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- All Subjects: Marketing
- All Subjects: Sales
- Creators: Montoya, Detra
- Member of: Barrett, The Honors College Thesis/Creative Project Collection
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- Resource Type: Text
Description
The Hispanic population is growing rapidly in the United States and already possesses tremendous buying power and influence. The Millennial generation has officially outnumbered the Baby Boomers to become the largest generational group in the United States. This thesis aligns these two groups to study the U.S. Hispanic Millennial and the characteristics that make this segment unique and powerful. How are Hispanic Millennial consumers different and unique? How can brands connect with Hispanic Millennials in an authentic way? These questions will be explored through a literature review which covers three important aspects: Hispanic identity, culture, and the influence of the Spanish language. Next, a primary research study is conducted to determine if there is a relationship between Hispanic acculturation levels and language preference in advertisements. Finally, the findings of the study are compared with various research studies and reports to determine the best methods of connecting with U.S. Hispanic Millennials as a marketer.
ContributorsKrafft, Natalie Martinez (Author) / Montoya, Detra (Thesis director) / Giles, Charles Bret (Committee member) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
In recent years, trade restrictions have been lifted, national borders have opened up, and technology has improved. As a result, companies have been able to expand beyond their home countries and operate in foreign markets. This phenomenon has led to the rise of multinational corporations. Although there are been a trend towards international pursuits, not all businesses have been successful overseas. Further, there is no foolproof way to guarantee that a company will be lucrative in other markets. Some large, well-known multinational corporations have experienced great success in their home markets as well as some foreign markets; however, the same companies have experienced defeat in other national markets. The international expansion strategy that a company must pursue in order to be successful in a foreign market varies depending on the company as well as the foreign market it is entering. For this reason, companies must tailor their foreign expansion strategies to each of the markets in which they operate. From Big Mac to Maharaja Mac: An Analysis of Brand Management Practices Across National Borders examines international business expansion, particularly looking at brand management practices utilized by an array of multinational corporations. This thesis aims to research, analyze, and pinpoint key international brand management strategies and then make recommendations for corporations that are currently operating in a single market but wish to expand their reach beyond their home market's national borders.
ContributorsNaidu, Deepika Sriramineni (Author) / Montoya, Detra (Thesis director) / Schlacter, John (Committee member) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
Branding is one of the most important tools a business can use. Whether consumers know it or not, every purchasing decision that they make – be it for a product or service – is rooted in the brand. Thus, it is somewhat of a surprise that branding for individuals did not become popularized until 1997, with Tom Peters’ article “The Brand Called You.” In his article, Peters remarks on how changes in the marketplace and technology make developing a personal brand more accessible, as well as more important. The increasingly competitive marketplace combined with the rise of social media means that personal branding is even more important and more attainable today. Thus, it is vital for students entering the workforce to develop a brand that will allow them to distinguish themselves. This research examines whether or not students understand what personal branding is and if they have taken the steps to develop their personal brand. The research questions are as follows:
• Do students understand what personal branding is?
• Are students able to define their skills?
• Do students have a career plan?
• Do students have a plan to promote their brand?
A pilot study was first distributed to students of Arizona State University which found that students lack an understanding of what personal branding is and have a need for the knowledge and tools to develop a personal brand. A workshop was then developed to address these issues. This workshop was held three times: first, for a Landscape Architecture class, second, for a marketing class, and third, for a student sales organization. The workshop discussed branding, personal branding, and then the participants were able to begin working on developing their own personal brand. The students in the first workshop had two sessions and were able to complete their own personal brand process with the workshop leader, while participants from the second and third workshops completed it on their own, after only a single workshop session. After completing the in-person workshop, participants shared their brand with their fellow students in a Google Plus page. Finally, participants completed an exit survey. This exit survey was used to measure the research questions.
The first workshop proved to be most effective, even though the participants in the first workshop were all landscape design students and the majority of the participants in the second and third workshops were business students. It was found that unless the students’ own brand development process was finished during the workshop or affected the students’ grade, it would not be completed. It was also evident in all of the workshops that slides with imagery were more effective at starting discussions than the text-heavy slides. As such, future workshops should be designed with a greater time allowance, the intent of the students’ own brand development process to be completed during the workshop, and the presentation should be redesigned to better initiate discussion among participants.
