Marketing Commons^™

Consumer Preferences For Gm Food Labeling: A Market Segments Analysis, Colton Henderson

Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness Undergraduate Honors Theses

Consumer demand for labeling information regarding the genetically modified (GM) content of foods has increased in recent years. This had led to a growing number of products labeled as non-GMO in the marketplace under a voluntary GM labeling program. However, many consumers support stricter regulation in the food industry via a mandatory labeling program for GM ingredients. Although considerable research exists documenting consumers’ willingness to pay to avoid GM foods, less in known about how two such labeling programs affect individual decision making in the marketplace. The goal of this project is to better understand how individuals value GM foods, …

Good Taste: Expanding Profits And Geographic Horizons Through Social Responsibility, Carly Cassidy

Finance Undergraduate Honors Theses

Ilusión+, otherwise known as Ilusión Más, is a socially-responsible wine enterprise founded by Pau and Gina Torres, a couple from Tarragona, Spain. In 2013, Pau was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), a motor neuron disease which causes muscles to weaken over time and eventually atrophy (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke). In Spanish, Ilusión signifies hope and wishful thinking, serving as an optimistic name which embodies the resilient attitude of its owners (Word Reference). Ilusión+ selects wine from Spanish vineyards and distributes them in restaurants throughout the country under their brand and story. The company donates a portion …

Development And Marketing Of A Repurposed Textile Product For Homeless Individuals In Northwest Arkansas, Mckenna Whitaker, Beau Broyles, Lindsey Stone

Apparel Merchandising and Product Development Undergraduate Honors Theses

Growing concerns over waste disposal methods have led to a greater focus on recycling efforts in the textile industry. Second only to the oil industry, the textile industry continues to be one of the most wasteful among leading businesses around the world and determining ways to repurpose fashion materials could be a reasonable solution to this growing problem (Dobilaite, V., Mileriene, G., Juciene, M., & Sacevičienė, 2017). In addition to alleviating disposal issues, repurposed materials could serve the humanitarian needs of local communities, and even more importantly, could specifically benefit homeless populations. The purpose of this project was to design, …

The Rearview Mirror And Windshield: Utilizing The Intersection Of Nostalgia And Neophila To Target Today's Consumers", Hannah Lucile Hungate

Marketing Undergraduate Honors Theses

In a technologically-advanced, rapidly-changing business world, successful marketing practice is becoming more and more elusive to the competing corporations. Two popular tactics—nostalgia and neophilia—have been shown to both dazzle and destroy, depending upon their use. These concepts have been utilized by a variety of brands—some of the world’s largest beverage companies, the most popular application of 2016 and air fresheners, to name a few—and have resulted in heavy profits and losses for the companies.

Nostalgia and neophilia in marketing must first be analyzed as individual concepts, each with their own merits and disadvantages, and then viewed as an intersection where …

Nonprofit Marketing Strategy, Marisa Lizana

Marketing Undergraduate Honors Theses

Abstract

This paper explores the new and vague idea of nonprofit marketing. From studies comparing traditional marketing to nonprofit marketing and surveys analyzing the current status of organizations’ marketing plans, we see the gray area that is nonprofit marketing and the lack of research to enlighten us what a successful marketing strategy looks like. Then, I talk about my first-hand experiences working for a nonprofit, what I learned, and what questions and ideas I have regarding the future of nonprofit marketing strategy.

A Business Plan For The Three Barn Farm, Jessica Loechler

Marketing Undergraduate Honors Theses

The Three Barn Farm is a rural wedding venue that offers a personal, intimate experience for those who appreciate the simple beauty of the American countryside. Our mission is to make our home your home on the best day of your life. The name “The Three Barn Farm” reflects the three beautiful fixtures on the land. The first barn is the one-hundred-year-old classic red barn. With recently refurbished wood to capture the barn’s original beauty for years to come, this barn serves as a Pinterest-worthy spot for bridal photos, a welcome area, and many other purposes. The second barn is …

Shop, Compra, 购买: Targeting The Multicultural Consumer, Evelyn Ballesteros

Marketing Undergraduate Honors Theses

Multicultural is defined as relating to or representing several different cultures. In marketing, it is the representation of several cultures in marketing strategies. According to the “The Roadmap to the New America”, the multicultural millennial makes up over 40% of the millennial population. Multicultural consumers hold a $3 trillion buying power. Once brands understand these consumers, they become lifelong consumers. Those brands that fail to understand this consumer risk losing a lifelong consumer. Multicultural consumers are shaping the American culture, taste, and style holding influence over the marketplace. Understanding and creating tactful approaches to reach this market has …

“Why The Anomaly That Is Super Bowl Marketing Is A Justifiable Investment”, Anthony Cole Brothers

Marketing Undergraduate Honors Theses

By now, we have well established that the Super Bowl is the holy grail of marketing, the championship for the battle of the brands, and the ultimate showcase of creative prowess which determines bragging rights. This American phenomenon is the exception, because it’s the one time on the calendar where viewers are mesmerized by commercials instead of tuning them out as noise. There are critical strategic objectives which can be satisfied, revolutionizing the brand in the eyes of the consumer and drastically expanding brand awareness. We know the vast benefits that well-executed marketing schemes can have for companies, especially during …

The Retailing Study Project Report: A Series Of Research Studies From The Walton College Of Business, Dinesh K. Gauri

Marketing Faculty Publications and Presentations

The respondents to questions about consumer behavior towards general merchandise and grocery retailers revealed distinct divisions among the three large retailers.

