Imperial College Disseration

IMPERIAL COLLEGE OF SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND MEDICINE
Imperial College Business School
How to Build Brand Equity through Social Advertising and Gamification
by
Pornchanun Suphayak
Word Count: 5000
A report submitted in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for MSc Strategic Marketing degree
September 2014

Table of Contents
Executive Summary................................................................................................... 1
Acknowledgement...................................................................................................... 2
Introduction................................................................................................................ 3
Literature Review ...................................................................................................... 4
• Brand Equity............................................................................................................4
• Gamification.............................................................................................................6
o How Gamification Builds Brand Equity ..................................................6
• Social Advertising....................................................................................................7
o How Social Advertising Builds Brand Equity..........................................8
• The Luxury Sector...................................................................................................9
• The Wellness Sector...............................................................................................10
Research Approach.................................................................................................. 11
Results ....................................................................................................................... 11
• The Wellness Sector...............................................................................................12
• The Luxury Sector.................................................................................................14
Conclusion................................................................................................................. 17
Recommendations.................................................................................................... 18
• Identity....................................................................................................................18
• Meaning ..................................................................................................................19
• Response .................................................................................................................20
• Resonance...............................................................................................................20
o Behavioural loyalty...................................................................................20
o Attitudinal Attachment............................................................................21
o Sense of Community.................................................................................21
o Active Engagement...................................................................................22
References................................................................................................................. 23

1
Executive Summary
It is a fact that brand equity holds a great promise as a vehicle for driving success
for brands, and there are many marketing strategies to build brand equity; with
gamification and social advertising being two of the more effective ones.
This report explores the effectiveness in building brand equity through gamification
and social advertising. As part of the literature review, secondary research, including
facts and figures, is predominantly based on academic journals and other related
reputable sources. They are critically analysed as to how gamification and social
advertising contribute towards building brand equity.
The discussion is analysed based on practical brand equity building case studies for
two different sectors, including wellness and luxury, as well as examples of real life
experiences for each brand, which are used to better demonstrate the creation of
brand equity, namely Nike and Swarovski.
Recommendations are drawn using Keller’s customer-based brand equity model
and encompassing gamification and social advertising in each of the four steps in
the pyramid, namely identity, meaning, response and relationships, along with
suggested examples to better explain how brands could enhance brand equity
through future actions.
The research and case study results demonstrate that gamification and social
advertising are more than just a fun undertaking, but that they have instead been
proven to effectively promote strong and sustainable brand equity.

2
Acknowledgement
I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my family for their everlasting love
and endless support and to thank them for being the warmest family I could ever
ask for. Also, I would like to extend a sincere thank you to all my friends for a year
full of experiences, happiness and laughter. Thanks for staying by each other’s side
and helping each other along the way. My life here would not be complete without
you guys.
In addition, I would like to say a special thank you to my supervisor, Angela
Dalrymple for being an extraordinary course director and for providing vast
knowledge and guidance throughout. And many thanks to all my professors Omar
Merlo, Mirjam Tuk, Mike Berry, Daniel Rowles, Andreas Eisingerich and Magnum
guest speaker, Alper Eroglu whom have made my accomplishments possible.
It has been an honor and a pleasure to be a part of the Strategic Marketing course
at Imperial College Business School. I truly have appreciated every moment and all
of the memories here will surely be missed very much.
With warm regards,
Pornchanun Suphayak

3
Introduction
In this globalised world, it is not enough to have a good product or to offer a good
service. Having high brand equity is the key differentiator that establishes long-
lasting relationship and drives success (Osak, 2013). Through advanced technology
and the rise of big data, innovations of gamification and social advertising have
become the next big thing. It enables brands to market themselves with fun, as well
as incorporate personalised advertising through social media that could increase
engagement and interaction, which, therefore, enhances the creation of strong
brand equity and strengthens the ability to remain competitive in the market.
The main purpose of this report is to emphasise on building brand equity through
gamification and social advertising. It contains firstly a literature review on brand
equity, gamification and social advertising to provide a better understanding of these
important terminologies, along with two real-life case studies in regards to the
wellness and luxury sector. This is then followed by further analysis of both cases,
which will be critically discussed to provide an in-depth insight into different
theoretical and practical perspectives. Finally, an overall conclusion and
recommendations will be given on how to effectively create higher brand equity by
using gamification and social advertising, and other relevant strategies on future
implementations for both sectors.

