Research investigating the development of trial purchase has recognised that the chosen advertising approach is a key influence in the trial process. This thesis describes a critique of the central and related literature surrounding the influence of advertising approach in a trial purchase context, with particular emphasis on the concept of disruptive advertising. This concept can be described as an overturning of convention for commercial benefit, and has been introduced to deal with change. Whilst it is clear that many brands achieve success via a consistent approach to advertising, it is also true that successful advertising is often rooted in 'doing something different'. The literature reveals that there is a lack of empirical work to date on brand/market situations in which a disruptive approach to advertising will be more appropriate and successful than a conventional approach at stimulating purchase or perhaps increasing awareness of a brand. In which situations should a disruptive advertising approach be applied? Phase 1 of the research investigates the possible link between a brand situation, the advertising strategy adopted and the brand success using existing advertising case materials. Focus group interviews are then utilised in phase 2 to gain some understanding of consumer attitudes towards different advertising approaches in different product markets and also to explore brand usage and brand choices in these markets. Content analysis is applied to the results of phases 1 and 2. Finally. phase 3 of the research more specifically investigates the influence of advertising approach on purchase intention within different product markets compared with other primary influencing factors. A questionnaire survey was administered to undergraduate students at the University of Plymouth for phase 3 and the results were analysed using individual item analysis and multiple regression. A generic model of 'The Influence of Advertising Approach in a Trial Purchase Context' is constructed from the literature and a modified version is used to discuss the results of the study. The results indicate that the choice of a disruptive or conventional advertising approach does affect intention to purchase a brand and that the nature of product involvement does influence intention to purchase a brand. However, the research has not been able to provide conclusive evidence as to the situations in which a disruptive advertising approach should be applied and consequently little can be recommended to managers regarding disruption on an operational basis. In addition, the study has provided little evidence to support the concept of disruption other than as an elaborate repackaging of positioning theory. Additional research using non-student populations and a greater selection of low involvement and high involvement markets is recommended, however, in order to validate the relationships found.

Devido à grande adoção por parte das empresas da estratégia de extensão de marca como base para crescimento, e também à falta de estudos específicos no Brasil sobre as variáveis que podem influenciar o desempenho das extensões de marca realizadas, este estudo se propõe a identificar os fatores críticos para a extensão de marca e suas implicações no sucesso da extensão. Para atingir este objetivo proposto, buscou-se um referencial teórico sobre diferentes temas relacionados à extensão de marca, e conduziu-se uma pesquisa exploratória, qualitativa e com uso do recurso de estudo de caso. A empresa selecionada para o estudo de caso único foi a Castelo Alimentos, onde os dados obtidos nas entrevistas foram analisados a partir de um modelo conceitual proposto sobre os fatores críticos para o sucesso da extensão de marca, formulado com base na pesquisa bibliográfica e agrupado em três tipos: fatores relacionados à empresa, fatores relacionados à marca mãe e fatores relacionados à extensão de marca. Os resultados sugerem que o grau de influência de cada fator varia conforme o tipo de extensão de marca realizada (extensão de linha, extensão de categoria similar, extensão de categoria dissimilar). Ainda, o fator considerado como mais importante para o sucesso da extensão foi o de adequação entre a extensão e a marca mãe; quanto mais similar e consistente a extensão for em relação à marca mãe, maiores chances de sucesso ela terá. Constatou-se também que o valor simbólico da marca e a sequência de realização das extensões são pouco significativos para o sucesso das extensões. Em contrapartida, o suporte para a extensão de marca foi considerado como um fator importante para seu sucesso para todas as extensões de marca analisadas. A partir das conclusões discutidas e levando-se em consideração as limitações do método de pesquisa escolhido, são propostas algumas recomendações às empresas brasileiras que buscam realizar extensões de marca. / Due to the wide adoption by business of the brand extension strategy as the basis for growth, and also to the lack of specific studies in Brazil on the variables that can influence the performance of brand extensions undertaken, this study aims to identify the critical factors for brand extension and its implications for the success of the extension. To achieve this proposed objective, a theoretical basis was sought on different topics related to brand extension, and after, an exploratory and qualitative study was conducted, using the case study method. The company selected for the one case study was Alimentos Castelo, where the data obtained in the interviews was analyzed using a proposed conceptual model on the critical factors for successful brand extension, designed based on the literature and grouped in three types: factors related to the company, factors related to the original brand and factors related to brand extension. The results suggest that the degree of influence of each factor varies depending on the type of brand extension made (line extension, extension to similar category, extension to dissimilar category). Moreover, the factor considered as the most important to the success of the brand extension was the fit between the extension and parent brand - the more similar and consistent the extension is to the parent brand, the greater the chance of success. It was also found that the symbolic value of the brand and the sequence of the extension implementation are not very significant for the success of the extensions. In contrast, support for the brand extension was considered an important factor for the success of all brand extensions analyzed. From the findings discussed and taking into account the limitations of the research method chosen, some recommendations are proposed to Brazilian companies seeking to use brand extensions.

