In 2020, the nation was hit with a pandemic both physically and socially. Due to COVID-19, media interaction, social media engagement, and online consumerism became necessary. In relation to widespread disease, social outbreaks concerning the black lives matter movement, police brutality, the presidential election and diversity & inclusion, set a call to action for Americans. Top fashion and shoe-manufacturing companies that engage with the public socially, financially, personally and for entertainment were evaluated on their contributions to Diversity and Inclusion initiatives. Through external marketing and communication strategies, shoe-wear companies display their approaches to social justice, equity and/or social responsibility. Inclusion & Diversity has different facets including, socioeconomics, gender roles, and race that contribute to how<br/>consumers interact with companies. This paper consists of a literary review, three company audits and analysis, and recommendations. The literary review in the introduction of my paper, explores the approaches to Diversity and Inclusion of shoe-wear companies as a response to social inequity. I conducted three audits to assess the history of Diversity and Inclusion at Nike, Adidas and PUMA to their approaches and commitment to Inclusion and Diversity through their marketing and communication strategies. I then conducted a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis based on the marketing and communications of the<br/>respective companies to gain depth in my findings of sentiment, message strategy, corporate hierarchy, and suggestions for future communications. My analysis provided a conclusion that Diversity and Inclusion in marketing and communication strategies is an essential factor in the growth and success of the company. I identified that each company has areas of opportunity to create more visibility for the LGBTQIA+ ( Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual and nonbiary people) community, should continue to produce reports that analyze exactly how they plan to support Diversity and Inclusion and continue displaying their<br/>commitment on social media.

Music has consistently been documented as a manner to bring people together across cultures throughout the world. In this research, we propose that people use similar musical taste as a strong sign of potential social connection. To investigate this notion, we draw on literature examining how music merges the public/private self, the link to personality, and group identity, as well as how it is linked to romantic relationships. Thus, music can be a tool when wanting to get to know someone else and/or forge a platonic relationship. To test this hypothesis, we designed an experiment comparing music relative to another commonality (sharing a sports team in common) to see which factor is stronger in triggering an online social connection. We argue that people believe they have more in common with someone who shares similar music taste compared to other commonalities. We discuss implications for marketers on music streaming platforms.

Americans today face an age of information overload. With the evolution of Media 3.0, the internet, and the rise of Media 3.5—i.e., social media—relatively new communication technologies present pressing challenges for the First Amendment in American society. Twentieth century law defined freedom of expression, but in an information-limited world. By contrast, the twenty-first century is seeing the emergence of a world that is overloaded with information, largely shaped by an “unintentional press”—social media. Americans today rely on just a small concentration of private technology powerhouses exercising both economic and social influence over American society. This raises questions about censorship, access, and misinformation. While the First Amendment protects speech from government censorship only, First Amendment ideology is largely ingrained across American culture, including on social media. Technological advances arguably have made entry into the marketplace of ideas—a fundamental First Amendment doctrine—more accessible, but also more problematic for the average American, increasing his/her potential exposure to misinformation. <br/><br/>This thesis uses political and judicial frameworks to evaluate modern misinformation trends, social media platforms and current misinformation efforts, against the background of two misinformation accelerants in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic and U.S. presidential election. Throughout history, times of hardship and intense fear have contributed to the shaping of First Amendment jurisprudence. Thus, this thesis looks at how fear can intensify the spread of misinformation and influence free speech values. Extensive research was conducted to provide the historical context behind relevant modern literature. This thesis then concludes with three solutions to misinformation that are supported by critical American free speech theory.

Relationship marketing is a framework in which marketers aim to build two-way bonds with their customers, with the result of long-term benefits to both parties. The rise of social media and the prominence of digital marketing in general, including targeted ads, commercial websites, and email campaigns, has increased the potential for brands and organizations to build such relationships with current and potential customers over time. In the realm of politics, digital marketing has been brought to the mainstream throughout the last decade and its prominence in presidential campaigns has increased ever since, closing the gap in communication between voters, organizations, and candidates. This thesis is an exploration of the effect digital marketing had on Arizona State University students’ perceptions of the presidential candidates and political organizations targeting them during the 2020 election season. The ASU Young Democrats, ASU College Republicans, ASU Undergraduate Student Government, and the 2020 Trump and Biden campaigns were studied through three methods: an analysis of each organization’s marketing tactics through the lens of relationship marketing, interviews with each ASU subject, and a survey of 328 students. The conclusion offers recommendations to each subject based on hypotheses formulated from the analyses and discusses the interrelationship that subjects’ relationship marketing strengths and weaknesses had with students’ views of each organization relative to their desired perceptions.

The purpose of this study is to examine the social and communicative barriers LGBTQIA+ students face when seeking healthcare at campus health and counseling services at Arizona State University. Social barriers relate to experiences and internalizations of societal stigma experienced by sexual and gender minority individuals as well as the anticipation of such events. Communication between patient and provider was assessed as a potential barrier with respect to perceived provider LGBTQIA+ competency. This study applies the minority stress model, considering experiences of everyday stigma and minority stress as a predictor of healthcare utilization among sexual and gender minority students. The findings suggest a small but substantial correlation between minority stress and healthcare use with 23.7% of respondents delaying or not receiving one or more types of care due to fear of stigma or discrimination. Additionally, communication findings indicate a lack of standardization of LGBTQIA+ competent care with experiences varying greatly between respondents.