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1 – 10 of 169Sarah Keller, A.J. Otjen, Mary McNally, Timothy J. Wilkinson, Brenda Dockery, Jennifer Leonard and Hayley Southworth
The purpose of this research project was to improve public awareness to improve public awareness of the importance of energy conservation and to improve the use of simple…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research project was to improve public awareness to improve public awareness of the importance of energy conservation and to improve the use of simple conservation strategies. A thorough evaluation of the net gain from the numerous energy campaigns rolled out to the public every year is lacking. This study conducted pre- and post-campaign surveys and focus groups to evaluate one campaign’s impact on self-reported energy behaviors.
Design/methodology/approach
The campaign used television public service announcements and a website to improve awareness of the city’s efforts to conserve energy and to increase individual energy conservation practices. Focus groups (n = 40) were used to identify common barriers to conservation, and pre- and post-surveys (n = 533, 479) were conducted to evaluate the campaign’s effectiveness.
Findings
Results indicated that the campaign increased positive changes in changing light bulbs and confidence in taking action to turn down thermostats, unplug devices and turn off lights. While follow-up research is needed on the precise mechanism of the psychological process at work, the findings are consistent with the concepts of self and response efficacy as needed components of any behavior change. The authors advocate the adoption of research-informed message design to maximize communication campaign effects.
Originality/value
This paper demonstrates how the combination of three prominent persuasion theories can be used to develop behavior change campaigns. Also, it is one of the few studies to evaluate the effectiveness of the Energy Star campaign.
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Sarah N. Keller and Timothy Wilkinson
This study aims to examine whether a community-based suicide prevention project could increase willingness to seek professional help for suicidal ideation among young people.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine whether a community-based suicide prevention project could increase willingness to seek professional help for suicidal ideation among young people.
Design/methodology/approach
Online surveys were administered at baseline (n = 224) and six months post-test (n = 217), consisting of the Risk Behavior Diagnosis scale; self-report questions on suicidality; willingness to engage with suicide prevention resources; and willingness to communicate with peers, family members, teachers or counselors about suicide.
Findings
A comparison of means within groups from pre- to post-test showed increases in self-efficacy for communicating about suicidal concerns with a teacher, school counselor or social worker; increases in self-efficacy for helping others; and increases in response-efficacy of interpersonal communication about suicide with a teacher, school counselor or social worker.
Practical implications
Young adults need to be willing and able to intervene in life-threatening situations affecting their peers. In step with narrative empowerment education, personal experiences can be used to communicatively reduce peer resistance to behavior change.
Originality/value
Health communicators tend to rely on overly didactic education and awareness-raising when addressing suicide prevention. This research shows the importance of direct and personal forms of influence advocated by social marketing professionals.
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Sarah Keller and Timothy Wilkinson
The purpose of this study is to determine the impact of a senior service advertising campaign designed to increase volunteerism and financial donations among bystanders.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to determine the impact of a senior service advertising campaign designed to increase volunteerism and financial donations among bystanders.
Design/methodology/approach
A cross-sectional mail survey was administered to 2,500 adults; 384 usable responses were obtained. Survey responses were analyzed by level of exposure and involvement in senior care.
Findings
High-involvement individuals viewed the ads more favorably and exhibited stronger senior caretaking intentions. Low-involvement consumers were less likely to see their own potential contributions to senior care services as effective.
Research limitations/implications
Characterizing involvement in terms of awareness, awareness involvement, perceived severity and perceived susceptibility, provides a starting point for future examinations of the relationship between involvement, perceived efficacy and various forms of promotion.
Practical implications
From a practitioner’s standpoint, this study identifies specific features of campaign design and audience profiling that might increase the effectiveness of bystander interventions. This study offers not only constructs that can be used for identifying particular audience subsets but also illustrates the practical ways in which perceived susceptibility and perceived response efficacy to a given issue can be addressed through a mass media campaign.
Social implications
Snowballing healthcare costs coupled with an avalanche of baby boomers entering the elderly phase of the life cycle make the need for bystander involvement in the lives of seniors increasingly important.
Originality/value
With limited theoretical and practical guidance on how to motivate bystanders to engage in prosocial behaviors, health communicators and marketers are challenged to address a vast range of public health issues that require citizen engagement. The research reviewed and presented here indicates the hope for engaging the public to become active players in making the nation a safer and healthier place.
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Sarah Mischler and Lilian Pichot
The aim of this study is to examine the effect of brand attribution on consumer behaviour. The authorsare interested in finding out if consumers are more likely to purchase a new…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this study is to examine the effect of brand attribution on consumer behaviour. The authorsare interested in finding out if consumers are more likely to purchase a new sports product when it is attributed to a brand. The authors are interested in finding out if the brand positively influences the consumer's appreciation of the product in the case of the launch of a new product.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors completed a quantitative survey with 320 people who are familiar with the toning concept, aged between 20 and 45 years old. The questionnaire was conducted face to face in six large cities in France.
Findings
Main results show that belief in the effectiveness of the product is positively correlated with purchase intention. However, the attribution of the product to the brand does not guarantee belief in the effectiveness of the product nor does it guarantee purchase intention. Brand credibility has a positive impact on belief in the effectiveness of the product. Furthermore, exposure to advertising allows the product to be attributed to the brand. Yet, it does not have an impact on belief in the product's effectiveness or purchase intention.
Originality/value
Whereas studying consumer behaviour is not new, analysing consumer perceptions of innovative products and how these perceptions relate to the product brand can provide interesting implications both for consumer behaviour research and from a practical perspective for brands. Indeed, this paper shows the importance of exposure to advertising for a product to be attributed to a brand but this is not enough to induce its purchase. It is the credibility of the brand in the product category as well as the belief in the effectiveness of the product that can lead consumers to buy it.
