Second-screen viewing - the use of smartphones, tables and laptops while watching television program - has increased dramatically in the last few years, which multi-screen usage could be considered as a new opportunity for marketing communication. This study will investigate the social media (as second screen) communication effects of TV drama series focussing on the effectiveness of characters' fashion content in leading to consumers' impulsive buying. Narrative transportation theory, use and gratification theory, flow theory, social comparison theory and para-social theory are developed and adopted in an S-O-R framework in this study. A quantitative research approach will be used to conduct online survey focusing China second screen marketing phenomenon. Results of the study provide a guide to understand the newly emerging second screen process with theoretical and managerial perspectives.

Data collected from a survey questionnaire disseminated to college students was used to examine the relationship between humor in the mass media on audience attitude. This research study attempted to link the comedic nature of media with a heightened tolerance toward unpopular messages by looking specifically at the show Will & Grace. Results supported the hypothesized positive relationship between humor on attitudes toward the show, as well as attitudes toward real life homosexuals. In addition, distraction and interpersonal communication served as mediators between humor and attitudes. Results supported positive relationships between humor and both distraction and interpersonal communication, and supported the mediated path involving distraction. But the interpersonal communication mediated path was negative. Results, implications, and recommendations for future research are discussed.

This study seeks to use a dual-theoretical approach, through the use of para-social relationship theory and economic data analysis, to explain the success of reality television since the early 2000s. This study uses both qualitative and quantitative components to understand the growth of reality television. This study includes a literature analysis of both methodologies used. Focus groups were used to seek to find a strong level of para-social interaction in viewers of reality television. Two focus groups were conducted with participants 18-35. There were a total of 16 participants who attended the focus group sessions. The information collected suggested that viewers of reality television formed para-social relationships. It appeared that female viewers were more likely to form para-social relationships than male viewers.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is adopted fast and wide across consumer industries and digital marketing. This new technology has the potential to enhance online customer experience and outcomes of customer experience. However, research relating to the impact of AI is still developing and empirical evidence sparse. Taking a consumercentred approach and by adopting Social Response Theory as theoretical lens, this research addresses an overall research question pertaining to the implications of online customer experience with AI on consumer behaviour. A quantitative research strategy with positivist approach is adopted to gather a large sample (n= 489) of online consumers who have previously interacted with AI-enabled technology. The collected data is analysed statistically utilising Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). Empirical findings show strong positive effects of anthropomorphism of AI, para-social interaction with AI, and performance expectancy of AI on all three customer experience dimensions of informativeness, entertainment and social presence. Additionally, there is strong statistical support for the positive effect of informativeness and social presence on continued purchase intentions (β= .379 and β= .315), while the effects of entertainment are less strong. The mediating effects of customer experience have been assessed, highlighting social presence as most important mediator. This research contributes to knowledge by extending previous customer experience theory and quantifying the influence of online customer experience with AI on purchase intentions and eWOM. The theoretical insights also translate into direct implications for marketing practice relating to the design, integration, and implementation of more consumer- and outcome-oriented AI applications. / Faculty of Management, Law and Social Sciences studentship

This thesis aims to uncover the reasons behind the sudden rise of the YouTube celebrity and to test (by means of an experimental study of teenager interests) media claims that YouTubers have become more popular among teenagers than any traditional type of celebrity. The thesis integrates YouTubers into celebrity studies by first outlining the origins of celebrity and its general role in society and then drawing parallels between traditional types of celebrity and YouTubers via describing the characteristics they embody and the specific roles they perform. As a result, YouTubers are found to be a technologically determined next step in the evolution of the TV personality, whose celebrity is mainly structured around the concepts of familiarity and intimacy. What follows is a discussion of participatory culture, monetization and doing YouTube as a job, with emphasis on the effects these developments had on the rise of the YouTube celebrity and online content & culture in general. The thesis is concluded by an experimental study conducted using quantitative research methods on a sample of over 5,000 Czech teenagers by analyzing their Facebook page-likes. The results suggest that YouTubers really are more important to teenagers than traditional celebrities.

The social media platform TikTok is becoming an increasingly emerging space akin to a search engine, where news and information are shared and discovered, particularly amongst young adults. Whilst the majority of scholarly research on media trust in TikTok has concentrated on practices by professional journalists and news organizations, the entities represent only a fraction of the diverse actors, contributing to the platform's news-sharing media landscape. Notably, citizen journalists play a pivotal role in generating and disseminating war-related content on TikTok. TikTok personae have the ability to build strong relationships with followers. Such relationships, which carry great audience loyalty potential, are investigated through parasocial interaction in combination with the uses and gratifications theory. This study is a reception study of a young audience based primarily in Austria and Sweden which aims to investigate media trust in war-related content amongst ordinary individuals. Through focused interviews with 18 to 28-year-old TikTok users, reactions to viral videos will be assessed in order to establish trust factors and gain insights into their user behavior and news consumption habits on the app. Findings indicate that the TikTok algorithm influences young adults and they approach citizen- generated news content cautiously due to potential viral motives amongst creators, particularly when addressing sensitive topics such as the Israel-Gaza crisis. However, they recognize the value of opinionated content as a tool for young people to build an opinion on political topics. Keywords: Citizen Journalism, TikTok, War, Social Media Trust, Israel-Gaza Crisis, Para Social Interaction, Uses and Gratifications