A Consumer-Centric Open Innovation Framework for Food and Packaging Manufacturing

This article has been archived following written permission from IGI Global.Closed innovation approaches have been employed for many years in the food industry. But, this sector recently perceives its end-user to be wary of radically new products and changes in consumption patterns. However, new product development involves not only the product itself but also the entire manufacturing and distribution network. In this paper, we present a new ICT based framework that embraces open innovation to place customers in the product development loop but at the same time assesses and eventually coordinates the entire manufacturing and supply chain. The aim is to design new food products that consumers will buy and at the same time ensure that these products will reach the consumer in time and at adequate quantity. On the product development side, our framework enables new food products that offer an integrated sensory experience of food and packaging, which encompass customization, healthy eating, and sustainability

THEORIES AND SUCCESS STORIES OF ADVERTISING AND PUBLIC RELATIONS

Now that we are looked at overall integrated marketing communication planning, we dig more deeply into the specific marketing communications tools. In this article, we explore advertising and public relations. Advertising involves communicating the company’s or brand’s value proposition by using paid media to inform, persuade, and remind consumers. Public relations involves building good relations with various company publics – from consumers and the general public to the media, investor, donor, and government publics. As with all the promotion mix tools, advertising and public relations must be blended into the overall integrated marketing communications program. Keywords: integrating communication planning, advertising, public relation

Looking Local: An Exploration of Texas Residents’ Perceptions of the GO TEXAN Certification Program to Develop Brand Positioning Strategies

State agricultural certification programs allow consumers to knowingly purchase products grown or produced in their state. However, consumers may not be aware of or understand the concept behind these certification programs. This study examined Texas residents’ awareness and perceptions of one state agricultural certification program, GO TEXAN. To position a brand and develop key messages, communicators must be aware of how the audience views the brand, its key qualities and characteristics, and the information channels to distribute the messages. To do so, we distributed a survey instrument embedded in Qualtrics to a panel of Texas residents. We found respondents were generally unaware of the GO TEXAN certification program; however, the results of this study provide evidence of the consumers preferred products and qualities of GO TEXAN’s certified products. We suggest communicators use elements of brand positioning to develop strategic key messages that are relevant to target audiences. Specifically, messages should be developed with key frames highlighting product freshness, flavor, taste, and purchase convenience. Communication efforts should be developed to provide emphasis to these attributes on the product label, at farmers markets, and at places of purchase. Further, we recommend future research should explore how types of key messages impact brand awareness, loyalty, and willingness to purchase

Factors Influencing Cosmetics Purchase Intention in Thailand: A Study on the Relationship of Credibility and Reputation with in Persuasive Capabilities of Beauty Bloggers.

The purpose of this study is to examine the factors affecting beauty bloggers’ credibility and how credibility itself influences cosmetic purchase intentions of Thai people. As identified by Ohanian (1990), three variables impacting one’s decision-making process (trustworthiness, expertise and attractiveness) are considered along with two additional variables determined by this researcher through focus group interviews to fit with and complement them. These are reputation and persuasive capabilities. Demographic factors of the respondents (age, gender, etc) were investigated as part as understanding differences, if any, in the cosmetic purchase intentions of Thai people. The Pearson Correlation analysis indicates that all independent variables have a positive relationship with purchase intention. Moreover, the results from the one-way ANOVA analysis show that the demographic factors variously affect the purchase intention of cosmetics of respondents

How influencers’ credibility on Instagram is perceived by consumers and its impact on purchase intention

