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In tandem with the burgeoning popularity of social media research in the field of sport communication and marketing, we are witnessing a concomitant rise in its epistemological sophistication. Despite this growth, the field has given less attention to methodological issues and implications. In light of the development of machine learning, the overarching goal of the current research was to answer the call for innovative methodological approaches to advance knowledge in the area of social media research. Specifically, we (a) assess the current state of sport social media research from a methodological perspective, with a particular focus on machine learning; (b) present an empirical illustration to demonstrate how sport scholars can benefit from the advancement in natural language processing and the derivative topic modeling techniques; (c) discuss how machine learning could enhance the rigor of social media research and improve theory development; and (d) offer potential opportunities and directions for the future sport social media research that utilizes machine learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research integrates marketing literature, design theory, interviews with world-renowned designers, and established scale development procedures to develop a reliable and valid instrument that measures the effectiveness of design communication (i.e., the information about product designs conveyed through the product, packaging, or advertisements) via consumer evaluations. The theoretical underpinnings and face validity engaged in the development of the Design Communication Assessment Scale (DCAS) progresses the field's understanding as to what constitutes the seven evaluative dimensions of design (form, function, solidity, usefulness, style, eco-consciousness, and uniqueness). Practically, DCAS's versatility provides managers with the ability to gauge consumer evaluations of design communications while enabling better communications with designers. In addition, the authors validate a shortened form of the DCAS for resource-constrained firms. Support for DCAS's generalizability is provided across laboratory and field studies in which ecological validity is established. Together, these studies demonstrate that using DCAS leads to improved performance across a wide array of metrics, including click-through rates, email signups, and retail sales for a diverse set of products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emojis are being increasingly used in different types of communications, including in advertising campaigns. One emoji, the smiley face, has been an important part of consumers' informal communications. Interestingly, smiley faces now also appear in marketing communications, advertisements, and brand logos. The present research examines the role of smiley faces in restaurant logos as a form of marketing communication. A set of five studies—conducted in a lab and at a middle school—demonstrates that communication associated with restaurant logos including smileys is perceived as lower in healthfulness, which in turn leads to lower price expectations. These effects are caused by a visual association with a fast-food restaurant category, whereby consumers link the presence of smiley faces with fast-food restaurants. The authors conclude that including a smiley face logo in a restaurant's marketing communication can have unintended consequences on consumers' perceptions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Charitable organisations are principled actors providing essential community services. However, due to some highly publicised charity scandals in recent years, they are under increased scrutiny today. This study explores the impact of negative publicity (i.e. publicly reported scandals) about charitable organisations on the contributions of regular donors and analyses the moderating role of email marketing communications as a key factor in counteracting the impact of negative publicity on donations. The results of analysing a sample of regular donors during the period 2013–2020 reveal that negative publicity about charities reduces the amount donated, and that this effect is stronger on the contributions of more frequent donors, who are potentially more sensitive to this publicity. This impact is softened by email marketing communications. The implications for the field of marketing management in charities are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interdisciplinary nature and rapidly expanding literature stream devoted to influencer marketing makes it difficult to stay abreast of the current research while simultaneously moving the field of knowledge forward. The goal of this article, then, is to take a look back, reviewing the disparate literature, in order to look ahead, guiding future research towards fruitful underexplored avenues of discovery. Using a framework-based scoping review, a retrospective examination of 150 articles is provided with emphasis on identifying publication trends, theories, contexts, constructs/concepts, and methodological approaches. These findings allow for a thorough discussion of gaps in extant knowledge, emerging themes and trends, and directions for future research. As such, this review provides a sound theoretical and practical basis for continued development within the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sports betting in the United States is exploding in popularity and has the potential to change the way sports fans interact with sports properties and sports content. However, not all sports bettors are the same, and market segmentation research provides a resource for more targeted communication and marketing strategies. Utilizing behavioral and psychographic data, the current study segmented 1,077 sports bettors by involvement. The segments were then contrasted on a number of factors within the framework of Mowen's 3M model of motivation and personality. A sample of 513 nonbetting sports fans was also included as a segment within the analyses. Statistically significant differences were found at the motivational, elemental, compound, and surface trait levels between the betting segments and between the betting and the nonbetting sports fans. The findings point to a strong emotional draw regardless of involvement yet a clear need for the betting industry to educate on issues related to jurisdictional legality and common language. