Abstract

Background. Brand perception and consumer loyalty studies have a special interdisciplinary status, where both economic comprehension of the studied problems and social and psychological reflection of consumer behavior are important to form any predictions. Researchers emphasize that a successful brand has a rich clear identity in communication with the consumer, which can be reflected through stable associations with the company. It is worth noting that the studied phenomenon has a complex multidimensional structure, where the logo is one of the components. 

Objective. The paper attempts to explore the perception of brands through qualitative methods. The tasks are to identify and analyze consumers’ associations with them, as well as to describe the criteria revealing the visual expressiveness of the brand, on the one hand, and the ways to increase consumer loyalty through changes in the company logo, on the other hand. 

Sample. The study involved 12 people aged 22 to 24 years. Due to the purpose of the study, sampling involved no criteria for awareness of the selected brands or experience in using their products. 

Method. The empirical study was carried out in several steps. At the preparatory stage of work, an incentive material was formed, consisting of 15 brand logos of different categories. When choosing stimulus material, two criteria were met, including the presence of images that are not related to brand’s products on the logo, and diversity in price categories and trademark areas. Data collection was carried out in the framework of a semi-structured interview with the use of associative techniques. The received submissions were categorized and interpreted in terms of thematic analysis. At the next stage, the elements of logos, according to which subjects evaluated the visual expressiveness of the brand, were identified. 

Results. The most attractive in terms of visual expressiveness logos were identified, thematic categories of associations about the brands under study were identified and interpreted. As a result, criteria for the visual expressiveness of the brand were formed and practical recommendations to promote consumer loyalty were proposed. 

Conclusion. The chosen research strategy allowed us to analyze in detail the various elements of the logos and, as a result, describe the criteria that reflect visual expressiveness of the brand. The most important criteria are: consistency in the elements of the presented logo and the correspondence of the logo and its elements to visual images that are used by the brand in marketing strategies to promote the product.