4
Literature Review
The literature review consists of an overview on brand equity and an analysis of its
importance. Two strategies in particular, gamification and social advertising, are
highlighted in terms of concepts, trends and challenges, as well as an overview on
two relevant sectors - health and wellness, and luxury – in order to support brand
equity creation in practice.
Brand Equity
According to the Marketing Research Association, brand equity reflects the true
value that a brand name holds for its products and services (2010). Moreover, the
Imperial College Business School Strategic Marketing’s branding lecture content
stresses the concept of brand equity, as “the different outcomes result in the
marketing of a product or service because of its brand name, as compared to if the
same products or service did not have that name” (Merlo, 2013). In short, brand
equity is, when a brand imprints a favourable image and feeling that will stay in a
consumer’s mind and that they will perceive as an added value to the functional
features of a product or service (Aaker and Biel, 1993). The power of brand equity is
further built by associating with a symbol, a slogan or a name (Keller, 1993) and it
also can be classified as the company’s most valuable asset, which has an ability to
determine, whether people will choose the brand over others or pay more for it
(Alagon and Samuel, 2011). Having strong brand equity not only enables a
company to obtain larger margins, more favourable reactions to price changes and
an increase in marketing communication effectiveness, but also greater customer
loyalty and longer-lasting customer and brand relationships (Keller, 2001).
Additionally, it gives the brand a sustainable competitive advantage, which cannot

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be easily retaliated compared with a brand that only has products or services
without distinctive identities (Kim, et al., 2011).
The challenges presented when effectively building brand equity are mainly, to
create a familiar brand name and a positive brand image together with strong,
favourable and unique brand associations (Keller, 1993). Even though it is
necessary for brands to communicate, brands are being shaped and influenced
greatly by consumer opinions in this era of multi-channel communications and social
media, resulting in a lessened ability to control conversations and more exposure to
the risk of negative publicity (Eiilm University, n.d.). Nonetheless, great challenges
also present greater opportunities. Instead, marketers can foster more meaningful
connections with consumers by emphasising brand-related conversations, by
deepening the understanding of their needs, and by crowd-sourcing ideas and
gathering insights that could further develop and improve products, services and
user experiences (Frampton, 2013).
Unilever’s Magnum is a very good example of how a brand builds its equity by
utilising social advertising and gamification as its strategy. The Magnum brand is
one of the first that comes to mind, when people think of ice-cream, therefore
illustrating its success (Eroglu, 2013). The two brand-building strategies will be
further explored at a later point in this report.

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Gamification
According to the Oxford Dictionary, gamification can be defined as “the integration
of game design elements and mechanics in other non-game contexts” (Oxford
Dictionary Online, 2013). To clarify, it is an idea of understanding human psychology
and behaviours that evolve around the fun, playful and challenging aspects of
games and to apply them to real-life activities (Dale, 2014). Such a gamification
strategy consists of rewards, rankings, levels, leaderboards, points, contests,
challenges and badges (Neef, 2012).
Hamari, Koivisto and Sarsa (2014) state that due to social media megatrends,
gamification has become increasingly popular in the past few years. Figures from
the Internet Advertising Bureau UK (IABUK) (2014) indicate that 32.9 million people
across the UK, including both males and females, and mostly in the 25-45 year age
bracket, participate in gaming. Accordingly, research has found that over 70 percent
of the world’s largest 2,000 companies are expected to have at least one gamified
aspect to their business by the end of 2014 (Gartner, 2011). Research firm M2
supports the statement that social games have become one of the biggest
contributors to the consistent growth of social media (Workman, 2013).
How Gamification Builds Brand Equity
In a marketing context, gamification plays an important role in creating effective
marketing strategies, in order to build brand equity and to drive success for brands
(Wise, et al., 2008). As it is a method for integrating fun and competitive elements
that support user engagement and social interaction (Hamari, Koivisto and Sarsa,
2014), which result in positive motivation, favourable behavior, as well as enhanced
experiences are brought on by gamified products or services (Burke, 2013).
Thus, the brand could create a strong emotional connection with its audience, which

