discussion of our main findings takes place. Furthermore, this chapter also consists of
marketing strategies recommendations on how MIILD to reach a larger market segment through will be presented here. The sixth chapter is the final chapter where the conclusion is established, and here the main findings are summarized and the overall research question is answered.
Figure 1: Structure of the thesis
2. Theoretical framework
The theoretical framework will take a point of departure in three theoretical fields, with the aim of providing a proper understanding of the research field. As mentioned in the introduction, the purpose of this thesis is to provide an analysis of MIILD's marketing strategies and determine what variables impact
consumers' purchase intentions and online engagements towards MIILD.
Moreover, in order to reach a conclusion on how MIILD can attract more consumers it is relevant to start the theoretical framework with Consumer Culture Theory in order to understand consumer behavior towards natural and organic cosmetics. As consumer culture theory is presented other elements of consumer behavior, like consumer engagement on SNSs, will also be introduced, as it is a core part of the thesis as well. This will be applied in order to
understand consumers' purchase intentions towards natural and organic cosmetics and consumers’ motivation behind engaging on brands' SNSs.
Moving on, the theoretical framework will also include theories on consumers' extended self, in order to further understand consumers' purchase intentions and behaviors towards certain cosmetic brands. Applying theories on the extended self will take this thesis a step further, as this will contribute to a deeper level of explanation of consumers' actions towards cosmetic brands.
Together these theoretical fields offer a clear overview and a valuable starting point for the thesis in order to achieve a proper understanding of consumers' behavior and how a brand like MIILD can adapt in order to reach a larger market segment. Further on, the final theoretical fields that will be explored in the theoretical framework is social media marketing, and motivations to engage on SNSs, which is an essential part of this research. Providing theories on social media marketing and motivations for consumer engagement is an essential part of the theoretical framework since it will be implemented in the analysis of the collected data.
2.1 Consumer Culture theory
The goal with the thesis is to explore how a brand like MIILD can strengthen its position in the total market and here including theories on consumer culture is suitable, since they set the basis for understanding consumers' considerations and needs when making any purchase. As the research of consumer culture is broad, the most acknowledged theories and approaches within consumer culture will be presented. It is important to clarify that the thesis will return to these theories and approaches in the analysis the findings.
2.1.1 Introduction to consumer culture theory
When studying the basis of consumer culture it is relevant to cover what consumer culture means. According to Arnould and Thompson (2005), consumer culture theory (CCT) is not a unified grand theory but refers to branches of theoretical perspectives that aim to address the relationship between consumers’ actions, the marketplace, and cultural meaning. These branches of CCT are concerned with the cultural meanings, socio-‐historical influences, and social dynamics that shape the experiences and identities of consumers' everyday lives. In addition, CCT emphasizes that the real world for the single consumer is not unified, and therefore CCT emphasizes that
consumers' lives are constructed upon several realities, which they experience by consuming (Arnould & Thompson, 2005).
Finally, CCT investigates how consumers actively modify and interpret symbolic meanings in advertisements and brands to display their individual identities and personal circumstances. According to this perspective the marketplace offers the consumers broad and varied opportunities to form both their individual as well as collective identities (Shau & Gilly, 2003). Most importantly for CCT is that it conceptualizes culture as the essence of the experience, meaning, and action (Geertz 1983, in Arnould and Thompson, 2005).
2.1.2 Brand love and WOM outcomes
Within consumer culture theory follows consumer engagement with brands and how the outcome can result in brand love and word of mouth (WOM). In the following section consumer engagement will be presented by applying an article on consumers’ engagement on Facebook by "liking". The article is written by Wallace et al. (2014), and it is a suitable research to implement in relation to this thesis since an investigation of consumer engagement on MIILD's SNSs will also be presented in the analysis. Brand engagement can be defined as the degree of motivation and dependency a consumer feels towards a brand and how much the consumer interacts with the brand directly through emotional and
behavioral activity (Hollebeek, 2011 in Wallace et al., 2014).
