Branded apps in Spain as a means of communicating trends in fashion

Apps are of great interest and curiosity for the users of mobile phones, being already highly unloaded and used for the users of smartphones. The fashion mobile applications represent only a fraction of the mobile global applications (almost 0,2 %), nevertheless they are starting to deserve special attention from designers and researchers in this area. Brands want to know about the new trends in the market to be able to continue surprising and impressing their public. In this study, we seek to identify the most relevant aspects of the applications that help to improve the image of the Spanish prêt-à-porter fashion brands such as Zara, Pull and Bear, Stradivarius, Shana, Bimba y Lola,... The study considers the position in the ranking of downloads, the category, the opinions, valuations of the users and the criteria described by Jami Lawrence (2010): amusement, saving of time and / or comfort in the use. Findings: In this analysis, we seek to identify the most relevant aspects of the applications that help to improve the image of the brand, in this particular case of the Spanish prêt-à-porter fashion brands. - It is indispensable that the applications entertain the user, save time and / or comfort, we have observed that they are these characteristics those that are valued by the users. - Another factor that is valued in the applications, is that the application should make sense for the user and to have an added value that doesn't necessarily have to be related with the nature of the brand. - But it is important that applications to be developed have to be coherent with the identity of the brand. As in any other area, the appearance of new mass media, like the mobile, is the introduction of new challenges. – Finally, it is important for the brand to adapt constantly to the new technologies, but we must not forget that a precarious incorporation and badly developed app it can be more harmful than beneficial

Exploring the attitudes and behaviour of generation Z students towards branded mobile applications.

Master of Commerce. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2017.With the increasing mobile activity of the Generation Z market (those born after 1994) in South Africa, marketers’ interest in this social group is rising. This research attempts to uncover the relatively unknown attitudes and behaviour of the youth market in South Africa around branded mobile applications. The research problem focuses on the academic literature gap of the latest group of consumers: Generation Z. Previous studies on mobile marketing have focused on Generation X and Generation Y. Furthermore, only quantitative studies have been performed on the youth market and mobile applications in South Africa. This study is based on the theoretical framework of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology Model 2. The study employed a qualitative framework with focus groups as the data collection method. The focus groups were stratified on gender and the participants ranged from 18-21 years old. The study was conducted at a private tertiary institution in Durban, South Africa. The findings indicate that the participants had both positive and negative attitudes towards branded mobile applications, however there were more positive than negative attitudes. In terms of behaviour, on average, participants had between 7-10 apps on their phone but only used 4-6 apps every day. The findings revealed the most popular branded mobile application as Whatsapp. Furthermore, social influences, facilitating conditions, performance expectancy, effort expectancy, hedonic motivation, price value and habit are all influencers of branded mobile application behaviour. The results identify age, gender and experience as moderating factors related to the attitudes and behaviour of Generation Z students with mobile apps. As a recommendation, the issue of privacy and its effect on mobile app adoption is a factor to be researched in the future for academics. The research also provides recommendations for marketers and app developers such as incorporating permission marketing into mobile applications

Smartphones

Many of the research approaches to smartphones actually regard them as more or less transparent points of access to other kinds of communication experiences. That is, rather than considering the smartphone as something in itself, the researchers look at how individuals use the smartphone for their communicative purposes, whether these be talking, surfing the web, using on-line data access for off-site data sources, downloading or uploading materials, or any kind of interaction with social media. They focus not so much on the smartphone itself but on the activities that people engage in with their smartphones

Game, settings, match – the impact and future of wearable technology in fitness and healthcare

Abstract: The modern day smartphone has become an integrated part of everyday life - barely noticed when there, but missed dearly when not. With the recent introduction of wearable technology that acts as an extension of the smartphone, the industry is growing at an incredibly rapid pace, introducing new opportunities and areas of application. Android Wear, developed by the search engine giant Google, exhibits particular promise in the watches category of wearable devices. We sample the specifications of a collection of watches that run Android Wear and identify the trends in both screen size and sensing capabilities. We proceed by identifying various industries that have been affected by these watches including fashion, television, arts, automobiles as well as fitness and healthcare. With a hands-on experience of the Moto 360 watch, we are able to test the sensors of the device and finally, conclude with suggestions of possible additions that can be made to wearable devices by means of optical fibres