A marca, em nossos dias, se tornou imprescindível ferramenta de marketing, ao permitir à empresa obter uma vantagem competitiva sustentável por um período de tempo relativamente longo. Soma-se a isso o fato de que, uma marca bem construída, constitui-se, em alguns casos, no maior patrimônio da empresa, apresentando valores superiores aos dos demais ativos (máquinas, instalações, terrenos e outros). Nesse sentido, em um cenário cada vez mais competitivo, o aprofundamento em questões que envolvam a evolução do conhecimento estabelecido acerca de sua avaliação e da relação existente entre ela e os consumidores ganha importância dentro do marketing contemporâneo. Além disso, a crescente força dos serviços na economia mundial justifica um direcionamento da pesquisa para o setor. Esta tese, diante do exposto, aborda a avaliação de marca e seus modelos, focando-se naqueles baseados no consumidor (de marketing) e no setor de serviços. Sua proposta fundamentou-se em dois objetivos: propor um modelo integrativo de avaliação de marca de serviços baseado no consumidor (de marketing) e verificar sua aceitabilidade por um grupo de executivos de marketing de empresas de serviços. Uma extensa revisão bibliográfica possibilitou conhecer um pouco mais sobre esse assunto ainda pouco explorado no meio acadêmico (quando comparado a outros em marketing). O levantamento teórico abordou temas como modelos, marcas, e serviços. Ênfase especial foi dada ao quesito brand equity e suas variantes (consumidor, econômica e de empresas), com foco no consumidor procedeu-se uma comparação entre os modelos de marketing. Partindo-se das informações coletadas uma proposta de modelo integrativo de avaliação de marcas baseado no consumidor foi apresentada, neste modelo procurou-se apresentar elementos voltados para serviços. A esse modelo batizou-se de Modelo Alvo. Por fim foi conduzida uma pesquisa de cunho exploratório, com um grupo de executivos de empresas do setor de serviços que ocupavam cargos de diretoria e gerência em marketing, buscando verificar a aceitabilidade do modelo integrativo proposto. Essa pesquisa, estritamente qualitativa e sem uso de testes estatísticos, comprovou a não só a aceitabilidade do modelo como também uma possível aderência à prática mercadológica dos executivos entrevistados. / At the present day, brand has become as irreplaceable marketing tool, as it allows enterprises to gain a competitive advantage, which may be sustainable for a relatively extensive period. In addition to that, a well-built brand may rapidly become the enterprise’s main asset, as it bears grater value than the other assets (machinery, plans, real state and so on). In this sense, it is plainly understandable that in a state of the affairs characterized as one of increasing competition, the examination in depth of questions concerning both the furtherance of its acknowledge evaluation, and the actual relationship it keeps up with regular consumers its more and more relevant to contemporary marketing. Besides, the growing importance of services as far as world economy is concerned is a good reason for (re-) directing research procedures to be carried out in this domain. This Doctoral Thesis will focus on an appraisal of brand and its models, mostly by taking into account consumer based brand equity models as well as the service sector. The Thesis aims then at attaining two purposes. The first develop an integrative model for consumer based brand equity and in the second we carried out a thorough investigation of its favorable reception on a group of marketing executives working in the service sector. A far-reaching reappraisal of the existing bibliography made it possible to reach a greater range of information on a poorly explored academic subject (if compared with others marketing studies). The theoretical survey made here bears upon models, brands and services. In addition, we lay a stress on brand equity and on its varying kinds (the one meant for consumers, the economic one and the enterprises variety). Much in the same way, we make a thorough comparison between existing marketing models mostly by focusing on the above-mentioned consumer oriented model. Based on the information gathered we propose a consumer oriented integrative model of brand evaluation, by paying greater attention to elements peculiar to the service sector. We call it Target Model. Lastly, in order to add further strength to the point made we conducted an exploratory research by interviewing a group of Executives in Office of the service sector enterprises, chiefly those who were responsible for Marketing Management. Such research was conducted on a strictly qualitative basis (no statistical results taken into account) as we tried to prove not only that proposed model is entirely acceptable, but also that suits the marketing doings of all those executives we had interviewed.

