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- Member of: Barrett, The Honors College Thesis/Creative Project Collection
Description
This study investigates the use and perception of communications efforts among 197 animal-related and human services nonprofit organizations. Several facets of nonprofit communication such as traditional communication usage, social media adoption and usage, and the overall perception of the organizations' communications efforts were examined using a survey and Form 990 analysis. More in-depth analysis was conducted on the participating organizations' Facebook and Twitter accounts as well. After analyzing this data, the study found significant differences in how these two types of nonprofit organizations conduct their communications efforts. Animal-related organizations were much more active and saw higher levels of engagement on Facebook than human services organizations; however, there were no differences in how both types of organizations used Twitter. This study also found that human services organizations are more likely to have full-time or part-time staff members in charge of their communications, while animal-related organizations were more likely to assign this responsibility to a volunteer. These findings contribute valuable insight into how different types of nonprofit organizations are communicating with their stakeholders.
ContributorsColeman, Alexandria Elizabeth (Author) / Wu, Xu (Thesis director) / Taj, Torrie (Committee member) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor) / School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies (Contributor) / School of Community Resources and Development (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
Make-A-Wish America has a world-renowned reputation as one of the best nonprofits in the world, and is widely known amongst many individuals looking to support or donate to nonprofits. Their work is not only a fundamental part of human services care within the nonprofit world, but their unique online platform and social media presence is a differentiating factor among many other nonprofits and for-profit businesses alike. The purpose of this study is to research Make-A-Wish America’s brand management and marketing strategies as a nonprofit, including secondary research on the brand itself, analyze all environmental factors that affect its marketing strategy, assess their market segmentation, targeting, and positioning, and evaluate their integrated marketing communications strategy. Additionally, I conducted interviews with Make-A-Wish America professionals working within the brand management department at the national office. The individuals were interviewed with various marketing backgrounds within the brand department to gain a deeper insight into their individual experiences and assessments of Make-A-Wish America’s brand management and marketing strategy. My specific thesis goals include utilizing my marketing recommendations to grow Make-A-Wish America’s profits, specifically in actions to increase fundraising. Also, my thesis goal is to find recommendations to outperform competition in gaining supporters and donors as well as, more recently, analyzing the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and making recommendations on how they can grow despite this economic tragedy. The results suggest that there are common themes amongst my secondary research and primary research, resulting in marketing recommendations that Make-A-Wish America can utilize to better market to donors and supporters in the future, giving them competitive advantage over other nonprofits and combatting the effects of COVID-19. Recommendations for Make-A-Wish America include investing in their own research and development in terms of customer relationship management tools, online fundraising campaigns, and technology to better inform donors of their mission, vision, and values, diversifying their donor profile and targeted communities, and taking advantage of their point of parity within their social media online platform.
ContributorsBarton, Maddy Taylor (Author) / Montoya, Detra (Thesis director) / Ostrom, Lonnie (Committee member) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / School of Community Resources and Development (Contributor) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-05
Description
The goal of this project was to discover more intricate aspects of the wedding planning industry as well as learn more about what it takes to get started in wedding planning, then apply this knowledge to the launch of my own company. I conducted research of the wedding planning industry throughout the United States then moving to Arizona and later to the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. I discuss the importance of wedding planners, the skills they bring as well as the knowledge they must have to offer their clients. Then I go into the launch of my company Maria Catherine Events and what the research means for my company launch.
ContributorsBreeze, Maria C (Author) / Trujillo, Rhett (Thesis director) / Donlevy, Tamara (Committee member) / Department of Management and Entrepreneurship (Contributor) / School of Community Resources and Development (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-05
Description
The Taglio Academy Marketing Plan is an honors thesis focusing on the information necessary to understand the current market and marketing strategies of Taglio Academy, a cosmetology school. The thesis is comprised of information representing the Current Marketing Situation; Target Market, Customer Analysis, and Positioning; Objectives and Issues; Marketing Strategy; Marketing Programs; Financial and Operational Plans; and Metrics and Implementation Control. These are all of the necessary components of an in-depth marketing plan to be used to communicate Taglio Academy's competitive advantage and positioning within the market. This information focuses on conveying the importance of bringing the Academy to the attention of target cosmetology students and target student-salon service clients.
