Beating,ditching and hiding: consumers’ everyday resistance to marketing

ABSTRACT

This article illuminates consumers’ views of marketing in light of theories of resistance. It argues that consumers engage in resistance to the power of marketing through their everyday actions and also through the ways they construct their accounts of these actions. It identifies three theoretical approaches to resistance (hegemonic, relational and autonomous). These are used to discuss consumers’ accounts of marketing collected through 78 personal interviews in which participants were asked to describe marketing and provide examples of their experiences with marketing as they defined it. Through this, the study uncovers various forms of consumer resistance, which can often go unnoticed. These are conceptualised through the notion of everyday resistance to marketing and are used to challenge existing marketing theory and develop paths for future research.     

How to derive consensus among various marketing journal rankings?

Despite the increasing popularity of journal rankings to evaluate the quality of research contributions, the individual rankings for journals that ranked below the top tier of publications usually feature only modest agreement. Attempts to merge rankings into meta-rankings suffer from some methodological issues, such as mixed measurement scales and incomplete data. This paper addresses the issue of how to construct suitable aggregates of individual journal rankings, using an optimization-based consensus ranking approach. The authors apply the proposed method to a subset of marketing-related journals from a list of collected journal rankings. Next, the paper studies the stability of the derived consensus solution, and the degeneration effects that occur when excluding journals and/or rankings. Finally, the authors investigate the similarities/dissimilarities of the consensus with a naive meta-ranking and with individual rankings. The results show that, even though journals are not uniformly ranked, one may derive a consensus ranking with considerably high agreement with the individual rankings.     

Alert or oblivious? Factors underlying consumer responses to marketing stimuli

Recently published studies have introduced consumer researchers to uses of priming theory in marketing messages. A two‐factor model of assimilation and contrast effects has been proposed which focuses on aspects of message context and cognitive resource differences between consumers. However, these accounts do not consider an important additional factor pertinent to the production of category‐based contrast effects in response to marketing communications. This article discusses recent priming research and presents theoretical discussion in support of the putative third factor of consumer wariness for predicting judgmental outcomes of priming effects in consumer market settings. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Multichannel marketing: the operational construct and firms’ motivation to adopt

Multichannel marketing has been gaining attention to its importance in both practice and research in the recent years with the rapid diffusion of Information Communication Technology. Due to the relative recency and rapid proliferation of research in the subject, the literature lacks a well-defined construct of multichannel marketing generalizable to different types of firms, and lacks understanding of the actual reasons that firms adopt multichannel marketing. Through comparing and complementing the extant literature with practitioners’ perspectives from interviews with 32 Italian firms, the authors propose a comprehensive and generalizable framework of the multichannel marketing construct, and identify and categorize the firms’ motivations to adopt the multichannel marketing practice. Furthermore, some unforeseen but interesting factors emerged from the interviews. Future research opportunities and managerial implications of the study are discussed.     

Marketing social marketing to commercial partners: what's in it for them?

Commercial partnerships in social marketing have grown increasingly important in the context of diminishing resources from international donors in developing countries. In 1997, the Futures Group International (Futures) negotiated an agreement with Pharmacia & Upjohn/Brazil to introduce Depo-Provera, a 3-month injectable contraceptive, at a social marketing price with strong consumer marketing support. The key to the collaboration was to demonstrate that making Depo-Provera accessible to low-income consumers was a viable marketing strategy. The author describes the process of designing, negotiating, and implementing the successful commercial partnership. Brazilian women stand to gain the most from the partnership between Futures and Pharmacia & Upjohn/Brazil, for in the absence of such a coordinated effort, Depo-Provera would be available to only upper-income, breast-feeding women whose only source of information on the method would be private physicians. The partnership will bring Depo-Provera to a broader segment of Brazil's women.     

From restricted to complex exchange and beyond: social marketing’s change agenda

ABSTRACT

The forward thinking body of social marketing knowledge, rooted in commercial marketing tools, suffers from two potentially interlinked crisis of identity. First, there is the question of behavioural change to address difficult social problems. This embraces the development of co-ordinated multi-domain approaches for large scale social transformation. Second, there is the concept of exchange, the defining characteristic of social marketing yet problematic and the least researched of its benchmark criteria. Recognising the centrality of exchange, we address the broadening social marketing discourse, suggesting a focus beyond restricted to complex exchanges. This paper presents the insights from the application of Interactive Management, a system-based methodology, embracing a systemic change and a complex exchange agenda. Our case study finds the contexts for restricted and complex exchanges through barriers as well as structural and influence maps. Understanding complex exchanges closes the gap between the theoretical and practical debates surrounding contemporary social marketing and the role and function of exchange theory.     

