The relationships between social media marketing communications, consumer-based brand equity and consumer response among automotive brands in Malaysia

Developing and managing brand equity are top priorities for many organizations because brand is one of the most prized assets of organizations. As such, academia continues to exert substantial efforts on understanding the factors that influence the development of Consumer-Based Brand Equity (CBBE) and its consequences. However, researchers have not really focused on measuring CBBE from the context of automotive brands. Also, considering the continuous advent of digital platforms such as social media, the environment of marketing communications is changing, leaving a knowledge gap on how the contents disseminated on social media are enhancing CBBE and consumer response. Relaying on the Consumer Stimulus-Response Model (CSRM), this study examines the relationships between the social media marketing communications, specifically, user-generated type (Social Media Word-of-Mouth) and firm created types (Social Media Advertising, Social Media Promotion and Social Media Interactive Marketing), CBBE and Consumer Response among automotive brands. To validate the scales employed in this study, semi-structured face-to-face interviews was conducted among ten (10) informants and seven (7) experts were recruited to content validate the developed scales before conducting pilot study among 200 respondents. Subsequently, 800 users of four types of automotive brands namely; PROTON, PERODUA, TOYOTA and HONDA were surveyed using a self-administered questionnaire. The data collected was analyzed using SEM. The findings revealed that, Social Media Advertising, Social Media Promotion, Social Media Interactive Marketing and Social Media Word-of-Mouth have significant relationships with the CBBE of automotive brands and consumer response. Furthermore, CBBE demostrates a significant indirect effects on the relationships between social media marketing communications and CBBE. Consequently, this study provide empirical evidence to the CSRM and provide insights for brand managers on how to enhance brand equity of automotive brands through marketing communications disseminated on social media platform

Implication of Personalized Advertising on Personal Data: A Legal Analysis of the EU General Data Protection Regulation

The accelerating emergence of personalized advertising is mostly driven by data. Accordingly, algorithmic profiling has become a constant experience for every cyber user. However, there has been limited exploration of how personalized advertising invades the privacy and personal data of cyber users. Therefore, this study adopts the doctrinal legal method through the analysis of the European Union General Data Protection Regulation in addressing the protection of personal data profiling and the legal implications arising from the commercialization and abuse of digital users’ data in personalized advertising. The findings of this paper discuss the main principles to be observed by the data controller in ensuring the legality of processing personal data profiling of personalized advertising. Keywords: Personalized Advertising; Algorithmic Targeting; Personal Data Profiling; EU General Data Protection Regulation eISSN: 2398-4287 © 2022. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BYNC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians/Africans/Arabians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. DOI

Implication of Personalized Advertising on Personal Data: A Legal Analysis of the EU General Data Protection Regulation

p>The accelerating emergence of personalised advertising is mostly driven by data. Accordingly, algorithmic profiling has become a constant experience for every online user in predicting preference and interest. The profiling process raises several issues of human privacy and personal data invasion. Therefore, this study adopts the doctrinal legal method through the analysis of International Instruments and the European Union General Data Protection Regulation as legal avenue to safeguard and protect online activities of the data subjects. The findings of this paper discuss the main principles to be observed by the data controller in ensuring the legality of personal data profiling. This paper suggests the profiling process to be design-based security due to unavailability of system procedure to human knowledge.    Keywords: Personalised Advertising; Algorithmic Targeting; Personal Data Profiling; EU General Data Protection Regulation eISSN: 2398-4287 © 2022. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians/Africans/Arabians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/ebpj.v7i22.416

Implication of Personalized Advertising on Personal Data: A Legal Analysis of the EU General Data Protection Regulation

The accelerating emergence of personalised advertising is mostly driven by data. Accordingly, algorithmic profiling has become a constant experience for every online user in predicting preference and interest. The profiling process raises several issues of human privacy and personal data invasion. Therefore, this study adopts the doctrinal legal method through the analysis of International Instruments and the European Union General Data Protection Regulation as legal avenue to safeguard and protect online activities of the data subjects. The findings of this paper discuss the main principles to be observed by the data controller in ensuring the legality of personal data profiling. This paper suggests the profiling process to be design-based security due to unavailability of system procedure to human knowledge. Keywords: Personalised Advertising; Algorithmic Targeting; Personal Data Profiling; EU General Data Protection Regulation eISSN: 2398-4287 © 2022. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians/Africans/Arabians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/ebpj.v7i22.416

The mediating effect of brand image on the relationships between social media advertising content, sales promotion content and behaviuoral intention

© 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited. Purpose: This study aims to answer an important question of how brand-related communications, including advertising and sales promotion contents, which are disseminated on social media platforms, can enhance positive brand image and evoke favourable behavioural intention from consumers. Design/methodology/approach: This study surveys 615 consumers of automotive brands across Malaysia. The data were analysed with AMOS, which was used to specify both the measurement and structural models. The mediating effect of both hedonic and functional brand images was tested using the bootstrapping approach in AMOS and Sobel test. Findings: The findings reported in this research demonstrate that there are positive and significant relationships between social media advertising content, social media sales promotion content, hedonic brand image, functional brand image and behavioural intention. Both hedonic and functional brand images have significant mediating effects on social media advertising content, social media sales promotion content and behavioural intention. However, the relationship between social media advertising content and behavioural intention is insignificant. Practical implications: This paper proffers insights to brand managers and marketers on how to leverage on social media contents by unearthing the roles of traditional marketing communications such as social media advertising and promotional information in enhancing brand preference and improving consumers’ purchase intention. Originality/value: This research advances the discussions in the realm of social media communications and branding by examining the mediating effects of both hedonic and functional brand images of automotive brands. In addition, this study focuses on two essential marketing communications, advertising and sales promotions, which are commonly disseminated by brand managers on social media platforms

