Marketing insects: can exploiting a commercial framework help promote undervalued insect species?

1. The potential decline of insects and their contribution to ecosystem services is a matter of immense concern. 2. Reversing the current degradation of the natural world will require substantial attitudinal and behavioural shifts, but for this to occur people will need to buy‐in to decisions and choices that may be less desirable than those they currently make. 3. People will also need to appreciate the importance of ecosystems, habitats and species that are currently regarded as uncharismatic, including of course a great many insects and other invertebrates. To do this requires a radical shift in our approach to marketing the natural world in general and insects in particular. 4. We propose adopting the approach used so successfully in commercial marketing; the 4Ps framework (product, price, place and promotion). We outline examples of how this would result in more informed and effective ways to market biodiversity, expanding focus away from species traditionally considered charismatic. The public perception of insects, a group that includes some of the most loved and many of the most disliked taxa on the planet, could potentially be substantially improved by the use of this approach. 5. If such a marketing strategy can raise their perceived value, it follows that the public may care more about insects and empower conservation action

IMC: Has anything really changed? A new perspective on an old definition

Integrated marketing communication (IMC) has emerged as a new concept in marketing in the 21st century. IMC is mostly thought of, taught and written about as simply the integration of advertising and promotional activities. However, this paper proposes IMC as a broader concept. It is more than a process or activity within an organisation: it is a system of belief or engagement, embedded in an organisation's culture, underpinned by communication and driven by technology and senior management. We identify seven major tenets of the integrated view of marketing communication within the IMC literature, and argue that early marketing concepts of the 20th century are no longer valid. IMC can be seen as a new paradigm in marketing, equipped with central concepts that apply to many business environments

The regulatory challenge to branding: an interpretation of UK competition authority investigations 1950-2007

Branding is a necessary and important business tool. This study, however, examines whether branding can constitute an anticompetitive act. While most markets and firms do not undertake anticompetitive actions, being identified as such can result in a wide range of negative outcomes. To explore this low-frequency yet high-risk outcome, this study assesses how branding has been perceived to be anticompetitive by the UK competition authorities. This assessment is undertaken by examination of all UK competition law regulatory decisions undertaken over the period 1950–2007 by the UK competition authorities. From this assessment, it is observed that branding can facilitate excessive pricing, requires vertical restraints, and can lead to consumer confusion; all potentially anticompetitive acts. The competition regulatory decisions focused on branding issues are demonstrably different from regulatory decisions without branding concerns and involve larger, often manufacturing, firms, which operate in more concentrated markets. It is concluded that comprehension of competition law needs to be disseminated more widely amongst marketing communities and greater reference to business and marketing theory should be made by competition law agencies to assist the comprehension of marketing techniques such as branding