• Do students understand what personal branding is?
• Are students able to define their skills?
• Do students have a career plan?
• Do students have a plan to promote their brand?
A pilot study was first distributed to students of Arizona State University which found that students lack an understanding of what personal branding is and have a need for the knowledge and tools to develop a personal brand. A workshop was then developed to address these issues. This workshop was held three times: first, for a Landscape Architecture class, second, for a marketing class, and third, for a student sales organization. The workshop discussed branding, personal branding, and then the participants were able to begin working on developing their own personal brand. The students in the first workshop had two sessions and were able to complete their own personal brand process with the workshop leader, while participants from the second and third workshops completed it on their own, after only a single workshop session. After completing the in-person workshop, participants shared their brand with their fellow students in a Google Plus page. Finally, participants completed an exit survey. This exit survey was used to measure the research questions.
The first workshop proved to be most effective, even though the participants in the first workshop were all landscape design students and the majority of the participants in the second and third workshops were business students. It was found that unless the students’ own brand development process was finished during the workshop or affected the students’ grade, it would not be completed. It was also evident in all of the workshops that slides with imagery were more effective at starting discussions than the text-heavy slides. As such, future workshops should be designed with a greater time allowance, the intent of the students’ own brand development process to be completed during the workshop, and the presentation should be redesigned to better initiate discussion among participants.
ContributorsBinsfeld, Jacqueline Rose (Author) / Montoya, Detra (Thesis director) / Gray, Nancy (Committee member) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2015-12
Description
The insurance industry consists of financial advisors planning for individual’s financial future through defensive investments that will payout in case of something happening to a person’s greatest asset—themselves. Each financial advisor is mandated to pass a professional exam to receive their license in order to take in clients in each state. There is a process in which clients are serviced and sold on different products of insurance. Advisors need to consider client needs and service them with products are in their best interest and within financial reason. <br/> To sell a product you must have clients, and the way that financial advisor receive clients are generally through two ways: company provided or their own connections. At the end of the day, the goal is to get in front of more people and expand you circle. In that sense, there are two common way people address this expansion of circles and that is build relationships versus networking. The goal of this paper is to dive deep in the insurance industry and analyze the sales process when comparing the difference in selling through building relationships versus selling through networking.<br/> The research plan I have in mind start from researching background and history, to current practices environment, to method process solutions. In the initial stages of my research, I will focus on background and history of the financial services industry in terms of sales and insurance. This will address insurance sales processes in the financial services industry and its features as well as benefits. After explaining the step by step process and potential results of the sales process in the insurance industry, I will start researching current environments of the industry. This will explain the history, key theoretical elements, and significant events of the industry. <br/> The history of the background will set stage for me to address situational challenges in the business based on my own experience to which I will do research to find plausible sales process solutions when comparing relationship sales to networking sales. This research will then be synthesized with my own experimental solutions as I work in the industry, which will help me complete chapter 4 and 5 of my theses – Methods and Execution of Results.
ContributorsSkelnik, Eason John (Author) / Byrne, Jared (Thesis director) / Desiderio, Jake (Committee member) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-05
Description
As social media continues to grow, so does the need to have a strong online presence that exhibits a unique personal brand. However, with social media platforms ranging from Twitter to Instagram to LinkedIn, it is a challenge for Millennials to know how to build a personal brand that is appropriate for all potential audiences. More than just friends and family are viewing our social media profiles; it is common practice for potential employers too and it can be difficult to cater our social media for both. This thesis looks at how personal branding has evolved with the rapid expansion of social media and the relationship between the two. It also looks at the importance of personal branding and best/worst practices for social media. Although there is an emphasis of professional networking platforms in my primary research, I also discuss how social media affects our personal, along with our professional, relationships. There is also a focus on the types of perceptions people make about someone’s personal brand based off of what they see on social media. To better understand people’s perceptions of social media as it relates to personal branding, I conducted interviews with job recruiters and administered a survey, which tested recommendations collected from the first interviews.
