THE IMPACT OF EMOTIONAL BRANDING ON CONSUMERS IN CROATIAN NORTHERN REGION

Nowadays, brands are perceived at the level of feelings and identity, which are one of the most important features by which they differ from each other. According to this, today’s companies are working on increasing the emotional connection between consumers and brands, which is known as a term emotional branding. The main purpose of emotional branding is the systematic integration of all senses in order to cause a certain emotion and induce the consumer to purchase products or to use services. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to describe the role of emotions in creating a brand and discover the extent to which consumers are emotionally attached to a particular brand. The paper is created as a result of a research study established for writing a master’s thesis

KOJI SU IZAZOVI INTERNETSKE MARKETINŠKE KOMUNIKACIJE PREPOZNATI OD STRANE HRVATSKIH MARKETINŠKIH AGENCIJA?

It is indisputable that the internet leaves an indelible mark on many changes in the world every day. But what is important to us as marketers is what changes the internet leaves on communication between businesses and consumers. It is certainly important to point out that, from a business perspective, the internet marketing communication is the one that takes their business to a whole new dimension, which they, on a daily basis, must adapt to, given the challenges they face if they want to survive on the market. But they also must adapt to that challenges to gain some form of competitive advantage. This paper provides an insight into which challenges marketing agencies are facing on the Croatian market in this most dynamic field of marketing discipline. In addition to the theoretical basis that this paper shows, the paper also presents the results of quantitative research conducted using a questionnaire on digital marketing managers of Croatian marketing agencies.Neupitno je kako internet svakim danom ostavlja neopisiv trag na brojne promjene u svijetu, no ono što je za nas kao markentinške stručnjake važno jest kakve promjene internet ostavlja na komunikaciju između poduzeća i potrošača. Svakako je važno istaknuti kako iz perspektive poduzeća upravo internetska marketinška komunikacija dobiva jednu potpuno novu dimenziju njihova poslovanja kojem se oni svakodnevno moraju prilagođavati s obzirom na izazove koje im se javljaju ako žele opstati na tržištu, ali i ostvariti neki oblik konkurentskih prednosti. Ovaj rad upravo pruža uvid u izazove koji se nalaze pred marketinškim agencijama na hrvatskom tržištu u najdinamičnijem području marketinške discipline. Osim teorijske osnove koja pretraživanjem sekundarnih podataka prikazuje koji su to izazovi, u radu se prikazuju rezultati kvantitativnih istraživanja provedenih pomoću anketnog upitnika na menadžerima hrvatskih marketinških agencija

ULOGA MARKETINGA EDUKATIVNOG SADRŽAJA – ANALIZA STUDIJE SLUČAJA ICT TVRTKI

This paper explores the role of educational content marketing, within a digital marketing strategy, applied by software and application development companies for their business-to-business communication. Qualitative research for collecting primary data was conducted through in-depth interviews on a non-probability sample of experts. Considering the complexity of the products and business models of the companies from the sample, the purpose of the research was to determine how those companies establish a business relationship, how they use educational content marketing and what is its role in communication with other companies. The results indicate that the role of educational content marketing, for the companies in the sample, is crucial in expanding the market, creating new business opportunities, as well as in the sales process, especially in operations of high financial value.Ovaj rad istražuje ulogu marketinga edukativnog sadržaja, kao dijela strategije digitalnog marketinga koji primjenjuju poduzeća koja razvijaju softvere i aplikacije te se njime koriste u komunikaciji s drugim poduzećima. Za potrebe prikupljanja primarnih podataka provedeno je kvalitativno istraživanje s pomoću dubinskih intervjua na namjernom uzorku, uzorku stručnjaka. S obzirom na složenost proizvoda i poslovnih modela poduzeća iz uzorka, svrha istraživanja bila je utvrditi kako ona uspostavljaju poslovne odnose, kako se koriste marketing edukativnim sadržajem te koja je njegova uloga u komunikaciji s drugim poduzećima. Rezultati provedenog istraživanja ukazuju na to da je uloga marketinga edukativnog sadržaja, za poduzeća iz uzorka, iznimno važna u nastojanju širenja tržišta, otvaranja novih poslovnih prilika, kao i u procesu prodaje, posebice u poslovima visoke financijske vrijednosti