Promotion and Marketing Communications

This edited Promotion and Marketing Communications book is an original volume that presents a collection of chapters authored by various researchers and edited by marketing communication professionals. To survive in the competitive world, companies feel an urge to achieve a competitive advantage by applying accurate marketing communication tactics. Understanding marketing communication is an essential aspect for any field and any country. Hence, in this volume there is the latest research about marketing communication under which marketing strategies are delicately discussed. This book does not only contribute to the marketing and marketing communication intellectuals but also serves different sector company managerial positions and provides a guideline for people who want to attain a career in this field, giving them a chance to acquire the knowledge regarding consumer behavior, public relations, and digital marketing themes

A multimedia analysis of the diversification of fashion journalism

Traditionally, women have turned to fashion magazines to know what is trending, how they should dress and what beauty tips they should try. However, in this generation, print magazines as a whole are becoming less relevant due to blogs, YouTube, smartphone apps, social media and other digital sources. The web has made it possible for ordinary consumers to reach a mass audience (Mcquarrie, Miller, & Phillips, 2013); thus fashion influence is no longer coming only from advertisers and models with unrealistic features, it reflects the tastes of ordinary people. Through a literature review and content analysis, this research demonstrates how the evolution of fashion journalism from print to online media is creating a more diverse marketplace in which young women are making their fashion choices

Effectiveness of product placement in TV Shows

This study represents a field experiment on the effectiveness of product placement in TV Shows. The author investigates whether product placement enhances brand awareness, positive attitude change and increased purchase intention. If this is found to be true, in which way should the product be presented to influence the consumer in the most desirable way? The results in this study show that the hypothesis is true and it is key for marketers to pick the right type of product placement for their brand to increase either brand awareness, positive attitude change and/or increased purchase intention. The results further show that marketers need to examine the target audience of a TV show to determine the right mixture of modality for the product placement. The mixture can consist of prominent, subtle, plot-connected, purely audio or visual or both audio-visual product placements and has to take into consideration multiple psychological processes which are discussed in this study

Mobile communications: what makes it effective for the Small and Medium size Businesses (SMB)?

