An exploration of the impact of brand personality on consumer buying intentions toward specialist stationery products across age groups

The market for stationery products is constantly evolving particularly in light of technological influences and changes in the range of items available beyond single category products. Customers now seek more than pens and paper products; rather they are looking towards convenient specialist stationery one-stop-shop options. This research aimed to provide insight into consumers\u27 specialist stationery products (SSPs) purchasing intentions across different age groups. A qualitative design via focus groups was used to gather consumer information. This process allowed for expressions of personal feelings and emotions relating to SSPs purchasing experiences to be captured. The findings revealed that brand personality is a valuable asset in bonding consumers\u27 relationships with SSPs. In conjunction with this emotional value, brand personality relates to the product\u27s functional benefits and provides both intrinsic and extrinsic value in satisfying the consumers\u27 specific needs -all of which are key factors in motivating consumers\u27 SSPs purchasing intentions. In this study preferred SSPs brand personality factors, such as Simplistic, Exciting, and Likable, were determined in response to the values sought by consumer in each age group. While strong brand personality values formed part of consumers\u27 self-identity, they also demonstrate commitments to SSPs. Collectible behaviours were evident in this research and these behaviours formed strong brand loyalty. This emotional relationship ensured consumers\u27 current and future positive SSPs purchasing intentions. The outcomes highlighted that brand personality values in SSPs are important and should be considered in differentiating marketing strategies. These strategies have the potential to influence consumers\u27 decision-making, and therefore can assist marketers in responding to today\u27s highly competitive stationery business within an advanced technological environment

Examining intramodal sound executions in advertising : the effect of speech and lyrics in advertising on consumer’s attitudes

Marketers often use inter-modal executions to communicate with consumers about a brand or product (e.g., sight and sound TV commercials or touch, smell and sight magazine advertisements). However, little is known about how messages that uses intra-modal executions, such as audio and audio, affect consumers’ processing and evaluation of the message itself. Across two chapters containing 4 studies, findings demonstrate, when consumers’ processing involvement is low, there is an effect of intra-modal sound executions on consumers’ attention to the music in and advertisement, as well as their subsequent attitudes towards the advertisement. This is explained by dual processing whereby two processing routes of persuasion may be activated. In this study, lyrics appear to increase the salience of the peripheral cue (e.g., music) when involvement (i.e., a proxy for motivation to process) is low. Thus, consumers’ attention towards to the music is increased, which appears to affect more positive attitudes towards the message. Further, because attitudes towards the advertisement can mediate evaluations of the brand/product, the intra-modal integration of lyrics can indirectly influence brand attitudes.Advertisin

Patterns of Receptivity to the Influence Tactic of Pseudo-Reasoning

The “bullshit” construct used within social influence involves presenting ambiguous message content as an ersatz substitute for missing reasoning. This pseudo-reasoning combines with clearer source or affect cues that drive the target toward a desired conclusion. Bullshit receptivity (BSR) has presented a popular focus of research, especially considering the use of pseudo-reasoning within viral disinformation (Van Bavel et al, 2020). Most BSR research has involved non-experimental correlational tests with trait-like, individual cognitive variables, their explanation of BSR’s cause remaining limited and inconsistent (Pennycook et al, 2015). However, influence tactics employing bullshit commonly derive their effects from fulfilling targets’ motivated needs and addressing their accessible knowledge structures (Brown et al, 2019; Carpenter, 2017; Kruglanski & Thompson, 1999). Attitude and knowledge structures partially emerge from and depend upon individuals’ connections to the groups with which they identify (Smith & Hogg, 2008; Terry & Hogg, 1996), and self-uncertain individuals exhibit attraction to group-based messages that reduce their uncertainty (Hogg, 2007). This project tested the hypothesis that self-uncertainty and message cues identifying sources as sharing social identities with subjects positively predict the acceptance of pseudo-reasoning and compliant responses to compliance gaining messages accompanied by pseudo-reasoning