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Textual social media data have become indispensable to researchers' understanding of message strategies and other marketing practices. In a new departure for the field of brand communication, this study adopts and extends a semi-supervised machine-learning approach, guided latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA), which incorporates human insights into the discovery and classification of topics. We used it to analyze tweets from businesses involved with an emerging food technology, cultured meat, and delineated four key message strategies used by these brands: providing functional, educational, corporate social responsibility, and relational content. We further ascertained the relationships between brands and the key topics embedded in their Twitter data. A comparison of model performance suggests that guided LDA can be an advantageous alternative to traditional LDA, which is characterized by high efficiency and immense popularity among researchers, but—because of its unsupervised nature—yields findings that can be difficult to interpret. The present study therefore has critical theoretical and methodological implications for communication and marketing scholars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this commentary is to discuss a framework (the Revised Model of Sport Consumer Behavior – R-MSCB; Trail, 2019) to accomplish the following objectives. (1) Provide a framework for sport marketers and sport organizations to use in their own market research. (2) Designate the processes needed to generate results and knowledge that sport organizations, sport marketers and associated corporate partners can use to improve marketing campaigns. (3) Provide suggestions for analytic techniques and measurement constructs/instruments that will facilitate market research within the sport industry. Design/methodology/approach: The author created a 140-item questionnaire for the pre-survey and a 50-item questionnaire for the post-survey. The pre-survey was given at the beginning of the season, and the post-survey was given at the end of the season. The research group has generated a sequence of 13 studies and has collected pre-survey responses from over 7,800 people across 4 continents, 8 sports and 13 teams (data collections), with more teams still planned and over 2,000 post-season survey responses with data collection continuing. Findings: This project, with its 13 studies, will provide sport organizations with the theories/frameworks, knowledge and processes to do their own market research in a more effective and efficient manner and will show sport organizations how to understand the complexities of sport consumer behavior, the motivations behind it and how it varies extensively across individuals. The author will show sports organizations how to collect data from their consumers using valid and reliable measures and constructs that will allow them to segment their consumers, how to effectively market to those segments and how to establish long-lasting relationships that make a satisfied and loyal customer. Originality/value: This paper provides the framework and guidelines so that sport marketers and researchers can identify specific variables, constructs and relationships that will further their own objectives when attempting to explain sport consumer behavior. Using their own market research, they can implement the results/output in association with the Communications Strategy Model to create more effective and efficient marketing and communications campaigns and consequently drive key performance indicators (KPIs) and improve revenue streams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the current business environment, where the customer is the primary focus, effective communication between marketing and senior management is vital for success. Effective customer profiling is a cornerstone of strategic decision-making for digital start-ups seeking sustainable growth and customer satisfaction. This research investigates the clustering of customers based on recency, frequency, and monetary (RFM) analysis and employs validation metrics to derive optimal clusters. The K-means clustering algorithm, coupled with the Elbow method, Silhouette coefficient, and Gap Statistics method, facilitates the identification of distinct customer segments. The study unveils three primary clusters with unique characteristics: new customers (Cluster A), best customers (Cluster B), and intermittent customers (Cluster C). For platform-based Edutech start-ups, Cluster A underscores the importance of tailored learning content and support, Cluster B emphasizes personalized incentives, and Cluster C suggests re-engagement strategies. By understanding and addressing the diverse needs of these clusters, digital start-ups can forge enduring connections, optimize customer engagement, and fuel sustainable business growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study concentrates predominantly on the statement that the voter is influenced by and consumes the political communication marketing formed through political structures, content which is partially created based on the political matters of a country. Consequently, this study is founded upon the point that voting actions reflect what kind of content voters consume; therefore, the elector is the potential customer of the "electoral marketplace". Accordingly, the primary goal of this study is to explain the effect that the political marketing of various parties might have on voters' behaviour. Correspondingly, we introduce the framework of the planned research; identify the vital research principles; and clarify the intentions of the study and the required theoretical background, together with the data gathering and analysis methods used at this stage for the implementation of the envisaged project. In this context, primary research has been conducted quantitatively, the conclusions of which confirm the presence of the relationship outlined above. In conclusion, this research demonstrates that there is a certain correlation between broader political marketing and electoral perceptions. According to the survey results, we conclude that there is a positive linear correlation between the values of all four elements of the marketing mix, which is statistically significant. We found that there are three different levels of correlation between the pairs of the political marketing mix. Accordingly, it appears that there is a stronger correlation between Price and Product and between Place and Promotion, respectively, while there is a slightly weaker correlation between Place and Product and Promotion and Product. At the same time, there is an even weaker but still positive and statistically significant correlation between Promotion and Price and Price and Place, respectively. In addition, "Promotion" falls behind the rest of the elements of political marketing, a fact that partially confirms the given picture with regard to political marketing and considers "Promotion", and thus the actual political/pre-election campaign, to be less influential compared to other components of the political marketing mix (Product, Place, and Price), which, according to the specific results, appear to influence, indirectly but more strongly, the voting choices of Cypriots. