Branding with content : Digital content marketing as a viable online brand equity approach for Software-as-a-Service firms in business markets

Abstract

Background: The advent of the Internet has created challenges and opportunities for branding. While, purely online brands, such as Software-as-a-Service applications, are expected to generate online brand equity in digital settings, online business consumers display a growing resistance to marketing messages and make decisions based on personal standards. The shifting branding paradigms call for alternative marketing communications approaches and marketers are, now, increasingly using content to achieve business and branding goals online. Purpose: Extant academic literature has produced fragmented insights in relation to online branding in business markets as well as in Software-as-a-Service contexts. Therefore, the purpose of the current research is to examine how Software-as-a-Service brands create online brand equity by distributing firm-generated content targeted to business consumers. Methods: The research strategy was grounded on the development of a theoretical framework based on existing branding literature and adapted for the purposes of the current research. A qualitative case study research approach was adopted and, as a result, the findings were derived from the examination of a Finnish Software-as-a-Service firm with business customers. The data collection methods comprised of semi-structured interviews and observation. Results: The study found that value-added, firm-generated content, delivered through the content marketing process, can impact online brand equity by positively affecting brand perceptions in the minds of target consumer groups. Furthermore, the empirical findings showed that content can also be used as a tool to achieve organizational goals, such as customer conversion and sales.