Investigation of a Brand: The Identity in Web-based Communication and Perceptions of Akhmadullina Dreams

In spite of the growing attention to brand research in recent years, few studies have sought to investigate a brand identity and its web-representation to better understand how it communicates its dispositional characteristics and how it is perceived by customers. The authors generate new insights and research propositions in a case study of the Russian women’s clothing brand “Akhmadullina Dreams” to provide findings on the brand identity and its contribution to the brand’s success. In this descriptive study, the Akhmadullina Dreams brand is defined through several analytical stages by using a mixed-method design. The initial stage involves multi-dimensional brand-related settings analysis [Kotler, 2006]: brand-as-person, brand-asproduct, brand-as-organization, and brand-as-symbol. Discourse and semiotic analyses uncover key brand features and the resemblances of the brand to a cultural concept. The critical discourse analysis determines the key features of web communication and its contribution to the brand identity. A psycholinguistic associative experiment shows how successful the brand is in maintaining its identity and delivering its primaries to the customers and, on the other hand, the meaning the customers perceive. The results have significant relevance for those in brand-related spheres: brand creators, content writers, fashion bloggers, linguists, and journalists.