Effects of offline ad content on online brand search: insights from super bowl advertising

Individuals watch TV shows while simultaneously and/or immediately searching online. Thus, the content of offline TV ads can affect online brand search, a key predictor of sales. Yet there are few insights on the effect of offline ad content on online brand search. We develop hypotheses relating the informational and emotional content of TV ads on online brand search, independently, and in conjunction with two attentional content elements of the ad campaign, prior media publicity and brand website prominence in the TV ad. We test the hypotheses using a quasi-experimental study, the telecast of TV ads on the annual Super Bowl event between 2004 and 2012 (n = 293 observations). We measure online brand search by online brand search lift, i.e., the growth in online brand search following the telecast of the brand’s ad on Super Bowl. The findings indicate that the informational content of the TV ad increases online brand search, while both attentional content elements decrease this effect. We find no support for the effect of emotional content of the TV ad on online brand search. Our findings extend marketing theory on online search and generate managerial implications for designing TV ads to increase online brand search.     

New Evidence of Psychological Barrier from the Oil Market

The authors examine how stock returns were affected when the oil price reached the psychological barrier of US$100 per barrel for the first time in history. Using an event study approach, 4 key results emerge. First, the authors show that a psychological barrier event in the oil market does affect stock returns. Second, they show that a psychological barrier event in the oil market is a source of return drift—a phenomenon well explained and understood with respect to nonoil news events. Third, the psychological barrier affects small/medium-sized stocks and not large stocks. Last, the authors show that successful trading strategies can be devised based on the information that the oil price psychological barrier significantly impacts the market and that it contributes to return drift.     

Creative Problem Solving in GSS Groups: Do Creative Styles Matter?

Creative groups drive innovation and organizational change and collaborative systems can be used to pool creative team members across the globe. How individual creative preference impacts the group’s creative performance across different creative problem solving phases in a GSS environment is not well understood. The objective of this exploratory study was to understand if there are differences in group performance when groups with varying member creative styles interact solely via GSS. We conducted a quasi-experimental study that compared the performance of groups with two alternate member styles interacting only via group support systems during a creative problem solving process. Ideator and Evaluator groups were compared on their divergent and convergent phase performance. Significant differences were found between the Ideator groups and Evaluator groups on idea fluency, idea flexibility, idea novelty, idea elaboration and solution cost-effectiveness. No significant differences were found between the performance of the two groups on solution feasibility and novelty. Results indicate that member creative styles play an important role in determining the performance of technology-supported groups. These results aid researchers and practitioners by improving their understanding of the performance of creative teams interacting solely via collaborative support systems for creative problem solving tasks.     

Self-consciousness and emotions driving femvertising: A path analysis of women’s attitude towards femvertising,forwarding intention and purchase intention

Femvertising is making huge waves as large numbers of brands are launching campaigns marketing feminism. While promoting products brands are selling empowerment to women through marketing campaigns. As women purchasing power is increasing they provide bigger opportunity to marketers, this is the reason femvertising is the hottest trend used by advertisers to attract women customers. This study investigates the influence of self-consciousness and Need for Emotion on Attitude towards femvertising. It further sheds light on the effect of Attitude towards femvertising on forwarding intention of ad and purchase intention of the advertised brand. ANOVA was conducted to analyze the relationship between demographic profile of women respondents with their attitude towards femvertising, forwarding intention and purchase intention. Results show that individuals Private & Public self-consciousness and need for emotion influence their attitude towards femvertising. Positive attitude towards femvertising influence their forwarding intention of ad but does to lead to purchase intent. The findings revealed that intention to forward and purchase intention varies across different age groups.     

Isolated gastric varices: Ultrasound detection

Isolated gastric varices (IGV) (resulting from varying etiologies) were diagnosed in six patients using ultrasound examination of the wall of the fluid-filled stomach. Small gastric varices are seen as circular or linear anechoic channels within the gastric wall without a significant intraluminal projection. Large varices are seen as anechoic, lobulated “bulging masses” projecting into the fluid-filled lumen of the stomach. Doppler technique assists in confirming the vascular nature of these lesions and thus avoids confusion with other hypoanechoic lesions of the gastric wall. The technique is simple, noninvasive, and extremely useful in diagnosing IGV in patients investigated for recurrent undiagnosed gastrointestinal bleeding.     

一场安静的革命

印度的精英教育体制在过去几十年中一直源源不断地生产着一流的科学家，工程技术人员和管理人员，这些精英们是推动20世纪90年代印度信息技术腾飞的关键力量。但是很少有人注意到，最近一个时期，印度的初等教育正在发生一场安静的革命。如果革命取得成功，将使印度青年一代掌握改进生产率的技术，并进而减少疾病、高出生率、饥饿、贫困所造成的沉重负担，全社会对于性别、种姓、部族和残疫人的态度也将发生深刻的变化。     

Attitudes and related perceptions about product placement: a comparison of Finland,Italy and the United States

The primary goal of our study is to explore cross-national differences in attitudes and perceptions about product placements, after investigating measurement invariance. Our cross-national focus includes three countries that have not been compared previously: Finland, Italy and the USA, which differ significantly in terms of the evolution/maturity of product placement markets, regulatory structures and cultural contexts. Motivated by earlier studies, we investigate the cross-national measurement invariance of scales to measure four research constructs related to the product placement domain (attitude toward credibility of advertising, attitude toward advertising-in-general, attitude toward placement-in-general and attitude toward regulation of placements). Our research also extends earlier work focused on similar constructs from a cross-national perspective. Results from multi-group analyses using a structural equation modeling approach indicate important and statistically significant differences in latent means between the three countries for all four constructs of research interest. Substantive explanations of these differences and their implications for future practice and research are discussed.     

Roundworm obstruction: Sonographic diagnosis

We describe the sonographic findings in five pediatric patients with roundworm obstruction. All patients were referred with a clinical diagnosis of acute appendicitis. On ultrasonography (US), an individual worm, when viewed along its longitudinal axis, appeared as a hypoechoic tubular structure with well-defined, echogenic walls. Frequently, the individual body segments could be distinctly visualized. The alimentary canal of the worm was seen either as a single central echogenic line (when in a collapsed state) or as two parallel hyperechoic bands with a hypoechoic center (when distended). When examined transaxially, the individual worm resembled a target with its circular, echogenic body wall and its central dot-like alimentary canal. On prolonged scanning, the worms always showed curling movements. In two patients, a bolus of worms mixed with fecal matter and air produced an unusual appearance of a complex, echogenic mass (helminthoma). Although, an individual worm occasionally resembled an inflammed appendix, visualization of the alimentary canal and individual body segments along with its curling movements helped establish the correct diagnosis. All patients promptly responded to a hypertonic saline enema and no patient was subjected to surgery. Sonographic findings in roundworm obstruction are fairly characteristics to advocate the routine use of sonography for diagnosing this entity.