The Evolving Brand-Consumer Relationship - The Impact of Business Cycles, Digital Platforms, and New Advertising Technologies

Unprecedented technological progress and pronounced business cycles were the defining factors of the past two decades and disrupted consumers’ everyday lives as well as brands’ established modus operandi. For example, the severe global financial crisis and the subsequent European debt crisis forced many consumers to tighten their belts and change what, where, and how they shop. As a consequence, long established relationships with brands were put to the test as consumers adopted and habituated new shopping behaviors that not only shaped their purchases during the recessions but even beyond (Lamey 2014; Lamey et al. 2007). On the technological side, digital platforms such as AirBnb and Uber unhinged entire industries (Eckhardt et al. 2019; Parker, Van Alstyne, and Choudary 2016). At the same time, digital platforms have allowed brands to be consumers’ constant companions in various areas of their life such as money management, personal health, exercising, nutrition, and more (Ramaswamy and Ozcan 2016, 2018). Technological progress has also produced ever more sophisticated advertising tools that allow brands to target consumers with pinpoint accuracy and allow any brand irrespective of its advertising budget to address their specific (niche) target consumers using highly engaging ad formats such as online video advertising (Anderson 2006; Bergemann and Bonatti 2011; Van Laer et al. 2014). Evidently, these fundamental forces—business cycles, digital platforms, and new advertising technologies—have substantially affected consumers, brands, and their relationship. In three essays, my co-authors and I show empirically, experimentally, and conceptually how brands and consumers have reacted and adjusted to these changes and how their relationship thus evolved. In the first essay, we find that while business cycles put established consumer-brand relationships to the test, brands remain important to consumers even in recessions. They adjust their shopping strategies to allow themselves to keep consuming branded products, for example by switching to cheaper outlets or buying on promotion. The second essay shows that digital platforms are a powerful tool that allows brands to create and orchestrate superior value for consumers and thus become increasingly influential in their daily lives. We discuss how this development profoundly elevates the brand-consumer relationship. The third essay, presents insights into skippable ads, an advertising format specific to digital channels. It transforms consumers’ traditional role in the advertising context from a captive audience to an empowered one that is granted the option to skip ads. My results show that, counter-intuitively, this is not only perceived positively by consumers but may disrupt their advertising viewing experience. Thus, I present strategies for advertisers that mitigate the adverse effects of skippable ads and improve branding

Intron-containing algal transgenes mediate efficient recombinant gene expression in the green microalga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

Baier T, Wichmann J, Kruse O, Lauersen KJ. Intron-containing algal transgenes mediate efficient recombinant gene expression in the green microalga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Nucleic Acids Research. 2018;46(13):6909-6919.Among green freshwater microalgae, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii has the most comprehensive and developed molecular toolkit, however, advanced genetic and metabolic engineering driven from the nuclear genome is generally hindered by inherently low transgene expression levels. Progressive strain development and synthetic promoters have improved the capacity of transgene expression; however, the responsible regulatory mechanisms are still not fully understood. Here, we elucidate the sequence specific dynamics of native regulatory element insertion into nuclear transgenes. Systematic insertions of the first intron of the ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase small subunit 2 (rbcS2i1) throughout codon-optimized coding sequences (CDS) generates optimized algal transgenes which express reliably in C. reinhardtii. The optimal rbcS2i1 insertion site for efficient splicing was systematically determined and improved gene expression rates were shown using a codon-optimized sesquiterpene synthase CDS. Sequential insertions of rbcS2i1 were found to have a step-wise additive effect on all levels of transgene expression, which is likely correlated to a synergy of transcriptional machinery recruitment and mimicking the short average exon lengths natively found in the C. reinhardtii genome. We further demonstrate the value of this optimization with five representative transgene examples and provide guidelines for the design of any desired sequence with this strategy

Tailored carbon partitioning for phototrophic production of (E)-α-bisabolene from the green microalga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

Wichmann J, Baier T, Wentnagel E, Lauersen KJ, Kruse O. Tailored carbon partitioning for phototrophic production of (E)-α-bisabolene from the green microalga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Metabolic Engineering. 2018;45:211-222

Oncological impact of perioperative blood transfusion in bladder cancer patients undergoing radical cystectomy: Do we need to consider storage time of blood units, donor age, or gender matching?

Background The oncological impact of perioperative blood transfusions (PBTs) of patients undergoing radical cystectomy (RC) because of bladder cancer (BCa) has been a controversial topic discussed in recent years. The main cause for the contradictory findings of existing studies might be the missing consideration of the storage time of red blood cell units (BUs), donor age, and gender matching. Study Design and Methods We retrospectively analyzed BCa patients who underwent RC in our department between 2004 and 2021. We excluded patients receiving BUs before RC, >10 BUs, or RC in a palliative setting. We assessed the effect of blood donor characteristics and storage time on overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) through univariate and multivariable Cox regression analysis. We also performed a propensity score matching with patients who received BUs and patients who did not on a 1:1 ratio. Results We screened 1692 patients and included 676 patients for the propensity score matching. In the multivariable analysis, PBT was independently associated with worse OS and CSS (p < .001). Postoperative transfusions were associated with better OS (p = .004) and CSS (p = .008) compared to intraoperative or mixed transfusions. However, there was no influence of blood donor age, storage time, or gender matching on prognosis. Discussion In our study of BCa patients undergoing RC, we demonstrate that PBT, especially if administered intraoperatively, is an independent risk factor for a worse prognosis. However, storage time, donor age, or gender matching did not negatively affect oncological outcomes. Therefore, the specific selection of blood products does not promise any benefits

Reconstruction of the lipid metabolism for the microalga Monoraphidium neglectum from its genome sequence reveals characteristics suitable for biofuel production