UTJECAJ PANDEMIJE COVID-19 NA ONLINE PRODAJU IZ PERSPEKTIVE HRVATSKIH POTROŠAČA I PRODAVAČA

The popularity of online sales is growing and it is becoming an unavoidable part of people’s lives. The process of accepting this form of sales and its development was accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic, which caused the closure of physical stores, so people were forced to buy products and to use services online. Conducted desk research enabled collection of secondary data sources, based on which (i) a theoretical framework of paper was created; (ii) research objectives and questions were set; (iii) instruments for collecting primary data were created. The main objective of this paper is to determine the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on e-commerce. Firstly, from a consumers point of view, who had to adapt to the new situation and start buying products and services online, and secondly, from the sellers’ perspective, who had to quickly adapt to new business conditions and shift their focus from physical to online sales. The paper provides an insight into the results of primary data collected by quantitative descriptive research using questionnaires as a collection instrument. Research results show whether there has been a change in consumer buying habits during the pandemic, and what adjustment has been represented by the sellers to meet volatile consumers needs during the pandemic.Prodaja putem interneta danas je sve popularnija i postaje nezaobilazan dio ljudskih života. Proces prihvaćanja ovog oblika prodaje i njezin razvoj ubrzala je pandemija Covid-19 koja je uzrokovala zatvaranje fizičkih prodavaonica, stoga su ljudi bili primorani kupovati proizvode i koristiti usluge putem interneta. Provedeno istraživanje za stolom omogućilo je prikupljanje sekundarnih izvora podataka na temelju kojih je (i) kreiran teorijski okvir rada; (ii) su postavljeni istraživački ciljevi i pitanja; (iii) su kreirani instrumenti prikupljanja primarnih podataka. Glavni cilj ovog rada je utvrditi utjecaj pandemije Covid-19 na e-trgovinu. Prvo, sa stajališta potrošača koji su se morali prilagoditi novonastaloj situaciji i početi kupovati proizvode i usluge putem interneta, i drugo, iz perspektive prodavača koji su se morali brzo prilagoditi novim uvjetima poslovanja i preusmjeriti fokus s fizičke na online prodaju. Rad daje uvid u rezultate primarnih podataka prikupljenih kvantitativnim opisnim istraživanjima pomoću anketnih upitnika kao instrumenta prikupljanja. Rezultati provedenih istraživanja pokazuju utjecaj pandemije na moguće promjene u kupovnim navikama potrošača te kakvu su prilagodbu prodavači izvršili kako bi tijekom pandemije zadovoljili potrebe potrošača

UTJECAJ PANDEMIJE COVID-19 NA ONLINE PRODAJU IZ PERSPEKTIVE HRVATSKIH POTROŠAČA I PRODAVAČA

The popularity of online sales is growing and it is becoming an unavoidable part of people’s lives. The process of accepting this form of sales and its development was accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic, which caused the closure of physical stores, so people were forced to buy products and to use services online. Conducted desk research enabled collection of secondary data sources, based on which (i) a theoretical framework of paper was created; (ii) research objectives and questions were set; (iii) instruments for collecting primary data were created. The main objective of this paper is to determine the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on e-commerce. Firstly, from a consumers point of view, who had to adapt to the new situation and start buying products and services online, and secondly, from the sellers’ perspective, who had to quickly adapt to new business conditions and shift their focus from physical to online sales. The paper provides an insight into the results of primary data collected by quantitative descriptive research using questionnaires as a collection instrument. Research results show whether there has been a change in consumer buying habits during the pandemic, and what adjustment has been represented by the sellers to meet volatile consumers needs during the pandemic.Prodaja putem interneta danas je sve popularnija i postaje nezaobilazan dio ljudskih života. Proces prihvaćanja ovog oblika prodaje i njezin razvoj ubrzala je pandemija Covid-19 koja je uzrokovala zatvaranje fizičkih prodavaonica, stoga su ljudi bili primorani kupovati proizvode i koristiti usluge putem interneta. Provedeno istraživanje za stolom omogućilo je prikupljanje sekundarnih izvora podataka na temelju kojih je (i) kreiran teorijski okvir rada; (ii) su postavljeni istraživački ciljevi i pitanja; (iii) su kreirani instrumenti prikupljanja primarnih podataka. Glavni cilj ovog rada je utvrditi utjecaj pandemije Covid-19 na e-trgovinu. Prvo, sa stajališta potrošača koji su se morali prilagoditi novonastaloj situaciji i početi kupovati proizvode i usluge putem interneta, i drugo, iz perspektive prodavača koji su se morali brzo prilagoditi novim uvjetima poslovanja i preusmjeriti fokus s fizičke na online prodaju. Rad daje uvid u rezultate primarnih podataka prikupljenih kvantitativnim opisnim istraživanjima pomoću anketnih upitnika kao instrumenta prikupljanja. Rezultati provedenih istraživanja pokazuju utjecaj pandemije na moguće promjene u kupovnim navikama potrošača te kakvu su prilagodbu prodavači izvršili kako bi tijekom pandemije zadovoljili potrebe potrošača

Istraživanje čimbenika utjecaja na izbjegavanje personaliziranih oglasa na Facebooku

