Need for narrative

ABSTRACT

What do consumers need from a narrative? How can videographers satisfy those needs? Through semi-structured interviews with 55 Eurostar passengers from 14 countries, this film documents how people define narratives, why they need them, and how they experience the effects of need for narrative. The adjoining commentary contributes to the development of videography as an attractive method by introducing the videographer’s perspective and elucidating key story elements that can help satisfy viewers’ needs for narrative. The suggested approach maintains the vivid quality of videography and respects its methodological rigour, while increasing its effectiveness in close alignment with a consumer society that visual communication increasingly permeates. As such, the commentary and the film jointly unveil videographers’ etic and viewers’ emic use and evaluation of the videographic method.     

A theatrical perspective on service performance evaluation: The customer-critic approach

Abstract

In this article, the customer-critic approach is presented as a complementary approach to existing service performance evaluation. It is based on methods, derived originally by Patrice Pavis, that have a distinguished pedigree in the evaluation of theatrical performances. An adaptation of Pavis's evaluation framework is illustrated in the context of a restaurant service performance. A focus on the work of Pavis directs attention to the mise-en-scène or metatext of a performance as a vehicle for consumer analysis, and explicitly acknowledges the value of nurturing and enhancing the critical capacity of an audience. Although an audience should be made aware of the main components of a performance, most importantly they should be encouraged to take a holistic, rather than fragmented, view of what is being presented. In addition, unlike other research approaches, the customer-critic process involves customers before, during, and after the performance, and builds in the opportunity for both reporting and reconstruction. It is an approach to data collection and analysis more closely aligned to the Service-Dominant Logic of marketing than methods currently adopted by service managers, recognising consumers as operant resources and the ‘value in use’ of the performance from a consumer experience perspective.     

Explanation,Correlations and Causal Relations

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to help advertising planners evaluate audiences as they relate to cable television and new technologies. Fundamental assumptions made about television audiences and advertisers are examined with regard to new services. The article reviews and organizes the recent empirical studies concerning the audiences of new technologies. It presents a model which analyzes audience similarities and differences between new and conventional media. Also considered are directions for planning, research and the immediate future of cable advertising.     

Estimating the Duplicated Audience of Media Vehicles in National Advertising Schedules

Abstract

This paper tests and evaluates the best available methods for estimating the duplicated audience of pairs of television programs, pairs of magazines and television-magazine pairs. Previous research in audience duplication estimation is surveyed, and the best existing methods for some situations are found to be inadequate or nonexistent. Improved estimation methods are provided for these cases. In particular, new models are developed for estimating the duplication of audiences of different episodes of a television program, and for estimating duplication of audience within particular target markets. The various models are empirically tested using diary data from a large, national sample.     

Dodo Lé Là: how consumers promote a local iconic brand in postcolonial creole culture

ABSTRACT

This videography shows how consumers in the Reunion Island (France) promote a local Dodo beer towards an iconic status through their identity work. An alternative approach to Holt’s theorising on iconic brands is taken on two levels. First, the videography contributes by offering a non-American, postcolonial and creole aspect of a brand myth-making, as well as the ‘promotion’ of the brand by the local consumers and multi-ethnic community. Second, the consumers’ voice in citing the brand is examined (Nakassis, 2012. American Anthropologist, 114(4), 624–638.). Based on the findings, the citing of the brand happens in two different ways: when including it into personalised identity narratives and when producing new brand tokens, thus nurturing the brand ontology further.     

Capturing digital experience: The method of screencast videography

This paper presents a novel research methodology, screencast videography (SCV), as an approach to studying interactions and experiences in the digital space. Screencasting is a method of digitally recorded computer/mobile screen output, with or without audio narration. Focusing on the dynamic, highly visual digital environment in which many modern experiences such as e-shopping take place, SCV can be used for videographic studies of digital experiences that are rarely captured by means of traditional videography owing to the private settings of such experiences. SCV is able to capture dynamic experiences in the digital space, opening up opportunities for a wealth of screencast-based research to enhance our understanding of digitally occurring interactions, experiences and phenomena. This paper discusses the ontological and epistemological assumptions of SCV and how it is situated in relation to other relevant methodological approaches (videography and netnography). It then outlines, step-by-step, the methodological protocol for SCV and its possible applications. An illustrative example of using this method to study digital experience in the context of online fashion shopping is presented and discussed. This is the first presentation of such a method, offering a promising approach to studying similar experiences in the digital world.     

