Thesis (MA(Research Psychology))-University of Pretoria, 2006. / Abstract in English. Includes bibliographical references.

A study of the adoption and adaptation of the discipline of Account Planning in the Mexican advertising industry. In the last 20 years, the advertising industry has transformed around the world as large conglomerates have formed and consolidated in the largest advertising markets. The Mexican industry was ranked 12th in 2006 and 14th in 2008 based on advertising expenditure. However, little is known about the practices of local advertising agencies, and the way these practices were adopted. This study seeks to address this dearth in the literature by looking specifically at the discipline of Account Planning. Using a Grounded Theory methodological approach, through in-depth interviews with advertising practitioners a tentative model is developed. The findings provide insight into the lack of clarity as to how account planning is conceptualized. According to virtually all the participants, account planning in Mexico is more a verb than a concept which is adapted to the corporate culture of each agency, and to the style of the person heading the department. Limitations of this study and future research recommendations are also presented.

Future public relations practitioners may not be as well-equipped as their predecessors due to a faculty shortage. The shortage “is severe because we are faced with a critical gap between available qualified full-time faculty and an enrollment of students that continues to climb year after year” (B. F. Neff, personal communication, September 7, 2006). Additionally, low salaries, limited training, inadequate number of Ph.D. programs and stricter faculty requirements has contributed to this shortage. How do we persuade more practitioners to transition to the classroom? The purpose of this study was to look at the practitioner/professor transition experiences to provide answers to the question above. An examination of the messages, motivators and obstacles was studied using in-depth interviews. Twenty public relations faculty representing ten states were asked to discuss their transitional journeys. Using Strauss and Corbin’s (1998) coding paradigm, five themes evolved in the analysis including mentoring, love of academe, rewards, calling and obstacles. Findings indicated that practitioners turned professors made the career transition based on perceived self-efficacy and self-determination. Those who are considering a transition from one career to another, particularly one with less tangible benefits, can be explained by not only self-efficacy as a predictor of “career decision-making intentions and behavior” (Betz & Voyton, 1997, p. 180), but also by self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985). In addition to the fulfillment of the three psychological needs of self-determination theory--competence, autonomy and relatedness--the study found an additional need, situation, also had to be met. Self-efficacy and self-determination theory with the added element of situation, presents a good model for determining success and fulfillment in career transitions.

Thesis (M.A.)--Ohio State University. / Bibliography: leaves 78-79. Available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 1981. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 136-142). Available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 1981. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 163-170). Available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center.

The purpose with this study is to find out to which extent four of the existing advertising theories and models are relevant to the market today. This will be done by investigating the literature published on these in present literature. This study has been examined an international organisation to get a deeper understanding over how they feel about using advertising theories and models. By interviewing a high positioned, Nordic Brand Manager, employee in the organisation the researcher has tried to find out what attitudes they have towards the theories and models used in this study. The study has also interviewed customers from the organisation that has been exposed to one of the organisations advertising campaigns and that has bought their products in the past. This has been done to see to how the use of these models has been apprehended by the customers. The study has focused on finding out if there are any traces of the theories and models in the organisations advertisements. The models aim to point out the different steps that an advertisement has to take a customer trough before purchase, and this study has examined if the organisations advertisements has succeeded with this. Advertising descends from marketing communications and to create a good advertisement the process must work from the beginning. For advertising to be successful, the literature claims that the organisation must be aware of the whole process.