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many brand collaboration platforms—such as sponsorship, celebrity endorsement, influencer marketing, product placement, cobranding, and human branding—build strong relationships between brands and contribute to the brand equity of two or more brands. Brand equity, since inception, has been concerned with the value of a brand, how this value is built and measured, and how the marketplace responds to it. Based on previous work and in response to current marketing practices, the authors suggest that the concept of shared brand equity, where collaborative efforts result in connectivity between brands, is needed to better explain and guide advertising and marketing communications research and practice. Drawing on developments in cognitive psychology, we explain how shared brand equity is developed and how it persists, the role it plays in semantic/associative neighborhoods, and how it explains research findings. We offer a set of research propositions, as well as concrete examples of the usefulness of the theoretical approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eudaimonic narratives, which past work identifies as stories featuring themes related to virtue and life's higher purpose, are increasingly prevalent in advertisements and marketing communications. The current research examines whether this type of narrative achieves advertiser-desired outcomes. If these outcomes are achieved, how? The results from five studies demonstrate that eudaimonic narratives enhance the value of, attitude toward, and purchase intentions for products featured in the story. This occurs because the product becomes a symbol for the meaningful theme communicated in the narrative. The effect of eudaimonic narratives on valuation is stronger when a product is central to the narrative plot and when consumers have experienced a threat to their worldview coherence; the effect disappears when people consider giving the focal product as a gift. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Uses and gratifications theory has often been used in (sport) communication studies to examine social media usage. Yet, criticisms of uses and gratifications theory (e.g., it overstates purposefulness) and competing research suggesting media use is more habitual and unconscious in nature have often been overlooked. Thus, through semistructured interviews, this research explored how social media is used, identifying five themes: passively, distinctly, periodically, habitually, and universally. Theoretically, this research contributes by highlighting the passive, habitual, and unconscious nature of some sport social media behavior, thereby challenging our current assumptions that sport social media usage is always active, purposeful, and goal directed. It also considers the uniqueness (or lack thereof) of sport content within the social media experience. Managerially, this research helps sport organizations understand how consumers use social media to inform marketing and communication strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Firms often emphasize "green" benefits for products that are only partially more sustainable than alternatives (e.g., a more sustainable packaging with similar product ingredients). The current article posits that such strategies can lead to a perceived claim–fact discrepancy and examines to what extent this makes consumers feel deceived and detracts from attitudes and purchase intentions, even though consumers can intrinsically value the (partial) sustainability improvements. In addition, given that marketing communication often relies on puffery such as exaggerated language and (visual) hyperbole, the article also investigates the effect of the use of puffery versus more subdued claims. Findings from two experiments unveil that when the actual sustainability of packaged products is (partially) discrepant with an overt sustainability claim, this leads to higher perceived deception. The use of puffery has both pros and cons, such that it adds to perceived sustainability but also to perceived deception, and it moderates the effects of actual sustainability. Furthermore, the results provide initial support for the idea that sustainability improvements in only peripheral attributes (packaging) are perceived as more deceptive than sustainability improvements in only central attributes (product contents). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The success of the premiere of the film Barbie is undeniable in terms of box office and social impact; however, another of the aspects in which the film stands out is its impact in terms of communication and promotion. The aim of this paper is to analyse the impact that the official Barbie account had on social networks during the week of the premiere. To achieve this objective, a quantitative methodology based on the Fanpage Karma social network analysis tools was used. Among the main results, it is worth highlighting that TikTok emerges as the communication and marketing channel that generates the most engagement, to the detriment of Facebook and Twitter (X). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing use of digital formats in the Spanish advertising landscape has brought about a significant change in marketing practices, leading to a growing demand for influencers as key components of brand strategies. The objectives are twofold: firstly, to highlight the importance of these influencer profiles and, secondly, to identify their impact on the operational framework of agencies, from marketing plans to strategic planning, creativity and media, thus assuming a key structural role. The methodology used combines both qualitative and quantitative approaches, including in-depth interviews, a survey and the Delphi method. The findings underline the paramount importance of these social profiles for society, end-users and communication and marketing agencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the impact of pre-contractual communication on market outcomes when economic relationships are subject to hidden action. Our experiment is framed in a credit market context and borrowers (second movers) can communicate with lenders (first movers) prior to entering the credit relationship. Communication reduces moral hazard (strategic default) and increases trust (credit provision) in an environment where opportunistic behavior by borrowers is revealed ex-post to lenders. By contrast, in an environment where strategic defaults are hidden behind a veil of uncertainty, we find a substantially weaker impact of communication. Borrowers are more likely to renege on repayment promises when they can hide opportunistic behavior from lenders. As a consequence, lenders extend less credit to borrowers who promise to repay. Hidden action undermines the positive effect of communication on market outcomes. Our findings have implications for the design of contracts and how to structure relationships with a risk of hidden action: for pre-contractual communication to unfold its full potential it needs to go hand-in-hand with post-contractual monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public health communication acts as a social vaccine in case of pandemics. Prior research has identified that such initiatives often fail to reach vulnerable sections of society. In India, while the first wave of infections mainly hit the urban areas, rural areas witnessed a surge in the second wave. Using the World Bank data, we attempt to understand the effectiveness of public awareness campaigns in rural areas. We use the Ecological Model for public health and find how the various factors relate to public health outcomes. The ecological factors are found to be related to awareness of Covid‐19. We find inadequate awareness about the symptoms and preventive measures associated with Covid‐19 among the rural population. We also find significant differences in communication and awareness along dimensions such as education and access to media. The role played by SHGs and hospitals in dealing with pandemics is also evident in this study. We conclude that the disparity in public health communication needs to be bridged to ensure equitable access to health information in society during public health crises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bu çalışma, Facebook, Instagram, Quora ve Reddit gibi sosyal medya platformlarından elde edilen verilerle hidro, güneş, rüzgâr ve nükleer gibi çeşitli enerji kaynakları hakkındaki halk görüşlerinin duygu analizini gerçekleştirmektedir. 