Juozėnaitė, Eglė

Brand value co-creation is one of the most influential concepts in modern marketing. The involvement of consumers in a range of active activities, including development, feedback, advocacy, and support, can co-create brand value. Brands engage consumers in brand value co-creation by satisfying their needs. The benefits of brand value co-creation for companies include increased sales, market share, brand awareness, brand satisfaction, and consumer loyalty. The present article analyses brand value co-creation through Pierre Bourdieu“s approach to the structures of power. The investigative problem of this study is expressed through the following research question: What power structures do brands use in the brand value co-creation? The main objective of this paper is to analyse brand value co-creation through Pierre Bourdieu“s approach to the structures of power. The methods employed include scientific literature review, systematic and comparative analyses, semi-structured interviews, and generalization. The results of the study reveal that brand value co-creation functions as a power structure. This power manifests through the satisfaction of consumer desires and needs. In the case of the BMW brand, the brand allows consumers to express and create their identity, improve their image, belong to a community, and feel part of it. The BMW brand creates an attractive image that influences consumers“ thinking and behaviour in the direction desired by the brand, and consumers do not directly experience the effects of this power structure, as it exists in a way that is not directly understood. The study conducted 12 semi-structured interviews with members of the BMW brand community. It is revealed that most informants associated the brand with exclusivity, power, and high status. By internalising brand values and conforming to community norms, consumers may unconsciously recreate and reinforce brand power structures. This may involve symbolic violence, as the pressure to conform to brand-related standards may reinforce social inequality. Thus, brand value co-creation may function not only as a collaborative process but also as a mechanism that recreates power structures.

The brand value co-creation is one of the most influential concepts in modern marketing. Brand value co-creation is defined as a joint process that involves customers and providers creating some output of value. Value co-creation is an interactive process where the involved actors collaborate to create value for each other. Value can be derived through interaction with the firm, its brands, and its value propositions; it can also arise through the process of consumption, and value can be created through network relationships and social interactions among all the actors in the ecosystem. The brand value co-creation framework enables the creation of value for all parties involved. The value co-creation of a brand benefits companies by increasing sales, market share, brand awareness, brand satisfaction, and consumer loyalty. This article discusses the value created for consumers involved in brand value co-creation. Involving consumers in a range of proactive activities, including development, feedback, advocacy, and support, can work together to create consumer perceptions of the brand's value. The paper describes how brand value co-creation can be manifested through consumers' engagement behavior in brand activities. The different understandings of brand value for consumers and how brand value co-creation dimensions can be understood are discussed. The article describes the features and practices of functional, emotional, social, individual, moral, and ethical dimensions of value. The research methods used in this academic article include literature review, systematic analysis, and generalization. The main purpose of this article is to enhance the public relations, communication, and marketing managers' knowledge and raise their qualifications in understanding the features and practices of the brand value co-creation dimensions.

Recent advances in information technologies have made it easier for individuals to post their opinions and experiences about firms’ products/services on social media. Such posts are called user-generated content (UGC). UGC could be in the form of images, videos, social media content, testimonials, product reviews, live streams, blog posts, YouTube content, and any other form. This content influences companies and other online users. UGC can have two sides, the good and the bad. The companies encourage positive UGC because it is a powerful tool for brands to increase brand authenticity, social proof, and engagement, and provide valuable insights into customer preferences and behaviors. By leveraging UGC, brands can build a loyal customer base and increase brand awareness and reach. However, a positive UGC impact can be eroded by a negative UGC. The negative UGC may have a negative effect on firms and their brand value, customers, stakeholders' opinions, and trust. That is why it is important for public relations, communication, and marketing specialists and managers to develop a broader understanding of the UGC and the types of strategies for managing negative UGC. The paper overviews the types of non-sponsored and sponsored UGC. Also, the paper describes the consumer's motivation for creating a negative UGC through prospect theory, which explains the loss-avoidance tendency, and attribution theory, which posits that individuals will behave differently to a product failure depending upon who they feel is to blame. Furthermore, the main types of strategies (no response, accommodative, and defensive approaches) to manage the negative UGC are overviewed. The research methods used in this academic article include literature review, systematic analysis, and generalization. The main purpose of this article is to present some recommendations that would help public relations, communication, and marketing managers to enhance their knowledge and raise their qualifications in understanding the strategies, which could help to manage negative UGC.