ContributorsRough, Nicola Kalyn (Author) / Montoya, Detra (Thesis director) / LePine, Marcie (Committee member) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / School of Community Resources and Development (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
Often considered to be one of the most promising solutions in the fight against global poverty, “microfinance is a term used to describe financial services, such as loans, savings, insurance and fund transfers to entrepreneurs, small businesses and individuals who lack access to traditional baking services” (Kiva). With hundreds of organizations committed or partially committed to the facilitation of microfinance loans on a domestic and global scale, the way scholarly communities have ultimately decided to view this type of giving is narrow but optimistic. The trends associated with microfinancing show it to have a positive impact on both lenders and borrowers. The goal of this thesis is to bring a level of personal context to these trends with qualitative research from the stories of individuals who have participated in the facilitation of a microloan.
ContributorsOlsen, Hannah (Author) / LaRosa, Julia (Thesis director) / Price, Sandra (Committee member) / School of Community Resources and Development (Contributor) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
The Walt Disney Company has been successful in developing adored brands for nearly a century. Although the company’s business ventures are in a wide variety of industries, Disney Parks and Resorts has become a staple of the company earning 20.3 billion dollars in revenue.
The Walt Disney Company theme parks would be nothing without its integral Disney branding. Utilizing characters and storytelling from both classic and brand new Disney brands, Disney Parks and Resorts creates a quality brand through unique theming and world class service.
This thesis will dive into the different areas of the Disney Parks and Resorts and how the company has managed and tailored their brand in these faucets to create an unforgettably Disney experience through storytelling and impeccable service.
The Walt Disney Company theme parks would be nothing without its integral Disney branding. Utilizing characters and storytelling from both classic and brand new Disney brands, Disney Parks and Resorts creates a quality brand through unique theming and world class service.
This thesis will dive into the different areas of the Disney Parks and Resorts and how the company has managed and tailored their brand in these faucets to create an unforgettably Disney experience through storytelling and impeccable service.
ContributorsHathaway, Catherine Elizabeth (Author) / Hass, Mark (Thesis director) / Paniagua, Krista (Committee member) / School of Community Resources and Development (Contributor) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism & Mass Comm (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Employers must go beyond diversifying their workforce and prioritize inclusion in their workplace. This thesis is written to employers to provide a comprehensive, introductory look into why and how an employer could prioritize inclusion in their workplace. In part one, a literature review answers the following questions: What is inclusion? How are diversity and inclusion related? How is the workplace exclusive? What is an inclusive workplace like? and What are the benefits of having an inclusive workplace? Then, in part two, a case study analysis reviews best practices of a company that has been recognized as being inclusive. Through both of these parts, three overacting principles emerge; inclusion should be a widespread value in an organization, new practices must move beyond the superficial to have real impact and all employees in the organization should be engaged in making the workplace more inclusive. Change also must happen in three areas including the climate, leadership and practices of an organization.
ContributorsMooney, Samantha Jean (Co-author) / Mooney, Samantha (Co-author) / Smith, Jacqueline (Thesis director) / Sully de Luque, Mary (Committee member) / School of Community Resources and Development (Contributor) / Watts College of Public Service & Community Solut (Contributor) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
With the millennial and Gen Z generations being comprised of avid social media users, corporations have turned to online platforms, such as Twitter and Instagram, as a way of communicating and connecting to their audiences. One method that corporations are using to attract consumers is utilizing internet memes. Brands and corporations are now marketing through internet memes to enhance and define the brand’s personality and voice. This study examines the ways corporations use internet memes to personify their brand image and the overall effectiveness of meme usage in engaging consumers. Based on an exploratory analysis of brands over several media pages, we find evidence that brands with an edgy or humorous personality have increased engagement when using this method of communication, while more luxury brands should avoid using memes. Our research was conducted by examining and analyzing the social media accounts of four companies that use memes regularly as ways to promote their brands between November 1, 2018 and February 1, 2019. Our findings suggest that there is no definite correlation between internet memes and consumer engagement, rather that they are beneficial to use in addition to traditional marketing. In order to gain a stronger understanding of the relationships between internet memes and engagement, future research can study online brand personalities more in-depth and develop theories on the effectiveness of meme usage.
