Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Honesty In Marketing Communications: The Role Of Humor, Can Trinh

Atlantic Marketing Journal

Amid the crisis of trust in the marketplace, there have been increasing calls for advertisers to show more honesty in marketing communications. However, firms are still hesitant to follow suit out of concerns that more honesty may mean more losses than gains. Against such background, there is still scant empirical evidence about the effect of honest marketing communications on marketing outcomes to help provide practical guidance for marketers. The present research helps fill this crucial gap by examining the role of humor in honest marketing communications. Three studies in this research reveal novel insights that an interrelationship exists between humor …

The Impact Of “Humorous” Ads Featuring Social Media Influencers On Perceptions Of The Influencer, Brand, And Purchase Intention, Jason L. Snyder, Robert Forbus

Atlantic Marketing Journal

The present study explored the use of humor in social media ads that featured both a product being advertised and a social media influencer (SMI). Using extant literature and the theory of planned behavior as guides, the goal of the study was to explore the role of perceived humorousness on consumer perceptions of the SMI, the ad, the brand, and consumer purchase intentions. The experiment (N = 292) exposed self-identified males living in the U.S. between the ages of 18 and 40 to one of two versions of an ad for a men’s grooming product. The ads were run …

The Impact Of The Anthem Protest Movement And Covid On Nfl Viewership, George W. Stone, Michael A. Jones, Kirsten Passyn

Atlantic Marketing Journal

This research is based on 3 different surveys conducted over several NFL football seasons. The first study investigated the impact of the Anthem Protest Movement on the attitude of NFL fans. The “Anthem Protest” reemerged during the 2020 season during the “lockdown” season associated with the COVID epidemic. Co-mingled with COVID and societal unrest, many analysts were predicting irreparable harm to the NFL’s once indomitable position as America’s favorite sport resulting from this confluence of events. Given the importance of the topic in terms of future NFL fan support, this report looks back over the last several NFL seasons to …

Guinness Is The "Pumpkin Spice Latte" Of St. Patrick's Day, Jin-A Choi, Yi Luo, Bond Benton

School of Communication and Media Scholarship and Creative Works

This study by a team of faculty from the Joetta Di Bella and Fred C. Sautter III Center for Strategic Communication in the School of Communication and Media at Montclair State University shows that Guinness was the most-discussed brand on social media leading up to St. Patrick’s Day, and not just in the traditional ways people share how they drink the popular beer brand. The volume of social media conversations related to Guinness beer and St. Patrick’s Day saw a 25% increase. Most social chats exhibited a happy mood as evidenced by a 62% joyful sentiment.

While the Shamrock Shake …

Mlcp Of Red Bull, Micah Winningham

Scholarly Horizons: University of Minnesota, Morris Undergraduate Journal

Red Bull is a marketer and distributor of one of the first major sports drinks to be introduced into the world, called the same name: Red Bull energy. Since the inception of the drink in the mid 1980’s by Dietrich Mateschitz in Austria as an attempt to create an alternative to coffee, the drink and brand of the Red Bull organization have exploded into one of the most popular and recognizable organizations of all time. The brand pushes the idea of their product giving the greatest boost of energy, and their slogan “Red Bull gives you wings!” reinforces the idea …

An Investigation Of Social Media Discussion On Valentine's Day 2024 Trends: Money Can Buy Love And Chocolates, Jin-A Choi, Bond Benton, Yi Luo

School of Communication and Media Scholarship and Creative Works

Valentine’s Day, typically defined by expression of love and affection, has been celebrated as a symbolic day to exchange gifts among lovers. The expression of love has been firmly tied with the act of giving material things, such as gifts. However, over the years, discomfort and even anger has grown around the over-commercialization of Valentine’s Day, creating a deep divide between those who gift and those who criticize and denounce the holiday as nothing but a “Hallmark card holiday” to push consumerism. Our center’s study from the previous year indicated that over-commercialization of Valentine’s Day found that love is not …

Taylor-Made Super Bowl: Taylor Swiftmania On Social Media Regarding The Big Game, Yi Luo, Jin-A Choi, Bond Benton

School of Communication and Media Scholarship and Creative Works

Celebrity couples occupy a unique space in popular culture. Similar to the royal unions of history and the present, the combination of notoriety and the voyeuristic appeal of watching a relationship play out in public spaces, celebrity couples energize popular discourse and invite public commentary and interest. The opportunity to become a spectator in ongoing celebrity coupling invites a level of perceived intimacy in what feels like a relationship with famous people.