Examining employer-brand benefits through online employer reviews

Social media is rising in popularity as a credible source of information for consumers worldwide. Access to online product reviews appears limitless, and consumer voices are now influencing purchasing behavior far beyond the reach of traditional marketing campaigns. Joining the Internet influencers is a relatively new platform for sharing opinions, employer-review websites. Comments from current and former staff on employer review sits such as Glassdoor and Indeed offer a glimpse into company culture and the employer brand (Amber & Barrow, 1996). This qualitative, phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of hotel/casino resort employees through an examination of employer reviews posted on the Glassdoor and Indeed web pages of four Las Vegas gaming corporations. A thematic analysis of 1,063 employer reviews was conducted to identify the trio of employer-brand benefits (e.g., functional, economic, and psychological) drawn from Ambler and Barrow\u27s (1996) employer-brand equity theory. Themes related to social identity theory (Tajfel, 1974), signaling theory (Spence, 1973), and the instrumental-symbolic framework (e.g., Lievens & Highhouse, 2003) were examined in this study. Two questions guided the research: (1) Which employer-brand benefits, if any, cited in the employer reviews of hotel/casino resorts are most frequently associated with positive and negative employee sentiment? (2) What is the relationship between employer benefits (e.g., functional, psychological, and economical) and the overall employee rating given by the reviewer? The results revealed that all three of Ambler and Barrow\u27s (1996) employer-brand benefits appeared in the employer reviews as both positive and negative attributes of employment, with psychological and economic benefits most frequently referenced. Specific to employment in Las Vegas hotel/casino resort industry, reviewers who gave high employer ratings were quite positive about economic benefits (i.e., salary and wages, unspecified benefits, and the free meal in the EDR) and psychological benefits (i.e., co-worker interactions and company atmosphere), while reviewers who gave their employer low ratings were disappointed with their positions economic (i.e., salary and wages), psychological (i.e., management behaviors, work schedule, and company atmosphere), and functional (i.e., promotional opportunities) benefits. The findings from this study have implications for both marketing and HR practitioners, and this study contributes to the growing body of employer-branding literature

The communication efforts of cellular companies to improve relationship marketing.

Thesis (M.Com.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2006.The development of relationship marketing, which is oriented towards developing lasting relationships with clients, emerged in the 1990's. The concept suggests that by better understanding customers on an individual level and by delivering to them information, products and services targeted to their specific needs, marketers can develop a long-term relationship with them that translates into worthwhile profits. Thus, relationship marketing focuses on customer orientation, with high service emphasis and high customer contact. Relationship marketing uses improved information technology to regularly communicate with firm customers and to base product/service offerings on the customer's buying behaviour. Computer linkages, advertising, personal selling, sales promotion, sponsorships, publicity, special events and exhibitions aid communication among channel members and also create a relationship between buyer and seller. Whilst research has been conducted on a general aspect of relationship marketing, there appears to be no significant study on how communication efforts can promote relationship marketing in the cellular industry. It is the intention of this study to examine the way in which relationship marketing is currently being employed in the cellular industry and to assess how improved communication can result in the effective application thereof. The objectives of this study are to investigate whether the communication efforts of the cellular operating companies are satisfying customers, to establish if the communication tools used by the companies are effective in promoting relationship marketing and to explore whether existing customers will become advocates of the company. Ethical clearance was obtained from the Research Administration at the University of KwaZulu -Natal. All subjects were aware of the purpose of the study and the aims and objectives. All subjects signed and consented to be part of the study. The target population consists of existing cellular phone users from whom the researcher attempted to draw conclusions and make generalizations. In KwaZulu-Natal, 251 cellular phone users volunteered and participated in this study. Informed consent was required of each of the respondents. 53% were contract customers and 38% were prepaid customers. There were 94 males (38%) and 141 females (56%) in the sample. The overall response rate was 83.7%. The main results yielded from this study indicated that cellular phone users were satisfied with the communication efforts of their service providers. Therefore, the communication tools used by their service providers were effective in creating, maintaining and enhancing relationships with their customers. Also it was very evident that existing customers are advocates of their service provider and will continue to be so into the future. This study recommends that customers must understand and be informed of the future direction that their service provider will take. They must be informed of long and medium term plans, new developments and any fundamental changes that are going to take place. Since service is the nerve centre of any organization, service providers must improve on their service to customers. Service providers should conduct regular satisfaction surveys to get feedback from customers and monitor their attitudes towards them and assess the performance on their accounts. The fulfilment of these recommendations will promote and enhance relationship marketing in the cellular industry

Service Recovery for Severe Crises in The Cruise Industry

This experimental study examined what are the effects of expertise, blame, and service recovery on both purchase intentions and brand image after severe service failures. A 2x2x2 experimental design was conducted to measure the participants’ attitude toward communicators’ expertise, blame attribution, and distributive justice. This experiment was set within the cruise industry and was conducted on-line via Qualtrics. Participants were randomly assigned into eight treatment conditions. Written scenarios messages were employed to convey the different treatment conditions. In these scenarios, a fictitious spokesperson recalled an accident that had occurred while vacationing on a cruise ship. The level of expertise varied based on the past-experience of the spokesperson. This spokesperson was as either a first time or a long time cruiser. In terms of blame attribution, the accident was attributed either to a staff member or to a passenger. For the condition of service recovery, the cruise line offered a 20% discount on a future cruise and fully reimbursed the passengers or only a 20% discount. The main effect for recovery was significant (p<.05) for both brand image and intentions. There was also a significant interaction between expertise and blame attribution (p<.05) in terms of both intentions and brand image. Results offer both theoretical and practical insights in terms of advertising strategies and crisis management for cruise lines

The Use of visitor management techniques to protect a fragile environment.