Through recent years, brands have increasingly applied Facebook and other SNSs as a primary marketing channel to drive engagement and brand awareness (Malhotra et al., 2013, in Wallace et al., 2014). The number of likes, shares, and comments on a brand's Facebook page play an essential role when determining consumers' engagement level. Additionally, new research suggests that
consumers who "like" and engage on a brand's page are more likely to spend up to five times on that particular brand compared to those who do not "like" those brands (Hollis, 2011 in Wallace et al., 2014). According to researchers within consumer culture, SNSs do not only give consumers the opportunity to interact with brands online, but it also gives them the opportunity to interact with others who share same brand preferences (Hollenbeck and Zinkhan, 2006)."Social networks allow consumers to present an "ideal self" and therefore, consumers may choose brands to express a self that is not supported in their material world" (Shau
& Gilly, 2003 in Wallace et al., 2014 p. 3).
Furthermore, the article by Wallace et al. (2014) explores the relationship between brand "liking" and brand outcomes. The term brand outcomes include brand love, support, WOM, and brand acceptance. WOM is an abbreviation of word of mouth and it is referred to the stream of communication that consumers pass on to other consumers about a brand's products or services (Westbrook, 1987). WOM is also found in the process in which consumers recommend a
brand, resulting in new consumers acknowledging the brand. Consumers who engage on SNSs are in this case considered as potential brand activists.
Additionally, within brand engagement brand love plays an essential role as it can be defined as, the degree of positive emotional attachment a satisfied consumer might feel towards a particular brand (Carroll and Ahuvia, 2006).
Moreover, Wallace et al. (2014) found that some consumers often engage with brands, which they identify themselves with. Therefore a distinction between two forms of self-‐expressive brands has been made. The first is called self-‐
expressive brand (social self) and the second self-‐expressive (inner self). Both forms are related to brand love. The study found that consumers who "liked" a brand's posts on SNSs were more likely to apply WOM when a balance between brand meaning and their inner self is found. Furthermore, it was found that consumers who relate to a brand with their inner selves are less likely to accept wrongdoing from the brand, in contrast to consumers who relate to a brand because of their social self who might accept negative stories about a brand (Wallace et. al. 2014). In addition, it is important to stress that not all consumers react in the same way, and an elaboration on the concept of ‘Self' will be
introduced in the following part.
2.2 Beyond the Extended Self
When studying consumer culture and the extended-‐self, Belk's work has been the most evident and used research within this field. In this part of the
theoretical framework Belk's work on the extended self will be presented. Belk (1988) proposed in his research that consumers use key possessions to extend, expand, and strengthen their sense of self. The people and things that we love have a strong influence when it comes to who we are. Therefore, researchers within consumer culture believe that consumers have a tendency to fall in love with items they purchase (Belk, 1988). According to Belk, consumption helps consumers define the sense of who they are. He applies the terms "self", "sense of self" and "identity" as words for how the individual perceives him/her self.
Belk distinguished between the core self and the extended self (Belk, 1988).
Experiences are according to Belk part of the core self, whereas persons, places, and things the individual feels attached to are part of the extended self. Finally, Belk mentions that things and persons, which the individual do not feel attached to, are not part of the self at all (Belk, 1988). Furthermore, Belk developed the Person-‐Thing-‐Person concept, which clarifies that relationships with objects are never a two-‐way (person-‐thing), but always a three-‐way (person-‐thing-‐person).
The purpose of this concept is to explain that a part of our need for an item might actually be the fact that other people want the same item e.g. kids' competition with each other for e.g. toys (Aaron, 2005).
Moreover, Schau and Gilly found that SNSs could be used as a form of consumer self-‐presentation, while Belk was known for stating "We are what we have" they state, "We are what we post" (Schau and Gilly, 2003). Consumers often choose products and brands that are in harmony with their selves. SNSs have allowed consumers to present themselves through virtual worlds, both their own identities and have the opportunity to construct multiple identities. Through these virtual worlds, people have the opportunity to interact with persons they are familiar with and persons they do not know all (Schau and Gilly, 2003).
Belk's research on the extended-‐ self will be revisited in the analysis of consumer behavior towards natural and organic cosmetics.
2.3 Social Media
Social Media is a crucial concept to cover when doing a research in this field, and even though some elements were covered in the previous sections, it is
important and relevant to provide an elaborate presentation of this topic. This will offer the reader the proper basic information on this field, and it will ultimately lead us to a better understanding of how MIILD can increase brand awareness with the use of social media.