Envisioning consumers: how videography can contribute to marketing knowledge

ABSTRACT

Based on a review of the past 30 years of videographic research and outputs in the field of marketing, we highlight the key contributions that videography has made to the marketing literature and identify the key issues facing videographic research today. We develop a typology that identifies four ways that videography can contribute to theory development and verification, presenting new criteria for assessing academic videographies. We note that making theoretical contributions is one of the most difficult issues facing videographic researchers and that this is an area in need of significant developments to help the field progress. Finally, we envision what the future of videography might look like and consider the implications of new forms of videographies.     

Buzz marketing for movies

In today's dynamic entertainment environment, movies are struggling to stay afloat and remain profitable. Challenges such as piracy, digital theft, competition, overlapping movie campaigns, media fragmentation, and audience saturation are forcing marketers to stretch their film budgets and make every dollar as effective as possible. With more and more entertainment options crowding peoples' lives, marketers must search for innovative ways to reach movie audiences. By breaking through the daily clutter and noise, and capturing peoples' attention to the point that talking about a movie becomes an enjoyable experience to share, buzz marketing is one such promotional posture that drives audiences to theaters. In order to achieve success with buzz marketing, however, marketers must recognize the role it plays in the context of movie differentiation strategies to support the company's overall approach. To that end, this article analyzes buzz marketing as it pertains to six movie differentiation strategies (differentiation with cosmetic movie features, differentiation to reach market segments, growing a movie segment, positioning to support the movie image, positioning to extend the movie image, and differentiation via non-traditional channels) and offers steps for its successful implementation.     

When Soloists Form a Choir: Communication Requirements of Sustainability Networks

SUMMARY

In this paper sustainability-oriented intersectoral collaboration is studied with a focus on communication aspects. In contrast to earlier contributions in literature, the major perspective here is not how the marketers involved can use such a partnership as an effective communications tool. Rather the sustainability network itself is seen as pluralistic actor who strives for optimizing its comunication both to internal and external target audiences. Drawing on results from a qualitative case study of a sustainability network, requirements of intersectoral communication are determined. These sets of demands comprise the basis for the elaboration of a network communication design in the future.     

Market Orientation,Competitive Strategy and Firm Performance

Abstract

In this paper, we investigate the mediating effects of a firm's competitive strategy in the market orientation-performance relationship. Based on a sample of 371 manufacturing firms in China, evidence was found that the three dimensions of market orientation exert different effects on competitive strategy and performance. Among them, customer orientation has the strongest association with competitive strategy and market performance. This lends credence to a componentwise approach on the study of the relationship between market orientation and performance. The results of structural equation analyses indicate that the mediating effect of competitive strategy is mainly revealed in innovation strategy, the most vital factor in creating superior value for the company in the emerging market. Limitations of this study and implications for future studies are discussed.     

Media

Abstract

This article explores young adults' views of seven mass advertising media, and provides an in-depth inquiry into the qualitative media effect these audiences ascribe to each medium. This paper discusses many issues related to young audiences, and provides a useful supplement to the quantitative survey data most commonly found in media research. Respondents showed a distinct preference for media that provided visual stimulation, and a strong preference for media that afforded them control over the experience. Consistent with the concept of selective exposure, respondents preferred media that represented their own interests and opinions. However, media use was often inconsistent with media perceptions. Many respondents willingly suspended criticism when using media, as they consulted mass media for entertainment, rather than information.     

Relevant for Whom? An Essay to Celebrate JBBM’s 21st Anniversary,in Favor of Paying Greater Attention to the Needs of Students and Practitioners and Less to the Interests of Peers

ABSTRACT

Purpose: To argue that useful research into business-to-business marketing must have practical relevance and that this may call for alternative methodologies to the positivistic “scientific” model favored by leading marketing journals; to suggest that citation by academic peers as measured by impact factors is only one of several criteria relevant to the assessment of academic papers; and to propose a less formulaic presentation of research to make it more accessible to students and practitioners.