3,269 bahsetme verisi ile etkileşimler, paylaşımlar ve beğeniler incelenerek bu enerji formlarıyla ilgili güncel tartışmalara kapsamlı bir bakış sunulmaktadır. Yöntem, duygu analizini nicel verilere dayandırarak altta yatan temaları ortaya çıkarmak için nitel içerik incelemesiyle birleştirilmektedir. Sonuçlar genellikle "temiz," "sürdürülebilir" ve "verimli" olarak tanımlanan yenilenebilir enerjiye, özellikle hidro ve güneş enerjisine karşı güçlü bir olumlu duygu ortaya koymaktadır. Hidro enerjisi, çevresel etkisinin minimum olduğu algısı nedeniyle yüksek bir itibara sahiptir; güneş enerjisi ise iklim değişikliği ile mücadele ve teknolojik ilerlemeler için övgü almaktadır. Rüzgâr enerjisi, görsel ve ses kirliliği endişeleri ve potansiyel vahşi yaşam etkileri nedeniyle eleştirilirken nükleer enerji güvenlik ve atık yönetimi sorunları nedeniyle olumsuz duygular uyandırmaktadır. Bu sonuçlar, yenilenebilir enerji endüstrisi içinde etkili pazarlama stratejileri oluşturmak için önemli sonuçlar sunmaktadır. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A well-designed Agricultural Extension System (AES) can facilitate transitions towards sustainable agriculture. However, in most developing countries, AES has failed to promote sustainable agricultural development. The New Agricultural Extension System (NAES) was initiated to facilitate agricultural development in Iran. However, there is still no definite reflection on the influences of NAES on agricultural development. Therefore, this research aimed to evaluate the performance of NAES. To ensure an integrative and holistic analysis of the NAES's performance, the Complexity Theory (CT) and Agricultural Innovation System (AIS) approaches were used. To gather data, survey research was conducted in Fars Province, southern Iran. A multi-stage random sampling was used to identify the designated extension agents. The findings indicated that effective implementation of the NAES needs facilitated interaction through network mediation (X = 71.6), creation of an enabling context for the delivery of extension services (X = 66.6), improved communication and marketing infrastructures (X = 72), development of a value chain (X = 71.4), acceptance of self-organization (X = 67.8) and adoption of complexity-aware management (X = 66). The results also identified the hindering effects of demographic, structural and psychological factors on the practical application of CT and AIS principles. Some recommendations and implications are offered to improve the effectiveness of NAES. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The performance of a health care organization is impacted by how its management handles problems caused by disruptions in communication and shows concern for the ongoing enhancement of the communication process. Any health care organization's marketing communication approach is essential since it has an impact on both personnel and consumer satisfaction. From the perspective of physiotherapists, the current study aims to explore the connections between the perceived quality of health care services, marketing communications and job satisfaction. The sample comprised 114 individuals, the majority of whom were women, and whose average age was 39,74 (±9,56). Their average experience in the health care organization was 12,44 years (± 8,95). A self-administered questionnaire that contained socio-demographic items and specific items to collect data about the importance of marketing communication, job satisfaction, and perceived quality, was used as the research instrument. The results revealed that physiotherapists' job satisfaction is positively influenced by both marketing communication and the perceived quality of care. However, to be more effective, health care managers need to offer specialized trainings to physiotherapists in order to motivate them and strengthen reliability and responsiveness when providing services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following George Floyd's murder in 2020, academia pursued a policy of diversity, noticeable in the job advertisements for the following academic year. This article analyzes 77 tenure-track positions for the 2020–2021 academic year advertised on the National Communication Association's COMMNotes. With a focus on the job market and labor, the authors explain the assumptions of applying for tenure-track positions. The analysis shows how diversity transforms from concept into practice. However, within the context of the U.S.-based communication studies' economic conditions, the authors ask if labor is outside the conceptualization of diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – This study reviewed three customer-perceived components of integrated marketing communications (IMCs): consistency, interactivity and connectivity, as predictors of positive customer evaluation (product and retail service satisfaction). Design/methodology/approach – The customer data from 260 surveys were analysed using structural equation modelling (SEM). The data were collected from the emerging economy in the Moscow region (Russia). Findings – The results reported that IMC consistency positively impacts product and service satisfaction. However, the effect of IMC interactivity was only significant in the case of service satisfaction. Meanwhile, IMC connectivity positively influenced only product satisfaction. Research limitations/implications – The study contributes to the marketing communications theory by defining three components of omnichannel IMC. It also adds to the customer behaviour theory by confirming the diverse nature of product and service evaluation. This study focuses on the retail industry. Practical implications – This research suggests that three components of IMC should be applied together towards enhancing the customer’s positive post-purchase evaluation. Meanwhile, consistency enhances product and service satisfaction, interactive impacts satisfaction with the organization and connectivity with the retail service. Originality/value – The shift toward omnichannel marketing requires a broader perspective on communication integration. This research reports a novelty result of estimating the separate effect of each component of omnichannel IMC (consistency, interactivity and connectivity) on product and service satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction Transformation describes a dramatic modification