2.3.1 Introduction to social media
According to Neti (2011), social media has become a necessity for businesses that are interested in creating brand awareness. Social media has become widely spread all over the world and the average Internet user logs on their social networking account 14 times a day at least. Based on this information alone it is clear that it is a great opportunity for businesses to take advantage of (Bija &
Balaş, 2014). Moreover, the social media phenomenon has a massive influence on the reputation of a business and a business' sales and survival (Bija & Balaş, 2014).
However, it is important to point out that social media marketing is not as new as many assume, and has existed for over 10 years. The most popular SNS, Facebook, was launched in 2004, YouTube 2005, Twitter in 2006 (Pradiptarini, 2011, in Bija & Balaş, 2014), and Instagram was launched in 2010 and it was worth $1 billion just two years later (Yung-‐Hui, 2012). Buson and Marsteller also conducted a study, which proved that 86% of the 100 most important
companies on the Fortune 500 list had at least one active account on one of these SNSs (Pradiptarini, 2011, in Bija & Balaş, 2014).
2.3.2 Creating brand awareness through social media
There are multiple perspectives on the best way to create brand awareness, and in this section, an introduction on different views and ways brands can create brand awareness through social media will be presented. According to Weston (2008), the only way to create brand awareness is if employees are encouraged by their employers to create an online community by involving themselves in network marketing. It is important to understand that social media marketing is not one large technique as Yu-‐Kai Chou (2014) states, and it is also relevant to comprehend the fact that different companies and budgets need different social media techniques (Bija & Balaş, 2014).
It is important to use social media appropriately in order to increase brand awareness, and here goal setting is relevant as it is easy to control. The goal can range from being how many times to post or how fast to answer consumers' questions. Also content is key, Bullock (2014) states that the key to success is sharable content on the right social media site, and using social media to communicate with consumers is a big beneficial gain (Bija & Balaş, 2014).
Brand awareness is a relevant concept to cover as it has a significant impact on consumer choices, which is relevant in both the field of marketing and consumer behavior.
Nowadays, consumers rely on SNSs more than ever when making a purchasing decision. When having a high level of brand awareness a brand's market share can be highly influenced, and it can also contribute to components like brand equity, brand image, and brand loyalty (Bilgihan et al., 2014; Chang, 2013; Xie &
Chen, 2014 in Barreda et al., 2015). More than half of marketing decision-‐makers indicated that their main objective in their social media programs is "improving brand awareness or reputation" (Pfeffer, Zorbach, & Carley, 2013 in Barreda et al., 2015). Given the importance of brand awareness, this section will explore and present the antecedents and consequence of brand awareness on the basis of the theory-‐driven model below. It is important to clarify that this is only a presentation of the model, since an elaboration on the model in relation to MIILD will be introduced in the discussion.
Figure 2: A brand awareness framework – a mediated model (Barreda et al., 2015)
Each of the components from the model above will be elaborated on since they are all valuable elements that will ultimately lead to more brand awareness and the most critical component in consumer behavior, WOM. This model is relevant to include when investigating how a brand like MIILD can achieve more
consumers, as brand awareness plays a key role in consumers' decision-‐making process. Before going into depth with the model it is important to provide a clear understanding of what brand awareness is based on.
According to Keller (1993), in the context of online social networks, brand awareness includes individual recognition, knowledge dominance, and recall of brands. In addition, it is also defined as the degree to which consumers are familiar with characteristic qualities or image of a certain brand (Barreda et al., 2015). Brands that are widely known are more likely to be considered and even chosen than brands that are unknown. Horn, Liu, Chou & Tsai (2011) also state that the more known the brand is the bigger is the chance that individuals would purchase and recommend the product or service (Barreda et al., 2015).
VI – Virtual interactivity
Referring back to the model, the first component concerns the impact of virtual interactivity (VI) on brand awareness. According to Di Pietro et al. (2012) and Fiore, Jin, & Kim (2005), their literature on interactivity theory state that different elements of relationship building with customers in the virtual
environment is enhanced by the characteristics of multimedia and the promising functions of interactivity (Barreda et al., 2015). Duncan and Moriarty (1998), state that VI is the procedure that leads to the connection between individuals and the brand, and they provide empirical evidence that VI has a positive long-‐
term influence on brand awareness. In relation to the case this is beneficial, when MIILD consumers effectively interact with others on MIILD's SNS it contributes to recalling and recognizing the brand more easily (Barreda et al., 2015).
