Advertising and Promotion Management Commons^™

Application Of Crisis Communication Theories During The 2019 College Admissions Scandal: Operation Varsity Blues, Rebecca Grach

Senior Honors Theses

Operation Varsity Blues was a federal investigation in 2019 that discovered an enormous college admissions scandal, where wealthy parents were paying to have someone bribe school officials or coaches with the end goal of having their child accepted into an elite university. As the investigation was released, each of the eight universities involved sent out press releases that explained where the university stood regarding the scandal and what they were doing in response. Using the well-establish crisis communication theories of Benoit’s Image Repair Theory (1995) and Coomb’s Situational Crisis Communication Theory (2007), a qualitative content analysis on the communications from …

A Sweet Future For Sugar Makery: A Deeper Dive Into Small Business Consulting, Samuel Lauritsen

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

This case study investigates a local candy store in Glenwood and Council Bluffs Iowa. Processes, consistency and concise planning promoted the rapid growth of Sugar Makery into two locations in three short years. Results from the analyses indicate that the main problem facing Sugar Makery is sustaining its differentiated strategy from new industry entrants, key recommendations to sustain its success are presented. Every company has its own strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The key is identifying each to be able to capitalize on competitive advantages, mitigate the damage done by weaknesses, take advantage of opportunities and create plans to avoid …

Intraorganizational Adaptiveness: Conceptual And Empirical Examination Of Salespeople's Adaptation Within Their Firms, Gabriel Moreno

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The role of salespeople in their firms has evolved drastically in the past two decades, especially in the amount of knowledge and skill required to contribute to their firms’ success in the contemporary B2B marketplace. Salespeople are increasingly considered as strategic employees who can provide a competitive advantage for their firms by providing intelligence gathered from their deep engagement in the marketplace. Modern salespeople act as consultants, relationship managers, and solution specialists, among many other roles. Due to the marked changes in the roles carried out by salespeople today, this investigation sets out to examine the most current developments in …

Green Gains Green: A View Of How Sales Is Affected By Sustainability And Innovation In A B2b Setting, Justin Ruben Munoz

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The Dissertation topic that I have chosen to study places both a prominent topic currently making waves in marketing with the field of marketing that has quickly become my specialty and my focus of research going forward. I have chosen to study green and sustainable measures that organizations currently put into practice along with how those sustainable initiatives affect the sales and revenue of that organization. The context of the study is in business-to-business (B2B). Specifically, this current research takes place in a new context that has seldom seen research in the current decade, as most of the research on …

Psychological Scene Gist And The Perception Of Sustainable Business Models Via Digital Media Audit, Shelby Hansen

Marketing Undergraduate Honors Theses

The technology space is giving rise to new business models that impact how we interact with companies, the causes we are interested in, and even our perception of how we process information. Within those contexts, I will be using the psychological concept of scene gist to explore the sustainable business model of clean beauty and investigate the technological ways that these companies interact with Gen Z consumers via social media. Gen Z consumers want to interact with companies who are socially responsible and who contribute to causes they believe in. The clean beauty trend is spearheading efforts to eliminate harmful …

The Pandemic Intern Of Nestlé Usa, Brenna Rose Beck

Marketing Undergraduate Honors Theses

Over the summer of 2020, I had the privilege to intern with Nestlé USA (NUSA), a sector of the multinational food and beverage processing conglomerate corporation that is headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland. As of 2014, Nestlé is known as the largest food and beverage company in the entire world. Over the course of ten weeks, I was able to learn from an immense number of opportunities that were available to me while working for this corporation. Nestlé was founded in 1866 by Henri Nestlé, originally as the Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk Company that was aimed towards leveraging a safe, long shelf-life …

Social Media Preferences Of Individuals Seeking Graduate Business Degrees, Peyton N. Boxberger, Hannah C. Lee

Management Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to provide actionable insight to the Walton MBA Programs Office for a cohesive social media strategy that is inclusive of all audiences. This research hopes to help the Walton MBA program better understand potential and current students based on their social media behavior and learn how social media use has changed due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. This report will analyze the results of a survey crafted to better understand the social media preferences of individuals seeking graduate business degrees. From these, a social media marketing strategy can be created to tailor content to …

Arbor Day Foundation Programs: Analysis And Recommendations, Justin Myers, Emily Alston, Cameron Claborn, Charles Erker, Braelyn Isernhagen, Jonathan Jameson

Honors Theses

We are proposing the enhancement of the current Tree City USA program to include a special recognition program for high-achieving communities. These “Golden Oak” tree cities will be recognized each year based on a variety of metrics detailed in a new and more comprehensive program application. Recommendations:

● Updated application to include more information about both quantitative and qualitative insights

● Special recognition program awarding “Golden Oak” status to communities in village, town, city, and metropolis categories based on either percentile or benchmarking system

● A cumulative “Golden Oak” award given to the State that achieves the highest percentage of …

The Use Of Social Media For Marketing By Independent Musicians, Jessica E. Martinez

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Many musicians have social media presences, but not many know how to begin or how to market their music. Instead, artists find themselves searching for other forms to help them market their music. This leads them to overspend on expensive services in hopes that they can get their names more known. Musicians may feel discouraged when they don’t see the results they hope for, especially online and with other competitors. Because of this, musicians feel less confident in their success in the music industry. There is an imbalance between what the musician wants to achieve and what they need. …

Analyzing The Social Aspect Of E-Cigarette Prevention With College-Aged Consumers, Emily Wilson

Honors Theses

This research investigated how social aspects influence college-aged e-cigarette users’ decision to use or quit using these devices. We conducted interviews of 10 young adult e-cigarette users and past users to explore three main topics: their experience with e-cigarettes, their evaluation of selected picture and narrative-based advertisements, and preventative phrasing they would suggest for future advertisements. We identified that social influence on young adults’ e-cigarette consumption/cessation revolved around three primary themes: availability of the device, peer pressure, and change of perspective. More importantly, we discovered that the effect of these themes would differ, and the source of the social influence …

Go Ueber: Start With Ideals, Jp Kuehlwein, Wolf Schaefer

Asian Management Insights

The Great Recession of 2008 was a time of foreclosures, insolvencies, and investment catastrophes across the globe.