Data collected for this study suggests Taylor Swift’s connection to Super Bowl LVIII has elevated the meaning of the game beyond the stratospheric levels of cultural significance the …

Health Disparities: The Influence Of Black Celebrity Endorsers And Social Media Influencers On Consumption Habits Among African American Consumers, Dale A. Cake, Wooyang Kim

Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Proceedings 2024

This study examines the impact of celebrity and social media influencer endorsements on the dietary choices of African Americans, a group disproportionately affected by obesity and diabetes. It focuses on the role of limited access to healthy foods in impoverished communities and cultural influences. Using the source credibility model, the research assesses endorsements based on the endorser's attractiveness, expertise, and trustworthiness. The methodology involves a two-step approach: conducting semi-structured interviews with African American students to understand perceptions of food-related celebrity endorsements, followed by an experimental design using eye-tracking and galvanic skin response (GSR) technology. This design will evaluate reactions to …

Faux Feminism In A Capitalistic Fever Dream: A Review Of Greta Gerwig's Barbie (2023), Amy La Porte, Lena Cavusoglu

Markets, Globalization & Development Review

Somewhere between meaningful discourse about female agency and the commercial interests of a problematic doll franchise lies Mattel's box office hit film Barbie, directed by Greta Gerwig. In a script-flipping interpretation of the real-world patriarchy, it catapults itself into overdue discussions about gender norms, objectification, and the pursuit of Westernized beauty ideals. While it may have introduced liberationist theories to a new generation of women, ultimately it is a film bound by cognitive dissonance. This paper will delve into the profit-making protagonist at the center of its story and argue the film's underlying incompatibility with diversity, feminism, and social …

Brand Activism And Democratic Legitimacy: Exploring Pitfalls Through A Habermasian Analysis, Roxan Degeyter

Emancipations: A Journal of Critical Social Analysis

Brand activism has emerged as a prominent practice among corporations, as they publicly take a stand on contentious socio-political issues such as gender inequality, climate change, or discrimination, often through advertising. While extensive research has been conducted on the impact of brand activism as a marketing tool, examining its effects on sales, brand image, consumer attitudes, and authenticity, only a limited number of studies have studied its influence on public debate and processes of democratic legitimation. The latter have portrayed brand activism as an empowering force for the supported social movements, the public sphere, and democratic legitimacy, largely ignoring the …

Medical Tourism & Communication, Alicia Mason

Faculty Submissions

Medical tourism (MT), sometimes referred to as health tourism or medical travel, involves both the treatment of illness and the facilitation of wellness, with travel. Medical tourism is a multifaceted and multiphase process involving many agents and actors that requires careful planning and execution. The coordinated process involves the biomedical, transportation, tourism, and leisure industries. From the communication perspective, the process can be viewed as a 5-stage model consisting of the: (a) orientation, (b) preparation, (c) experiential and treatment, (d) convalescence, and (e) reflection phases. Medical tourism is uniquely situated in a nexus of academic literature related to communication, business …

Halloween 2023: It’S A Barbie World!, Jin-A Choi, Yi Luo, Bond Benton

School of Communication and Media Scholarship and Creative Works

Encapsulated in pink, Barbie epitomizes a dreamland that stimulates feelings of nostalgia, joy, and imagination, fulfilling individuals’ desire to escape. Mattel, the parent company of Barbie, and Warner Bros. through 100 or more brand collaborations (del Barco, 2023), has relentlessly swept the world with a blitz of Barbie-themed merchandises, such as Barbie dreamhouse rentals, Barbie gaming consoles, Barbie pasta, Barbie pink suitcases, Barbie apparels, bright fuchsia Xbox, Barbie boat cruise, pink burger, etc. Staggering surge for online sales of Barbie-themed products affirms the impressive upswing of online consumers’ interest in Barbie.