The impact of rewards on brand awareness
For dedicated users on SNS, rewards for activities manifest the extent of
monetary or psychological rewards (Kim & Christodoulidou, 2013; Sheth & Atul, 1995 in Barreda et al., 2015). In this case, rewards refer to the degree to which members of SNS receive membership, monetary and physiological privileges (Barreda et al., 2015). According to Dobele, Toleman, and Beverland (2005), when applying rewards for activities in order to create brand awareness it can have a large impact on consumer behavior when deciding on one brand over another (Barreda et al., 2015). There are several studies that explore the effect of reward for activation in relation to brand recognition and brand recall elements, which result in brand awareness. Kotler et al. (2006), state that in order for organizations to generate customers' awareness, interest in, or preference for a product or service, they need to assign physiological and financial rewards (Barreda et al., 2015). There is a great potential that brand awareness is
heightened from the social benefits that users observe from SNS, which is a point that will be elaborated more on in the discussion.
The impact of system quality on brand awareness
Moving on to the next component Nelson, Todd, and Wixom (2005) state, the dimension of system quality is defined as user perceptions of the security of the system, user-‐friendliness, and ease of navigation. In relation to the case, system quality refers to the extent to which MIILD's SNSs are easy to navigate and are secure. If the system is perceived as less complicated, the more effective the system is also perceived (Ruiz-‐Molina, Gil-‐Saura, & Šeric, 2013 in Barreda et al., 2015). When the system is easy to navigate, information of the SNS is also easier obtained and with low effort. According to, Ethier, Hadaya, Talbot, and Cadieux (2006) it is important to understand that the quality of the system also
contributes to the overall atmosphere of the firm. In addition, since consumers often respond to visual elements, and recognizing these visual elements this is closely linked to the quality of the system, which is also responsible for the users' initial reaction. Another important point to present from this component is that brand awareness will more likely be achieved if a user perceives that the system
is of high quality, since he or she will more likely recognize and recall the brand, which will ultimately lead to WOM (McKnight, Kacmar, & Choudhury, 2004 in Barreda et al., 2015). Moving on, the section below will explore another important quality, which is information and its impact on brand awareness.
The impact of information quality on brand awareness
In the words of Zhang and Watts (2008), information of high quality on SNSs helps and guides users to have a better understanding of the brand, feel the support from other users and make better decisions (Barreda et al., 2015). High information quality is beneficial for users as it offers them information on a product or service, while also obtaining information on a specific topic, moreover, information quality is also impactful in creating several benefits to users (Zheng, Zhao, & Stylianou, 2012 in Barreda et. al, 2015). According to Jang, Olfman, Ko, Koh, & Kim (2008), SNS that offer reliable, credible, updated, and rich information to their consumers hold a distinct competitive advantage in relation to their competitors (Barreda et al., 2015). In relation to MIILD, this is important and relevant to maintain, as it has a large influence on how their consumers view the brand, as Gorla, Somers, & Wong (2010) state SNSs that offer valuable and quality information are viewed as more attractive (Barreda et al., 2015). In the end, the article claims that information of high quality will ultimately lead to brand awareness.
WOM as the strongest form of brand awareness
As this is the last section in explaining the model it is relevant to present a few definitions of what it is referred to when discussing brand awareness. According to Aaker (1996) brand awareness refers to the strength of a brand's presence in the mind of the consumer. Homburg et al. (2010), refer to brand awareness as consumers' ability to distinguish or recall a brand in the decision-‐making
process. Brand awareness has also been described as a central brand dimension, and according to Xiong and Hu (2010), it has been described to have a large influence on WOM, which is the strongest form of brand awareness (Weber, 2009). WOM is known for being a critical element in relation to consumer
behavior, and WOM communication is an essential factor and source for
individuals to achieve credible information. It is based on the core interpersonal communication, and it has a substantial influence on consumer behavior in relation to their purchase decision (Grewal, Cline, & Davies, 2003 in Barreda et al., 2015). When users are aware of a certain brand and have positive
associations towards the brand they will more likely talk about the brand with others, which will in the end ultimately lead to an increased brand awareness (Barreda et al., 2015).
