Marketing Commons^™

How Health Claims On Product Packaging Influence Consumer Perceptions And Purchase Decisions, Taylor Vanasse

Honors Projects in Marketing

The goal of this investigation was to expand upon research from the field of consumer behavior, with a specific focus on food product packaging and health claims. It specifically focused on how these health claims impact consumer perceptions and purchase decisions related to everyday food items. Students at Bryant University were asked to take part in a study which measured their overall health knowledge and nutritional interest. They were then presented with different variations of a product packaging label to assess its impact on their attitude towards a product. Findings indicated that both females and those who score highest on …

Who Pays For Music?, Meg Aman

Honors Projects in Management

The purpose of this capstone project was to determine the attributes of consumers that pay for music, specifically music streaming services. The recent decline in current individual track sales and the increase in the number of streamed songs, highlights the relevance of this topic. The increasing popularity in music streaming has caused much contreversy in the music industry. Many artists are unhappy with the low revenue they receive from songwriting royalties from these streaming services that offer a free platform. Artists are not the only ones who need consumers to pay for music, the music streaming sites that provide free …

Social Media Marketing In Midterm Political Campaigns & Its Effect On Political Activity, Samantha M. Beaupre

Honors Projects in Marketing

No abstract provided.

The Influence Of Instagram On Exercise And Eating Behavior, Bridgette Kosek

Honors Projects in Marketing

The use of social media, specifically Instagram, of 305 Bryant University students ages 18-28 was investigated through student completion of an online survey to examine how following exercise and food related Instagram accounts impacts behavior. Both male and females use Instagram fairly equally, though males are more responsive to food Instagram accounts than females, who have no significant difference in behavior. Both males and females who follow exercise Instagram accounts are significantly more active than those who do not follow exercise Instagram accounts. Given the recent explosive use of Instagram in the population, the implications for this study are enormous, …

Effects Of Online Sponsored Advertising On Consumer Attitudes, Cassidy Maksy

Honors Projects in Marketing

Effectively utilizing persuasion techniques in advertising is essential for businesses to master in order to stay ahead of its competitors. This research project investigates the ways in which marketers advertise brands and products in the online environment, specifically on the social networking sites Twitter and Facebook. More specifically, the implementation of different techniques and credibility of sources will be examined to help gauge the effectiveness of advertisements. By utilizing the constructs of the Persuasion Knowledge Model and source credibility, the attitudes toward brands and advertisements within the online environment was tested. The goal of this research is to evaluate the …

Valuing “Green” How “Going Green” Affects A Company’S Stock Price, Alexia Bayer

Honors Projects in Finance

Environmentally conscious decision making has become a prominent topic in business that has the potential to affect the public opinion and performance of companies. This project seeks to identify whether or not positive changes in excess return might offer an incentive for companies to adopt green initiatives. It examines the ways in which companies’ green initiatives, as measured by their annual Carbon Disclosure Project S&P 500 Climate Change Report score, impact their stock price. In other words, is there value in “going green”? It is hypothesized that companies exhibiting greater variance in their environmental initiatives from one year to the …

The Effects Of Popular Music In Television Advertisements On Branding, Amanda Jillson

Honors Projects in Marketing

Have you ever found that the music a company chooses helps you understand its brand better, and did you eventually find yourself becoming a loyal customer? The goal of this project is to investigate whether or not connections like these occur and, if so, why they happen and what they mean for advertisers. More specifically, the study examines the influence of music in television advertisements on the last three steps of the brand building process: brand imagery, brand feelings, and brand resonance. The purpose of the research is to discover the extent to which popular songs used in television commercials …

Evolution Of Supply Chain Collaboration: Implications For The Role Of Knowledge, Michael Gravier, M. Theodore Farris

Marketing Department Faculty Journal Articles

Increasingly, research across many disciplines has recognized the shortcomings of the traditional “integration prescription” for inter-organizational knowledge management. This research conducts several simulation experiments to study the effects of different rates of product change, different demand environments, and different economies of scale on the level of integration between firms at different levels in the supply chain. The underlying paradigm shifts from a static, steady state view to a dynamic, complex adaptive systems and knowledge-based view of supply chain networks. Several research propositions are presented that use the role of knowledge in the supply chain to provide predictive power for how …

