Relationship between Brand Awareness and Purchasing Intention in Event Management

DBA Thesis
“An Investigation in to the relationship between brand awareness and purchasing intention,
recommending of the suitable sales strategy for a mid-sized event based company”.

ABSTRACT
The ultimate aim of any firm is to gain maximum profit. This is only possible when they
are able to understand the needs and requirements of customers and deliver those services
accordingly. Brand values of customers towards companies increases when the set of
requirements listed by service users are satisfied. The rate of competition has risen tremendously
in all sectors. Firms make use of strategies so that they attract more and more customers. The
focus is made on identifying the factors that affect the purchase intention of customers in relation
with event management.
In order to conduct the research both primary and secondary methods were used. More
specifically, 10 different event management firms are selected from the UK. So in total there
were 10 managers and 100 customers with whom interviews and questionnaires were conducted.
These respondents were selected as they were helpful enough to provide adequate information
for the research topic.
From the findings, the analysis showed that an individual’s perception is positive for the
services and products when a firm has high brand recognition. Further, a major focus needs to be
made on high quality of goods and services by organisations so as to raise brand loyalty among
customers.
Key words- Customer intention, purchse, brand management, competition, brand loyalty,

TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT 2
Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 Overview 1
1.2 Significance of the study 4
1.3 Problem statement 7
1.4 Research aim and objectives 8
1.5 Research questions 9
1.6 Research framework 9
1.7 Structure of the thesis 11
1.8 Summary 13
Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 14
2.1 Introduction 14
2.2 Concept of branding 14
2.3 Importance of branding to mid-size businesses 21
2.4 Concept of brand awareness and intention to purchase 25
2.5 Importance of brand awareness for event management industry in UK 30
2.6 Impact of brand awareness on intention of purchasing 37
2.7 Key factors influencing the intention to purchase 46
2.8 Effectiveness of customised sales strategy influencing purchase intention of target
customers. 54
2.9 Branding strategies 55
2.10 Role of branding in marketing 56
2.11 Summary 58
CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 59
3.1 Introduction 59
3.2 Data collection methods 60
3.3 Research Philosophy 63
3.4 Research approach 65

3.5 Research Design 67
3.6 Sampling 69
3.7 Data analysis 70
3.8 Accessibility Issues 73
3.9 Ethical consideration 74
3.10 Conclusion 76
3.11 Summary 77
CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS 78
4.1 Introduction 78
4.2 Interview carried out from the managers of 10 mid-sized event companies 78
4.3 Questionnaire collected from customers 89
4.4 Chi-square test 114
CHAPTER 5 Discussion 119
5.2 Summary 132
CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 133
6.1 Conclusion 133
6.2 Recommendations 146
6.3 Summary 149
CONCEDPTUAL FRAMEWORK 151
REFERENCES 152
APPENDIX 1 181
Interview with managers 181
APPENDIX 2 182
Questionnaires for customers 182
APPENDIX 3 186
Appendix 4 209
Appendix 5 215
Participant information sheet 216
Appendix 6 217

Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Overview
Management of an event is a crucial task which requires the active attention of parties
associated with the same so as to render a perfect quality of services. This is considered as the
project management kind of approach under which varied activities are scheduled with regard to
the cost and time involved for each. This proves to be effective by integrating all business
activities and support management in order to carry out their operation activities effectively. It is
very important to shed light on brand awareness in order to increase the purchase intention of
customers. This is because, if a customer is familiar with a particular brand, this aids to increase
the attention of consumers and create word of mouth recommendation (Mazodier and Merunka,
2012). This proves to be effective for business to increase overall rate of return and raises the
satisfaction level of customers
There are some key factors which aid to promote the customers purchase decision to a
great extent: factors such as brand, social media and word of mouth as well as conversations.
Other factors such as intelligence, creativeness and trustworthiness are some of the factors which
influence buyers to purchase a particular product or service. This in turn it becomes easy to grab
their attention and ensure their inclusion in the process of repeat purchase decision (Chang and
Chen, 2014). It indicates a clear link between a particular brand and the repeat purchase decision
of customers. Also parties show their interest towards the brands by seeing advertisements and
other related strategies. The purchasing decisions of buyers is affected and due to that overall
sales performance of the company gets influenced. It is critical that the impact of these factors
should be considered so that improvements can be made in the performance of the organisation.
Along with this brand awareness impacts on the consumer’s purchasing decisions about the
business. There are many external and internal elements that give influence on the buying
decisions and due to that the purchase of products and services in the market gets affected.
Advice and recommendations given by friends and family members affect the thought process of
the buyer.
Companies integrate the customer facing activities so that it becomes easy to provide
them with quick information related to products and services. Not only this but with the help of
customer focused activities the firm gains the trust. Furthermore, online targeting strategies are
applied by marketers so as to make it possible for customers to be effectively connected with the
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business and getting information regarding the varied kind of products and services: for example,
information Websites and PR as well as loyalty programmes (Aaker and Joachimsthaler, 2012).
Initiatives are taken by the business like Ticket Desk so as to attract clients and make them aware
of new offerings of the business. In this way, corporations gain the attraction of buyers and make
it possible for them to get good quality services and an appropriate business environment. Also
companies develop the expertise of personnel, enabling them to focus on the products and
services of the corporation (Hafeez and et al., 2016). This proves to be effective in determining
the long-term success and development of the company.
Branding of an event has its own importance such as promotion, creating brand strategy
and setting it up for success. In this manner, event management companies effectively promote
their services just with the help of branding (Kalafatis, 2016). It enables a firm to spread the
information related to event management organisation and makes customers aware of the
importance of the particular brand. Furthermore, brand awareness is considered as the dominant
choice tactic among the buyers. However, some of the customers do prefer a brand just because
of their involvement and emotional appeal with the same (Balakrishnan, Nekhili and Lewis,
2011). So, they do not consider the same item in terms of price and quality due to their focus on
brand only. Therefore, it becomes important for an organisation to promote the given brand and
accordingly cater for their customer’s requirement appropriate with the introduction of several
kinds of promotional tools and technologies (Zhao, Sun and Kakuda 2017).
The present investigation is based on Ticket Desk companies which are associated with
several kinds of West End shows, currency exchange and concert tickets, as well tour packages.
They have contracts with several companies such as big buss and golden tours, as well as
secondary agents, in order to increase revenue and meet the expectations of all related
stakeholders in an effectual manner (Andaleeb, 2016). The organisation is situated in Central
London and customer foot falls are more than 400 customers every day. This reflects the higher
sales turnover for the business and, attracts more and more customers because of the good
quality of services. The company contacts with different suppliers or parties such as TUI and
thetrainline.com as well Saga (Herzog, Lepa and Egermann, 2016). Cultural exhibitions and
sightseeing tend to form the integral part of our product range. This makes it easy to offer the
services with competitive prices (Osakwe, Chovancova and Ogbonna, 2016). Also, restaurant
packages and group rates are charged in order to provide a rich experience for the users.
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Moreover, Ticket Desk provides the services for several tourist attraction, such as the London
Zoo and London Eye and London Aquarium (Booth and Matic, 2011),also, the Tower of London
and London Dungeon. Thus, the firm is working in partnership with many other parties through
which it becomes easy to organise the most appropriate event in accordance with different
parties. It proves to be effective for deriving the higher level of satisfaction among varied parties
and retains them for a longer time span (Pickering, 2017). In addition to this, a sightseeing tour
of the centre includes Charing Cross Island and Leicester Square Station, as well as the Criterion
Theatre. These attractions remain open in accordance with the convenience of visitors, and
provides them with an appropriate kind of service package and also helps them to organise their
events in a most effective manner (Shaltoni, 2017).
Feedback taken from consumers aids in making positive improvements in the overall
performance of the business and also weak performing areas can be easily identified. Comment
card systems can also be used so that difficulties and issues faced by the consumers can be
evaluated and on the basis of that, strategies and action plans can be formed (Liu, Z. and et al.,
2016). The event management sector is facing huge challenges and competition, and therefore it
is critical that strategic approaches should be made so that competitive advantage can be gained
for the business (Padfield and et al., 2016). Moreover, strategies and action plans used by rival
firms can also be identified so that better ,more effective measures can be taken for meeting with
the challenges from the rival firms. The satisfaction level of consumers is essential so that more
consumers can be added in the business and potential buyers can be identified. This will help for
ensuring growth and success for the enterprise (Nguyen and et al., 2016).
The event management sector sheds light on promoting their services and giving higher
level of satisfaction among customers. It is considered as the effective aspect whereby the
competitive edge of the business is created (Green, 2016). For this purpose, focus is laid on
quality, price and other related aspects. Ticket Desk follows its structured approach with the
specific requirements of the customers taken into account, and they are provided services
accordingly. It can be critically evaluated that if the business does not follow the most
appropriate approach, then the company will pay the cost in terms of higher loss (Braimah and
Tweneboah-Koduah, 2011). Extra benefits associated with service delivery are considered by the
users or corporation from which customer satisfaction can be increased to a great extent
(Osakwe, Chovancova and Ogbonna. 2016). It contributes towards generating a positive attitude
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among customers and making them aware of a particular brand. Brand awareness among
customers indicates that consumers are possessing the necessary knowledge regarding the brand
(Pickering, 2017). It is the biggest reason that corporations operating in the event management
industry prepare the emotional communication package in order to create a positive affective
response (Bruhn, Schoenmueller and Schäfer, 2012). This leads to increase their loyalty towards
the brand. Customers prefer the brand which attracts them and meets their requirement to a great
extent. Also, good interaction with their relatives is important to have positive word of mouth in
the marketplace (Shaltoni, 2017).
Advice given by friends and family members plays a vital role in influencing the thought
process of buyers. If positive recommendations are given by friends, family members and
relatives this will encourage the buyer to purchase the products that are offered by the
organisation (Liu, Z. and et al., 2016). If negative reviews are given by friends and family
members this will create a negative brand image of the firm. The company should regularly
make efforts to interact and communicate with the buyers. Social media platforms can be used
for making positive interaction with consumers (Padfield and et al., 2016). They enhance the
business experiences of buyers who are then most likely to repurchase the products and services
offered by the company. Event management companies can make use of innovative approaches
so that positive reviews can be gained from the buyers. This will aid for ensuring long-term
growth and survival of the business (Nguyen and et al., 2016).
1.2 Significance of the study
Brand awareness is very important for the purpose of the upward direction of the business
which assists the corporation to create a strong market position. It aids to integrate all business
activities and support the business in deriving a valid outcome (Rexhepi and et al., 2017). It
assists a corporation to adopt the most suitable sales strategies so as to increase the attention of
customers towards a particular brand which best meets their expectations. In the modern era,
competition is increasing highly, which makes it imperative for businesses to grab the attention
of the buyers (Brodie and et al., 2016). For this purpose, it is very important to shed light on the
expectations of customers. The role of the latest communication technology is very important
through which companies come into contact with buyers and make them aware of the range of
products and services (Ewing, 2017). It is a fact that brand conscious customers would not likely
switch to another brand frequently, unless they become dissatisfiedwith the current one (Buil, De
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