2.4 Motivation for engagement on Social Networking Sites
On the basis of the literature and theories presented above, it is clear that SNSs have a large impact on consumer behavior in regards to their decision-‐making process when purchasing a service or a product. It is therefore relevant to also include literature on studies concerning the motivation behind consumer
engagement with brand pages on SNSs. Including such literature will lead us to a better analysis of the findings in regards to how MIILD can create a larger
market segment with the use of SNSs.
This section will take a point of departure in a study by Tsai and Men (2013), in which they explored different types of consumer engagement with Facebook brand pages, while also exploring the antecedents and motivations behind such engagement. The study mainly focuses on the effects of social media dependency in addition to three social relationship factors, which include parasocial
interaction, perceived source credibility, and community identification on consumer engagement with Facebook brand pages. Considering the shift in digital media, it is crucial to understand the reasons of how and why individuals interact with brands on SNSs (Tsai & Men, 2013).
According to Muntinga, Moorman, and Smit (2011), they state that interactivity and social media specifically have altered the process of how brand-‐related content is created, distributed, and consumed, thus moving the power from the hands of the advertiser and instead to the hands of consumers in relation to
changing brand images (Tsai & Men, 2013). An important point that Kelly, Kerr, and Drennan (2010) make is that social media provides numerous of
opportunities for brands like MIILD to reach online stakeholders in their social communities and to create a more personal relationship with consumers (Tsai &
Men, 2013).
2.4.1 Engagement behaviors
Engagement behaviors are important, and according to media researchers having audience engagement with the media context, leads to an important antecedent to outcomes like effect, usage, and responses to communication messages (Calder, Malthouse, and Schaedel 2009, Tsai & Men, 2013). When dealing with SNS communicating the element engagement is especially important and relevant, since SNSs are relationship-‐centered and naturally participatory engagement with SNSs will eventually lead to the cultivation of meaningful relationships.
According to Muntinga, Moorman and Smit's (2011) typology of consumers' online brand-‐related activities (COBRA), they state that three levels can characterize the level of consumer engagement. The first level of consumer behavior is consuming content on SNSs, which can contain viewing videos and pictures; it is regarded as the minimal level of online activities, as it is a relatively passive type of online participation. Moving on, the next level is the moderate level of online activeness, which is concerned with the users' activities of contributing to page content.
This can be by responding to the provided content by brands or other users, engaging in conversations, or commenting on posts like pictures or videos on brand pages. Lastly, the most ultimate level of activeness concerns behaviors of creating user-‐generated content. This can, for instance, be activities such as posting user's own product reviews and publishing and sharing content like videos and pictures on brands' SNSs in which others can consume and contribute to. Moreover, not only is it important to understand the different levels of
engagement behaviors, it is also equally important to present the motivation behind this engagement, which will be presented in the section below.
2.4.2 Motivations for using brand SNSs
In order to provide a proper solution to how MIILD can reach a larger market segment, it is essential for the thesis to present literature that can explain why consumers engage with brands' SNSs. This is specifically relevant since
engagement will ultimately lead to WOM, more brand awareness, and lastly more consumers. In order for MIILD to create and provide engaging content, it is necessary to understand consumers' motivations for their interaction with brands on their SNSs. Recent studies have identified and explored motivational factors for using SNSs in general and they have stated that motivational factors for using traditional media usage are still applicable to social media.
These motivations are defined as, entertainment, social integration, personal identity and information (Boyd 2008; McQuail 1983 in Tsai and Men, 2013), however, motivational factors such as remuneration and empowerment were not discussed in previous research, but are considered as original motivations in the social media literature (Muntinga, Moorman, and Smit 2011, in Tsai and Men, 2013). The above-‐mentioned motivations are relevant to include and explain when dealing with a case like MIILD since they will give an indication to why different consumers are motivated, which can ultimately lead to the right direction when answering the research question.