in appearance or character. Philip Morris International (PMI)'s sponsorship-linked marketing of Formula 1 auto racing is illustrative of transformation. The company's flagship cigarette brand, Marlboro has been replaced as the identified partner by their newly developed brand, Mission Winnow. This study examines the tobacco company's marketing objectives for transforming the brand identity of its Formula 1 Ferrari race team partnership. Aims and Methods We provide a case study, and our method of qualitative enquiry is textual analysis. We review marketing planning documents from Philip Morris, which would normally be proprietary, but are publicly accessible because of litigation. Additionally, we review Mission Winnow's social media posts, over a 3-year span, from the brand's Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts. Results PMI initiated its Formula 1 sponsorship in 1972. Through Marlboro, the company's sponsorship-linked marketing was largely centered on building brand image and reinforcing Marlboro's brand identity of rugged masculinity, independence, heroism, and adventure. When Mission Winnow replaced Marlboro as the identified brand sponsor in 2018, the company's marketing communication shifted to highlighting transformation, progress, open dialogue, teamwork, innovation, technology, and science. Conclusions Despite Article 5.3 of the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) calling for Parties to protect public health policies from the commercial and vested interests of tobacco companies, PMI still seeks to be an important stakeholder in such consultations, including those pertaining to harm reduction. Mission Winnow's sponsorship-linked marketing points to a larger company narrative about trying to gain or reclaim legitimacy and credibility. Implications PMI's continued sponsorship of Formula 1 is a strategic means of drawing attention to the company's "next-generation products" and communicating their supposed "transformation." The company's sponsorship-linked marketing initiatives point to a need for Parties to enforce Article 13 of the WHO FCTC, which calls for a comprehensive ban on tobacco advertising, promotion, and sponsorship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of current study was to examine (1) the emotion transfer effect from sport programs and (2) program-ad congruity effects on the effectiveness of ads. A 2 (program-induced valence: pleasant, unpleasant) × 2 (program-induced arousal: arousing, calm) × 2 (advertising theme: sport, non-sport) within-subjects design, along with real-time psychophysiological measures, was employed to test the hypotheses. As predicted, an ad placed after a pleasant situation (favored team's victory) was more effective than an ad placed after an unpleasant situation (favored team's defeat). Also, an ad played after an arousing situation (close game) was more effective than an ad played after a non-arousing situation (lopsided game). Further, advertising effectiveness was greater for sport-themed ads (congruent) than non-sport-themed (non-congruent) ads. The findings suggest that the same ad can result in different persuasive impacts depending upon the emotional and cognitive context of the preceding sports program. The study offers new insights to existing sport marketing communication literature by examining emotional and cognitive priming effects in the context of sport media programing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The study aims to analyse the possibilities of positioning the anti-consumption through different communication appeals. It analyses commercial and social marketing campaigns in the global context, with the aim to recommend communication guidelines to empower anti-consumption among different industries. Design/methodology/approach: The study conducted a qualitative content analysis of marketing communication focused on anti-consumption promotion. Findings: The results bring a comprehensive overview of possible communication appeals of anti-consumption and prove feasibility of their implementation. The analysis of used appeals leads to recommendations for developing effective marketing communication for promoting anti-consumption. Practical implications: The recommendations can serve both for-profit and non-profit organization as a showcase to discover the idea of anti-consumption as communication appeals. By empowering anti-consumption, consumers could reach personal welfare and participate in social equilibrium. Also, the study brings recommendations for further research considering the evaluation of the implemented strategies. Originality/value: The study covers a gap in published literature focusing on comprehensive analysis of existing anti-consumption marketing communication strategies and appeals and brings an overview of potential strategies for empowering anti-consumption among modern consumers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In contemporary mobile communications markets, various agents or players interact to pursue welfare. Regulatory policies enacted by governments in certain markets aim to maximize social welfare. However, some countries, both least developed and developing, often adopt successful models from developed nations without local market validation. Therefore, network economics serves as a pertinent framework for analyzing such policies. This paper introduces a novel scheme based on constrained optimization problems, where the constraints represent multilevel economic game equilibria within a system model involving three agents: the central planner, the mobile network operator, and the mobile data users. These agents strategically optimize their payoff functions by considering benefit factors and decision variables such as the subsidization factor, pricing, and data consumption. To this end, a three-stage dynamic game is proposed to model the players' interactions, employing the backward induction method to ascertain the subgame perfect equilibrium from the Nash equilibrium. A case study is presented, demonstrating a 31.16% increase in social welfare between scenarios involving no adoption of the subsidization factor and its adoption at the optimal value when the central planner enacts it to other players in the game, even if they do not necessarily attain maximum payoff values. In countries aligning with this proposed model, social welfare is maximized through a subsidization scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To compel people to bring about social change, activist brands must develop moral competency to ensure that they are perceived as authentic. However, there is limited research on the processes underpinning brands' moral competency development. Furthermore, prior research on authentic brand activism has largely conceived of brands as singular entities as opposed to networks of diverse actors. Consequently, little is known about how inter-organisational collaborations influence brands' moral competency development and ability to engage in authentic activism. We address this gap by presenting a case study of Nike, Inc./Wieden+Kennedy campaigns from 2017 to 2021 centred on women's empowerment and of controversies from