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could foster an intimate relationship, lifelong loyalty and strong brand equity
(Duggan and Shoup, 2013).
It is clearly an effective strategy in the short-term, as a lot of people play these
games with particularly high levels of engagement during the initial launch of games
(Palmer, Lunceford and Patton, 2012). However, studies have found that
gamification is not a sustainable strategy. No game lasts forever, as people will
eventually lose interest and move to the ‘next big thing’. It is basic human nature
(Fisher, 2012). Since gamification only provides extrinsic incentives, such as points
and rankings, it could gradually decrease a consumer’s intrinsic motivation (Antin
and Churchill, 2011). Moreover, another risk associated with gamification is the
“moral hazard of game play”, which occurs, when participants become too focused
on the actual game and game-based incentives, rather than brand associations
(Schacht and Schacht, 2012). Hence, it is a real challenge for marketers to
implement gamification strategies that are readily adaptable to psychological and
behavioural changes, in order to maintain user interest and engagement.
Social Advertising
With the advance of the internet, consumers have become more connected with
each other and are able to socialise at all times using online networks (Kiang and
Chi, 2001). Research shows that more than two thirds of the internet population is
connected through social networking sites, such as Facebook, Twitter and MySpace
(Gole, n.d.). According to IAB, Social Advertising Best Practices, social advertising
can be defined as “an online ad that incorporates user interactions that the
consumer has agreed to display and be shared. The resulting ad displays these
interactions along with the user’s persona within the ad content” (2009). To better
illustrate, social advertising enables marketers to unlock a user’s limitless

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interconnected data and utilise information on them and their peers, including their
lists of friends, comments, messages, photos, as well as their affiliations with other
brands, products, organisations, etc. Thus, it allows them to interact, share and co-
create content on their social media platforms (Bakshy, et al., 2012).
Recent research by Tucker (2012) emphasizes, that social advertising grants
marketers the opportunity to leverage the power of an individual’s social network in
order to create personalised ads, contextualise their displays, as well as target
advertising to consumers individually on social media platforms. Moreover, social
advertising is a winning platform for companies in regards to building brand equity,
as it directly influences advocacy, as well as advertising products and services
(Pivot Conference, 2013). According to survey statistics by Gartner, Inc. (2014),
when it comes to overall global social media revenue, social advertising revenue
alone has increased by 31 percent in 2014 and is expected to grow by almost 13
percent year-on-year.
How Social Advertising Builds Brand Equity
Researches have evidenced that there is a positive relationship between social
advertising and brand equity (Moayyed, Dehyadegari and Bakhshizadeh, 2012). In
general, a consumer’s level of motivation to recommend a brand is likely to
increase, if it resonates with them. They appreciate not only what a product or
service does for them, but also the experience they have with a brand that recalls a
positive emotional reaction; one so powerful that they are willing to share it with
others (Ansari-Dunkes and Enckevort, 2013). Nowadays, the consumer’s voice
carries more weight than ever before (Frampton, 2013). Word of mouth on social
networks has become a key referencing information (Allsop, Bassett and Hoskins,
2007). In addition, approximately 78 percent of the world's consumers prefer