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Dwi Suhartanto, Christopher Gan, Ira Siti Sarah and Setiawan Setiawan
This paper aims to integrate and examine three loyalty routes (i.e. service quality, emotional attachment and religiosity) in developing customer loyalty towards Islamic banking.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to integrate and examine three loyalty routes (i.e. service quality, emotional attachment and religiosity) in developing customer loyalty towards Islamic banking.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from 412 Islamic bank customers from Indonesia. Variance-based structural equation modelling was applied to evaluate the association between service quality, emotional attachment, religiosity and customer loyalty.
Findings
This study reveals that customer loyalty is more driven by emotional attachment and religiosity rather than by perceived service quality. Although not directly affecting customer loyalty, service quality strengthens customer satisfaction towards Islamic banks.
Practical implications
This study provides an opportunity for Islamic bank managers to increase their customer loyalty through the development of emotional attachment and religiosity. To improve customer loyalty, this study suggests that Islamic banks have to provide prompt, accurate and non-personal service. It is also important for Islamic bank managers to keep the bank operation compliant with the Sharia law.
Originality/value
This study is the first attempt to assess the three loyalty routes simultaneously in influencing customer loyalty.
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Ashleigh-Jane Thompson, Andrew J. Martin, Sarah Gee and Andrea N. Geurin
As the popularity of social media increases, sports brands must develop specific strategies to use them to enhance fan loyalty and build brand equity. The purpose of this paper is…
Abstract
Purpose
As the popularity of social media increases, sports brands must develop specific strategies to use them to enhance fan loyalty and build brand equity. The purpose of this paper is to explore how two social media platforms were utilised by the Grand Slam tennis events to achieve branding and relationship marketing goals.
Design/methodology/approach
A content analytic design was employed to examine Twitter and Facebook posts from the official accounts during, and post-, each respective event.
Findings
Both sites were utilised to cultivate long-term relationships with fans and develop brand loyalty, rather than to undertake short-term marketing activations. However, these sites appear to serve a different purpose, and therefore unique strategies are required to leverage opportunities afforded by each. Interestingly, brand associations were utilised more frequently during the post-event time period.
Practical implications
This study offers practitioners with useful insight on branding and relationship-building strategies across two social platforms. These results suggest that strategies appear dependent on the event, timeframe and specific platform. Moreover, the events’ differences in post use and focus may also indicate some differences related to event branding in an international context. Furthermore, sport organisations should look to leverage creative strategies to overcome limitations that platform-specific functionality may impose.
Originality/value
This study offers unique insights brand-building efforts in an international event setting, which differ in a range of contextual factors that impact on social media utilisation.
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Sarah Song Southworth and Jung Ha-Brookshire
In response to today’s marketplace in which many Asian brands are trying to expand their businesses into Western nations, this study investigated the strategic use of cultural…
Abstract
Purpose
In response to today’s marketplace in which many Asian brands are trying to expand their businesses into Western nations, this study investigated the strategic use of cultural authenticity that Asian brands may employ for their success. Although the benefits of using cultural heritage in brand strategies have been noted by past literature, the efficacies of how Asian brands can use brand logo designs to positively influence their brand success have not been studied. To fill this gap, the purpose of this paper is to examine how Chinese brands can increase willingness to try among US consumers by establishing brand uniqueness via culturally authentic brand logo designs.
Design/methodology/approach
The data from 289 respondents via online between-subjects factorial experimental research surveys were collected using a national US population as the sample frame. The Chinese brand logos communicating Asian heritage were created by manipulating the cultural authenticity of the brand logo mark and the language of the logotype.
Findings
The results suggested that the Asian-themed brand logo is an important tool in exuding a Chinese brand’s sense of cultural authenticity to US consumers. In turn, the perception of cultural authenticity for the Chinese brand positively influenced the US consumers’ perceptions of the brand’s uniqueness, which led to greater willingness to try the brand.
Originality/value
The research provides empirical insights into how “Asian-ness” can be manifested via brand logos to convey cultural authenticity as well as to build perceived brand uniqueness and the willingness to try among US consumers.
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Sarah J. Kelly, Bettina Cornwell and Kiran Singh
The practice whereby a non-official sponsor brand attempts to “ambush” an official sponsor’s rights continues to threaten sporting events. A key motivator of the ensuing…
Abstract
Purpose
The practice whereby a non-official sponsor brand attempts to “ambush” an official sponsor’s rights continues to threaten sporting events. A key motivator of the ensuing regulatory response is grounded in the ambiguity that ambush marketing generates, namely, by obscuring public awareness of the legitimate sponsor. However, the cognitive processes underpinning sponsorship identification have only recently been investigated empirically. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of ambush advertising on sponsorship memory.
Design/methodology/approach
A 2 (brand advertising: sponsorship-linked vs non-sponsorship-linked) × 2 (ambush advertisement: ambush advertisement vs filler) experimental design was used to test the impact of exposure on sponsor recall and recognition.
Findings
The results indicate that exposure to ambush advertising has adverse effects cognitively. When presented with a sponsorship-linked advertisement and an ambush advertisement, the participants had diminished recall of who the legitimate sponsor was, and were less likely to recognize them.
Research limitations/implications
This work has important theoretical implications in that it draws together the existing literature on sponsorship, advertising and cognitive fields. Moreover, on a practical level, this work informs the debate on increased regulatory intervention into ambushing practices, which is centered on tensions between balancing fair marketing practice with the rights of sponsors and event organizers.
Originality/value
To date, there is a paucity of research that examines the effects of ambushing in a sports sponsorship context. The unique contribution of this study is that it shows the process through which ambushing advertising adversely impacts sponsors’ rights.
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