A conceptual framework for creating brand management strategies

Branding has become a business priority over the past few decades due to the growing awareness that brands are one of the companies' most valuable intangible assets. Academics and practitioners have proposed models of components to simplify brands into a small number of parts, or dimensions. Nonetheless, there is a lack of specific approaches to brand management models that fit specific business scenarios. The objective of this study was to propose a general framework to create custom brand management strategies that fit specific business scenarios through a set of independent brand dimensions. The framework was applied to the specific case of SME alliance in a B2B export environment as an example of use. This study reviews the most cited brand management models in literature and classified them into 12 independent brand dimensions. The results suggest that regardless of the brand management model, all of them converge on the fact that creating a highquality brand relationship with the customer is crucial for the branding process. Findings suggest non-evident relationships between dimensions. The findings also suggest that brand dimensions' and brand dimension relationships' importance in specific business scenarios shape brand management models in unique ways

Rehabilitation needs for older adults with stroke living at home: perceptions of four populations

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Many people who have suffered a stroke require rehabilitation to help them resume their previous activities and roles in their own environment, but only some of them receive inpatient or even outpatient rehabilitation services. Partial and unmet rehabilitation needs may ultimately lead to a loss of functional autonomy, which increases utilization of health services, number of hospitalizations and early institutionalization, leading to a significant psychological and financial burden on the patients, their families and the health care system. The aim of this study was to explore partially met and unmet rehabilitation needs of older adults who had suffered a stroke and who live in the community. The emphasis was put on needs that act as obstacles to social participation in terms of personal factors, environmental factors and life habits, from the point of view of four target populations.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Using the focus group technique, we met four types of experts living in three geographic areas of the province of Québec (Canada): older people with stroke, caregivers, health professionals and health care managers, for a total of 12 groups and 72 participants. The audio recordings of the meetings were transcribed and NVivo software was used to manage the data. The process of reducing, categorizing and analyzing the data was conducted using themes from the Disability Creation Process model.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Rehabilitation needs persist for nine capabilities (e.g. related to behaviour or motor activities), nine factors related to the environment (e.g. type of teaching, adaptation and rehabilitation) and 11 life habits (e.g. nutrition, interpersonal relationships). The caregivers and health professionals identified more unmet needs and insisted on an individualized rehabilitation. Older people with stroke and the health care managers had a more global view of rehabilitation needs and emphasized the availability of resources.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Better knowledge of partially met or unmet rehabilitation needs expressed by the different types of people involved should lead to increased attention being paid to education for caregivers, orientation of caregivers towards resources in the community, and follow-up of patients' needs in terms of adjustment and rehabilitation, whether for improving their skills or for carrying out their activities of daily living.</p

Wood Use in Nonresidential Construction: An Exploratory Research of the Roles of Media and Content in Direct Marketing

The purposes of this research were to explore the role of selected marketing communications on the perceived identity of wood among architects and to define informational needs left unaddressed by those communications. The research was based on an experimental design implemented among architects designing nonresidential structures in the United States. The perceived identity of wood used structurally, using concepts from the branding literature, was not altered by any of the three stimuli (brochures categorized as Advertising, Case Study, and Technical Data). The case study was deemed more influential than the technical brochure with the advertisement ranking in between. Important informational needs identified related to design possibilities, regulations and standards, environmental footprints, and sustainable design. However, it must be noted that the experiment was limited temporally. It covered only one type of communications, although this type is the most common. Research results imply that the development of the nonresidential market should involve a long-term strategic commitment as opposed to a "quick fix" in the form of an advertising campaign

Évaluation du potentiel offert par un système solaire actif hybride pour combler les besoins énergétiques de la maison HABITASOL

La crise du pétrole des années 70 a sensibilisé l'industrie du bâtiment aux limites des ressources énergétiques et aux conséquences d'une escalade des prix. C'est ainsi que de nombreuses technologies se sont développées dans le but d'améliorer la performance de ce secteur et lui permettre d'acquérir une plus grande autonomie. Dans le cadre de ce projet de maîtrise, on évalue le potentiel d'un système hybride composé d'une thermopompe eau-air, de capteurs solaires et d'une petite piscine intérieure pour combler les besoins en énergie d'une maison performante, nommée HABITASOL. Connaissant la consommation énergétique détaillée d'HABITASOL suite à une campagne de mesures enregistrées entre le 1er novembre 1993 et le 31 octobre 1994, ce projet vise à vérifier l'effet du système solaire actif hybride sur la portion reliée au chauffage de l'eau domestique, au chauffage et à la climatisation de l'espace habité et sur celle requise pour le chauffage de l'eau de la piscine. Pour effectuer l'étude, la modélisation numérique du système hybride est réalisée avec l'aide du logiciel TRNSYS et validée en comparant les résultats calculés avec ceux qui ont été mesurés pendant l'été 1995 sur le prototype du système installé en janvier 1995. Le modèle numérique est ensuite utilisé pour évaluer la performance du système hybride pendant une année entière (1er novembre 1993 et le 31 octobre 1994). Différentes configurations du système hybride et du mode de fonctionnement sont ainsi étudiées. Les résultats des simulations démontrent qu'une réduction de la facture énergétique d'au plus 41.5% pour le chauffage, de 39.2% pour le chauffage de l'eau domestique et variant entre 4% et 70% (selon les configurations) pour celui de l'eau de la piscine est à espérer par les propriétaires d'HABITASOL