This study is in response to the dynamic and chaotic nature of today's retailing. U.S. retail accounts for 16 percent of U.S. GDP with just a few key retailers contributing most heavily.

Mergers and acquisition continue to change the retail landscape, and with Amazon growth and ecommerce on the rise, it was time to check shopper perceptions toward the three major retailers: Walmart, Amazon and Target,

A Social Marketing Plan For The Children's Safety Center, Morganne Kaylyn Rhodes

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Children’s Safety Center (CSC) is a nonprofit organization in Springdale, Arkansas, that advocates for child abuse victims in Northwest Arkansas. This thesis project includes a social marketing plan that aims to increase the overall awareness of the CSC and its new prevention programs used to decrease the number of child abuse victims in Northwest Arkansas. The social marketing plan also aims to create behavioral changes that increase participation in prevention programs and social media engagement, in addition to volunteers and donors. The plan was developed based on research on effective nonprofit social marketing plans, research on efficient communication efforts …

The Effects Of Calorie Information Disclosures On Food Choice And Retailer-Related Outcomes, Christopher Berry

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Federal legislation will begin requiring the provision of calorie information on the menus and menu boards of restaurants and other retail food establishments with 20 or more locations in May 2018. Food retailers not included in this mandate can choose to voluntarily provide calorie information to consumers. However, there are concerns that this major policy change will not have the desired widespread positive effects on consumer choice behavior. Further, although proponents of calorie labeling argue that consumers have the right to know the calorie content of their food orders, many food retailers have argued that calorie labeling is too expensive …

An Investigation Of Sport Sponsorship Antecedents And Outcomes Through Levels Of Sponsor Prominence, Benjamin Colin Cork

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Currently, global sport sponsorship is a multi-billion dollar industry that continues to show strong year-to-year growth (IEG, 2016). Additionally, the current body of sport sponsorship literature has reported the effects of salient attitudinal and behavioral constructs on sponsorship effectiveness. For example, previous studies have indicated that the perceived sincerity and attitude toward a sponsor do positively effect a consumer's behavioral intentions toward a sponsor (Speed & Thompson, 2000; Biscaia, Correia, Rosado, Ross, & Maroco, 2013). Therefore, the purpose of this study is to measure consumer attitudes and behavioral intent toward sponsor, through experimental design, when exposed to one of three …

Putting The Honey On The Table: A Business Plan To Create A Successful Part-Time Beekeeping Operation, Samuel L. Goll

Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness Undergraduate Honors Theses

The objective of this thesis was to use a survey targeted at different niche markets to gain insights about different honey bee products and thereby to provide information for their economic feasibility when produced on a small, local scale for retailers that support such producers and cater to such consumer demand. Since cost of production information about operating an apiary is widely available, the focus of this work was on gaining marketing knowledge. One of the aspects of the survey was to develop a better sense of what potential resellers of honey bee products considered locally-produced. Another objective was to …

Image And Perception Of The Top Five American Tourist Cities As Represented By Snow Globes, Caitlin Malloy

Architecture Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis investigates the connection between popular culture’s perception of place and the physical augmentation of reality. Focusing on the top five tourist cities in America, this disparateness is observed through the lens of a souvenir: the snow globe.

The presentation of the work is broken into two parts: the written portion and the book of diagrams. A total of 45 snow globes (9 for each of the 5 cities) were selected for the study, each carefully analyzed for content to include monuments, colors, text, dimensions, realism, and layout. This resulted in a series of diagrams which graphically express the …

A Social Marketing Plan For 7hills Homeless Center, Kendra Labri Williams

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

7hills Homeless Center is located in Fayetteville, Arkansas and is committed to ending homelessness in Northwest Arkansas by developing and implementing innovative services to equip the near-homeless and homeless in leading healthy and productive lives through strategic community partnerships with citizens, business, and government agencies. This thesis offers 7hills Homeless Center a comprehensive social marketing plan. The goal is to increase awareness of homelessness in Northwest Arkansas and to increase donor and volunteer involvement with 7hills. In order to accomplish these goals, a social marketing plan was developed by researching target volunteer and donor audiences, homelessness, and successful campaigns from …