The Implementation of Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) Principles in Branding and Advertising: A Conceptual Exploration

Theorists and advocates of Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) behold that IMC was an innovation to rescue the downward of advertisement industry and to strengthen the strategic and tactical power of branding. IMC offer the option of integrating several marketing communication approaches in one message content for the purpose of developing effective brand equity. However, IMC is a theoretically celebrated panacea that has experienced a longstanding conceptual and practical muddling, which includes the practicality, definitions, implementations and measurement of its effectiveness. Pertinently, an explicit strategy and tactics of implementing the principles of IMC in advertisement still remain obscure. In a quest to quench the conceptual haziness of IMC and its implementation in advertisement-being one of the very crucial tool in marketing communications, this paper presents the review of the implementation process of IMC in the general marketing communication fields, advertisement and branding in particular. Relevant theoretical and practical gaps were deduced from past studies to inform future studies of possible ways to resolve the theoretical and practical inconsistencies in implementing the principles of IMC in an effective advertisement and brand equity. Keywords: Integrated Marketing Communication; Brand Equity; Advertisement Effectiveness; Message Strategy

To what extent are credibility and attractiveness of social media influencer important in developing positive brand image and customer attitude?

As social media continue to serve as the dominant hub of information and commerce globally, social media influencer marketing has also become one of the most prominent techniques of brand advertisement and promotion. According to Freberg et al., social media influencer represents a viable earned media vehicle where popular celebrities can offer homage and endorsement of a brand for the purpose of influencing their follower’s purchase decision or to create awareness for the endorsed brand. According to media marketing Kix, 80% of online marketers reported that social media celebrities are potential supporters of elevating online businesses to a higher level. Consumer’s attitude refers to favourable behaviours that are aroused by the appeals of influencer marketing contents

User-generated contents in Facebook, functional and hedonic brand image and purchase intention

User-Generated Contents is a type of brand-related communications on social media platforms. User-Generated Contents (UGC) offers consumers the opportunity of sharing their experiences, contribute their opinion and communicate with other.This implies that brand managers no longer have solitary control in managing the brand images of their brands.Therefore, this study set out to examine the effect of user-generated contents on hedonic brand image and functional brand.Also, the study determines how hedonic and functional brand image influence brand purchase intention.114 followers of fan pages of Malaysian automotive brands were surveyed.The hypotheses formulated were tested using PLS-SEM.The findings revealed that, UGC have significant and positive impact on both functional and hedonic brand image.Furthermore, functional and hedonic brand image have significant impact on purchase intention.This study provides insight on the importance of UGC, functional and hedonic brand image to brand managers

Unveiling Social Gratifications Sought and Obtained from Social Media Utilization

Going by the proposition of the Uses and Gratifications Theory (UGT), people are motivated to use media by various psychological factors and for obtaining different forms of gratifications. However, as social media continue to play an essential role in shaping the sociability and bridging social connectivity and interactions among its users, therefore, this study seeks to incorporate social influence and social interactions as the social gratification sought in social media utilization, as well as both bonding and bridging social capital as social gratification obtained from social media utilization. An online survey was conducted among 400 users of Instagram in Nigeria. The data analyzed with PLS-SEM revealed that social influence and social interaction significantly motivate social media utilization. Also, social media utilization is significantly associated with bonding and bridging social capital. Impliedly, this study shows that social media is a social and networking tool which is stimulated by social factors and for achieving social purposes such as getting help, support and community engagements

Social Media Marketing Communication and Consumer-Based Brand Equity: An Account of Automotive Brands in Malaysia

Achieving brand equity are top priorities for many organizations because brand is one of the most prized assets of any organization. As such, the academia continues to exert considerable efforts on understanding the factors that influence the development of brand equity.For instance, previous studies have demonstrated that social media communication has significant impact on Consumer-Based Brand Equity (CBBE), however, researchers have not really focused on the relationships of several types of marketing communications anchored by different social media platforms for brand equity.As such, the objective of this study is to examine the relationships between the social media marketing communications, specifically, user-generated type (Social Media Word-of-Mouth) and firm created types (Social Media Advertising, Social Media Promotion and Social Media Interactive Marketing); and the CBBE of automotive brands in Malaysia.Subsequently, 800 samples were selected through cluster samplings from five cities in five geographical regions across Malaysia. Survey questionnaires were administered to users of four types of automotive brands, namely; PROTON, PERODUA, TOYOTA and HONDA. The data collected was analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlation and multiple regressions in SPSS 22.The findings revealed that, the selected automotive brands have notable presence on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Twitter. Furthermore, it was found that, social media advertising, social media promotions and social media word-of-mouth have positive relationships with the CBBE of automotive brands.However, social media interactive marketing has an insignificant role in the CBBE. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed in this paper