Ambush marketing: Is confusion to blame for the flickering of the flame?

Previous studies about the use of ambush marketing during major global sports events like the Olympics concentrated on the battle between ambush marketers versus official sponsors, and their success or failure to create a high level of recall or recognition. Almost no attention has been paid to the role event organizers are playing in this battle. This article presents the view that the Olympic event organizers are partially to blame for the growing use of ambush marketing, and the indifference that consumers exhibit to the use of ambush marketing. Data collected from a random sample of 1,500 consumers following the conclusion of the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games reveal that consumers exhibit a lack of knowledge and confusion about the rights of official sponsors, the different levels of sponsorship, and the commitment to the event that is associated with each sponsorship level. Furthermore, the results demonstrate consumers' apathy to the use of ambush marketing. Some implications and actions that event organizers should take to improve consumer knowledge about the role of sponsors and to increase consumer public opinion against ambushers are suggested. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

What are you?: pragmatic,self-confident, #hashtag or a vital senior? Using marketing to curb alcoholism and encourage healthy consumption!

From a public administration approach, alcohol consumption is responsible for 3.8% of overall mortality. From a private approach, companies in the alcohol industry are faced with increasing competition, which forces them to focus their business more while promoting responsible consumption.

In this scene, an empirical investigation was carried out to determine the individual and environmental factors with most impact on alcohol consumption in the Spanish market. 1031 valid responses were obtained. Using multivariate techniques, four different consumer groups of highly alcoholic vs. slightly alcoholic beverages were identified: Pragmatic group; Self-confident group; #hashtag group and Vital Seniors group. Based on the variables (individual and environmental) that significantly define each cluster, two groups of managerial implications were stated: (i) four to recommend private managers how to reach each cluster of alcohol consumers; (ii) three to recommend public authorities how to deal with the most problematic areas (curb alcoholism & encourage healthy consumption).     

‘The knowledgeable marketing practitioner’: practice and professional knowing in marketing work

ABSTRACT

This paper examines the knowledge constructs that professionals draw upon when engaging in marketing work. Our conceptual approach stems from a critical analysis of marketing work foregrounding the practitioners’ professional knowledge and practice of marketing work. We identify 13 pertinent knowledge constructs–some of which are illustrated by vignettes–showcasing the shared and multifaceted nature of professional knowledge in a small- and medium-sized enterprise. By exploring how practitioners deploy their knowledge of marketing in practice, we conclude what the marketing discipline can learn from professional knowing. We contribute to the marketing work literature by considering the ontological role of professional knowing in dereifying marketing work from textbook knowledge along with its implications for the critical understanding of the perceived gap between marketing theorising and practice.     

How important is marketing efficiency?

The best practice, key indicator of marketing performance is widely claimed to be Return on Investment (ROI). This paper takes issue both with ROI and the relative level of attention given to marketing efficiency. It argues that achieving integrated marketing and corporate goals is far more important, namely marketing effectiveness. The aim of marketing is the sourcing and harvesting of cash flow the cash flow which is the lifeblood of the business. The intangible asset, brand equity, is the store of created demand not yet converted into sales and needs to be taken into account. Thus marketing differs from other types of expenditure and should be treated accordingly.     

From reviving tradition to fostering innovation and changing marketing: the evolution of micro-brewing in the UK and US, 1980–2012

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to explore and examine the impressive growth of small and micro-breweries registered in the UK and US from the early 1980s. While the majority of British and American breweries continue to operate in spatially restricted areas and niche markets, a few businesses expanded significantly in terms of production and turnover, gradually acquiring larger shares of the market and competing with multinational producers at home as well as abroad. The cases of BrewDog and Sierra Nevada, used as case study examples in this article, provide an original account on how once-upon-a-time micro-breweries grew into well established companies by pursuing aggressive strategies in terms of marketing and innovation respectively.     