With the significance of Halloween, the popularity of Barbie, …

Curating A Consumption Ideology: Platformization And Gun Influencers On Instagram, Jenna M. Drenten Ph.D., Lauren Gurrieri, Aimee Dinnín Huff, Michelle Barnhart

School of Business: Faculty Publications and Other Works

This study explores how a platform enables social media influencers to promulgate a consumption ideology. We show how gun influencers, or “gunfluencers,” use Instagram to link products, activities, and meanings to Second Amendment ideology – a gun-centric belief system in the United States colloquially known as “2A ideology.” Through a qualitative study of 25 Instagram gunfluencers, we identify a process of curating a consumption ideology wherein social media influencers employ four curatorial tactics: glamourizing, demystifying, victimizing, and tribalizing. Findings suggest gunfluencers extend audiences and leverage algorithms to prescribe and model how supporters of 2A ideology should look, act, speak, feel, …

Generating Clicks: Display Advertising Within Social Media, Ronda Mariani, Thomas Tanner, Loreen Powell

Atlantic Marketing Journal

This research study developed a comprehensive social community prototype and tested a variety of display advertising scenarios to determine which scenario motivated social media users to click. Empirical research based upon 503 users of social media led to the development of several independent variables, which were identified in the study as display advertising scenarios. The display advertising scenarios tested in the study were video, animation, engagement, and brand familiarity, as well as the size and location of the display advertising within each social media prototype web page. Data collected identified which display advertisement scenarios motivated a social media user to …

Chatgpt Unveiled: Unleashing Ai Magic In Online Shopping And Digital Marketing, Jianping Huang, Mark J. Sciuchetti Dr.

Atlantic Marketing Journal

This research paper explores the use of AI, specifically ChatGPT, in interactive activities within

online shopping and digital marketing. The paper examines the potential of AI-powered chatbots

to enhance customer engagement, personalization, and marketing effectiveness. Through a

literature review, case studies, and user feedback analysis, the research highlights the benefits of

AI chatbots in providing real-time assistance, personalized recommendations, and improved

customer experiences. The paper also addresses ethical and privacy concerns associated with AI

implementation and discusses future research directions. The findings are expected to suggest

that AI-powered chatbots have the potential to revolutionize online shopping and digital

marketing by …

Examining The Impact Of Sports Influencer Advertising On Consumer Behavior In The Us And Saudi Arabia On Instagram., Mohammed Samer Alassaf

Masters Theses

This paper discusses the influence of sports influencers on the buying pattern of fans in the United States and Saudi Arabia. Sports are a crucial part of life in both countries, with numerous athletes being considered celebrities. Sports influencers have a tremendous impact on the audience, who often imitate their behavior and buy the products they advertise. The sports market is huge in both countries, with businesses utilizing sports influencers to promote their brands. Instagram is a popular platform for businesses to gain young fans and customers. The research and development of the sports industry have enabled considerable growth of …

The Role Of Community Empowerment In The Development Of A Marketing Communication Strategy For Kembang Kuning Tourism Village, Dian Purworini, Rona R. B. Chasana, Palupi Palupi, Sidiq Setyawan, Agus Triyono, Iswahyudi T. Yuwono

ASEAN Journal of Community Engagement

This study examines initiatives intended to enhance community empowerment in the tourism village of Kembang Kuning, Central Java, Indonesia. One problem facing this community is an inability to carry out effective promotion to realize the tourism potential of the village. Despite the Kembang Kuning village’s potential qualities for tourism, there is a lack of local knowledge about marketing and communication strategies. The lack has hindered efforts to make the village known nationally. This study seeks to raise awareness and understanding of promotion strategies and simultaneously develop marketing communication strategies through active participation by the village tourism management team. Qualitative methods …

Canadians Redefining R&B: The Online Marketing Of Drake, Justin Bieber, And Jessie Reyez, Amara Pope Ms.