Methodology/approach: Informed comment as a participant observer based on extensive experience as an academic administrator (Head of Department, Dean and Deputy Principal), Past Chairman of the Scottish Business Education Council, Past President of the Academy of Marketing, Past Chairman and Trustee Chartered Institute of Marketing, Founding Editor of 3 academic marketing journals and author of more than 50 books and 150 articles and papers.

Findings: Academic research in marketing has become distorted as a result of an excessive emphasis upon journal impact factors reported in the Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), which relate to only a limited selection of published research into the subject of marketing. Not only that, but the research reported largely conforms to a positivistic model that is less appropriate for social and behavioral sciences than for the pure sciences that it seeks to imitate. Nonetheless, publication in journals included in the SSCI counts for more in decisions for academic appointment and preferment than do other publications that may be demonstrated to have equal or greater impact on the audiences for which they are intended. It is argued that this imbalance should be redressed with greater attention given to instrumental knowledge and its impact on practice.

Research implications: The author’s purpose is not to disparage or call into question the quality of academic research published in the top journals, rather it is to draw attention to the distinction proposed by Shankar that recognizes the existence of an external audience and the distinction between instrumental and reflexive knowledge.

Practical implications: It is recommended that academic peer review be continued for academic papers, which would be identified as such, but that other kinds of contribution such as thought pieces, case studies, commentaries, reports, and so on be published subject to appropriate editorial review.

Originality/value/contribution: A point of view with growing support.     

Evolving priorities in sponsorship: From media management to network management

Abstract

Commercial sponsorship has continually adapted to the needs of the market. The purpose of this paper is to tracks these changes and draw out the evolution in management capabilities required to manage sponsorship effectively. Five distinct approaches to sponsorship have been identified from an extensive review of the literature, including: the philanthropic approach, the market-centred approach, the consumer-centred approach, the strategic resource, and finally the relations and networks approach. By examining these approaches, the paper identifies key capabilities required for the future of sponsorship, including network visioning, network orchestration, and relationship portfolio management. This is presented in a four-level framework for sponsorship network management. This paper serves two key audiences. On the one hand, for sponsorship managers, it examines past and future capabilities required to manage sponsorship effectively. For researchers, the paper historically reviews the emergence of sponsorship capabilities and sets out a research agenda to progress our understanding on a network perspective on sponsorship.     

Towards a fairer manager performance measure: a DEA application in the retail industry

Abstract

Retailers need to determine the performance of their individual stores and, beyond the stores, the managers in charge of running them. The aim of this paper is to develop performance standards that can be applied to fairly distribute rewards to managers regarding their performances by taking into account store neighbourhood characteristics. In order to propose a fairer measure of store performance, the authors introduce and explore the concepts of organizational justice and store efficiency. They use real data from a French supermarket chain and a geomarketing approach. The two-step Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) model results are compared with a retailer’s ranking. The retailer tends to favour points of sale having a more important sales area, with more employees and operating in a more densely populated area with a higher buying power. The ranking stemming from the DEA model links store performance to other geo-demographic variables.     

Globalization,Coordination, and Subsidiary Performance-Evidence from Companies in an Advancing Country

ABSTRACT

We investigate an important issue in globalization, the relationship between production capacity of a global company's subsidiary and its performance, where the subsidiary's relative size of production capacity is regarded as its globalization level. Analyzing the field data on 42 Korean companies engaged in global operations, we reached preliminary conclusions. First, the optimal level of subsidiary globalization represented by its relative production capacity does not exist. This lack of significance subsides when we associate the globalization level with global coordination between the headquarters and its subsidiary. Global coordination turns out to be a significant factor, either direct or moderating in relation to the globalization level, in determining the subsidiary's performance. We also found that the type of coordination supporting the subsidiary's innovation is different from that enhancing its operational efficiency: for the subsidiary's innovation capability, indirect coordination is effective, whereas direct coordination can be detrimental. In addition, we report effects of other factors such as global experience, host country and target market characteristics on the subsidiary performance.     

