eThesis - Kauppakorkeakoulun sähköiset gradut

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Media branding has been receiving increasing academic attention in recent years. Competition for audiences and advertisers has increased with the fragmentation of the media field into more niche providers. Media branding is recognized as a means to create competitive advantage in this highly competitive field. Event marketing is regarded as an effective way of creating engagement around brands, and some media companies of today have incorporated event marketing into their media sales strategy by selling events as solutions to their advertising clients. Niche media companies in particular face the need to compete with means other than wide coverage. The aim of this thesis is to bring together research on media branding, media engagement and event marketing to shed light on how event marketing helps to create a strong media brand in the market for audiences and advertisers and thus create competitive advantage for a niche media company.

Qualitative case study methodology was used in this study. The primary data was obtained from semi-structured interviews with managers of the case company Oy Basso Media Ltd - a Finnish media company and design agency that operates primarily in radio broadcasting - and its event partners. The research design was strengthened with data triangulation. Qualitative content analysis of the transcribed interview narratives was the main analysis method.

Based on the theoretical framework together with the empirical findings a final model of media branding with event marketing is constructed to demonstrate how co-creation of events that serve the needs of partners, advertisers and the media company can help to build a strong media brand and create competitive advantage. My findings suggest that audience engagement and a strong brand community are the two main outcomes of event marketing that create competitive advantage in the market for audiences and advertisers. Quality of the advertorial content (the event) and fit between the advertorial content and media brand are central moderating factors in the branding process that managers need to control in these collaborative events. By differentiating their brand with events, a niche media company can build relationships with their audiences, fostering an engaged brand community that advertisers want to reach. This in turn should enhance the media brand's value in the eyes of advertisers and thus lead to more profitable advertiser relationships.