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

In a country that long failed to accept, include, and institutionalize R&B music as part of Canadian culture, musical artists Justin Bieber, Drake, and Jessie Reyez have successfully broken-down barriers by having successful careers as racially diverse Canadian R&B artists. This qualitative study surveys the literature on classifications of the R&B genre and of Canadian identities in popular media. The theoretical framework of discourse analysis is used to conduct a brief episodic history of Canadian R&B and to evaluate how the music genre “R&B,” is traditionally associated with people who have "Black" and "American" identities, and how a “Canadian” identity …

Purpose Advertising And The Credibility Gap, Tyler Milfeld, Eric Haley

Purpose Project

One approach to purpose advertising is brand activism—taking a stand on a sociopolitical issue. This research compares divergent perspectives on whether and how brand activism influences brand attitudes and purchase intentions. Results from three studies, in which real-world brands and messages were used, identify a credibility gap between brands with a reputation for activism (established activist brands) and those without a reputation (emergent activist brands). Findings also reveal how personal issue knowledge moderates the credibility gap. Among other contributions, this research creates a new brand typology in the brand activism arena and empirically demonstrates a more favorable effect for established …

The Effect Of Risk Profile In Pandemi Outbreak To Banking Financial Performance Case Study In Indonesia, Fajar Abdullah

Journal Of Middle East and Islamic Studies

The risk profile that occurred within the scope of banking during the Covid 19 pandemic which was quantitatively reflected in the microeconomic ratios of the BOPO, NPF/NPL, FDR/LDR ratios, and macroeconomics in this case, inflation and the USD exchange rate, were the main factors in the decline in the soundness level bank which is reflected in the value of the bank's financial performance ratio, namely Return on Assets due to. The objects in this study are the general Islamic and conventional banking industry, with data observations including BOPO, NPF/NPL, FDR/LDR, inflation, and the USD exchange rate. By comparing the effect …

Manage Your Money Wisely: How Consumers And Marketers Can Effectively Communicate Money Issues, Alexander Park

Olin Business School Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Consumers and marketers find it challenging to communicate money matters. For example, consumers experience discomfort and uneasiness when discussing financial issues with their social relationships. Firms often receive backlash when sharing their good financial deeds (e.g., charitable efforts) with consumers. Because financial matters can be a sensitive topic, in my research, I explore the difficulties consumers and marketers experience when communicating money issues and how they can better navigate these problems.In Chapter One, I investigate a particularly uneasy interaction that consumers often face with their friends and acquaintances: the need to ask for money back. Seven fully preregistered studies (N …

Bridging The Gap Between Skidmore Students And Local Businesses, Charlotte Benson

Self-Determined Majors Final Projects

Skidmore students are an underutilized customer base for small businesses in Saratoga Springs. The purpose of this thesis is to analyze the purchasing behaviors of Skidmore students in order to determine how local small businesses can better attract them as customers. Current Skidmore students were surveyed and interviewed to ascertain overarching patterns in their purchasing habits. Results show that word of mouth and social media are influential at Skidmore, but are underutilized by local businesses. Findings also suggest that purchasing habits are largely formed during students’ first year at Skidmore. Finally, interview and survey results indicate that Skidmore students most …

Examining The Effectiveness Of Marketing Practices Of A Nonprofit Institution Of Higher Education: Internal Service Provider, Doreen E. Sams, Mary Kay Rickard, Kendra K. Evans

Atlantic Marketing Journal

Abstract - Quality education is the sum of Institutions of Higher Education’s (IHE) parts, including classroom instruction and internal services, that are key to a student’s success during and after college. The purpose of this study is to address an understudied sector in the nonprofit marketing literature (i.e., Institutions of Higher Education internal service providers). The current study extends Dakouan et al. (2019) work by examining the marketing efforts of an IHE’s career services center’s effectiveness in creating awareness and increasing attendance at career events. The study focuses on outbound marketing strategies addressing the research question “to what extent are …

An Empirical Study Of The Impact Of Perceived And Experienced Factors On Purchase Intention For Foreign Natural Cosmetics, Raymond Liu, Leon Zurawicki, Jurui Zhang

Atlantic Marketing Journal

There is a growing attention to the “natural” products in personal care and other areas of fashion consumption. Considering the present inflationary economic environment, the study of American consumers’ attitude toward foreign natural cosmetics and important factors determining the purchasing intent of foreign natural cosmetics imported from Asia (Taiwan in this study) with high quality but low price is timely. Based on literature on Purchase Intention and the Theory of Planned Behavior, we proposed a model and a set of hypotheses to uncover the relationship between purchase intent and the determining factors. Our hypotheses are confirmed following a nationwide survey …

