The Web 2.0 as Marketing Tool: Opportunities for SMEs

The new generation of Internet applications widely known as Social Media or Web 2.0 offers corporations a whole range of opportunities for improving their marketing efficiency and internal operations. Web 2.0 applications have already become part of the daily life of an increasing number of consumers who regard them as prime channels of communication, information exchange, sharing of expertise, dissemination of individual creativity and entertainment. Web logs, podcasts, online forums and social networks are rapidly becoming major sources of customer information and influence while the effectiveness of traditional mass media is rapidly decreasing. Using the social media as a marketing tool is an issue attracting increasing attention. The hitherto experience is that large public corporations are more likely to make use of such instruments as part of their marketing and internal operations (McKinsey, 2007).The paper defines the Web 2.0 phenomenon and based on the experience of large corporations examines how SMEs could engage the various Web 2.0 instruments in order to efficiently market their products, improve customer relations, increase customer retention and enhance internal operations

The value of implicit measures for internet advertising : evidence of mere exposure effects and their impact on consumer preference for pop-ups and banner ads : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand

Cognitive and neuropsychological research points to evidence that "repeated, unreinforced exposure to a stimulus is sufficient to enhance one's attitude toward that stimulus", referred to as the mere exposure effect. The main purpose of this study is to bring to attention sources of mere exposure effects data that, while rarely cited within the advertising literature, are highly relevant to questions of online advertising effectiveness. This study further sought to 1) investigate whether if pop-ups would be better recognised than banner ads, and 2) whether if pop-ups would be rated more favourably (due to the mere exposure effect) than banner ads (less liked due to devaluation-by-inhibition). The experiment was a 2 (Group A, Group B) x2 (Advert Type: Banner Ads, Pop-ups) x2 (Whether Seen: Seen, Not Seen) design. Twenty participants were instructed to read twelve articles on the screen, where each reading trial was presented with a banner ad located in the peripheral display of the full-screen article, and a pop-up that was sequentially displayed at the centre of the screen which would be instructed to click away. A total of 48 adverts (i.e., previously seen and not-seen pop-ups and banner ads) were then rated on each of the five affective dimensions (i.e., familiarity, eye-catching, appealing, memorable, and distinctive); followed by a recognition question as to indicate whether participants had seen the advert whilst reading the articles. As predicted, mere exposure effects occurred for all previously exposed adverts, but no difference in recognition was found between the advert types or any significant differences in the magnitude of favourability for the previously seen pop-ups and banner ads. These findings suggest that the magnitude to which favourability would be related to varying lengths of exposure durations presented with pop-ups and banner ads (i.e., brief vs. longer presentation times), and/or the level of attention guided towards pop-ups and banner ads (i.e., central, had to be clicked away vs. peripheral, could be ignored), was not supported. Practical implications and suggestions for future research regarding potential applicability of mere exposure theory in an Internet setting will be discussed

Digital Food Marketing to Children and Adolescents: Problematic Practices and Policy Interventions

Examines trends in digital marketing to youth that uses "immersive" techniques, social media, behavioral profiling, location targeting and mobile marketing, and neuroscience methods. Recommends principles for regulating inappropriate advertising to youth

Brand Tracking on Social Media: The Role of Country of Origin Perceptions

Marketers are now almost a decade into using social media as another outlet in developing brand relationships with consumers. Yet an understanding of how consumers interact with brands online is still in its infancy. This paper compares the social media and brand-tracking habits of consumers in three parts of the world: Asia, the Middle East and the USA. In addition, the study attempts to explain what motivates consumers to follow brands on social media, focusing on the role of products’ country of origin in explaining the relationship. The results show that US consumers spent the most time on social media and tracked the most brands, while Thai respondents did the least of both. Four dimensions of social media brand tracking were identified and ratings compared across groups. Significant differences among groups were found for one of the four factors, ‘brand experience’, with US consumers experiencing significantly more positive ‘brand experiences’ than Thai consumers, and Egyptian consumers falling somewhere in between. The results also indicate that the country of product origin can have some effects on brand tracking

Debranding in Fantasy Realms: Perceived Marketing Opportunities within the Virtual World

This paper discusses the application of the concept of debranding within immersive virtual environments. In particular the issue of the media richness and vividness of experience is considered in these experience realms that may not be conducive to traditional branding invasive strategies. Brand equity is generally seen to be the desired outcome of branding strategies and the authors suggest that unless the virtual domains are considered as sacred spaces then brand equity may be compromised. The application of the above concepts is applied to the differing social spaces that operate within the different experience realms. The ideas of resonance, presence and interactivity are considered here. They lead to the development of a constructed positioning by the participants. Through the process of debranding, marketers may be able to enter these sacred spaces without negative impact to the brand. Perception of these virtual spaces was found to be partially congruent with this approach to branding. It thus presents a number of challenges for the owners of such virtual spaces and also virtual worlds in increasing the commercial utilization of investment in these environments

The Role of Country of Origin in Brand Following on Social Media Among U.S. Consumers

An understanding of how consumers interact with brands online is still in its infancy. This study will attempt to explain what motivates consumers to follow brands on social media, looking specifically at the role country and region of origin of products plays in explaining the relationship. Given the personal nature that attracts people to social media to build relationships, it is believed that the personal nature of brands originating from the social media users’ home country will heighten the likelihood that consumers track certain brands and may enhance the relationship that evolves between the brand and the consumer. A model is proposed to explain the relationship, with survey data from U.S. consumers used to begin to establish any links between product origins and brand tracking behavior through social media