this period surrounding discrimination of female employees at Nike, Inc. By locating brand activism within the advertising client–agency relationship, we develop a cyclical model of activist brands' moral competency development. Our model highlights that moral competency is not a static feature of brands but develops dynamically, and we identify the mobilisation of interactional expertise as a key driver of moral competency development. Furthermore, our model shows that a brand's moral competency is not developed by a single organisation but through inter-organisational collaborations. We also demonstrate the challenges emerging from these collaborations and develop practical implications for activist brands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This research aims to examine the role of consumers' brand trust and attachment on advocacy intention before and after the occurrence of brand misconduct in retail banking. In addition, the influence of brand attachment on consumers' willingness to switch, advocate for and forgive brands is examined in a post-misconduct scenario. Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected through a self-administered online survey questionnaire. A total of 304 valid and usable responses from Australian participants were analysed using IBM SPSS 27.0. Findings: The findings reveal that brand attachment mediates the positive relationship between trust and advocacy intention. Furthermore, brand attachment (1) dilutes consumers' switching intention and (2) strengthens their willingness to forgive the bank after misconduct. Practical implications: Results suggest that retail banks should create strong brand attachments with their consumers. In addition to brand trust, brand attachment will generate greater advocacy intention among consumers. Moreover, practitioners in retail banking can leverage brand attachment to mitigate the negative impact of brand misconduct. Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this study is the first to examine the impact of brand attachment on the consumer–bank relationship within the context of brand misconduct. The study is also unique in its analysis of the mediating role of brand attachment between brand trust and advocacy. This research further adds to the current literature by suggesting that strong and positive customer connections to the brand facilitate communication and marketing efforts after brand misconduct and that these are effective in maintaining consumer-bank relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public companies make substantial investments each year in brand awareness, promotion and reputation initiatives to grow their business, attract investors, customers and employees and create a favourable business climate. Yet external events or internal shortcomings that lead to organisational crisis can quickly undercut those investments in brand reputation. The management of those incidents most often falls to the communications and legal functions. It is important for marketing and communications executives to be attuned to the need for a rapid and effective response to such crises and to ensure that the natural competitiveness between communications and marketing is not a distraction during a crisis. The authors present an approach that relies heavily on everyday best practices, trust and relationship building to optimise an organisation's ability to respond to crisis quickly and effectively and that provides a road map for senior executives to build a strong communications culture that can adapt to business challenges quickly and successfully. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A competitive advantage is the desired outcome of a sound marketing communication strategy. However, there are scant explorations of how marketing communication education can build competitive advantages for students entering the workforce. Taking an industry perspective, a leading CEO reflects upon marketing communication practice and raises questions about disciplinary changes in practice and the necessary response of marketing communication education. We explore these questions and derive insights through a literature review which assembles existing research in marketing communication education, and we explore these insights further using Collective Intelligence. Thought leaders in the marketing communication industry interact and share ideas, revealing key insights into necessary skill sets. The paper concludes with a discussion of marketing communication education and its competitive advantage for both work and life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our world, and our workplace, has undergone a disruptive step change. It has transformed the way universities operate, what industry demands, how we teach and the way our students learn. That is why this special issue, and particularly this paper, takes three important steps to bring insight and innovation to marketing communication education. In our first step, we examine the impact of COVID on student learning. This leads us to where we are now and a visualization the experiential world of students, using a customer experience framework. The next step is to use this framework to reinvent the Biggs 3P Model into an integrated learning experience, showing student innovation, acceptance and adaption to change. This takes us to Step 3 and our agenda for research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In two developing nations, technology enhanced marketing communication education in the classroom, both during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. However, in what ways did enhancement occur, and to what ends? This research examines the reasons for and impacts of digitalisation on academic delivery of marketing communication education across two BRICS nations: South Africa and India. We use a comparative, narrative-based approach that challenges the ways that marketing communication educators often describe the significant teaching and learning agencies and incidents involving the place of technology in classroom learning. We show how the concepts of technological augmentation and paradox, the 'TikTok effect´, and symbiotic pedagogies explain and help present a post-pandemic theory of marketing communication education in developing nations. We highlight the active learning and student-centred learning styles as symbiotic pedagogies that were regarded as best practice. Our findings show that educators were able to skilfully move across both styles depending on student need and skills required. We discuss how educators' flexibility across contexts allowed them to maintain best practice technology-mediated teaching and learning strategies during the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to identify the current state of knowledge and ongoing research related to the digital nomad segment from the perspective of territorial marketing. Design/methodology/approach: The Scoping Review method was used, and the research material was collected from 3 databases: Scopus, Web of Science, and the Google Scholar academic browser. In order to graphically present the research conducted by scientists relating to digital