La comunicazione mobile è oggetto di interesse per i ricercatori già dagli anni ’90, in coincidenza con l’arrivo dei telefoni cellulari, facendo registrare oltre 240 progetti finanziati dall’UE nella successiva decade. (Karnowsky, Jones, Ling, & von Pape, 2013). Nel 2002 Barry Brown, Nicola Green e Richard Harper iniziarono a studiare vantaggi e svantaggi del mobile per meglio comprendere i potenziali effetti culturali e sociali causati da questo nuovo media (Brown, Green, & Harper, 2002); nel 2006 James Katz ha analizzato le conseguenze sociali dell’uso giornaliero dei dispositivi mobile ed i suoi usi in campo psicologico e religioso (Katz, 2006). Studi sociali sull’uso individuale del mobile sono stati condotti senza soluzione di continuità negli ultimi anni, anche comparando l’uso del mobile con altre tecnologie di uso comune quali l’orologio o il dispositivo di chiusura delle automobili, alla ricerca di similarità e sinergie che ne potessero spiegare l’impatto sociale. (Ling, 2012). Lo studio della comunicazione mobile come disciplina ci permette di evidenziare le innumerevoli teorie di comunicazione che aiutano a comprendere appieno la diffusione, adozione ed uso di questo canale1 . Tuttavia, la comunicazione mobile si differenzia non solo per le abilità e bisogni del singolo o dell’organizzazione, ma anche rispetto all’obiettivo finale. Un sondaggio condotto quest’anno da AT&T su 1.048 piccole e medie imprese negli Stati Uniti mostra come il 94 per cento di queste utilizzano il mobile per condurre i propri affari, con oltre il 50% utilizzando applicazioni mobile con un risparmio mensile fino a $500. Secondo Karan Kerrigan, Amministratore Delegato di SBE, “Gli imprenditori guardano alle tecnologie di comunicazione per aumentare la produttività, tagliare i costi e migliorare gestione e coinvolgimento dei clienti”. (AT&T e Comitato Piccole e Medie imprese, 2014). Dall’altra parte, un recente rapporto della Societa’ di ricerca BIA/Kelsey ha riscontrato che il 74.5% delle Piccole e Media imprese (PMI) utilizza i social media per fare pubblicità del proprio business, rendendoli così il canale più importante2 . Il mobile dà l’opportunità alle PMI di competere nello stesso acquario di “pesci” molto più grossi, dando inoltre visibilità’ globale a piccole organizzazioni dotate di strategia e mentalità globale (Franklin, 2014) Conoscere la ricetta per una comunicazione mobile di successo è quasi impossibile; ogni strategia di comunicazione contiene elementi, circostanze e peculiarità che richiedono un approccio specifico. Tuttavia, le caratteristiche dei dispositivi mobile e l’uso degli stessi in mobilità possono portare funzionalità che potrebbero naturalmente migliorare questo tipo di comunicazione. 1 Smith, R. (2013). So what? Why study mobile media and communication? Mobile Media & Communication, 38-41. 2 Book, Maddox, Small Businesses Spend More on Social Than Any Other Media, 2014. In questo studio esploreremo le sfide che stanno affrontando le PMI nel tradurre la propria strategia di comunicazione sul mobile, e sulle possibili implicazioni che l’uso dello Storytelling e del Visual Storytelling possono avere sulla strategia stessa. Da un punto di vista di comunicazione e marketing per una piccola impresa, è interessante analizzare l’eventuale esistenza d’ingredienti chiave che ci possano aiutare a individuare una ricetta ideale per la comunicazione mobile delle PMI. Il PRIMO CAPITOLO di questo studio rivede la letteratura, focalizzandosi sulla comprensione dell’attuale contesto della comunicazione mobile, incluso studi che evidenziano i vantaggi e svantaggi dell’uso giornaliero; include inoltre una revisione delle similarità e differenze nell’adozione della comunicazione mobile tra una piccola ed una grande impresa. Il SECONDO CAPITOLO spiega uno a uno alcune delle più comuni funzionalità oggi possibili nell’uso della comunicazione mobile. Dagli SMS ai Social Media alla comunicazione in-game, questo capitolo si propone di mostrare al lettore le diverse scelte a disposizione di una PMI per entrare nel mondo della strategia di comunicazione mobile. Il TERZO CAPITOLO analizza nel dettaglio gli argomenti chiavi dello studio, Storytelling e Visual Storytelling. Il capitolo fornisce una panoramica del modo in cui lo Storytelling è utilizzato oggi dalle organizzazioni e di come questa tecnica può essere applicata come parte di una strategia di comunicazione mobile, anche attraverso l’illustrazione di esempi di best practices per le PMI. Il capitolo fornisce inoltre al ricercatore le conoscenze necessarie per procedere con i successivi passi dello studio. Il QUARTO CAPITOLO è costituito da una serie di interviste qualitative e focalizzate con due principali gruppi di interlocutori; il primo gruppo è costituito da esperti di comunicazione mobile o professionisti di storytelling; il secondo gruppo è costituito da Amministratori e Manager di comunicazione di piccole e medie organizzazioni. Queste interviste permetteranno al ricercatore di comparare vision, usi e consigli per implementare con successo una strategia di adozione del mobile per le PMI. I QUINTO CAPITOLO è un progetto Triennale, svolto attivamente sul campo insieme ad una PMI italiana che ha cambiato il suo stile di comunicazione tradizionale ad uno digitale, ed in particolare con una strategia mobile utilizzando le funzionalità studiate ed illustrate in precedenza. Il ricercatore presenta in questo capitolo i differenti risultati in termini di coinvolgimento dell’audience durante il periodo di studio