Dissertation files not currently available online.A brand is emotional, has a personality, and captures the hearts and minds of its customers. Great brands survive attacks from competitors and market trends because of the strong connections they forge with customers (Kotler&Pfoertsch, 2007). Organisations can use this to ensure competitive advantage with the right talent at low costs. Employer branding focuses on how the company is seen by current and potential employees with the aim of winning the war for talent (Ulrich, 1997). Current and potential employees are now looking to work for more responsible organisations – employers of choice. A strong employer brand fosters a positive image, identity or reputation and encourages (current and potential) employees to identify with the organisation. This research explores how organisations can use employer branding to attract and retain talent. A mixed methodology is employed using semi-structured interviews and a survey questionnaire to understand the perception that current and potential employees have about employer branding. Key results of the study are that building both the internal and external employer brand will ease the organisation’s ability to recruit and retain people, and that there are significant gaps between the different perspectives and how they can be managed. Copyright / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

This study uses a CDA analysis in order to take a critical look at how linguistic and visual techniques are used to create positive messages about a ‘modern’ brand, British confectionary company, Cadbury UK, in their social media discourse on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. The study goes further in exploring how these messages are constructed in a way which according to Aristotle, is ‘persuasive’, looking at how they appealed to emotion (pathos), the character or trustworthiness of the brand (ethos) and how the message created or appealed to logic (logos). The study focuses on critical theoretical perspectives regarding the promotion of consumerism in such marketing operations, whilst also looking at how the messages identified are aimed at ‘persuading’ the audience into accepting consumerist values. This thesis also views social media as a platform upon which much sociological theory still applies such as the idea of ‘self-presentation’ for example, where individuals aim to present themselves in a way which benefits them within a social setting. The main messages identified within Cadbury UK’s social media discourse were: ‘Cadbury UK is a familiar ‘voice’, ‘Cadbury UK is a brand who cares’, ‘Cadbury UK is a source of joy’, ‘Cadbury UK shares festive family values’, ‘Cadbury UK is comforting’ and ‘Cadbury UK is a cultural symbol’. What these messages point out as a general summary is that Cadbury UK had utilised their social media discourse as a way of appearing ‘familiar’ to the consumer, with the aim of creating a ‘friendly’ relationship with them. It was also found that in all cases, pathos played a vital role in making the messages ‘persuasive’. This allowed the brand to communicate with the consumer at a ‘closer’, more emotional level.

The most renowned brands worldwide incorporate initiatives in their business approach that seek equality between genders in society. Nonetheless, brands in their advertising campaigns, gender remains stereotyped in the roles men and women play, which can be considered harmful to society and therefore unethical. Such discrepancy appears even in the same intervention generated by advertising specialists who define and design the communication of these brands. Therefore, this study seeks to identify the arguments used by Peruvian advertising professionals to justify the use of gender role stereotypes within the advertising discourse from an ethical perspective. A qualitative approach was selected as the research method for this study. In-depth interviews with 16 professional advertisers from different areas in charge of producing this type of communication. The lack of knowledge about the actual dimension of the harmful gender stereotypes impeded a debate to leave without arguments to those who believe that the use of stereotypes is ethical. Professional advertisers have lost part of the necessary connection with ethics and find it hard to deal with these dilemmas because they do not identify the damage caused by gender role stereotypes in society. / Revisión por pares