Personification In Advertising: A Rhetorical Analysis Of Digital Video Ads In The Insurance Industry, Dorm Kpedor

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Major companies in the insurance industry—notably Allstate, Progressive, and Farmers—often employ personification as a creative rhetorical tool in digital video advertisements. By leveraging brand characters in various ways, these companies seek to establish trust and engender emotional impact in customers. Allstate ascribes destructive characteristics that are associated with house cats to its Mayhem character; in doing so they evoke the desired emotional responses of humor and fear. Progressive creates and deploys the Motaur character, a visual personification and play on the Centaur; in this case, the company’s rhetorical strategy is to evoke humor and nostalgia that resonate with motorcycle owners. …

The Importance Of A Checkmark: An Investigation Into The Perceptions Of Social Media Verification And Its Effects On Consumer Trust, Jazlyn Dumas

Honors College

Media giants, among them Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, support verified accounts. Verification, denoted by a blue checkmark badge visible in search and on one’s profile, is ostensibly a way of confirming one’s identity, yet only accounts with large followings are awarded verification status by the platform. This research investigates the perception of verification in the context of paid partnerships with social media influencers, a topic relatively absent from the literature despite the billions of dollars spent on influencer partnerships. Verified influencers cost more, therefore, this research could allow brands to capitalize their ad return if they are made aware of …

Ethical And Sustainable Cosmetics And Their Importance On Consumer Purchase Behavior, Warda Rawof

Undergraduate Honors Theses

“Sustainability is increasingly important to consumers as they consider not only the effects products they buy have on their personal health, but also the impact they have on our wildlife, soil, and the people who work at every level of the supply chain. As climate change has moved from a future concern to a present reality, going green has become a driving force for innovation in every industry, including beauty” (Linkage, 2020). The importance of ethical and sustainable products is on the rise in the beauty industry, it is becoming increasingly apparent that having ethical and clean products are important …

Artists On The Rise: An Exploration Of The Role That Brand Collaboration Prestige Plays In The Development Of Identification And Artist Attractiveness, Isabel Soldner

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Ua12/2/1 Best Of The Hill, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Archives Records

Special edition of the College Heights Herald, includes articles:

• Spainhoward, Emma. Editor’s Letter
• WKU Favorites
• Adjusting to Apartment Life During a Pandemic
• Food & Drink
• Things to Do
• Miscellaneous
• Clothing & Gifts

Maryland’S Digital Tax And The Itfa’S Catch-22, David Gamage, Darien Shanske, Christopher Moran

Articles by Maurer Faculty

In this installment of Academic Perspectives on SALT, the authors examine whether statelevel taxes on digital advertising — like Maryland’s new tax — are barred by the Internet Tax Freedom Act and discuss how the act’s prohibition against “discriminatory” taxes on electronic commerce should be construed narrowly.

Exploring Research Methods Workshop Presentation Tu Dublin - An Investigation Of The Personality Traits That Could Identify Vulnerable Young People Who Will Be Susceptible To Undue Influence By Social Media Influencers (Smis), Charles Alves De Castro, Isobel O'Reilly Dr, Aiden Carthy Dr

Other Resources

This study aims to further the overall understanding of Social Media Influencers (SMIs) and to specifically predict who will be susceptible to influence by them. The main objective of this research relies on to determine whether there is a specific personality profile that predisposes young people to undue influence by social media influencers. Based on previous research published by the journal Frontiers in Psychology titled “The Role of Social Media Influencers in the Lives of Children and Adolescents ¹”, a list of potentially harmful content will be compiled. Participants (N=40) in phase one will then be given …

Katie’S Closet: An On-Campus Experiential Learning Project, Julie Nelsen, J. Nelsen, Mary Henderson, Pa Kou Yang

Business Administration Faculty Scholarship

Two faculty and one undergraduate student embarked on an applied learning experience to determine the feasibility of starting a free professional clothing shop for University students called Katie's Closet. All aspects of conceptualizing and testing the Katie's Closet pop-up-store concept began from a feasibility study. With the support of faculty mentors, the undergraduate student researched, analyzed, and executed the project. The action research project started with informational interviews and a focus group for gathering qualitative data on the student population's needs. These findings led to more research to explore potential collaborative partnerships with other University departments. Competitive benchmarking also supported …

Trader Joe's Case Study, Madisson Magee

Honors Theses

My senior project is focused around analyzing Trader Joe’s business model and writing a case study focusing on the management strategies of the company. I wanted to know what made them so successful and recognizable as brand in the grocery store industry. My case study is based off of a Harvard Business School published case. Not only did I want to understand their success, but also what factors impact them and what issues they face in maintaining a successful business model. To do this, I analyzed many aspects of their company, where they stand against competitors and internal and external …