What makes brands meaningful?

Abstract

This graduation report was written by Robert Buesink in collaboration with Wonder Inc. and the Delft University of Technology. Wonder Inc. is a strategic design and innovation agency that was founded in 2008. For years they have been working on the creation of a Brand perception model. Wonder inc. believes that brands live in the mind of the consumer, at the intersection of what consumers want and what companies deliver. Their model shows different levels in which companies can provide value to consumers and believe that if on all levels value is delivered, a brand becomes an extraordinary brand. An extraordinary brand is a brand that has become the only choice for the consumer when it comes to achieving a certain aim or goal. During this thesis, a deep dive is executed and presented on how consumers perceive brands and how this fits within the model created by Wonder Inc.. Through literature, qualitative and quantitative research the model is elaborated, tested and improved. The result of the thesis is a deep understanding of how consumers perceive brands and how companies can use this understanding to create more value. This in-depth understanding of how consumers perceive brands resulted in the creation of a Brand Perception Blueprint. In this blueprint, companies can find how consumers perceive their brands and how this perception translates into their behaviour. Moreover, it provides an insight into how companies can best allocate their resources to not only improve the consumer’s perception but also influence their resulting behaviour. Lastly, the report presents ‘the road to become extraordinary’ which is a roadmap that can be implemented by Wonder Inc. in order to transform clients into extraordinary brands.