Marketing Tips For Small-Scale, Local Honey Bee Keepers In Northwest Arkansas, Samuel L. Goll, Michael P. Popp, Jennie S. Popp, Donald C. Steinkraus

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

The objective of this thesis was to gain market information for beekeepers regarding different honey bee products and to provide information about economic feasibility when produced on a small, local scale. Since cost-of-production information about operating an apiary is widely available, the focus of this work was on gaining marketing knowledge. One of the objectives of the surveys was to develop a better sense of what potential resellers of honey bee products considered locally produced. Another objective was to determine preferences for honey bee product packaging as well as bee pollination services. Using that feedback, a marketing plan for different …

The Effectiveness Of Supply Chain Transparency Among Consumers, Audrey Mcclain

Supply Chain Management Undergraduate Honors Theses

This study seeks to understand the impact that a business’s level of transparency may have on consumers. Extant research and literature suggests a relationship between transparency and consumer confidence. However, though a relationship exists, there is reason to believe that many consumers do not use the transparency efforts they demand. This study hypothesizes that there is in fact a demand for transparency, but ultimately, consumers do not use the transparency efforts that they call for. A survey was created for the purpose of this study and its results were analyzed and then compared against the hypotheses laid out in the …

Why Teens Today Wear The Brands They Wear And How This Is Affected By Reference Groups, Moriah Houser

Marketing Undergraduate Honors Theses

This paper describes and reports the results of a study that examines how teenagers choose to purchase and wear different brands. I wanted to find out if they would be affected positively or negatively towards different brands when they were associated with their membership, aspirational, or dissociative reference groups as well as how a teenager decides what brands are relevant to them or convey what they want to convey about themselves. Through the exploration of friends, hobbies, advertising, social media, situational factors, parents, through interviews, along with the help of many scholarly articles, I was able to find out what …

A Social Marketing Plan For The Lester C. Howick Animal Shelter, Joseph Michael Spiegelhoff

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Lester C. Howick Animal Shelter (Howick) is a non-profit organization serving Washington County, Arkansas and the Northwest Arkansas community. This thesis offers Howick a comprehensive Social marketing plan. The goal of the animal shelter is to increase the total number of cats and dogs adopted, increase the total amount of donations, and increase the number of volunteers helping at the facility and various events. In order to accomplish these goals for 2016, a Social marketing plan was developed through research on other non-profit organizations, other animal shelters, communication with the shelter employees, crafting a public service announcement (PSA), and …

Omni-Channel Supply Chain Management: Assessing The Impact Of Retail Service Operations In The Retail Supply Chain, Simone Theresa Peinkofer

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The traditional retail environment, which is characterized by a clear division between brick-and-mortar and non-brick-and-mortar retail channels, has been recently disrupted by developments in e-commerce and mobile technologies. The result has been the emergence of omni-channel retailing. Within the reality of this new retail environment, it has been proposed that retailers should develop the necessary capabilities to fulfill consumer demand from anywhere – the store, the distribution center, or via drop-shipping from a supplier – which leads to the emergence of new operational complexities and challenges in the retail supply chain. In light of the growing popularity of these new …

It's Not The Load That Breaks You Down, It's The Way You Carry It: An Examination Of The Relationship Between Negative Identity And Consumer Behavior, Cassandra Denise Davis

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Research examining Social identity and consumer behavior often centers on groups with positive Social identities, exploring the influence of similar identities (i.e., shared values, shared gender, shared political affiliations, shared ethnicity…etc.) or desired identities (e.g., sports celebrities, actors, and actresses). For example, research has shown that people display an increased attention to identity-based stimuli following the activation of a Socially distinct identity (Forehand, Deshpandé, and Reed 2002) and that heightening the self‐importance of a consumer Social identity leads to a preference for identity-related brands (Reed 2004). An important but often overlooked aspect of the influence of Social identity on consumption, …

It's All About Me: How Self-Brand Connection And Social Media Interactivity Influence Purchase Intent, Shannon Taylor Mccarthy

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Social media is ubiquitous and allows consumers to display identity by through possessions through posts, images, and interactions. The self is all the individual calls their own and is expressed outwardly through everything visible, including possessions, relationships, and interactions. They tell their story through the display of envy-inducing artifacts, and create a perfect, photoshopped life. Consumers seek a connection to positively viewed brands they feel are self-representative through interaction. This dissertation seeks to better understand consumer rationale for and gratification from online brand engagement and how that, in turn, impacts the brand. Three studies examined the effects of self-brand connection, …

Getting Hooked On Gnarly Rods, Cody A. Nelson

Marketing Undergraduate Honors Theses

At Gnarly Rods, our objective is to supply builders and fishermen alike with the quality gear, components, and service necessary to catch everything life has to offer. From providing rod building parts, to repairs, to fully customized fishing rods, we are the destination for all things in custom fishing. Conceptualized in 2015, Gnarly Rods will be based out of Springdale, AR, and started by Robert and Cody Nelson, a father and son pair as passionate for fishing as they are family and the influence the outdoors can have in life. As of now, we will be the only two employees …