Nowadays, in France a debate on the implementation of ethnic statistics in order to appreciate the structure of the French population has been recently impulsed by the president, Nicolas Sarkozy. Indeed, for having a reliable tool which can be used to identify and count the different “visible communities” in its country, the French government is intending to modify the current legislation about collects of personal data. It initiates these legal procedures to be able to measure and judge racial discriminations that occur in several areas (employment, scholarship…). However, even if these steps are as goal a fall in ethnic discriminations, they keep highly controversial. Its opponents claim the French constitutional principles that want Republic to be indivisible. This debate overall underlines the lack of an “ethno-racial” national referential. Nevertheless, individuals’ origins were progressively introduced into statistics. -1851: the first census including questions about nationality was realized (native French, naturalized French and foreign). (Courrier des statistiques n° 117-119, 2006, p 34) -1962: This census was completed by asking the origin nationality of the naturalized French. -1993: The Great Integration Council developed surveys about the ethnic structure of the French population for specifics purpose. Now, only one major law – Information and freedom law of the sixth August 2004 – breaks the access to ethnic data. It stipulates that personal data which precise, directly or indirectly, racial or ethnic origins, political views, philosophical and religious ones are prohibited. (www.juriscom.net) But some surveys highlighting ethnic origins can be conducted, on one condition; they must respect an individual agreement. Both French debates on ethnic statistics and racial discriminations raise the issue of how important the minorities’ demographical and economical weight is. Indeed, more and more firms and marketing agencies have started to target ethnic market for few years. According to the INSEE – the French National Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies – and the INED – a French research institute specialized in demography and population studies –, ethnic minorities and immigrants in France are the same. Their number is around 4.3 millions people, that is to say 6.7% of the 2002’s French population (see Annexe 3). But the ethnic minority notion is wider: as it was said before, the real statistics about such a sensitive issue are not clearly defined and collected by any French official institute. Indeed, Jean-Paul Tréguer and Jean-Marc Segati (Les nouveaux marketings, Dunod 2003) estimate ethnic communities’ population between roughly 12 and 14 millions people, more than 20% of the French population. Moreover, SOPI – a marketing agency focused on ethnic marketing – conducted a consumer survey in 2004 that included ethnic data under control of several national and independent associations. (http://www.sopi.fr) It concludes distinguishing six ethnic groups: -Caribbean from France (Martinique, Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Reunion Island…) -Black Africans (Senegal, Mali, Cameroon…) -Maghreb-Arabians (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia…) -Indopakistanis (Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan…) -East-Asians (China, Vietnam, Cambodia…) -And other minorities (Anglo-Saxon, Latin American, Italian, Spanish…) The weight of the visible minorities in the French population is enough important to arouse firms and marketing agencies' interests. Indeed, this part of the French population can be considered as a niche with its own and specific needs. Problems of discrimination and under representativeness highlighted ethnic communities can be perceived as a potential and profitable outlet. Taking progressively these markets into consideration, marketers have implemented a new kind of segmentation based on ethnic origins. Targeting depends on the ethnic background of every community. Each ethnic group, with its own values, beliefs and needs, forms an aggregated market. French ethnic marketing is so in direct connection with the current French debate about the consideration of ethnic data in official statistics. Actually, with exact figures, ethnic groups would be quantifiable and identifiable. Clearer statistics are, easier target group are satisfied. Ethnic data would allow marketers to better understand and meet the needs and wants of these populations. To sum up, ethnic marketing in France is dependent on ethnic statistics; so it is necessary to get round, without going against, the French principle which wants a Republic to be indivisible.

This study has been examined an international organisation to get a deeper understanding over how they feel about using advertising theories and models. By interviewing a high positioned, Nordic Brand Manager, employee in the organisation the researcher has tried to find out what attitudes they have towards the theories and models used in this study. The study has also interviewed customers from the organisation that has been exposed to one of the organisations advertising campaigns and that has bought their products in the past. This has been done to see to how the use of these models has been apprehended by the customers. The study has focused on finding out if there are any traces of the theories and models in the organisations advertisements.

The purpose of this study is to provide the view on the online advertising’s characteristics during the present financial crisis in Sweden. To achieve the purpose, multiple case study of four main Swedish banks is used with the predominance of descriptive method. The main finding of this study is close interaction between the advertising character and market trends impact. This main observation has a great impact on the character of the analysis and affects almost every functional aspect of the advertising. Besides that, also five other main observations were made. Following them, it is especially worth to mention that advertising can be a source of competitiveness, a way of differentiation or a way of conditioning customer. From all the study findings, clear image of ads typical features, functions and roles in the banks’ prosperity arises.