Upstream social marketing strategy: An integrated marketing communications approach

This article provides an organized approach for managers to develop social marketing strategies that target upstream decision and policy makers. A conceptual application model and five-stage process is presented for an upstream social marketing strategy based on integrated marketing communications (IMC). IMC concepts are described in the context of social marketing, as well as specific stages for creating an IMC social marketing strategy; these include target audience research and determination, channel selection and integration, strategic message creation, and measurement and control. A central and novel feature of the IMC social marketing strategy model is the simultaneous targeting of an upstream decision maker and influential peripheral (upstream) audiences in order to triangulate and increase campaign effectiveness. An IMC approach to upstream social marketing ensures consistent, persuasive messages specifically crafted for the selected target audiences and coordinated through precise channels to maximize impact. This multi-channel, multi-audience approach to message creation and channel selection produces synergies that increase the potential to influence an upstream decision/policy maker.     

Political Issue Promotion in the Age of 9–11

SUMMARY

This study presents an exploratory investigation of the effect of political frames applied in advertising communication on audience evaluations of source credibility. Framing is the filtering of reality by any message that leads the audience to a certain conclusion of what and how to think about an issue. However, this process is not automatic since variables like communication source and the credibility attributed to that source can influence the communicator's ability to transfer the salience of issue frames to the audience. The results of this study show that societal issues, such as terrorism, might be more productively sponsored by governmental offices or not-for-profits than by for-profit organizations.     

A balanced scorecard-based composite measuring approach to assessing the performance of a media outlet

In an attempt to overcome massive challenges to survive in today's global and volatile marketplace, companies are adopting newer management systems to clarify their vision and strategy and translate them into action. The balanced scorecard (BSC) is one such approach which is gaining significant interest, especially within the small and medium size enterprises. This paper describes a BSC-based composite measuring approach to performance measurement and illustrates how the approach was used by a media outlet in Turkey as part of strategic policing initiative. In the paper, first, a BSC framework was adapted, and then a composite measure was developed thereon to assess the performance of the organization with regard to its strategic business objectives. The scorecard-based composite measure was built around a vision to create superior growth of aggregate value through outlet operations. It was found that by using the suggested framework, it is possible to identify and measure the cause-and-effect relationship of using an effective operations strategy, and to assess its impact on the company's competitive advantages. This research exercise confirms the validity and usefulness of the proposed methodology and offers managerial insights and guidelines for similar implementations.     

The impact of media fragmentation on audience targeting: An empirical generalisation approach

With increasing fragmentation, advertisers are choosing media based upon their ability to deliver specific target markets to maximise return on media expenditure. In doing so, they rely upon the claims of media providers (whether in part or in full) about how their audiences differ from those of competing offerings. In this paper we consider just how successful media have been at attracting specialist audiences. We seek empirical generalisation by including a very broad range of audience member characteristics, multiple media types, two countries and three years of data in our analysis. We find that while there are some differences in the audiences that competing media deliver, these differences are largely inconsequential when (a) considered in light of the audience differentiation claims made by the media themselves and (b) that implicit in the audience targeting concept is the notion that media audiences are highly segmented. This research will challenge advertisers' entrenched assumptions about audience targeting and provide useful benchmarks for advertisers who place any credence on media selling propositions.     

A Neural Network Classification of Export Success in Japanese Service Firms

Abstract

This study examines the export performance of 350 randomly selected Japanese engineering service firms. Inquiry is made regarding environmental, organizational, managerial, strategic, and functional determinants of these exporting firms. Two primary questions are addressed. Can performance category membership of engineering service exporters be predicted? Second and foremost, which determinants are the most effective in differentiating between the export performance categories? An Artificial Neural Network is selected as the statistical method because of the different perspective it provides for a highly non-linear function having many variables, offering results that consistently prove to numerically approximate such functions much easier than conventional methods, together with the ability to dependably and accurately predict membership classification while providing weighted analyses of input variables. Findings suggest that each group's membership can be consistently and accurately predicted and further identify which determinants dominantly impact category membership as supported by differences in the feature extraction phase of the neural network approach.