The role of communications in emerging markets for wood products : the case of structural wood products in nonresidential construction

This thesis investigates the relationship between marketing communications and wood use. This investigation was conducted among architects within the context of the North American nonresidential construction market, where the structural use of wood is low compared to steel and concrete. Among architects, wood was deemed to be the most environmentally friendly material compared to steel and concrete. However, wood products are not perceived to perform as well as concrete in the areas of durability, fire resistance, contribution to building value, and structural performance. Using a common brand personality scale as an exploratory technique, architects perceived wood to be a ‘sincere’, but ‘unexciting’, structural material. Through an experimental design, it was shown that the perceived identity of wood among architects was not altered by any of the communications stimuli that were used. These stimuli, which were representative of common industry practices, were brochures categorized as Advertising, Case Study, and Technical Data. The case study was more influential than the technical brochure, with the advertisement ranking in between. Architects were more likely to keep the technical data for future reference than the other brochures. Important informational needs identified related to design possibilities, regulations and standards, environmental footprints, and sustainable design. These needs suggest that wood products will increasingly be bundled with information, which will require wood product firms to produce knowledge in addition to products. To alleviate the challenge of communicating with architects, it was proposed that wood products firms may implement a branding strategy. As a result, a framework for unveiling the brand identity of wood products organisations was developed. With such a branding strategy in place, the role of communications for wood products firms evolves from the goal of persuasion towards a longer term, communicative intent.Forestry, Faculty ofGraduat

Exploring the regional-scale potential of the use of wood products in non-residential buildings : a building permits-based quantitative approach

In the construction sector, wood products are gaining interest. Methods are necessary to quantify material use and evaluate their potential effects. When quantifying the building material consumption, many studies are limited to residential buildings due to the lack of data for non-residential buildings. This research aimed at investigating a methodology to account for non-residential building material consumption. A method to estimate the volume of wood products in the structures of the new non-residential buildings was presented. Then, projections of the estimation were suggested according to three scenarios (minimum, average, and maximum). Sensitivity analyses highlighted the parameters that present the greatest contribution to the scenarios. The relative importance of the estimation to the total harvesting of all wood markets was also assessed. Despite the high uncertainty in wood consumption for non-residential building structures, the estimation had a small weight on the total harvesting of the Quebec province. The results showed how and when the resource availability could be constrained depending on the assumptions. This method can serve for life cycle inventory for an environmental assessment or wood flow analysis, but more research on the material composition of the non-residential building archetypes is necessary

Estimating wooden prefabricated building export potential from the province of Quebec to the Northeastern United States

The import activity of wooden prefabricated buildings in the Northeastern US region was over CAD 41.8 million during 2019, according to the US Census Bureau. This amount was growing at a 12.5% annual rate on average since 2017. There is evidence of a continued shortfall in supply for the construction market to be overcome in the region. The objective of this study was to estimate the export potential of wooden prefabricated buildings from the Province of Quebec to the Northeastern US region for the next decade in relation to the export activity and production capacity of the industry. The value of annual production of wooden prefabricated buildings in Quebec was up to CAD 578 million in 2019, according to iCRIQ. Export activities from Quebec are mainly directed to the Northeastern US, and were of CAD 18.8 million in 2019, or 81% of Quebec’s wooden prefabricated building exports. Results suggest that potential for wooden prefabricated building exports from the Province of Quebec to the US Northeastern region is important in terms of market share. The study also suggests that by drastically increasing the production capacity of the industry there is no chance that supply will overcome demand

Évaluation du potentiel offert par un système solaire actif hybride pour combler les besoins énergétiques de la maison HABITASOL

La crise du pétrole des années 70 a sensibilisé l'industrie du bâtiment aux limites des ressources énergétiques et aux conséquences d'une escalade des prix. C'est ainsi que de nombreuses technologies se sont développées dans le but d'améliorer la performance de ce secteur et lui permettre d'acquérir une plus grande autonomie. Dans le cadre de ce projet de maîtrise, on évalue le potentiel d'un système hybride composé d'une thermopompe eau-air, de capteurs solaires et d'une petite piscine intérieure pour combler les besoins en énergie d'une maison performante, nommée HABITASOL. Connaissant la consommation énergétique détaillée d'HABITASOL suite à une campagne de mesures enregistrées entre le 1er novembre 1993 et le 31 octobre 1994, ce projet vise à vérifier l'effet du système solaire actif hybride sur la portion reliée au chauffage de l'eau domestique, au chauffage et à la climatisation de l'espace habité et sur celle requise pour le chauffage de l'eau de la piscine. Pour effectuer l'étude, la modélisation numérique du système hybride est réalisée avec l'aide du logiciel TRNSYS et validée en comparant les résultats calculés avec ceux qui ont été mesurés pendant l'été 1995 sur le prototype du système installé en janvier 1995. Le modèle numérique est ensuite utilisé pour évaluer la performance du système hybride pendant une année entière (1er novembre 1993 et le 31 octobre 1994). Différentes configurations du système hybride et du mode de fonctionnement sont ainsi étudiées. Les résultats des simulations démontrent qu'une réduction de la facture énergétique d'au plus 41.5% pour le chauffage, de 39.2% pour le chauffage de l'eau domestique et variant entre 4% et 70% (selon les configurations) pour celui de l'eau de la piscine est à espérer par les propriétaires d'HABITASOL