Bogen C, Al-Dilaimi A, Albersmeier A, et al. Reconstruction of the lipid metabolism for the microalga Monoraphidium neglectum from its genome sequence reveals characteristics suitable for biofuel production. BMC Genomics. 2013;14(1): 926.BACKGROUND: Microalgae are gaining importance as sustainable production hosts in the fields of biotechnology and bioenergy. A robust biomass accumulating strainof the genus Monoraphidium (SAG 48.87) was investigated in this work as apotential feedstock for biofuel production. The genome was sequenced, annotated, and key enzymes for triacylglycerol formation were elucidated. RESULTS: Monoraphidium neglectum was identified as an oleaginous species with favourable growth characteristics as well as a high potential for crude oil production, based on neutral lipid contents of approximately 21% (dry weight) under nitrogen starvation, composed of predominantly C18:1 and C16:0 fatty acids. Further characterization revealed growth in a relatively wide pH range and salt concentrations of up to 1.0% NaCl, in which the cells exhibited larger structures. This first full genome sequencing of a member of the Selenastraceae revealed a diploid, approximately 68 Mbp genome with a G + C content of 64.7%. The circular chloroplast genome was assembled to a 135,362 bp single contig, containing 67 protein-coding genes. The assembly of the mitochondrial genome resulted in two contigs with an approximate total size of 94 kb, the largest known mitochondrial genome within algae. 16,761 protein-coding genes were assigned to the nuclear genome. Comparison of gene sets with respect to functional categories revealed a higher gene number assigned to the category "carbohydrate metabolic process" and in "fatty acid biosynthetic process" in M. neglectum when compared to Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and Nannochloropsis gaditana, indicating a higher metabolic diversity for applications in carbohydrate conversions of biotechnological relevance. CONCLUSIONS: The genome of M. neglectum, as well as the metabolic reconstruction of crucial lipid pathways, provides new insights into the diversity of the lipid metabolism in microalgae. The results of this work provide a platform to encourage the development of this strain for biotechnological applications and production concepts

Efficient phototrophic production of a high-value sesquiterpenoid from the eukaryotic microalga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

Lauersen KJ, Baier T, Wichmann J, et al. Efficient phototrophic production of a high-value sesquiterpenoid from the eukaryotic microalga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Metabolic Engineering. 2016;38:331-343

Patchoulol production with metabolically engineered Corynebacterium glutamicum

Henke NA, Wichmann J, Baier T, et al. Patchoulol production with metabolically engineered Corynebacterium glutamicum. Genes. 2018;9(4): 219.Patchoulol is a sesquiterpene alcohol and an important natural product for the perfume industry. Corynebacterium glutamicum is the prominent host for the fermentative production of amino acids with an average annual production volume of ~6 million tons. Due to its robustness and well established large-scale fermentation, C. glutamicum has been engineered for the production of a number of value-added compounds including terpenoids. Both C40 and C50 carotenoids, including the industrially relevant astaxanthin, and short-chain terpenes such as the sesquiterpene valencene can be produced with this organism. In this study, systematic metabolic engineering enabled construction of a patchoulol producing C. glutamicum strain by applying the following strategies: (i) construction of a farnesyl pyrophosphate-producing platform strain by combining genomic deletions with heterologous expression of ispA from Escherichia coli; (ii) prevention of carotenoid-like byproduct formation; (iii) overproduction of limiting enzymes from the 2-c-methyl-d-erythritol 4-phosphate (MEP)-pathway to increase precursor supply; and (iv) heterologous expression of the plant patchoulol synthase gene PcPS from Pogostemon cablin. Additionally, a proof of principle liter-scale fermentation with a two-phase organic overlay-culture medium system for terpenoid capture was performed. To the best of our knowledge, the patchoulol titers demonstrated here are the highest reported to date with up to 60 mg L−1 and volumetric productivities of up to 18 mg L−1 d−1

Investigating the dynamics of recombinant protein secretion from a microalgal host

Lauersen KJ, Huber I, Wichmann J, et al. Investigating the dynamics of recombinant protein secretion from a microalgal host. Journal of Biotechnology. 2015;215:62-71

Abdominal aortic aneurysm is associated with a variant in low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1

Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a common cause of morbidity and mortality and has a significant heritability. We carried out a genome-wide association discovery study of 1866 patients with AAA and 5435 controls and replication of promising signals (lead SNP with a p value &lt; 1 × 10-5) in 2871 additional cases and 32,687 controls and performed further follow-up in 1491 AAA and 11,060 controls. In the discovery study, nine loci demonstrated association with AAA (p &lt; 1 × 10-5). In the replication sample, the lead SNP at one of these loci, rs1466535, located within intron 1 of low-density-lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1 (LRP1) demonstrated significant association (p = 0.0042). We confirmed the association of rs1466535 and AAA in our follow-up study (p = 0.035). In a combined analysis (6228 AAA and 49182 controls), rs1466535 had a consistent effect size and direction in all sample sets (combined p = 4.52 × 10-10, odds ratio 1.15 [1.10-1.21]). No associations were seen for either rs1466535 or the 12q13.3 locus in independent association studies of coronary artery disease, blood pressure, diabetes, or hyperlipidaemia, suggesting that this locus is specific to AAA. Gene-expression studies demonstrated a trend toward increased LRP1 expression for the rs1466535 CC genotype in arterial tissues; there was a significant (p = 0.029) 1.19-fold (1.04-1.36) increase in LRP1 expression in CC homozygotes compared to TT homozygotes in aortic adventitia. Functional studies demonstrated that rs1466535 might alter a SREBP-1 binding site and influence enhancer activity at the locus. In conclusion, this study has identified a biologically plausible genetic variant associated specifically with AAA, and we suggest that this variant has a possible functional role in LRP1 expression