Brand advocacy occurs when consumers who feel very passionately about a brand seek to promote it to others and defend it against its naysayers. These consumers are valuable to brands as information between consumers is more easily and rapidly shared than ever before, and as consumer distrust of brand-sponsored messages is high. As a result, brands are dependent upon their brand advocates to leverage the perceived reliability of peer recommendations to recruit new customers. However, thus far in the marketing literature, an adequate conceptualization of brand advocacy has failed to emerge. Instead, when discussed, brand advocacy is often measured using a proxy variable such as positive word-of-mouth. It is the supposition of the author that these two constructs are not synonymous and using one as a proxy for the other severely limits researchers’ understanding of the brand advocacy and its impact. The goal of this research is to define brand advocacy and develop a valid scale to measure it. Following Churchill’s (1979) paradigm for scale development, a series of four studies were undertaken to validate the new scale. The first two studies are qualitative in nature and help identify the domains of brand advocacy. Based on the results of the first study, a series of depth interviews, and the second study, an open-ended questionnaire, the following definition of brand advocacy is put forth: Brand advocacy is a combination of customer-motivated behaviors, including proactively recommending the brand and defending the brand against detractors, intended to maintain the customer’s relationship with the brand and promote it to others. The construct was determined to be a higher-order construct comprising two distinct sets of behaviors that address advocates’ need to not only defend the brand to naysayers but also to proactively spread positive brand communications to others. The third and fourth studies use quantitative data to complete the scale development process by proposing and validating a nine-item scale to measure the multi-dimensional construct of brand advocacy as well as provide evidence that it is a distinct construct from PWOM. The results of this research provide a definition and valid scale of brand advocacy.

The primary objective of this study was to explore the relationship among various market structure constructs (consisting of barriers to entry, competition, growth, and market share) and their potential impact on financial performance. By applying theoretical underpinnings from the disciplines of marketing, strategy and industrial organization economics, and adapting them to the unique characteristics of the U.S. lodging industry, the above constructs were linked to produce the Lodging Market Structure (LMS) Model. The study consisted of a cross-sectional analysis using a sample of 67 well-recognized hotel brands operating in the U.S. (representing 63 percent of the national guestroom inventory), covering a four-year period between 1996 and 1999. Correlation and multiple regression analysis were used to examine the hypothesized relationships within the LMS model. This study represented the first comprehensive investigation of the competitive market structure of the U.S. lodging industry. The key findings of the study indicate that the financial performance of hotel brands in the United States is strongly impacted by competitive market structure. Among the various market structure constructs studied, barriers to entry played the most dominant role in determining the level of financial performance of hotel brands. Based on a strong negative relationship, barriers to entry are very effective in reducing competition in the U.S. lodging industry. Also, of the constructs studied, barriers to entry had the greatest influence on enhancing the market share of incumbent hotel brands. The growth rate of those incumbent brands has a positive relationship with barriers to entry. As competition intensifies, the growth rate of hotel brands slows down. Increases in competition are negatively correlated with a brand's market share. Competition has a strong negative relationship with the financial performance of hotel brands. Market share improves as the growth rate of hotel brands increases. As the growth rate of brands increases, profitability also improves. Likewise, improvements in a hotel brand's market share are positively related to increases in profitability. Lastly, the U.S. lodging market is becoming more competitive, and the industry has reached the mature stage of its lifecycle. / Ph. D.