The purpose of this thesis is to understand the perception Instagram users, in other words consumers, have of influencers they follow on Instagram. Consumer perceived credibility of influencers, and its impact on the purchase intention, is therefore studied. This dissertation aims to highlight which credibility dimensions better explain the purchase intention. Gender is also explored to verify behavior differences between female and male consumers. To better analyze the perceived credibility of influencers and purchase intention, scales previously developed were applied and adapted as proposed by Ohanian (1990) and Dodds, Monroe & Grewal (1991), respectively. The present study is exploratory and quantitative. It was implemented through an online survey, where only active Instagram users that follow one or more influencers on the platform were selected. Overall, 285 valid responses were collected. The results of the present study indicate that perceived “attractiveness” and “trustworthiness” of influencers are the dimensions of credibility that better explain consumers’ purchase intention. In what concerns gender differences, it is verified that more female than male consumers are influenced by perceived trustworthiness. The developed model aims to support brands and marketers in better understanding the effects perceived credibility of influencers has on consumption, and of its impact in purchase intention.O propósito desta tese é compreender as percepções que os utilizadores do Instagram, que neste caso são os consumidores, têm para interagir com influenciadores no Instagram. Desta forma, é estudado o impacto que a credibilidade percebida pelos consumidores nestes Influenciadores tem na intenção de compra. Esta dissertação visa destacar quais os tipos de credibilidade que melhor explicam a intenção de compra. Os dois géneros dos consumidores são também explorados, de modo a verificar se há diferenças no comportamento entre os homens e mulheres. Para compreender melhor o impacto que os influenciadores têm nas percepções de credibilidade dos consumidores e na intenção de compra, foram utilizadas e adaptadas escalas previamente propostas por Ohanian (1990) e Dodds, Monroe & Grewal (1991), respectivamente. O presente estudo é exploratório e quantitativo. Na fase de recolha de dados foi feito um questionário online, onde foram selecionados apenas os utilizadores do Instagram que se consideram activos e que seguem um ou mais influenciadores na plataforma. No total foram obtidas 285 respostas válidas. Os resultados obtidos neste estudo indicam que a “atractividade” e a “confiabilidade” percebida pelos consumidores nos influenciadores são as dimensões de credibilidade que melhor explicam a intenção de compra. Relativamente às diferenças entre homens e mulheres, constata-se que a percepção da confiabilidade de um influenciador tem mais influência nas mulheres do que nos homens. O modelo desenvolvido tem como objectivo auxiliar marcas e marketeers a compreender melhor o impacto que a credibilidade percebida pelos consumidores nos influenciadores tem na intenção de compra

The Impact of the Social Media Influencer Power on Consumer Attitudes toward the Brand: The Mediating/Moderating Role of Social Media Influencer Source Credibility

This paper presents a conceptual model of the impact of social media influencer power on consumer attitudes toward a brand. The research uses naïve theories of social influence, consumer socialization theory and market signaling theory to support the contention that social media influencer power will impact consumer brand attitudes. However, the impact of the social media influencer power on consumer brand attitudes is posited to be mediated and/or moderated by the social media influencer source credibility. In turn, the social media influencer source credibility is modeled as being positively related to the social media influencer’s expertise/competence with respect to the product, the social media influencer’s goodwill toward the consumer, and the social media influencer’s trustworthiness

They made a career with their opinions: An exploratory study of reader perception of credibility of high-status bloggers

The 21st century has developed so quickly digitally that information spreads so quickly through e-word-of-mouth. To effectively communicate, companies have to find a way to spread their own messages in a fast, unique way to entice their publics. In the fashion industry, instead of using their own websites and social media, which can be viewed as untrustworthy, many companies turn to partnerships with high-status (career) bloggers in order to reach more people. These high-status bloggers have made careers out of their sites, bringing in a salary through advertising, sponsored content and brand partnerships. The purpose of this study was to find if these bloggers were still seen as a credible source for information when readers knew about their ‘status’ and earnings, especially how their salary was made. Initial research made the researcher suspect that the bloggers would not be seen as a credible source. However, the participants focused their responses on their feelings of pride for these amateurs who had made a career out of their opinions, and that as long as they remained as open and authentic as when their blog first started, the bloggers’ credibility would remain intact. This exploratory research found that the source credibility theory remained true in this digital context, and also provides different sub-factors of credibility for the source of career blogs

Towards an understanding of corporate web identity

No abstract available

FIDE Congress 2020 - EU Competition Law and the Digital Economy: United Kingdom Report

This report was prepared for the 29th biennial Congress of the International Federation of European Law (FIDE) to be held in The Hague in May 2020. It is the national report for the United Kingdom in response to Topic 3 of the 2020 FIDE Congress, titled ‘EU Competition Law and the Digital Economy’. This report offers an overview of UK competition enforcement in digital economy markets by answering twelve questions organised into four sections. Part A summarises key UK antitrust and merger decisions, agency publications, priorities and goals of enforcement in digital economy markets. Part B focuses upon the definition of markets and conceptualisation of market power by UK authorities in digital economy cases in light of their challenges and particularities. Part C offers a detailed overview of the issues underpinning UK antitrust and merger scrutiny in this field: the types of conduct investigated, relevant factors and concepts, theories of harm, efficiency justifications and remedies in digital economy cases. Finally, Part D identifies the potential for incoherent enforcement in this field from two different sources: the overlap between UK competition law and ex ante regulatory regimes (e.g. consumer protection, data protection); and the overlap between the powers of various UK competition decision-makers (e.g. sectoral regulators, the Competition Appeal Tribunal, and the courts)