Firstly, being motivated by entertainment refers to the state of enjoyment, relaxation, and emotional relief that is generated by and a result of temporarily escaping from daily routine (Park, Kee, and Valenzuela 2009; Shao 2009, in Tsai and Men, 2013). Social integration is concerned with the senses of belonging to a supportive peer group, and the increased interpersonal connections that media usage is associated to (Kaye 2007; Daugherty, Eastin, and Bright 2008, in Tsai and Men, 2013). Personal identity is related to an individual's self-‐identity, which include self-‐expression, self-‐fulfillment, and identity management (Papacharissi 2007, in Tsai and Men, 2013). Information involves information
seeking and the search for advice, opinions and information exchange (Kaye 2007; Park, Kee, and Valenzuela 2009, in Tsai and Men, 2013).
In terms of remuneration, it refers to when users seek rewards and benefits that are continually shared on online social networks when participating in online communities. In addition, according to Wang and Fescenmaier (2003), the motivation for empowerment refers to the social media usage in order to exert influence and enforce excellence (Tsai and Men, 2013). In the section below, there will be presented a further elaboration on the different motivation for the engagement on SNSs by exploring the different types of antecedents of
engagement behaviors.
Antecedents of engagement behaviors
Social Media Dependency
Considering consumers are becoming increasingly reliant on social media as their main source of information (Fuscaldo, 2011 in Tsai and Men, 2013), it is relevant to look at the social media dependency's impact on consumers' use of SNSs to achieve their goals relating information, entertainment, and
interpersonal connection in addition to their related engagement with brands’
SNS pages. According to Ball-‐Rokeach and DeFleur (1976), the media system dependency system suggests that the use of an individual's social media is equal to a goal-‐oriented activity, moreover, the interactions between the audience and the media is also a reflection of how dependent individuals are on applying media as their source of goal satisfaction.
Furthermore, there is also empirical evidence that suggests that media dependency various attitudinal and behavior outcomes like trust (Georg and Jackob, 2010 in Tsai and Men, 2013), involvement (DeFleur and Ball-‐Rokeach, 1989 in Tsai and Men, 2013), and also purchasing behavior (Bigne ́ Alcaniz, Blas, and Torres, 2006 in Tsai and Men, 2013).
Parasocial Interaction
Another relevant term to include, which could also explain consumers'
motivation for engaging is Parasocial Interaction (Tsai & Men, 2013). This term refers to the consumer's belief of having a personal relationship with media personalities, like television personalities. A key antecedent to consumer
engagement often happens when a relationship between the SNS representative and the consumer is formed, and in this case, it enhances the consumers' illusion of having a social relationship with MIILD. In addition to this concept, it is
important to include terms such as Social Identity and Community Identification.
These terms refer to the influence on consumer engagement when recognizing the importance of brand communities in enhancing relationships with
consumers. Further on, it is interesting to look at how consumer-‐brand
engagement and consumers' identification with brand SNSs are interdependent processes that could be both an indicator or a cause of engagement level (Tsai &
Men, 2013).
3. Methodology
In the following chapter of the thesis, each step applied in relation to knowledge production and the methodological choices that were made in order to achieve this knowledge will be presented. The first part, namely, ‘Philosophy of science' will explore the philosophical direction that this thesis has taken a point of departure in when collecting data and applying relevant theories. The sub-‐
sections that will follow the first part, will be based on an elaboration of the paradigm that is the basis of the thesis, in addition, the epistemological and ontological positions that the thesis hold will also be presented. The second part
‘Research Approach', concerns the specific approach that have been applied in order to create the needed knowledge. Lastly, the parts ‘Methodological design' and ‘Research design' dives further into the types of methods and how they have been executed. These four parts collectively clarify the reasoning and relevancy behind each step of data collection techniques and analysis procedures.
3.1 Philosophy of science
In this part of the methodology, an introduction of the general research approach in relation to knowledge production will first be introduced, and this will be followed by the scientific paradigm that the thesis has taken a point of departure in. Moreover, a clarification of the ontological and epistemological convictions will also be introduced here. On the basis of the purpose of the study and the problem field the case takes a point of departure in, the interpretive research approach has been chosen. It is mainly due to the nature of the thesis that is concerned with producing new knowledge through this research approach. The interpretive approach indicates that it is crucial for the researcher to have an understanding on the differences between humans in their role as social actors.
In addition, this is also seen as a result of the emphasis that is made on the difference between conducting research amongst human beings instead of objects like computers (Saunders, Lewis, & Thornhill, 2009).
The interpretive approach is suitable in relation to the case since here the researcher has to adopt an empathic stance. This means that the researchers