Celebrity endorsement is a global billion-dollar business used by food, beverage and restaurant companies to influence dietary behaviors that may contribute to overweight and obesity. Evidence suggests that existing government policies and industry self-regulatory programs in the United States (US) do not adequately protect young Americans from celebrity endorsement that promotes energy-dense and nutrient-poor food and beverage products. This PhD dissertation describes four studies that examine the nature, extent, and perceived influence of celebrity endorsement used by business firms and non-profit organizations to promote branded food and beverage products or branded campaigns to American children, adolescents and millennial young adults to inform future research and policies to promote healthy food environments. Study one created a database of US celebrities (n=732) involved with food and beverage group, brand or product endorsements (1990-2017) to examine celebrity profiles and their endorsement relationships, company partnerships, the nutritional profile of products and brands. Evidence was analyzed using Python version 3.5.5 and SPSS version 24. Study two examined celebrities associated with the Partnership for a Healthier America's Fruits and Veggies (FNV) Campaign (2015-2016). Evidence was analyzed using data visualization tools supported by Python and SPSS, and results informed the FNV Campaign. Study three used Q methodology to explore the views of Millennials, born 1981-1994 (n=40) at Virginia Tech about celebrity endorsement of food and beverage products and brands. Participants sorted 48 celebrity images depicting brand and product endorsements on a normal distribution (+4 to -4) based on celebrity trustworthiness and complete a post Q-sort questionnaire. Data analysis used PQMethod 2.35 statistical software program, centroid factor analysis, and qualitative interpretation of unique factor arrays for sorters. Study four identified relevant evidence about US celebrity endorsement of food and beverage products (2000-2019), used an accountability framework to evaluate the adequacy of accountability structures, and suggested future policies and action needed for diverse stakeholders to use celebrity endorsement to promote healthy food environments. Future research should explore the trend of celebrity endorsement used in the US marketplace and examine the influence of this marketing strategy on young people's food preferences and choices based on more representative experimental research. / Doctor of Philosophy / Celebrity endorsement is a marketing strategy that represents a person who uses public recognition to promote the sales, use or consumption of a brand, product, or service. Celebrity endorsement has been used by food, beverage and restaurant companies to influence eating behaviors that may contribute to overweight and obesity. Evidence suggests that existing government policies and industry self-regulatory programs in the United States (US) do not adequately protect young Americans from celebrity endorsement that promotes energy-dense and nutrient-poor food and beverage products. This PhD dissertation describes four studies that examined the nature, extent, and perceived influence of celebrity endorsement used by business firms and non-profit organizations to promote branded food and beverage products or branded campaigns to American children, adolescents and millennial adults to promote healthy food environments. Study one created a database of US celebrities (n=732) involved with food and beverage group, brand or product endorsements (1990-2017) to examine celebrity profiles and their endorsement relationships. Evidence was analyzed using Python data visualization tools and SPSS statistical software. Study two examined celebrities associated with the Partnership for a Healthier America's Fruits and Veggies (FNV) Campaign (2015-2016). Evidence was analyzed using baseline celebrity data (n=82) provided by the campaign initiator, and results informed the FNV Campaign. Study three used Q methodology to explore the views of Millennials, born 1981-1994 (n=40) at Virginia Tech about celebrity endorsement of food and beverage products and brands. Participants sorted 48 celebrity images depicting brand and product endorsements based on celebrity trustworthiness and complete a post Q-sort questionnaire. Data analysis used PQMethod 2.35 statistical software to generate shared viewpoints. Study four identified relevant evidence about US celebrity endorsement of food and beverage products (2000-2019), used an accountability framework to evaluate the adequacy of accountability structures, and suggested future policies and action needed for diverse stakeholders to use celebrity endorsement to promote healthy food environments. Future research should explore the trend of celebrity endorsement used in the US marketplace and examine the influence of this marketing strategy on young people's food beverage preferences and choices based on more representative experimental research.

Thesis advisor: Lucas Coffman / This thesis explores the importance of semantic (specific-containing) information in learning as the amount of easily recognizable information increases. This study emulates the advertising industry, applying relevance to its findings. Through a randomized experiment, I find significant evidence that the increased frequency of new brands harms the memory of easily identifiable brands. I also find evidence that suggests that semantically presented new brands are more often remembered than episodically (story-based) presented new brands. Additionally, I observed directional but insignificant results suggesting that the effectiveness of semantic vs. episodic information on the identification of new brands is greatest as the frequency of easily identifiable brands increases and the quantity of semantically presented brands decreases. Despite the benefit that presenting information semantically has on remembering new brands, my findings suggest that people do not retain the specifics within semantically presented impressions. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2024. / Submitted to: Boston College. Morrissey School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Economics. / Discipline: Departmental Honors.