The article focuses on brand value co-creation and how brand managers, marketing managers, public relations specialists, and communication specialists could expand their knowledge and deepen their understanding of the ways in which they could implement co-creation activities to create brand value. Brand value co-creation occurs when customers provide their time, energy, money, and knowledge to brand owners, which can be used to develop, refine, or extend brands. Brand co-creation is an attractive and inexpensive marketing strategy for firms entering new markets and developing new brand meanings. In the article, two ways of co-creating brand value are presented: relationship management strategy and sense-making strategy. Both building relationships with consumers and other stakeholders and sensemaking are integral parts of brand value co-creation. Relationship management efforts can boost the quality of relationships the organization has with its target customers and help foster value co-creation. The consumers desire to socialize and participate in online activities is discussed, as is how the need for socialization could be used to develop the relationship between the brand and its stakeholders. Relationship management helps to create consumer loyalty to the brand and provides support for the consumers. Consumers who feel supported are more likely to share large amounts of information that can be used to develop brands. The article discusses the sense-making strategy, the process that helps to create shared understandings among relevant stakeholders for collective action. Sensemaking refers to a process, prompted by violated expectations, that involves attending to and bracketing cues in the environment, creating intersubjective meaning through cycles of interpretation and action, and thereby enacting a more ordered environment from which further cues can be drawn. The individuals can engage in sense-making of their own and develop a shared understanding of an issue. Sensemaking takes place between individuals, where shared understanding is developed through a mutually co-constituted process. The research methods used in this academic article include a literature review, systematic analysis, and generalization. The main purpose of this article is to present some recommendations that would help brand managers, marketing managers, public relations specialists, and communication specialists to expand their knowledge and deepen their understanding of brand value co-creation and raise their qualifications in understanding the strategies that could help manage brand value co-creation activities.

Influencer marketing is a form of the social media marketing that involves product placements and endorsements from online creators. In today’s competitive marketing landscape, brands are collaborating with influencers more firmly than ever, as partnerships with well-known creators can open the door to large potential audiences. Companies use influencer campaigns to increase sales, reach better awareness, and encourage user-generated content (UGC). Social media influencers are individuals who can strongly impact their social media circles. Influencers outperform brand organic posts in terms of engagement metrics such as likes and comments as well as behavioral variables such as unique website visits and purchases. The paper identifies and describes the different types of social media influencers: mega-influencers, macro-influencers, micro-influencers, and nano-influencers, also virtual influencers. In the article, types of UGC creators are described, and their contributions to the brand. The paper describes how influencer marketing could encourage UGC and be beneficial for education, and the learning process. To reach this goal two strategies are described in the article: content strategy and community strategy. The specifics of the application of these strategies are discussed and the ways how it could help to create a more engaging learning experience. The article delves into the process of creating a bond and relationship between influencers and followers, developing consumers' cognitive and affective commitment to the influencer. The article also discusses different theories, which help to better understand how the relationships between influencers and their followers are built. In the article social capital, social exchange, and relationship management theories are described. The research methods used in this academic article include the literature review, systematic analysis, and generalization.

Straipsnyje analizuojama emocijomis grįsta komunikacija, baimės ir vilties taktikų specifika. Baimės ir vilties komunikacija pasitelkiama politikos, marketingo, reklamos, žiniasklaidos, pardavimų, svei-katos srityse. Pasitelkiant emocijas, siekiama pakeisti komunikacijos gavėjų elgesį norima kryptimi, pasiekti pageidaujamų tikslų. Baimės ir vilties emocijomis grįsta komunikacija turi savo specifiką ir netinkamas jų panaudojimas gali sukelti nenumatytas gavėjų reakcijas, būti neefektyvus arba sukelti priešingą reakciją nei tikimasi, todėl itin svarbu suprasti baimės ir vilties taktikų specifiką.