The Numbers Behind Celebrating More Birthdays: An Analysis Of The American Cancer Society’S Relay For Life, Eva Mahan

Honors Projects in Management

Despite all of the medical technological advances society has experienced, and is still experiencing, there has not been an ultimate cure for cancer found. Non-profit organizations like the American Cancer Society have been working for 100 years to raise funding and awareness for this issue and although great progress has been made since their founding in 1913, there is still more work that needs to be done to make cancer a disease of the past. This study first focuses on the structure of non-profit organizations, their role in society, and the techniques and procedures they follow when looking for donors. …

Is Advertising To Teenagers Ethical? Media’S Influence On Body Image And Behavior, Stephanie Lemire

Honors Projects in Marketing

An examination of the ethics involved in advertising to adolescents. Specifically, a content analysis and survey research was conducted dealing with how television commercials and magazine advertisements targeted towards males ultimately affect female body image and behavior. The content analysis consisted of Axe Body Spray advertisements, as well as Sports Illustrated: Swimsuit Edition. Findings of survey research include increased body monitoring as a result of exposure to advertisements. Implications and future opportunities are discussed.

Student Attitudes Toward Client Sponsors And Learning: An Analysis Of The Effects Of Incorporating A Client Sponsored Project In An Introductory Marketing Course, Jane Mckay-Nesbitt, Srdan Zdravkovic

Marketing Department Faculty Journal Articles

This study examines i) the effects of a client-sponsored project (CSP) on student attitudes toward a sponsoring client, ii) the effects of a CSP on student attitudes toward learning core marketing concepts, and iii) moderators of student attitudes toward learning core marketing concepts. Introductory marketing course students prepared marketing plans for a client-sponsor who awarded cash prizes. The CSP yielded i) positive student attitudes toward client sponsors and ii) beliefs that CSPs enhance learning of core marketing concepts and increase confidence in academic ability. Positive attitudes toward competition and instructor helpfulness strengthened student perceptions that the CSP enhanced learning.

Status: In A Relationship How Effective Is Customer Relationship Marketing On Facebook?, Courtney Weiss

Honors Projects in Marketing

Facebook provides an avenue for companies to connect with consumers in new ways. Since so many tools for communication are available on the site, it can be difficult for a company to focus its marketing efforts. This study examines how consumers respond to Facebook Advertisements and company pages on Facebook in order to determine where companies should allocate their resources on the social networking site. Specifically, it explores consumer click-through rates on Facebook Ads, as well as consumer perception of various Facebook promotional tools. The methodology includes traditional research in the form of a literature review, as well as focus …

The Evolution Of The “Southwest Effect”, Daniel Webb

Honors Projects in Finance

The “Southwest effect” - a large decrease in fares paired with an increase in traffic - has been discussed around the airline industry since the term was first coined in a government study in the early 1990s. But the airline industry has drastically changed since then - Southwest has become the largest domestic airline, and many of its competitors have had the chance to restructure through bankruptcy.

This study examines some of Southwest's latest city additions, as well as a few of the airline’s intra-California routes where it is now a dominant player. Using publically-available government data, the change in …

Twitter: Businesses Increasing Their Revenues 140 Characters At A Time, Adekemi O. Oyalabu

Honors Projects in Communication

With the consumer market becoming more competitive by the day, businesses must find innovative yet cost effective means of reaching their target markets and steadily increasing their revenues. While businesses compete with one another to remain the best, they must have a strategic market plan that differentiates their products and/or services from their competitors. In an effort to do this, many businesses have begun using social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace, and LinkedIn as a means of reaching their target markets. Such sites have opened businesses to a new level of advertising where they reach consumers faster, have the …

Effects Of Chronic Regulatory Focus And Product Type On Internet Purchase Decisions, Chad Ryan

