THE EFFECTS OF REBRANDING ON CUSTOMER’S PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

Overall, this thesis aimed to explore the rebranding process and its influence from the customer point of view. The objective was to evaluate the success of a new brand design for *ship Startup Festival event from the customer' perspective. The focus was on the case study of *ship Startup Festival, the startup event for all entrepreneurs and startups in Kymenlaakso, Finland. The research examined the process of *ship's campaign, which has partially rebranded the previous event design, symbols, fonts and images. Therefore, the study assumed and investigated that the changes would impact the participant' points of view, both old and new. The theoretical framework was compiled from a literature survey on branding, rebranding and customer-based brand equity, from which the empirical study was derived. According to the theoretical framework, the rebranding process was explained as a map showing how it affects brand equity, brand identity, brand association and ultimately customer's perspective. This construct summarizes the theory and provides an understanding of the rebranding process for the case company as an international startup event. The main research method is a mixed-method approach using surveys and customer interviews. The participants selected to be interviewed participated in the *ship Startup Festival this year and last year. The customer surveys could be used for event participants this year, last year, or both. Survey results indicate that the rebranding of *ship Startup Festival has been moderately successful. *ship Startup Festival rebranding affects customer's perception positively, which the new brand is far high-rise than the previous year' brand. Clearly, this illustrates the success of conveying the new brand identity effectively.