Barrett, The Honors College Thesis/Creative Project Collection
Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University proudly showcases the work of undergraduate honors students by sharing this collection exclusively with the ASU community.
Barrett accepts high performing, academically engaged undergraduate students and works with them in collaboration with all of the other academic units at Arizona State University. All Barrett students complete a thesis or creative project which is an opportunity to explore an intellectual interest and produce an original piece of scholarly research. The thesis or creative project is supervised and defended in front of a faculty committee. Students are able to engage with professors who are nationally recognized in their fields and committed to working with honors students. Completing a Barrett thesis or creative project is an opportunity for undergraduate honors students to contribute to the ASU academic community in a meaningful way.
My thesis was conducted in two parts, one with the creative aspect, which was competing in Venture Devils competition with my NGO pitch-deck. The second aspect was a written portion to explain the research I have done through my creative project, and competing in Venture Devils. I began this project in my ENT 360 class in 2020, with Professor Sebold, so I began gathering research then. I worked with Hope Women's Center, a local non-profit, to understand what needs underprivileged women have and how my venture can support those needs. I came up with a venture pitch that provides peer mentoring, networking, and financial literacy to women.
The purpose of this thesis was to analyze the social media marketing strategies of Goldvana, a recently launched startup who provides a nanotech-enhanced CBD brand, analyze the survey data from over 930 respondents, and make recommendations for Goldvana to improve its social media marketing strategy going forward. After overviewing the science and efficacy of CBD, its legal background, industry trends, and best practices, this thesis will review Goldvana’s offerings, differentiation, and previous social media strategies. Then, this thesis analyzes the data of a qualtrics survey sent to 933 respondents. Among the most interesting trends found were consumers’ heavy prioritization of the credibility of CBD brands, the suggested benefits that consumers were most strongly influenced by (stress relief, pain relief, headache relief), the strong preference of Instagram as a platform to engage with brands on, and significant correlations between CBD use and which benefits of CBD (as well as unique benefits of Goldvana) that consumers consider in their purchasing decision. After analyzing the primary data, industry trends, and best practices, I make three categories of recommendations for Goldvana to revamp its current social media marketing strategy. These recommendations include new tactics for our content strategy, insight on how rebranding may benefit Goldvana, and ideas to install advertisement campaigns that are compliant with the guidelines of both social media platforms and the FDA.
The purpose of this thesis was to analyze the social media marketing strategies of Goldvana, a recently launched startup who provides a nanotech-enhanced CBD brand, analyze the survey data from over 930 respondents, and make recommendations for Goldvana to improve its social media marketing strategy going forward. After overviewing the science and efficacy of CBD, its legal background, industry trends, and best practices, this thesis will review Goldvana’s offerings, differentiation, and previous social media strategies. Then, this thesis analyzes the data of a qualtrics survey sent to 933 respondents. Among the most interesting trends found were consumers’ heavy prioritization of the credibility of CBD brands, the suggested benefits that consumers were most strongly influenced by (stress relief, pain relief, headache relief), the strong preference of Instagram as a platform to engage with brands on, and significant correlations between CBD use and which benefits of CBD (as well as unique benefits of Goldvana) that consumers consider in their purchasing decision. After analyzing the primary data, industry trends, and best practices, I make three categories of recommendations for Goldvana to revamp its current social media marketing strategy. These recommendations include new tactics for our content strategy, insight on how rebranding may benefit Goldvana, and ideas to install advertisement campaigns that are compliant with the guidelines of both social media platforms and the FDA.