9
recommendations through word of mouth, when consider buying a product. In
addition, any advertisements coming from friends are believed to be more honest
and unbiased compared with advertisements from different sources of mass media
(Moayyed, Dehyadegari and Bakhshizadeh, 2012). Thus, advertising through social
media using an individual’s information and connections would definitely enhance
the efficacy in building brand equity.
The Luxury Sector
For the last fifteen years, the global luxury goods sector has been one of the most
attractive and profitable sectors, where a globalised consumption has led to
continuous growth (Kim, et al., 2011). A shift in consumer behaviour around the
world can be noticed in terms of valuing more well-known brands and a material
lifestyle (Solomon, et al., 2004). Hence, attitudes towards luxury brands have shifted
accordingly in regards to influencing brand equity (Kim, et al., 2011).
Research shows that there is a positive relationship between brand equity and
purchase intention, especially for luxury goods (Kim, et al., 2011). Although the price
of luxury goods is known to be expensive, high equity brand enthusiasts would still
be willing to pay an extra amount for these products (Ko and Kim, 2011), because
the brand has a unique and irreplaceable meaning perceived by the customers, and
they often believe luxury goods have an additional value besides the product itself
(Yang, 2010).
This reinforces that gamification and social advertising could promote the creation of
brand equity, therefore suggesting that these strategies could also increase the
purchase intention in regards to luxury goods (Ancuta, 2012).

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The Wellness Sector
According to Paul Zane Pilzer, a well known economist, the wellness sector
encompasses “products and services that promote wellness rather than respond to
illness” (2002). And wellness itself can be defined as ‘a condition of good physical,
mental and emotional health’ (American Heritage Medical Dictionary, 2014). The
emergence of advanced technology and education during the past generation has
caused a rise in wellness trends. This revolution has changed consumer perception
towards health (PWC, 2011). The wellness sector has gained in popularity and has
become mainstream, as consumers believe in the importance of healthy living and
lifestyle enhancements (Miller, 2006). Embracing wellness activities places
significant emphasis on an appropriate diet, exercise and other lifestyle
modifications (Wicken, 2000).
Despite the common knowledge that physical fitness is healthy, the level of
motivation and engagement is relatively low, or only high during the initial stage of
adoption (Bauman, et al., 2011). However, research highlights that the application of
gamification in a health-related context is escalating and has been proven to be
effective in regards to increasing an individual’s motivation, experience and
engagement, while continuously accomplishing physical wellness activities (Pereira,
et al., 2014) (Wylie, 2006).
To conclude, the combination of gamification and social advertising has led to an
increase in engagement and consumer relationships, and the two selected sectors
indicate that they are suitable for integrating both strategies in order to satisfy
consumer needs, which consequently enhances brand equity (Moise, 2013).

11
Research Approach
In order to explore how gamification and social advertising facilitate brand equity,
secondary research was conducted as the main approach of this report.
This report has been developed and re-examined through meticulous research,
mainly referring to literature reviews, including academic journals and reputable
publications specifically on marketing and other relevant areas.
Furthermore, secondary research on strategic marketing lectures and case studies
from the Imperial College Business School, along with related blogs, reports and
articles, have been thoroughly selected and critically analysed in order to broaden
an understanding of real-world practices. Additionally, a contemporary marketing
practice lecture on Magnum’s online brand equity building, ‘The Pleasure Hunt’ by
Alper Eroglu, which was presented on 2nd
December 2013, has been included in
order to better understand the concept and to gain a more in-depth insight on the
proposed statement.
Results
This chapter discusses gamification and social advertising strategies and how they
can be used effectively to build brand equity in the wellness and luxury sectors. It
also looks at a number of case studies to provide a lucid and logical understanding.
In the wellness sector, although people are aware that being physically fit is healthy,
they often tend to ignore these activities, as they see exercising and dieting as
something tedious and too much effort. The underlying assumption is that, if the
tasks were more fun, people would be more likely to engage and would feel