nomads, VOSviewer software was used to build a map of connections between keywords appearing in publications. Findings: Based on the Scoping Review, the author notices a sudden interest in the academic community in the issue of digital nomads, particularly in business economics and social sciences. The analysis of the collected materials allows to conclude that the technological facilities offered by territorial units are one of the critical features of the city as a destination from the perspective of digital nomads. Moreover, the author indicates that the characteristics of the profile of the digital nomad group require constant updates to conduct effective marketing communication of cities with this target group. Place marketing theorists and practitioners looking for effective ways to attract digital nomads should also focus on the possibilities of cooperation with residents because their attitudes and opinions strongly influence the perception of the city. Originality/value: So far, few studies have combined the issue of digital nomads as a group of consumers of the city's offer with the area of city marketing. This paper consolidates previous findings in this area. The last part of the paper proposes future research directions, the results of which may positively affect the effectiveness of marketing activities used by territorial units to gain the interest of digital nomads. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While it is common practice to highlight the designer's name in marketing communications, there is a lack of research on how these cues influence consumer evaluations. This article examines how the presence of designer cue affects social value perceptions and purchase intentions across two product categories in three experimental studies. The findings suggest that designer cues enhance consumers' perceived social value by evoking feelings of sophistication and privilege. The study further highlights the emotional process involved in creating social value through designer cues and the role of design newness as a regulator. The results indicate that the effect of designer cue on purchase intention depends on the self-expressive value of the product and the consumer's level of involvement in the design process. Consumers are more likely to purchase products with designer cues if they perceive the product as a means of signaling their identity and value design in their daily lives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although user-generated content is reported to improve Airbnb host's sales, the impact of Marketer-Generated Content (MGC) on the minimum sales generated from the reviewers who have reviewed the MGC is yet to be explored. This study examines MGC of title descriptions analysis from the City of Los Angeles listing data to understand their importance in predicting hosts' net sales. The analysis employs two complementary econometric approaches: parametric multiple regression and the non-parametric multivariate adaptive regression spline model across three neighbourhood groups and two price groups. The findings indicate hosts can employ MGC to optimize sales and should highlight feature words in the title that best reflect the property characteristics and appeal to a target group that may be location-specific, price-sensitive, or both. The title should be informative and detailed within a limit of 10 words. The novelty of the work is to identify the influence of total sales for respective feature words from the title description of Airbnb property and to analyze their uses in marketing communications. The practical implications indicate that host-generated feature words are crucial in maximizing net sales for the property. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After decades of absence, the federal legalization of hemp in the U.S. positions the crop as an innovative, plant-based input for conventional products. Through an application of the diffusion of innovations theory, this study responds to identified research needs made by hemp stakeholders and the existing literature by modeling the influence of innovation characteristics on propensity to use hemp products among Vermont consumers. Findings reveal that attributes associated with relative advantage and trialability significantly influence propensity to use at least one type of hemp product, as well as use multiple types of hemp products. This highlights particularly salient points for hemp stakeholders engaged in the marketing and communication of hemp products. Findings contribute to informed strategy creation for producers, institutions, and other stakeholders operating in this nascent industry, where data and research continue to be limited. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Advertisers are increasing their spending on product placements in TV programs, often with other integrated marketing communications (IMC) elements. This study uses 12 versions of an informational TV program to investigate whether too much product placement in the presence of IMC elements has a negative effect on TV program evaluation. The research reveals that combining placement and IMC presence has interactive, not additive, effects on brand recognition and recall, persuasion knowledge, and program evaluations. IMC elements, particularly a billboard seen before a product placement, have a "hedonic contamination" effect, worsening evaluation of an informational TV program featuring blatant product placement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The scientific literature maintains that Radio Castilla (EAJ-27), founded in 1933 and the official station of the rebels in the Civil War, was the pioneer in Burgos and Old Castilla. This investigation contributes that there were two previous ones. The first, Radio Publicidad Burgalesa, by businessman Manuel Fuentes Almaraz. It closed when Manuel Mata Villanueva and Fidel Martínez Saiz obtained official authorization for the EAJ-27 (Radio Castilla) station. The second was the radio at the Normal School for Teaching, an extra-short wave project that pioneered the use of radio as a teaching tool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is no legal regulation that prevents the professional performance of advertising activity if you do not have a university degree in Advertising and Public Relations. The intrusiveness in this area is linked to the need to have the necessary training and preparation and therein lies the usefulness of the current university degree: it will be more or less valuable to the extent that it provides the training required to adequately perform the profession and respond satisfactorily to the new demands generated by the profound changes in the communication sector. For this reason, it is necessary for universities to deepen their knowledge of the fickle demands in the sector and show sufficient agility to adapt their study plans. Starting from this basis, we developed a quantitative investigation through a closed questionnaire answered by a sample (n=200) of graduates in the degree of Advertising and Public Relations of the University of Alicante (Spain) with the aim of knowing their opinion on the studies of