Ad personalization is becoming the dominant promotional tactic, further enhanced by new technologies applications. Greater efficiency is the main goal of such an advertising approach, but it can cause the appearance of the so-called “privacy paradox” that can induce negative consumer reactions in terms of avoiding such ads. This paper investigates the factors influencing the avoidance of personalized ads communicated through the social network Facebook. Part of the research model deals with the impact of perceived personalization, perceived irritation, and perceived privacy concerns on skepticism towards advertising and advertising avoidance. Furthermore, the empirical research was conducted on data collected through the Facebook and WhatsApp mobile applications. Following the obtained results, there is no negative effect of perceived personalization to skepticism towards advertising while it exists toward advertising avoidance. Furthermore, a positive effect of perceived irritation to skepticism towards advertising does not exist, but positive effects to ad avoidance do. The direct positive effect of perceived privacy concerns to skepticism and ad avoidance was not found. Also, skepticism about personalized ads was found not to be positively associated with avoiding personalized ads. In addition to new insights, the results can help design and implement promotional campaigns through social media technologies.Personalizacija oglasa postaje dominantna promotivna taktika koja se dodatno poboljšava primjenom novih tehnologija. Veća učinkovitost glavni je cilj takvog pristupa oglašavanju koji može uzrokovati i pojavu takozvanog „paradoksa privatnosti“ te time izazvati negativne reakcije potrošača u smislu izbjegavanja takvih oglasa. Ovaj rad istražuje čimbenike koji utječu na izbjegavanje personaliziranih oglasa komuniciranih putem društvene mreže Facebook. U okviru istraživačkog modela razmatra se utjecaj percipirane personalizacije, percipirane iritacije i percipirane zabrinutosti za privatnost na skepticizam prema oglasima i njihovom izbjegavanju. Provedeno je empirijsko istraživanje nad podacima prikupljenih putem mobilnih aplikacija Facebook i WhatsApp. U skladu s dobivenim rezultatima, utvrđeno je da ne postoji negativan utjecaj percipirane personalizacije na skepticizam prema oglasima dok postoji prema njihovom izbjegavanju. Izravni pozitivni utjecaj percipirane zabrinutosti za privatnost na skepticizam i izbjegavanje oglasa nije utvrđen. Utvrđeno je da pozitivan utjecaj percipirane iritacije oglasa na skepticizam ne postoji ali postoji vrlo jak utjecaj te varijable na izbjegavanje oglasa. Također, utvrđeno je da skepticizam prema personaliziranim oglasima nema pozitivan utjecaj na izbjegavanje personaliziranih oglasa. Osim novih spoznaja, rezultati ovog rada mogu biti korisni u osmišljavanju i provedbi promotivnih kampanja putem društvenih medija

ULOGA MARKETINGA EDUKATIVNOG SADRŽAJA – ANALIZA STUDIJE SLUČAJA ICT TVRTKI

This paper explores the role of educational content marketing, within a digital marketing strategy, applied by software and application development companies for their business-to-business communication. Qualitative research for collecting primary data was conducted through in-depth interviews on a non-probability sample of experts. Considering the complexity of the products and business models of the companies from the sample, the purpose of the research was to determine how those companies establish a business relationship, how they use educational content marketing and what is its role in communication with other companies. The results indicate that the role of educational content marketing, for the companies in the sample, is crucial in expanding the market, creating new business opportunities, as well as in the sales process, especially in operations of high financial value.Ovaj rad istražuje ulogu marketinga edukativnog sadržaja, kao dijela strategije digitalnog marketinga koji primjenjuju poduzeća koja razvijaju softvere i aplikacije te se njime koriste u komunikaciji s drugim poduzećima. Za potrebe prikupljanja primarnih podataka provedeno je kvalitativno istraživanje s pomoću dubinskih intervjua na namjernom uzorku, uzorku stručnjaka. S obzirom na složenost proizvoda i poslovnih modela poduzeća iz uzorka, svrha istraživanja bila je utvrditi kako ona uspostavljaju poslovne odnose, kako se koriste marketing edukativnim sadržajem te koja je njegova uloga u komunikaciji s drugim poduzećima. Rezultati provedenog istraživanja ukazuju na to da je uloga marketinga edukativnog sadržaja, za poduzeća iz uzorka, iznimno važna u nastojanju širenja tržišta, otvaranja novih poslovnih prilika, kao i u procesu prodaje, posebice u poslovima visoke financijske vrijednosti