An Exploration Of Omnichannel Marketing Through Fifa 16, Virginia N. Roman

Marketing Undergraduate Honors Theses

According to Forbes, Omnichannel marketing is a marketing strategy that engages consumers over multiple channels, a strategy reflecting the change in how consumers are willing to engage with companies. EA Sports is a branch of Electronic Arts, an entertainment software company that in the fiscal year of 2015 had a GAAP net revenue of $4.5 billion. EA Sports produces sports related video games including the Madden NFL, Rory McIlroy PGA Tour, and FIFA. Omnichannel marketing is the next frontier and the video game industry is on the rise. At the crossroads of these two is FIFA 16, this year’s installment …

Evaluating The Perception Of Luxury Brands In Today's Marketplace And The Impact Of The Digital Age On These Brands, Mary M. Turner

Marketing Undergraduate Honors Theses

“In spite of the global recession, luxury seems to be everywhere. Luxury is a term that is routinely used in our everyday life: a promise of decadence and a dream of an exclusive lifestyle, a key component of marketing management and a tagline in commercials and advertising campaigns…However, what does luxury really mean? The only consensus on the meaning of luxury is that there is little consensus” (Hennigs et al. 3). For an industry that once presented itself as so exclusive and definitive, it is hard to believe there is such uncertainty in defining this market. Much of this ambiguity …

Entertainment In The 21st Century: Is An Independent Networked Multimedia Production And Promotion Firm A Viable Business Option In The Modern Entertainment Industry?, Alex Mcgowen

Marketing Undergraduate Honors Theses

“Artists are being stifled by the ‘major label’ stance that exclusively demands what’s ours is ours and can only be handled by us. It should be more about creative freedom” (Monstercat Manifesto). Over the past fifteen years, we have witnessed how the internet has changed how entertainment is distributed and consumed. This has led to a change in behavior from major entertainment production firms, and has given way to the surge of independent labels and production houses. Now, entertainers can lead successful careers by reaching their audience through digital platforms, successfully decreasing production and distribution costs. Consumers can find an …

More Ethical – Thai Or American Business Behavior?: Ethical Business Practices And Differences Between Cultures, Michelle Carlson

Marketing Undergraduate Honors Theses

The study and comparison of cross cultural business ethics was conducted specifically in the countries of Thailand and the United States. To study these two countries’ business ethics, a survey was conducted in each country, analyzed, and compared to one another. The research was conducted on a Micro Empirical scale. This approach by definition “hypothesizes the existence of general norms or values and then gathers and analyzes data with a view of determining the extent to which these norms or values prevail in the group surveyed” (Koehn & Leung, 2004). Thailand and the United States are hypothesized in this study …

A Social Marketing Plan For The Arkansas Miracle League, Abby Stuart

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Miracle League is a baseball league specially designed to allow disabled children, teens, and adults have the same opportunity to play baseball as able-bodied individuals on a field specifically designed to accommodate all disabilities. This thesis offers the Miracle League of Arkansas a specified Social marketing plan. In order to assist Miracle League in the acquisition of new players, volunteers, and donors, research was compiled and conducted to implement a successful Social marketing plan for the spring 2016 Miracle League season. This Social marketing plan gives Miracle League recommendations on how to appeal to parents of potential Miracle League players, …

The Effect Of Showrooming On Specialty Retailers: Leveraging A Framework For Success, Erin Jodi Belk

Accounting Undergraduate Honors Theses

As technology continues to increasingly infiltrate the lives of consumers around the globe, retailers are being faced with new challenges. Not only is there a push for retailers to be faster and more responsive, but retailers are also expected to have high integration across all channels. Over the past few years, as online shopping expanded and e-commerce became the norm, phenomena such as showrooming — consumers using their phones to comparison shop in stores — seemed like the evident and looming death of brick and mortar retailers (Adler, 2013). Historically, offline retailers have tried various methods to eliminate showrooming, going …

The Influence Of Direct To Consumer Advertising Of Oral Contraceptives And The Consumer’S Attitudes And Perceptions That Ensue, Olivia A. Till

Marketing Undergraduate Honors Theses

This paper seeks to gain a better understanding of the influence that Direct-to-Consumer Advertising has on the willingness of a consumer to request a prescription of a particular brand of birth control. More specifically, it assesses how willing a consumer is to undertake the risk of potentially serious side effects to gain some advantageous secondary effect. In this case, the promise of clearer skin for mild to moderate acne was the secondary benefit promoted. Participants were given an advertisement for the fictitious brand of oral contraceptive, Ortho TriRegularis. One group received a version with minor side effects, while another group …