12
motivated to put in an effort. This is where gamification and social advertising comes
into play. These strategies help to engage people through physical activities away
from the treadmill. Instead it becomes something that is a part of their everyday
lives, as well as a personalized approach that they can actually relate to.
The Wellness Sector
Nike has adopted an integration of gamification and social advertising in order to
increase engagement and to effectively enhance brand equity. It has developed
“Nike+”, a gamified GPS-based application measuring and monitoring a user’s daily
activity data, such as the average walking speed, the distance traveled and calories
burned using a sensor connected with a mobile application. It also incorporates
game elements, such as virtual rewards and scoreboards in order to increase
engagement and interaction. In line with the current rise of smartphone usage,users
are always connected with their tracker devices and their peers, which enables real-
time and continuous tracking. They are therefore more involved and encouraged to
participate in healthy activities (Zuckerman and Oz, 2014).
This wearable device is designed to be worn directly on the body, either on the wrist
or under the foot, therefore exposing users to the brand unknowingly almost all time.
According to consumer-based brand equity theory, by making the device highly
visible, Nike has successfully created a highly salient brand, which has increased
brand recall and recognition, as well as the likelihood of the brand being in
consumer evoke sets and being on the top of the mind, when considering
purchasing sports. It is an essential foundation that links to other components in the
pyramid in order to build strong brand equity.

13
Additionally, Nike has optimised social media platforms by connecting the
application with social networks, such as Facebook. This requires users to create an
individual account and allows them to share their achievements and to challenge
fellow runners in the Nike community. Nike then utilises the data obtained to learn
directly from user behavior. It can, for example, effectively personalise advertising
by offering Nike products that are a best fit for that particular customer. Also, Nike+
encourages users to share recommendations through social networking sites, which
could result in positive word of mouth and generate referral traffic. Hence, Nike has
optimised both online and offline platforms in order to interact with its customers and
has become a part of their everyday lives.
With Nike+, not only the extrinsic incentives, such as leveling up or receiving points,
are rewarding, but the intrinsic incentives are even more appealing, as they satisfy
the need for well-being, which deepens the relationship and increases the chance of
users continuously using the product and developing equity towards the brand.
As a result, one year after launching Nike+, the company had achieved a ten
percent increase in revenue in the U.S. running shoes market and sold over 1.4
million Nike+ products, such as sport bands and iPod kits. More than 600,000
participants from 170 different countries had joined the Nike+ application by then
and the number has since increased to seven million within six years (Co-creation,
n.d.).
The success proves the effectiveness of incorporating gamification and social
advertising in the wellness sector. By enhancing exercise experiences and by
making it more attractive brand equity can be boosted.

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The Luxury Sector
In regards to the luxury sector, it requires significant investments and effort to
convince consumers to puchase high involvement products. As the products are not
a necessity, consumers do not purchase these on a routine basis. According to
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, possessing luxury goods, such as Swarovski, can
satisfy beyond the basic needs and will most likely satisfy the top levels of the
pyramid, namely self-esteem and self-actualisation (Businessball, n.d.). If a brand
can satisfy consumer needs in terms of achieving status, respect and self-fulfillment,
it can develop an intimate relationship and deeper connection with its customers,
which would also lead to strong equity towards the brand. Therefore, brand equity is
crucial to buying motivation in the luxury sector.
As mentioned earlier, gamification and social advertising are key strategies in
building brand equity. The luxury jewelry sector is an interesting sector to be
gamified, as it seems to have a different dimension, and it appears almost
impossible to engage with jewelry through games. However, by utilising gamification
and social advertising, luxury brands can be perceived as more friendly and
reachable. Swarovski is one of the most famous brands in the luxury sector. It has
implemented many different and effective marketing campaigns, including
gamification and social advertising to better engage with its target market. It was
also the first luxury jewelry brand to utilise gamification. The famous scavenger hunt
campaign “Discover Your Light Treasure Hunt” by Swarovski launched in 2011. The
goal was to build brand equity with existing high-end middle aged consumers, as
well as to extend its fan base within lower age groups. Lower age groups have a
higher perceived risk and do not often consider buying crystals and jewelry. The
campaign requires participants to use their smartphones in order to search for clues
and puzzles around London to find “hidden gems” and to earn points that would win
them splendid prizes. Not only are they able to gain a new insight into the Swarovski