ContributorsReicks, Amber Michelle (Co-author) / Ahmas, Roxanna (Co-author) / Ostrom, Amy (Thesis director) / Eaton, John (Committee member) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / School of Community Resources and Development (Contributor) / Watts College of Public Service & Community Solut (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
This study examines the relationships between the success of Instagram health and fitness influencers and the images they share. As social media continues to grow as a source of information and interconnectedness, the sway influencers hold over their followers and potential consumers grow too. The success of these influencers in gaining followers, motivating opinions and achieving an aesthetic physique, result in monetary gain. On the media site Instagram, influencers with one million followers can garner over $50,000 per sponsored post. Specifically, the research focuses on four Instagram influencers who have over 200,000 followers. The subjects, Amanda Bucci, Nikki Blackketter, Maxx Chewning and Christian Guzman, were selected based on their popularity within the weight lifting community. Together, these influencers have over 400 million followers on Instagram. The study analyzed 32 photos sourced from the influencer's Instagrams. Of the 32 images, 16 were selected as branded content and 16 were selected as candid content. These images were then coded to answer the following research questions: (1) is there a pattern in the visuals weight lifters share, (2) is there a difference between branded or candid content, (3) how do these similarities or lack thereof influence number of Instagram followers and financial success, and (4) what physical dimensions contribute to a weight lifter's success on Instagram? This study uses content analysis to understand the symbolic meaning of texts and visuals. With the findings showing recurrent themes between (1) posture of subject, (2) use of brand affiliation and (3) professional grade photography, we confirm that bodily capital, sponsorship and authenticity are successful tactics used by influencers to generate a following.
ContributorsKoontz, Ellanna Marie (Author) / Matera, Fran (Thesis director) / Artigue, Ray (Committee member) / School of Nutrition and Health Promotion (Contributor) / School of Community Resources and Development (Contributor) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
This study examines the The Disney College Program, a semester-long paid internship hosted by the Walt Disney Company employing more than 10,000 students each year. With over 120,000 alumni in the past 10 years, this program offers students housing and community building opportunities within the "Living" component, college credit courses within the "Learning" component, and on-the-job experience at Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World theme parks through the "Earning" component. Specifically, the research focuses on Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. The researcher conducted a 39-question online survey prompting 1,749 responses from Disney College Program alumni to help answer the following research questions: (1) Who are Disney College Program Cast Members, (2) What is their level of satisfaction with the program, and (3) Are they influencers? This study uses theoretical elements (e.g. levels of adoption, influencers and brand loyalty) to describe influence and psychological effects to describe satisfaction (e.g. indoctrination, human motivation and Stockholm Syndrome). With the findings showing discrepancies between the ratings of "Living," "Learning," and "Earning" and the average overall rating, some questions arise about the program's tendencies to form tightly cohesive groups approaching elements of Stockholm Syndrome and cult-like ethos. Focusing on the 1,490 of 1,749 respondents from Walt Disney World in the past 10 years, the study concludes that Walt Disney World College Program alumni are not influencers nor advocates, but rather evangelists (i.e., zealous advocate) and loyalists.
ContributorsMcgowan, Sloane Shea (Author) / Matera, Fran (Thesis director) / Archer, Ciara (Committee member) / School of Community Resources and Development (Contributor) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor) / College of Public Service and Community Solutions (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05