ContributorsLee, Juliana A (Author) / Montoya, Detra (Thesis director) / Schlacter, John (Committee member) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
The NFL has a positive history sending teams across the pond to play a “London Series”. These games began in the 2007 season and have since increased popularity and buzz for the NFL as a whole in the London and UK market. Many conversations have occurred and spanned years of speculation of a possible franchise being relocated to London to allow American football fans in the UK market to have their own team as opposed to a few games a year. Because of the massive success of the international series for the NFL and the success that other leagues have seen with having a team outside of its home country, there is an argument for the NFL
to not only move a current franchise to London, but rather to create a brand new NFL franchise in London. Therefore, the objective of this proposal is to give a detailed amount of evidence to support the development of a new NFL franchise in London and provide the proposal for a possible franchise in the London market. The following describes instances of NFL franchises relocating and the effect of the decision.
to not only move a current franchise to London, but rather to create a brand new NFL franchise in London. Therefore, the objective of this proposal is to give a detailed amount of evidence to support the development of a new NFL franchise in London and provide the proposal for a possible franchise in the London market. The following describes instances of NFL franchises relocating and the effect of the decision.
ContributorsKish, Natalie Ann (Author) / Lee, Christopher (Thesis director) / Montoya, Detra (Committee member) / Department of Marketing (Contributor, Contributor) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism & Mass Comm (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Historically, advertising was best when it was informative because people did not look at advertising for entertainment. Stories, however, were helpful in selling products and promoting trials. Advertising has since evolved with society. Copious amounts of research still go into advertising but some old principles get left in the past. Some can be adapted to today’s digital world while others simply do not ring true anymore. Today, the best of the best showcase in the Super Bowl. This has proven to be very beneficial to those that dazzle and entertain viewers.
The USA Today Ad Meter has been used for decades to rank Super Bowl ads and can show us what works well. All ads that run during the Super Bowl are rated by thousands of viewers and then ranked based on average ratings. The Ad Meter is the most used tool to look at these ads and discern what viewers enjoyed seeing. Entertaining ads do very well on the Ad Meter while informational and simple ads often sink. The Ad Meter does a good job telling advertisers what worked but it does not tell us why it worked or what people want to see.
These entertaining ads do well on the ad meter because, according to the following research study, people prefer entertainment in Super Bowl advertising, whether the product is relevant or not. People are willing to watch a Super Bowl ad that is longer than a normal ad would be because they expect entertainment and the length allows for a story to develop. People also have a strong preference for humorous Super Bowl ads but the emotional/meaningful ads that make it into the top 5 are almost the exception to the rule because the results of the research performed here show very little preference for these ads. While the Super Bowl still seems to be a beneficial way to advertise, the price is a big barrier to entry. Luckily, digital culture gives smaller businesses the power to capture viewers in other ways. The study’s findings suggest that many younger participants often just watch Super Bowl ads on YouTube after the game. Younger people are also watching the Super Bowl less and becoming numb to scrolling through ads on social media. It is important, now more than ever, for advertisers to have attention grabbing tactics for a generation with such short attention spans. Advertisers need to follow the trends to keep up with social media, but it will be worth it.
The USA Today Ad Meter has been used for decades to rank Super Bowl ads and can show us what works well. All ads that run during the Super Bowl are rated by thousands of viewers and then ranked based on average ratings. The Ad Meter is the most used tool to look at these ads and discern what viewers enjoyed seeing. Entertaining ads do very well on the Ad Meter while informational and simple ads often sink. The Ad Meter does a good job telling advertisers what worked but it does not tell us why it worked or what people want to see.
These entertaining ads do well on the ad meter because, according to the following research study, people prefer entertainment in Super Bowl advertising, whether the product is relevant or not. People are willing to watch a Super Bowl ad that is longer than a normal ad would be because they expect entertainment and the length allows for a story to develop. People also have a strong preference for humorous Super Bowl ads but the emotional/meaningful ads that make it into the top 5 are almost the exception to the rule because the results of the research performed here show very little preference for these ads. While the Super Bowl still seems to be a beneficial way to advertise, the price is a big barrier to entry. Luckily, digital culture gives smaller businesses the power to capture viewers in other ways. The study’s findings suggest that many younger participants often just watch Super Bowl ads on YouTube after the game. Younger people are also watching the Super Bowl less and becoming numb to scrolling through ads on social media. It is important, now more than ever, for advertisers to have attention grabbing tactics for a generation with such short attention spans. Advertisers need to follow the trends to keep up with social media, but it will be worth it.