15
treasure hunt’s 40 locations, which spontaneously build connections and
attachments, but they are also exposed to personalised advertisements along the
game (Drisk, 2011).
According to the customer voluntary participation model, positive word-of-mouth and
customer participation are the key to re-purchase behaviour and brand loyalty
(Merlo, 2013). Swarovski has fully utilised customer participation in its scavenger
hunt campaign in order to encourage positive word-of-mouth and by emphasisinge
engagement, which could further trigger purchase intention and enhance brand
equity.
Moreover, prior to the launch of the campaign, Swarovski’s advertisements were
very prominent, using billboards, fully-wrapped taxis and in-store promotions to
aggressively raise brand awareness. Not only has Swarovski now also utilised
gamified elements in launching the scavenger hunt campaign, but it has also
exploited social media elements by involving participants online to find additional
clues and to enable them to share their experience using social media networks.
Swarovski uses the data gathered online to personalise advertisements for its target
customers and offers those products that are most related to them in order to
increase purchase intention and future purchase opportunities. The analysis shows
that social advertising is another crucial means of attracting consumers. The
products themselves are high-involvement and high risk-purchases requiring
personal relatedness and positive emotional connections, which can be fully
satisfied through social advertising.
It is very clear that Swarovski has engaged with its target consumers by using both
online and offline platforms to effectively interact and build strong relationships.

16
This campaign was a huge success in regards to winning fans and building the
brand. It was able to accomplish its goal of extending the fan base to a lower age
group, as more than 600 participants aged 20-30 voluntarily joined the campaign
(Disneyrollergirl, 2011). The success was also proven in a significant 30 percent
increase in Twitter followers and Facebook fans (Boye, 2011).

17
Conclusion
The literature reviews and the case studies for the two sectors show that by
incorporating game elements, fun and innovative experiences can be introduced to
the learning and buying process. For consumers, it becomes more attractive and
more feasible to interact with luxury products, as well as building affective
attachments and personal relationships through personalised advertising.
When comparing the case studies of Nike+ and Swarovski with Magnum, it can be
seen that they have adopted similar strategies. The results are also very promising
in terms of building equity for all brands. By contrast, Nike+ and Swarovski are
involved with users not only online, but also offline. All brands offer extrinsic value
through game elements and social networks. However, Nike+ and Swarovski offer
both extrinsic and intrinsic value in terms of promoting well-being and enhancing
self-actualisation and therefore reducing the problem of moral hazards in terms of
game playing and the risks associating with purchasing high-involvement products.
All in all, it can be concluded from the research, the case studies, as well as the
analyses, that in this digital era, gamification and social advertising strategies play a
very important role in regards to brand equity creation across different sectors by
engaging consumers, as well as better serving their needs. Despite the wellness
and luxury sector being completely different, they both utilise gamification and social
advertising strategies to effectively promote equity for the brands in both sectors.

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Recommendations
The below recommendations are based on Keller’s customer-based brand equity
model and focus on gamification and social advertising implementation in order to
build strong and sustainable brand equity. The model consists of four fundamental
stages, namely, and in chronological order, identity, meaning, response and
relationships.
1. Identity
In this first step, marketers need to ensure that clients perceive the true brand
identity, which can be achieved through building high brand awareness.
With the rise of social networking and the big data concepts, a proper content
marketing execution through social advertising can effectively facilitate brand
awareness in regards to the wellness and luxury sectors. Marketers can utilise
consumer information in order to create more personal and meaningful content and
to enhance selective attention towards the brand. For instance, brands could use
consumer data on how often they exercise or purchase jewellery to identify
influence factors for engaging them in such activities and to create personalised
campaigns or promotions to trigger positive motivation and behaviour. Using Nike+
as an example, it encourages participants to publicise their achievements, such as
earning a new title or moving up to the next level, as well as challenges and
achieving a public recognition of their accomplishments by fellow participants in
order to boost awareness and drive traffic. However, Nike could also integrate other
rising social media channels, such as Snap Chat or Vine in order to raise awareness
amongst consumers who use such media channels.