Tourism, as a human activity, is not likely to be managed effectively if there was a lack of management focus on the visitors. Visitor management plays a vital role in a tourism destination in terms of increasing visitors' experience and level of enjoyment, as well as modifying their on-site behaviour to be more appropriate. Through a combination of various techniques, visitors are provided with controlled access to experience the tourism resources. In so doing, visitors' understanding and appreciation of the features at a site may be increased through the use of interpretation, while restrictions, regulations and resource alteration methods are used to protect the resources from inappropriate visitor activity. Interpretation, restrictions, regulations and other management-related/administrative information need to be delivered to visitors. Furthermore, persuasive communication is effective to modify visitors' on-site behaviour. Regulations and restrictions are usually law-enforced. Because their persuasive function is of coercive type (the managing agencies have the ability to administer punishment if visitors fall to comply with the regulations), visitors' level of enjoyment and understanding of the features at a site is less likely to be increased. A softer style of persuasive communication with visitors (interpretation, marketing and visitor codes) is therefore necessary in order to advise visitors about the sensitivity of the resources and the appropriate behaviour to conduct during their visit. In other words, the hard and soft approaches of visitor management should be used interdependently. Hence, the understanding of (1) how people's intention to behave in a particular manner is formed, and (2) how to maximise the effectiveness of communication, is necessary in order to plan and implement successful visitor management. The visitor survey was carried out in the calendar year of 1999, and 1,053 visitors participated in the research.T he questionnaire-baseds urvey of visitors was conducted at several locations in the New Forest, and the number of surveys to be carried out was distributed throughout the year of 1999 based on the tourism seasonality of the New Forest. The research findings point out that imposing more regulations is not perceived necessary in the current visitor management in the New Forest. Instead, the sampled visitors would like to know more about the environmental aspects about the site, and the appropriate activities to participate in. Moreover, infori-nation provided through interpretive panels and bulletin boards is thought to be less than adequate by the visitors, and they think the signage in the site is not maintained to a high standard. Give the fact that signage is one of the favoured media, the quality and information contents of signage in the New Forest need to be improved. Moreover, with respect to the interpretation of the New Forest, visitors thought the information relating to the envirom-nental aspects of the site and the appropriate visitor activities to be carried out should be improved in terms of the quantity. The analysis shows that in general, visitors would be willing to alter their behaviour to be more appropriate if they were made aware of such interpretive information. In addition, the majority of the visitors, except for the New Forest District local residents, do not object to be charged for the use of tourism facilities such as car parks, providing the revenue is used for resource protection purpose. In other words, visitors value the significance of the New Forest in terms of being resource rich and being an important site that offers recreational opportunities to them. Thus, they expressed their willingness to contribute financially to help the management and protection of the site. The research findings are expected to provide organisations that are responsible for the management of tourism destinations with information relating to the planning and implementation of effective visitor management approaches, because successful visitor management is a step forward towards the long-ten-n sustainable tourism development

The role and potential of marketing communications in the Turkish domestic tourism market

This is a qualitative study of marketing communications in the Turkish domestic tourism market: a sector still in its "infancy" in comparison with many other countries, but with substantial growth potential. The rationale for the research lies in its contribution to knowledge and understanding from an academic perspective and its applied relevance to marketing communications initiatives in the world of practical management. An extensive international literature review in the areas of tourism management, marketing communications and consumer buying behaviour was undertaken and its relevance and transferability to Turkey examined critically in the light of the Qrimacy research findings. This secondary research was supplemented by a comprehensive primary data collection process, during which the data collection methods were triangulated. The field research comprised initial exploratory interviews with tourists, key informant interviews, observations at travel agencies, focus group studies and final interviews. This data illustrated how consumers collect and process information, when making holiday decisions and evaluated the role and potential of marketing communications in the Turkish domestic tourism market. Based on the ownership structure of travel agencies, and the stage of development of the sector, the thesis establishes the lack of a marketing orientation amongst travel agencies, and the effect this has on the way that these businesses carry out their marketing communications activities. Although the role and potential of sales staff, brochures and the Internet is examined, the main focus is on the role of holiday newspaper advertisements in the consumer decision making process. The thesis establishes that gender has a significant influence on the reasoning process determining holiday choices. The research examines the implications of this, and suggests that marketing communications stimuli should take these influences into account. A set of guidelines and recommendations are offered to improve the effectiveness of the marketing communications activities of travel agencies