Honors Projects in Marketing

This study draws on Regulatory Focus Theory (RFT; Higgins 1987) to explore factors that affect a consumer’s online purchase attitudes and intentions. According to RFT, consumers tend to be either chronically promotion- or prevention-focused. Promotion-focused consumers are concerned with positive outcomes. Conversely, prevention-focused consumers are concerned with avoiding negative outcomes. Promotion-focused consumers are more willing to take risks than prevention-focused consumers (Higgins 1997). Promotion-focused consumers also prefer hedonic shopping experiences (i.e., pleasurable), whereas prevention-focused consumers prefer utilitarian shopping experiences (i.e., task-oriented) (Arnold & Reynolds 2009). Because products that are purchased on the Internet cannot be seen or touched prior to …

Does Twitter Create Similar Patterns Of Positivity/Negativity As Face-To-Face Word-Of-Mouth?, Nicholis Jones

Honors Projects in Marketing

Word-of-mouth communication is important to organizations because it is a free form of advertising and has been shown to be influential on consumers’ purchasing decisions. Marketers of course, would like WOM to be positive and thus increase brand reputation and sales. In the past decade, new forms of communication have created different channels for WOM to travel through. Current social media websites such as Facebook and Twitter allow one person to send a message to many almost instantaneously. This study’s objective is to examine the WOM on the networking site Twitter. Previous research has indentified the relative incidence rates of …

Predictive Modeling Of Alumni Donor Behavior, Lauren Prue

Honors Projects in Mathematics

In recent years, college and universities have relied increasingly upon the charitable contributions of its previous graduates; as the costs of tuition rise substantially, development offices are facing the challenge of creating annual fund campaigns that are minimally expensive while providing the maximum potential for return. This study addresses the available constituent database at one University in particular in an effort to identify what criteria are the strongest predictors of donor response at a small, private university located within New England. The analysis utilized predictive modeling and data-mining largely within the software program Rapid Insight to build several models in …

Major League Baseball: America’S Recession-Proof Pastime, Mark Mcdonnell

Honors Projects in Finance

This project is a study which examines how attendance levels in Major League Baseball stadiums have been impacted by the current recession in the United States which began in October 2007. Research on attendance during past recessions has shown a strong relationship that during downtrends in the economy, baseball attendance levels generally do not suffer. Using an ordinary least squares regression, independent variables including; percent change in ticket price from previous season, distance to closest competitor, percent change in ticket price of the closest competitor, winning percentage during previous year, winning percentage during current year, unemployment rate during current year, …

The Perceived Credibility Of Brand Mention In Magazine Articles In Comparison To Advertorials And Traditional Paid Advertisements, Christina Conner

Honors Projects in Marketing

This study explores the perceived credibility of brand mention in magazine editorials compared to advertorials and traditional paid advertisements. Surveys were administered to three groups of college students after viewing an editorial, an advertorial or a paid advertisement. Respondents were asked to identify their level of agreement regarding credibility, likeability and perceived selling intent of the content.

Results indicate that advertorials are perceived to be less credible than editorials and traditional paid advertisements. Traditional paid advertisements are perceived to be the most credible method of brand mention in magazines. It can also be determined as a result of this study …

Online Video Contest Effects On Brand And Ad Attitudes, Daniel A. Janis

Honors Projects in Marketing

This research investigates how online video contests (OVCs) affect brand image, as measured by brand and advertisement attitudes. After conducting a pre-test to discover an appropriate product for the Generation Y target market, we ran an experiment examining OVCs, television, and magazine ad’s effects on multi-item measures of brand and advertisement attitudes. One hundred twenty-one subjects were randomly assigned to one of the three test conditions. The OVC significantly resulted in positive brand attitudes for the hedonic dimension such as feelings and attractiveness of the brand. For the more functional characteristics, OVCs did not influence brand attitudes. OVCs also produced …

Does Brand Image Or Taste Have More Influence On Consumer Preference For Energy Drinks?, Matthew Moore

Honors Projects in Marketing

In the past, numerous studies have been completed comparing brand image to product performance. In these studies it has been shown that brand image does have an effect on preferences and observers evaluate product performance differently when brand image is part of the equation. However, Generation Y is often cited as being skeptical of advertising, because they have been bombarded with media their entire lives. Therefore, this study examined a product targeted towards Generation Y, energy drinks, and compared stated brand preferences to actual product performance. The sample was 68 college students from Bryant University varying in age from 18 …