19
Also, it is essential for the brands to differentiate themselves and to stand out from
the crowd, so that potential consumers become aware and remember the brands,
when making future purchases. Considering the newness of gamification, marketers
could utilise this innovation to create virality and to make the brand salient in the
consumer’s mind. To do so, wellness brands could introduce game elements to a
consumer’s regular activities, such as calory counting and earning points when
goals are reached. At the same time, luxury brands could use gamification to
integrate an augmented reality to educate consumers about their products and to
enhance in-store experiences.
2. Meaning
Marketers are advised to conduct extensive market research in order to realise the
consumers’ true needs for both rational and emotional aspects. They could utilise
social media analytics tools to constantly monitor trends and behaviour patterns by
obtaining consumer information on their likes and dislikes, as well as to leverage
their connections to further obtain peer information. Hence, the results should be
translated to develop social advertisement that best serves a consumer’s needs.
Also, marketers should focus on educating consumers about the brand through
superior customer service and the company’s website, to which game elements
could be attached to in order to increase engagement and efficiency in
communicating brand personality.
Moreover, marketers should always implement activities that are consistent to the
brand image in order to avoid the brand meaning and identity being diluted. When
integrating gamification with luxury brands, it needs to be considered that they are in
a completely different dimension, with luxury brands being perceived as exclusive
and superior, and games being seen as playful and a product for the masses.

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Hence, there is a threat of brand dilution and consumer confusion, which could be
prevented by implementing brand revitalisation. Swarovski could revitalise the brand
by creating a sub-brand targeting a younger generation, including younger designs,
yet maintaining a high quality in materials used.
3. Response
At this stage, marketers need to ensure that they evoke positive consumer
judgments and feelings, in order to attain a positive response towards the brand.
To assist consumer responses with the moral hazard of game play, marketers are
recommended to provide additional intrinsic values along with extrinsic ones, so that
the consumers are not overwhelmed by the game elements and game-based
incentives, but rather appreciate more of the value the brand offers. For example,
Nike+ products’ extrinsic value is enabling consumers to track and monitor their
activities, but they are more satisfied with the intrinsic value they offer in regards to
enhancing well-being. As a result, they enjoy playing games and appreciate the
brand.
4. Resonance
In order to reach the top of the brand equity pyramid, it is most important for
marketers to establish very strong psychological and emotional connections with the
respective brand. Most importantly, marketers need to know what consumers value,
and offer products or campaigns accordingly in order to reflect and empower values.
Building brand resonance can be broken down into four categories.
4.1 Behavioural loyalty

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Marketers could offer related products that only work with other products of the
same brand in order to make consumers dependent on the brand and to trigger
repeat purchases. Considering the Nike case, Nike+ devices can be solely fitted and
operated with Nike shoes and other related products, such as iPod holders that only
fit with Nike costumes. This can trigger consumers to purchase other related
products, once they have purchased one product. The luxury sector, on the other
hand, could promote behavioural loyalty through offering premium services and
exclusive loyalty programmes, such as personalised incentives or gamified status
memberships, like leaderboards showing the most frequent buyers.
4.2 Attitudinal Attachment
To increase emotional connections, marketers should offer an intrinsic value and
make the brand special beyond its products or services. For example, the wellness
sector could launch charity running events to create a deeper emotional attachment,
because it not only promotes well-being, but also contributes to society. The luxury
sector, on the other hand, could launch events that are invite-only for VIPs, in order
to make consumers feel more special and to create a stronger bond with the brand.
4.3 Sense of Community
Marketers could create communities to better promote health and fitness or luxury
lifestyles for consumers to communicate, interact and share brand values with
those, who have similar interests. To do so, marketers could use social influencers
in order to enhance the expertise and credibility of conversations and activities in
those sectors. Nike in particular could endorse famous sports players so as to
encourage them to become opinion leaders in their community.

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4.4 Active Engagement
We live in an era of constantly available digital smart devices. Applying gamification
and social advertising in regards to mobile appliances could improve active
consumer engagement, as research has shown that people spend an average of
8.68 hours a day using mobile devices (Miller, 2014). Moreover, brands could
further build positive word of mouth promotion and referrals through social
conversations and sharing, and finally, encourage strong personal relationships and
loyal followers.

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References
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