Advertising and Public Relations of the University of Alicante and its suitability to access professional practice. The research is complemented with a second exploratory sample, made up of advertising agency workers in the province, who support and point out future lines of work. The main results speak of the good image of Alicante advertising by graduates and a disparate opinion about the knowledge and skills acquired; a reality that contrasts with the vision of professionals, when they confirm that graduates in Advertising and Public Relations offer criteria and rigor to praxis. It concludes by contrasting some of these results and opening new avenues of work to influence structural aspects such as new professional roles or relationships in the local advertising ecosystem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The logistics and delivery industry is undergoing a technology-driven transformation, with robotics, drones, and autonomous vehicles expected to play a key role in meeting the growing challenges of last-mile delivery. To understand the public acceptability of automated parcel delivery options, this U.S. study explores customer preferences for four innovations: autonomous vehicles, aerial drones, sidewalk robots, and bipedal robots. We use an Integrated Nested Choice and Correlated Latent Variable (INCLV) model to reveal substitution effects among automated delivery modes in a sample of U.S. respondents. The study finds that acceptance of automated delivery modes is strongly tied to shipment price and time, underscoring the importance of careful planning and incentives to maximize the trialability of innovative logistics options. Older individuals and those with concerns about package handling exhibit a lower preference for automated modes, while individuals with higher education and technology affinity exhibit greater acceptance. These findings provide valuable insights for logistics companies and retailers looking to introduce automation technologies in their last-mile delivery operations, emphasizing the need to tailor marketing and communication strategies to meet customer preferences. Additionally, providing information about appropriate package handling by automated technologies may alleviate concerns and increase the acceptance of these modes among all customer groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our study aims to understand the strategic process adopted by the ministry in charge of tourism and crafts for promoting tourist services in the digital age. The objective of this contribution is to question the effectiveness of websites in the service of the marketing communication strategy (SCM) for promoting the tourist offer in Algeria. The study is based on a content analysis applied to the MTA website. The choice of this website is explained by its function and its vocation to promote destinations and tourist territories in Algeria. We plan to measure the indicators of the effectiveness of this site, through its visual design which is divided between its ergonomics and visibility. We used a grid analysis on which the site optimization indicators are determined. As a result of this measure, the site in question is optimizing its effectiveness in accordance with the strategy of building its visual identity which is based on two fundamental aspects, namely the cognitive and emotional aspects, in order to shape the attitude of the user towards the tourist service offered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research aims to understand new marketing practices by studying the evolution of Heineken's marketing communications. It was based on studies by Kotler (1998, 2004, 2016) for marketing mix, Shimp (2002) for promotion and sponsorship and Schmitt (1999) for experience marketing, among others. This is a bibliographical and exploratory research, of a qualitative nature. To study sponsorship and experiential marketing, the sample was defined over the last five years at the 2019 Rock in Rio event. The data reveals that Heineken's promotion (communication) has the following characteristics: use of celebrities and common audiences; humorous stories; changing social themes to reach the public; restructuring of the promotion or cancellation when the effect caused a negative impact; the meaning given by the public is more important than the creation itself; social and cultural themes contextualized with the societal debate; implementation, monitoring and control of the promotion P. It is concluded that experiential marketing is widely used in terms of convincing consumers, as it highlights Heineken's brand and product, making television media and social networks a channel for persuading and gaining loyalty from its target audience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid methods of text analysis are increasingly important tools for efficiently extracting and understanding communication within the food and beverage space. This study aimed to use frequency‐based text mining and biterm topic modeling (BTM) as tools for analyzing how cider products are communicated and marketed on cider‐producer websites for products made in Virginia, Vermont, and New York. BTM has been previously used to explore topics in small corpora of text data, and frequency‐based text mining is efficient for exploring patterns of text across different documents or filters. The present dataset comprised 1115 cider products and their website descriptions extracted from 124 total cider‐producer websites during 2020 and 2021. Results of the text mining analyses suggest that cider website descriptions emphasize food‐pairing, production, and sensory quality information. Altogether, this research presents the text mining approaches for exploring food and beverage communication. Practical applications: This research will be valuable to stakeholders in the United States' cider industry by providing relevant insight as to how cider marketing and sensory communication varies based on extrinsic product factors, such as geography and packaging. This research also demonstrates the efficiency and potential of text mining tools for exploring language and communication related to foods, beverages, and sensory quality. Further, this research provides a framework for extracting sensory‐specific language from a large corpus of data, which may be adopted by other researchers wishing to apply rapid descriptive methods in the sensory, quality, and consumer research fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The PESO model (paid, earned, shared, and owned media), by Gini Dietrich, is a media channel framework for digital Public Relations in an age of increasing integration across marketing communications channels and disciplines. The four media types have been converged as a four-media strategy working together. The model is used to evaluate the effectiveness of the organizational digital strategies. This study used quantitative and qualitative content analysis, and in-depth interviews to investigate how the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (NMEC) used the PESO model as a framework for a successful digital content marketing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]