Alchemy in eden: entrepreneurialism, branding, and food marketing in the United States, 1880–1920

Through an investigation into the origins of American food marketing, this dissertation reveals how branding—specifically, the centennial brands Quaker Oats, Coca-Cola, and Crisco—came to underpin much of today's market-driven economy. In a manner akin to alchemy, the entrepreneurs behind these three firms recognized the inherent value of an agricultural Eden, then found ways to convert common, low-cost agricultural goods—oats, sugar, and cottonseed oil—into appealing, high-revenue branded food products. In the process, these ventures devised new demand-driven business models that exploited technology and communications advances, enabling them to tap a nascent consumer culture. Their pioneering efforts generated unprecedented profits, laid the foundation for iconic billion-dollar brands, and fundamentally changed how Americans make daily food choices.     

Curbing illegal marketing means through market means

China Chamber of Commerce for Imports and Exports of Machines and Electronic Products established a Motoreycle Division on April lst this year. The establishment of the division coincided with the promulgation of an interim regulation on motorbike sales.     

Luxury fashion brand customers’ perceptions of mobile marketing: Evidence of multiple communications and marketing channels

Previous studies have addressed some of the issues of customers' perceptions of mobile marketing, particularly the affordances of multiple communications and channels. Despite a proliferation of studies in this field, the theoretical exploration of luxury fashion customers' perceptions of multiple mobile communications and marketing channels remains at an exploratory stage. Drawing on the elaboration likelihood model and a social constructivist perspective, the current study conducted 37 in-depth interviews with Generation Z mobile luxury customers. We specifically examined how customers' emotionally and cognitively based perceptions emerge as they navigate multiple mobile marketing channels and message communications. Our model conceptualizes four elements of customers' perceptions of their mobile marketing journey that can drive mobile customer engagement and acquisition behavior. The integrative model opens up interesting avenues for further research on mobile marketing and luxury fashion consumers’ perceptions of the effects of multiple communications and marketing channels.     

What do we mean by sustainability marketing?

ABSTRACT

Sustainability in marketing has gained some traction over the years, yet we still remain uncertain about exactly what ‘sustainability marketing’ means. Utilising the Scopus database, a discourse analysis was conducted on nearly 200 published journal articles. The analysis categorises multiple sustainability views and outlines three conceptualisations of sustainability marketing: Auxiliary Sustainability Marketing (which focusses on the production of sustainable products), Reformative Sustainability Marketing (which extends the auxiliary approach through the promotion of sustainable lifestyles and behavioural changes) and Transformative Sustainability Marketing (which further extends the auxiliary and reformative approaches through the need for transformation of current institutions and norms, and critical reflection). This paper then discusses how these three conceptualisations might be used by scholars and practitioners to interpret and implement sustainability marketing going forward.     

The prospects for marketing strategy and the marketing discipline in Era V: is the prognosis promising or problematic?

ABSTRACT

I thank professors Bernard Jaworski, Brian Jones, Eric Shaw, and Rajan Varadarajan for commenting on my article on ‘Advancing Marketing Strategy in the Marketing Discipline and Beyond’ and for suggesting ways to advance marketing strategy and the overall discipline in marketing’s future ‘Era V’. This note responds to some of their queries, critiques, and recommendations related to the past, present, and future of marketing strategy and the marketing discipline.     

Let’s Get Real (Time)! The potential of real-time marketing to catalyze the sharing of brand messages

Abstract

Social media are increasingly populated with brand messages that are linked to timely events, a practice that is also known as real-time marketing (RTM). In this study, we examine whether RTM is an effective strategy to boost sharing behaviour, and if so, what moment- and content-related characteristics contribute to its effectiveness. A content analysis of brand tweets from Nielsen’s top-100 advertisers (n?=?1500) shows that RTM positively affects word of mouth. RTM is especially a more effective strategy when brand messages are linked with unpredictable events (vs. predictable). This can be explained by the meaningfulness dimension of creativity; brands make a more meaningful connection to timely moments in unpredictable RTM than in predictable RTM. Furthermore, we found support for the beneficial effects of moment-driven visuals; RTM messages are shared more when public events are visually integrated with those messages. No such effect was found for moment-driven hashtags.