Product Placement And The Effects Of Persuasion Knowledge, Stephen Fitch

Honors Projects in Marketing

This study examines the effect of persuasion knowledge and cognitive busyness on attitude toward a brand embedded in a popular movie. Product placement is filling an increasingly important role in marketing strategy as conventional techniques have been rendered ineffective by their own ubiquity. Cognitive busyness was hypothesized to cause a product placement message to be processed on a superficial, peripheral level. If joined with persuasion knowledge, the subject’s lack of ability to devote resources to critically evaluate the message would activate compartmentalized knowledge of products and brands increasing the ease of this information’s mental accessibility and thus aid the formation …

The Impact Of High Risk Propensity On Lifestyle And Consumption Behaviors, Gergely Nemeth

Honors Projects in Marketing

This research investigates the effects of high-risk propensity (as measured by the sensation seeking scale) on lifestyle variables such as substance use and abuse, number of sexual partners and driving behavior, and explores the consumption patterns exhibited by different risk propensity groups. An online survey with 340 participants was conducted; 64 low, 204 medium and 62 high sensation seekers were identified. High sensation seekers exhibited riskier behaviors across all lifestyle and consumption behaviors and led us to conclude that it is, in fact, a constant personality variable. We have not found a significant difference between age and sports activities one …

An Analysis Of Logistics Pedagogical Literature: Past And Future Trends In Curriculum, Content, And Pedagogy, Michael Gravier, M. Theodore Farris

Marketing Department Faculty Journal Articles

There presently is no comprehensive review which systematizes and summarizes the burgeoning body of logistics educational literature. The purpose of this paper is to provide a guide for both educators and practitioners to assess the history, current status, and future trends in logistics education in order to nurture advancement in logistics education. This paper draws its conclusions based upon a literature review and categorizes the evolution of logistics education into three areas: defining curriculum, developing content and skills taught, and refining teaching methods. Logistics education continues to benefit from strong ties to industry. Additionally, four principle macro-environmental factors were discovered …

Financing America's Roads: The Past Is Prologue, Michael Gravier, M. Theodore Farris

Marketing Department Faculty Journal Articles

This article provides a historical perspective of American roadway financing. It explores revenue collection and expenditures at the federal, state, and local governmental levels. Accounting practices of the Highway Trust Fund are discussed including the enactment of the Truth in Budgeting Act to shift revenue collection closer to a direct-user tax. Factors affecting roadway tax revenues are identified and the impact of increasing taxes is discussed. Four key considerations which will continue to shape roadway revenue collection are identified.

Opportunities Unlimited : Bryant College Helps Girls Win High Positions In Business

Historical Documents of Bryant University (1863-present)

This is a brochure from 1949 written to attract potential female students to Bryant College. It tells the story of Ginny, a fictional young woman attending Bryant with plans to enter the business world after graduation.

"The old high school crowd was breaking up, Ginny thought. Madge was going to the University to study English. Helen wanted to be a nurse. Eileen planned to continue her violin studies. But Ginny had other plans."

Betty Comes To Bryant College

Historical Documents of Bryant University (1863-present)

Promotional brochure written to convince career-minded female students to study business at Bryant College. It outlines the Bryant experience of the mid-40s in the story of Betty, a hypothetical student who enrolls in the School of Secretarial Science.

A College Of Higher Education For Business

Historical Documents of Bryant University (1863-present)

Short pamphlet talking about the importance of women in business and the advantages a Bryant education can provide.

"The invention of the typewriter three generations ago opened up new business opportunities for women. Everybody knows that moder business could not run efficiently without women."

Correct Conduct For Career And College, Anne Kent

Historical Documents of Bryant University (1863-present)

Pamphlet outlining the rules of etiquette young female students should follow throughout their academic and business careers, as determined by Anne Kent and Emily Post.

Betty Wins A Malted

Historical Documents of Bryant University (1863-present)

Short promotional pamphlet designed to attract career-minded female students to Bryant College. Contains a short story about Betty, a hypothetical student, telling a friend the advantages of studying business at Bryant, as well as some factual information about the school and photos of the Providence campus.