Purpose. The purpose of this article is to reveal the role of conflict management in organizational public relations management in managing relationships with its public groups and stakeholders. Design/methodology/approach. In this article, the conflict management role in the public relations management field is analyzed, and a systematic and logical analysis of scientific literature is performed. Finding. Conflict management skills can help public relations managers to develop trust among the organization and its stakeholders. Ineffective conflict management negatively affects an organization by generating more conflict. There are five types of causes of conflicts: interests, structural, value, data, and relationship. Public relations practitioners can use these conflict resolution styles: collaborating, accommodating, avoiding, compromising, and competing. For conflict management, also, game theory is used. Organizations should create a positive conflict climate, to encourage transparency, frequent communication, and empathy. Understanding the theory of conflict management and implementing it in an organization is key to managing disagreements successfully. Research limitations/implications. The scope of the present paper is limited because it is only a primary attempt to develop an understanding of the role of conflict management in public relations. Also, empirical investigations are needed to prove the literature review findings. Practical implications. The results of this study can be useful for public relations managers, marketing and communication strategists, communication and marketing scientists in making decisions that would help public relations managers to manage conflicts. Originality/Value. This article can be useful for public relations managers, marketing and communication specialists, the academic researchers, who specialize in the field of public relations management and communication. This article could help policymakers manage public relations using conflict resolution strategies. Successfully applying conflict resolution theory social changes could be done, encouraging finding a constructive resolution of conflicts and creating a more diplomatic environment, enhancing cooperation not only in Lithuania but also in the world.

The article analyzes the concept of scent marketing, the effects of scent on consumers’ perceptions, and reviews the effects of scent on consumers’ behavior. Scent marketing is a way of sensory marketing. Scents can be applied in various forms of a product to differentiate, position, and strengthen a brand and its image. Fragrance helps to create a first impression and can affect feelings, emotions, and behavior subconsciously. Consumers semantically connect certain scents to warm sensations, while relating others to cold sensations. Scent manipulations lead consumers to feel warmer or cooler, also scents affect consumers’ food consumption behavior, potential voters’ preferences, and perception of the environment. Scent positively influences consumers’ willingness to pay a price premium, and purchase more premium brands. The right scent can tempt customers to spend longer at a business. Scent marketing plays a role in making the environment more effective, which is why some brands patented their signature fragrances. A signature scent that fits with the brand can evoke positive emotional responses, make customers recall their experiences, and distinguish the brand from its competitors.

In the last century brand building was entrusted to advertising, promotion, and personal selling. Brand building exercise has become more comprehensive where events like exhibitions, road shows, seminars, e-mail, and personal selling are all used in harmony. Perhaps the best way to build a brand is through word-of-mouth and public relations. Nowadays companies provide a little extra to the customers buying their product and starting word-of-mouth that keeps augmenting the brand value amongst the buyers. Brand communities are groups of consumers who perceive each other to be very similar in aspects of self-expression or identity, have the same interests, and share similar ideas. In the article, the community funnel is discussed to understand what makes consumers become brand community members. The research methods used in this academic article include the literature review, systematic analysis, and generalization. Brand communities provide a platform for members to share ideas, consumption experiences, preferences, and recommendations, and also promote customers' brand advocacy. Communities are primarily valuable to brands for two reasons: 1) They create a built-in source of real-time user feedback; 2) They foster friendships rooted in an affinity for the brand. The main types of consumer engagement in the brand community are - word-of-mouth, recommendations, helping other customers, blogging, writing, and reviews are discussed. User involvement in brand communities is divided into the following dimensions: identification, active effort, trust, commitment, connection, and social interaction.