INFLUENCE OF INFLUENCERS ON PURCHASING DECISION MAKING PROCESS - PERCEPTION OF CROATIAN INFLUENCERS

Rast društvenih mreža sa sobom je otvorio mogućnosti brojnim pojedincima koji su uvidjeli njihov potencijal. Tako fenomen utjecajnog marketinga, iako relativno nov pojam u svijetu marketinga, zadnjih nekoliko godina dobiva na značenju te se sve češće uključuje u media planove poduzeća. Pojedince koji su svojim trudom i plasiranjem sadržaja na društvene mreže dobile i niz sljedbenika nad kojim imaju mogućnost „utjecanja“ primijetila su i brojna poduzeća koja su odlučila upravo pomoću njih postići svoje marketinške ciljeve. Koliko ti pojedinci, nazivani i utjecajne osobe (engl. influenceri), zbilja mogu utjecati na kupce pitanje je koje je postavljeno prilikom pisanja ovog rada. Rad pruža teorijsku osnovu o pojmu utjecajnog marketinga kao i prikaz kvalitativnog istraživanja provedenog na utjecajnim osobama u Republici Hrvatskoj, sve kako bi se došlo do odgovora u kojoj mjeri oni utječu na kupovne odluke njihovih pratitelja te u kojoj fazi procesa donošenja odluke o kupnji je taj utjecaj najveći.The growth of social networks has opened up opportunities for many individuals who have realized the potential of social networks. Thus, the phenomenon of influencer marketing, although a relatively new concept in the world of marketing, has gained in importance in the last few years and is increasingly included in almost every company media plan. Individuals who, through their efforts and the placement of content on social networks, have gained a number of followers over whom they have the opportunity to "influence" have been noticed by numerous companies that have decided to use them in order to achieve their marketing goals. How much these individuals, also called influencers, can really influence customers is a question that was asked when writing this paper. The paper provides a theoretical basis on the concept of influencer marketing as well as a review of qualitative research conducted on influencers in the Republic of Croatia, all in order to find an answer to what extent they influence the purchasing decisions of their followers and at what stage of the purchasing decision making process their influence is the largest according to them

USAGE OF AFFILIATE MARETING AS A PART OF AN INTERNET MARKETING STRATEGY ON CROATIAN MARKET

Objašnjavanje potrebe za online dimenzijom marketinga u današnje doba gotovo da i nije potrebno. Ipak, zbog izuzetno brze pojave na tržištu, te još bržeg razvoja, izostala je komponenta kvalitetnog poznavanja i razumijevanja osnovnih pojmova internet marketinga. Stoga ovaj rad kroz kratke crte na deduktivan način gradi sliku internetskog marketinga granajući ga prema njegovim pojedinim oblicima. Sam rad se najviše usmjerava na pojam i ulogu udruženog marketinga kao strategije pogodne za B2B poslovanje, gdje se objašnjava princip djelovanja putem udruživanja poslovnih subjekata na internetu. Ideja na kojoj sve počiva jest da poslovni subjekti „besplatno“ pruže prostor za promoviranje drugih poduzeća na vlastitim internetskim stranicama. Što najčešće rezultira pozitivnim rezultatima za obje strane: kako za poduzeće koje se promovira tako i za same internetske stranice koje ovu uslugu pružaju. Da bi se sama teorija potkrijepila dokazima provedeno je primarno istraživanje koje će potvrditi teze o potrebi njegovog daljnjeg razvijanja i promoviranja s obzirom na činjenicu da je udruženi marketing slabo zastupljen u Republici Hrvatskoj, što pokazuju prikupljeni sekundarni i primarni podaci. S obzirom da mnogi smatraju kako ovaj oblik internetskog marketinga još uvijek nije dovoljno kvalitetno predstavljen u Hrvatskoj kako bi se njezina raznolikost mogla najbolje prilagoditi pojedinom poslovnom subjektu ovim radom će se pružiti prikaz postojećeg stanja na tržištu te će se osim analize prikupljenih primarnih podataka ponuditi prijedlozi kako ovaj oblik internetskog marketinga koristiti u svrhu poboljšanja cjelokupne online marketinške strategije poduzeća.Explaining the need for an online marketing dimension for a company in present-day is almost unnecessary. However, due to the extremely rapid market emergence and even faster development, there was no component of good knowledge and understanding of the basic concepts of internet marketing. Therefore, this paper through the short lines draws the image of internet marketing in a deductive way, drawing it to its particular forms. The paper focuses on the notion and the role of affiliate marketing as a business-friendly strategy, where the principle of acting through the merging of business entities on the internet is explained. The idea behind everything is that business entities provide "free" space for promoting other businesses on their own web site. Which most often results in positive way for both sides: for the company being promoted and for the web pages that provides this kind of service. In order for the theory itself to be supported by evidence, research was carried out to collect primary data to confirm the thesis about the need for further development and promotion, given that affiliate marketing is poorly represented in Croatia, what we found out from collected secondary and primary data. Given that many of the marketers in Croatia believe that this form of internet marketing is still not sufficiently presented in this country and that its diversity can adopt the best as it can to a particular business entity. This work will provide an overview of the current market situation and will, in addition to the analysis of the collected primary data, offer proposals such as use of this form of internet marketing to improve the overall online marketing strategy of the company