Great Expectations: Consumer-Brand Relationships And Their Influence On The Organizational Outcomes Of Brand Transgressions, Sabrina Viscomi

Atlantic Marketing Journal

The business landscape has shifted from simply delivering quality products and services to creating shared value. It does this by fulfilling consumers’ deeper needs and meeting their increasingly high expectations. Brand transgressions inhibit organizations’ ability to meet consumers’ demands, complicating the consumer-brand relationship. As a result, brands are often unprepared to deal with the consequences of transgressions, which can be costly. The purpose of this research is to explore the influence of prior consumer-brand relationships on the organizational outcomes of brand transgressions through the lens of social contract theory. This systematic review synthesizes 39 articles to derive five analytical themes: …

An Investigation Of The Association Between Tourist Pre-Trip Planning Time And Length Of Trip, Lodging Choice, Tourist Psychographics And Demographics: An Application Of Correspondence Analysis And Cramér’S V Effect Size, James E. Stoddard, George D. Shows

Atlantic Marketing Journal

When performing survey research it is normal to collect descriptive information such as income, gender, highest education attainment, and others. This information is used to categorize the collected research responses into groups. This nominal or ordinal data may also be used to find patterns in the collected data and suggest relationships. As an exploratory research method, it can suggest future research possibilities to confirm these relationships. This paper introduces the use of Correspondence Analysis (CA) as a research technique to suggest possible relationships using nominal or ordinal data, using collected research from a survey performed to measure tourist preferences in …

Images In Service Marketing: Does Presentation Style Matter?, Can Trinh

Atlantic Marketing Journal

This research presents a pioneering attempt to examine whether the use of abstract images would be more effective than the use of concrete images in the case of service marketing. Based on construal level theory, we hypothesize that relative to the use of concrete images, the use of abstract images in service marketing will better match the intangible nature of services and will thus increase communication effectiveness. Two studies in this research provide evidence to support these propositions by showing that relative to the use of concrete images, the use of abstract images can enhance ad visuals, which in turn …

Happy Campers Or Unhappy Prisoners: How Materialism Punishes Us In Lockdown Times, Banwari Mittal

Atlantic Marketing Journal

COVID-19 and the resulting lockdowns created an unprecedented upheaval in consumers’ daily lives and lifestyles. The purpose of this research was to understand the psychological experience of life under lockdowns and the role of individual difference variables in that experience. Using survey data from U.S. consumers, the research identified two opposite feelings, coexisting: happy camper feeling or unhappy prisoner feeling. Younger, lower income, and less educated consumers felt more like prisoners than campers. Ability to maintain life as usual, and positive pre-pandemic life conditions (health, social network, and job satisfaction) led to happy camper feelings. In contrast, pre-pandemic materialism led …

The Impact Of Insult Ad Reads On Podcast Listeners, Jason L. Snyder, Mark D. Cistulli

Atlantic Marketing Journal

Audio podcasts have grown in popularity. Forty-six million Americans tune into an average of six podcasts each week (Nielson, 2020) and ad revenues are projected to top $4 billion by 2024 (IAB, 2022). To enhance the appeal of ads, many podcasters use humor in their ad reads. Although humor can be effective (Weinberger & Gulas, 1992) and reinforce the parasocial relationship between podcaster and audience, are there times when that humor has negative consequences? In this study, we are concerned primarily with the use of insult advertising in which the podcaster uses humor that targes the brand/product being endorsed. Participants …

Ace! How The Waste Management Phoenix Open Rose From The Ash Heap To Become A Sponsorship Exemplar, Lee P. Mcginnis, Keevan Statz

Journal of Applied Sport Management

Waste Management leverages the PGA TOUR’s so-called “People’s Open” in a manner that is unparalleled in the sport industry. The Waste Management Phoenix Open (WMPO) is not only a zero-waste event but also utilizes activation tactics that maximize this value proposition for consumers through sponsored activities that engage fans of all ages, backgrounds, and motivations. After an extensive analysis of the event and what makes it distinct, we propose a framework that we term ACE (Activation optimization, Cohesive value propositions, and Experientially focused programs), which can serve as a three-pronged test that event/property owners and sponsors alike can use to …