Mascots, design characteristics and children: Does affective response match with cognitive response?

This research addresses the question of how mascots design characteristics affect children recognition and affective response of this type of brand sign. Regarding the literature, it was clear for us the important contribution in studying the short and long term recognition. It is found that the different design characteristics associated with the universal design principles (abstraction, figurativity, symmetric, asymmetric, round and angular forms) stimulated different levels of recognition and affection among the children. The study contributes to our understanding of which mascot design characteristics increase the effectiveness of non-verbal communication.Branding Semiotics, Brand Identity, Brand Marketing, Brand Response

A BRAND TRIANGLE MODEL to AVOID BRANDING MYOPIA

This article takes the metaphor of myopia to explain the most limited vision of brand, understood as the identifying sign of a product. As brand is a sign, we turn to semiotics, the science of signs, in order to apply a model which broadens the concept of brand to three dimensions: that of the identity sign itself, that of the object the sign refers to and that of the response of the market to the sign.Branding Semiotics, Brand Identity, Brand Marketing, Brand Response

CHILDREN THOUGHTS about BRANDS

The paper explores theoretically and empirically the brand concept among children. Group interviews were conducted to examine the children’s associations to this concept. The data analysis was organized according to a circular frame (the circept frame), which allowed a content analysis based on a sequence of analogical concepts. Children’s answers suggest that the concept of brand is apprehended by children of 6/8 years old, furthermore, that children of this age have skills to separate the brand from the product concept and described it as a source of guarantee, of identification and of promises vehicle.Brands, children, associations

A microRNA feedback loop regulates global microRNA abundance during aging

Expression levels of many microRNAs (miRNAs) change during aging, notably declining globally in a number of organisms and tissues across taxa. However, little is known about the mechanisms or the biological relevance for this change. We investigated the network of genes that controls miRNA transcription and processing during C. elegans aging. We found that miRNA biogenesis genes are highly networked with transcription factors and aging-associated miRNAs. In particular, miR-71, known to influence life span and itself up-regulated during aging, represses alg-1/Argonaute expression post-transcriptionally during aging. Increased ALG-1 abundance in mir-71 loss-of-function mutants led to globally increased miRNA expression. Interestingly, these mutants demonstrated widespread mRNA expression dysregulation and diminished levels of variability both in gene expression and in overall life span. Thus, the progressive molecular decline often thought to be the result of accumulated damage over an organism's life may be partially explained by a miRNA-directed mechanism of age-associated decline.</jats:p

A identificação da marca. Um insturmento da estratégia de marketing

O presente documento é urna pesquisa exploratoria sobre a identificaçâo da marca. O seu interesse, enquanto comunicaçâo de Gestáo Comercial e Marketing ñas Jomadas Hispano-Lusas de Gestáo Científica de Sevilha, pode concretizar-se no seguinte: delimita urna área de investigaçâo relativamente pioneira; . apresenta um projecto de investigaçâo nessa área; inventaría outras direcçôes alternativas de pesquisa. Se a problemática geral da marca tem sido tema de abundante reflexáo, já a questáo precisa dos seus sinais identificadores (nome e logotipo, slogan, rotulagem, jingle, etc ), aparece menos desenvolvida na investigaçâo e na literatura de marketing. Acresce ao seu interesse o facto de se tratar de urna área chameira de outras disciplinas, tais como o direito, a semiótica, a psicología cognitiva e o design, para só falar das mais evidentes. O projecto de investigaçâo apresentado tem por objecto urna pequeña parcela deste universo. Apenas estuda: os dois componentes mais elementares da identificaçâo, ou seja o nome e o logotipo, e mesmo estes reduzidos à sua forma mais simples de nome sem complementos e de logotipo a preto e branco; dois dos principáis critérios de avaliaçâo da qualidade de urna identificaçâo, que sâo a memorizaçào (a curto prazo, espontánea e assistida, analisada experimentalmente) e a diferenciaçào (dos factores de memorizaçào, analisada teóricamente na perspectiva da semiótica estrutural). Com base nesta delimitaçâo, o projecto tem por objectivo a concepçào de um modelo de avaliaçào dos sinais identificadores das marcas. Ao excluir os sinais de identificaçâo mais complexos, e ao nao tratar de outros critérios de avaliaçào, a pesquisa deixa em aberto várias vias complementares de investigaçào. Salientamos as mais próximas do projecto apresentado: . integrar no modelo os factores afectivos; . verificar experimentalmente a distáncia perceptiva das estruturas de diferenciaçào; . adaptar a análise proposta a outros sinais de investigaçào registáveis como marca. O documento está dividido em très partes: . a primeira parte explicita os objectivos do projecto e o ámbito da sua aplicaçâo; . a segunda parte é dedicada à metodología, quer a que diz respeito à experimentaçâo, quer a que se refere à abordagem teórica; a terceira parte, consagrada às conclusóes, analisa a originalidade do projecto e a sua aplicaçâo à gestâo estratégica das marcas

Brand mergers: How attitudes influence consumer identity preferences

In the context of a merger, management of corporate brand names and logos assumes a critical role. The purpose of this paper is to provide a better understanding of the corporate brand redeployment decision. This study analyses how consumers’ attitudes towards the corporate brands influence their preferences regarding the different branding strategies. Results suggest that the preference for a monolithic alternative is only clearly supported when one of the partners in the merger is a weak partner. When the merger involves two familiar brands, there is a tendency among consumers to combine elements of both brands’ identity. Finally, it is concluded that the affective and behavioural dimension of attitude towards the brand have a significant influence on consumers’ preferences