ContributorsGriffin, Karina (Author) / Montoya, Detra (Thesis director) / Giles, Charles Bret (Committee member) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
With the United States' diverse group of people, diverse set of beliefs and diverse cultural backgrounds, it’s no wonder that over the last few decades there has been a 51 percent increase in second-generation Americans in the United States (Child Trends, 2018). Though each of these second- and third-generation Americans experience life in the U.S. vastly different, the common steps of self-identity, acculturation and assimilation persist. However, what is often missed with this seemingly linear process is the delineating step: retro acculturation. Their sense of disconnect sparks a feeling of blurred identity, introducing the phenomenon of retro- acculturation, or an individual’s conscious efforts to connect to their heritage in new ways. Understanding the “why” behind this revelation is essential in understanding the “how”- or the actions taken by the individual to connect with their withdrawn culture. A deeper understanding of retro-acculturation and its processes is essential to leveraging a successful marketing effort in order to reach this demographic. As this population steadily reaches a larger population and quickly gains consumer buying power, it is important to be taking note of new and innovative ways of making lasting impressions on this demographic. This study focuses on exploring and discovering why individuals experience retro-acculturation and their triggers, as well as what approaches they use to connect to their heritage culture. Additionally, the insights gained were leveraged to provide recommendations as to how business can more effectively market to reach this demographic.
ContributorsHanson, Rebecca Jane (Co-author) / Burgess, Julia (Co-author) / Montoya, Detra (Thesis director) / Riker, Elise (Committee member) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Department of Management and Entrepreneurship (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Companies are constantly looking for a way to increase sales and productivity from their workforce. A popular way to spark motivation and competition is through employee sales contests or incentive-based plans. In theory, these contests are geared to include every employee at the sales level in the organization and are thought to boost motivation across the board. But, sales contests receive substantial attention regarding their effectiveness from the academic and professional press due to some unethical incidents happening at large corporations. There have been many studies regarding the effectiveness of contests, but many have inconclusive results and do not produce a definite answer. Because of this, further research is needed to confirm the effectiveness of such contests used in the professional world. Further research would require a study that is much longer in length, as there are many variables that are behind the psychological factors associated to sales contests.
I conducted a study on the effective design, implementation, motivational factors, and takeaways upon completion of such contests. The purpose of this study is to find out whether or not sales contests are an effective way of motivating a diverse workforce. The results suggest that sales contests are a hyper-efficient tool to increase employee motivation but must be prepared for and implemented correctly in order to achieve efficient results. I recommend that sales managers use contests as a tool to gauge the motivational and behavioral changes in their employees resulting from such contests, instead of just trying to gain more revenue. Also, to combat the growing threat of unethical behaviors as a result of running sales contests, leaders need to implement appropriate measures, like unethical behavior diversion courses.
I conducted a study on the effective design, implementation, motivational factors, and takeaways upon completion of such contests. The purpose of this study is to find out whether or not sales contests are an effective way of motivating a diverse workforce. The results suggest that sales contests are a hyper-efficient tool to increase employee motivation but must be prepared for and implemented correctly in order to achieve efficient results. I recommend that sales managers use contests as a tool to gauge the motivational and behavioral changes in their employees resulting from such contests, instead of just trying to gain more revenue. Also, to combat the growing threat of unethical behaviors as a result of running sales contests, leaders need to implement appropriate measures, like unethical behavior diversion courses.
ContributorsWitt, Tyler Lee (Author) / Montoya, Detra (Thesis director) / Dietrich, John (Committee member) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Department of Management and Entrepreneurship (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
I conducted a study on women’s success, behaviors, and experiences in professional sales. The purpose of this study is to determine the extent that women are successful in professional sales careers and what the driving forces are behind that success. I did this through exploring a variety of factors like historical statistics, recruitment and selection, and women in sales leadership. I conducted both a literature review and informational interviews with sales women to gain valuable insights. The results suggest that women are successful in professional sales in a variety of industries due to several reasons. These reasons include their ability to form strong relationships with clients, to assess client needs, and to stay organized. I recommend that companies take a series of measures such as implementing mentorship programs, changing language used on job applications, and intentionally promoting women in order to attract and retain more women within their sales organizations. This will lead to higher profitability as the workforce is more diverse from a gender perspective.
ContributorsStaal, Hannah (Author) / Dietrich, John (Thesis director) / Montoya, Detra (Committee member) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-12