Title: Core values and brand promises – A mixed quantitative and qualitative study of core values, brand promises and their interdependence among 104 Fortune 500 companies. Date of the seminar: May 31, 2011 Course: BUSM08 Degree Project in International Marketing and Brand Management Authors: Per Andersson and Ola Johansson Supervisor: Associate Professor Mats Urde, PhD; Docent Keywords: Core values, brand promise, the brand core Purpose: The purpose of this master thesis is to investigate the nature of core values and brand promises as entities, their interdependence and its managerial implications. Methodology: A mixed quantitative and qualitative research strategy was applied throughout the different stages of the study. To obtain valuable empirical data, a cross-sectional content analysis of web pages was conducted. Strictly formulated coding manuals have secured a high degree of reliability, validity and replicability of the research process. Theoretical perspective: The thesis takes its theoretical base in brand management literature and existing theories within the field of core values, brand promise and the brand core. Empirical data: A content analysis of 104 companies from Fortune’s list of the 500 largest corporations in the world provided unique primary data regarding the core values and brand promises from these companies. Companies were chosen from different industries and geographical areas in order to identify differences between these variables. Conclusions: Our findings show that: • A major part of the examined companies are using core values of a generic character. • The average number of core values used per company is 5,1. • A typical core value of generic character tend to have the grammatical form of a noun or a noun adjective alloy that either describes a way of working or something you deserve. • Brand promises tend to be of either descriptive or discursive character depending on the linguistic connection between the statements and the core business of the company. • The core values used by the major part of the investigated companies are of a generic character. It is however to be mentioned that the combination of core values together with a brand promises tends to make the brand core more unique
