Matching Items (34)
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- All Subjects: Marketing
- Creators: Department of Management and Entrepreneurship
- Member of: Barrett, The Honors College Thesis/Creative Project Collection
Description
This paper looks at the growth of influencer marketing in application and how it has shifted the relationship between brands and consumers. Barriers to enter the space and methods of practice are discussed and analyzed to project the accessibility of obtaining influencer status. Best practices for brands and influencers are outlined based on research, and key findings are analyzed from interviewed participants that play an active role in the field. Another component of the paper includes the discussion of the significance of platform dependence regarding influencers and brands using social media channels to reach consumers. The dynamic of the relationship that exists between consumers, brands and platforms is demonstrated through a model to demonstrate the interdependence of the relationship. The final component of the paper involves the exploration of the field as an active participant through an experiment that was conducted by the researcher on behalf of the question: can anyone be an influencer? The answer to this question is explored through personal accounts on the journey during an eight month process of testing content creation and promotion to build awareness and increase engagement. The barriers to enter the space as an influencer and to collaborate with brands is addressed through the process of testing tactics and strategies on social channels, along with travel expeditions across Arizona to contribute to content creation purposed into blog articles. The findings throughout the paper are conclusive that the value of influencer marketing is increasing as more brands validate and utilize this method in their marketing efforts.
ContributorsDavis, Natalie Marie (Author) / Giles, Bret (Thesis director) / Schlacter, John (Committee member) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
Artificial intelligence (AI) is a burgeoning technology, industry, and field of study. While interest levels regarding its applications in marketing have not yet translated into widespread adoption, AI holds tremendous potential for vastly altering how marketing is done. As such, AI in marketing is a crucial topic to research. By analyzing its current applications, its potential use cases in the near future, how to implement it and its areas for improvement, we can achieve a high-level understanding of AI's long-term implications in marketing. AI offers an improvement to current marketing tactics, as well as entirely new ways of creating and distributing value to customers. For example, programmatic advertising and social media marketing can allow for a more comprehensive view of customer behavior, predictive analytics, and deeper insights through integration with AI. New marketing tools like biometrics, voice, and conversational user interfaces offer novel ways to add value for brands and consumers alike. These innovations all carry similar characteristics of hyper-personalization, efficient spending, scalable experiences, and deep insights. There are important issues that need to be addressed before AI is extensively implemented, including the potential for it to be used maliciously, its effects on job displacement, and the technology itself. The recent progression of AI in marketing is indicative that it will be adopted by a majority of companies soon. The long-term implications of vast implementation are crucial to consider, as an AI-powered industry entails fundamental changes to the skill-sets required to thrive, the way marketers and brands work, and consumer expectations.
ContributorsCannella, James (Author) / Ostrom, Amy (Thesis director) / Giles, Charles (Committee member) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Department of Management and Entrepreneurship (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
Arizona State University has prided itself on the mission to become a global leader in innovation, sustainability, and inclusion for students of all backgrounds. To provide the most meaningful experiences and promote student growth both personally and professionally, the university offers over 800 students organizations for involvement and leadership on campus. With a heavy reliance on paper and print materials, large-scale engagement events such as Passport to ASU and Panhellenic Formal Recruitment have become wasteful and inefficient, straying from the goals established by university president, Michael M. Crow. The processes involved within these two events are outdated and limit accessibility for many students, minimizing the opportunity to get involved and connect with their peers. Engage is a company founded by an Arizona State University student, hoping to find feasible solutions to meet the needs and improve the overall student engagement experience. By designing two separate mobile applications for Passport to ASU and Panhellenic Formal Recruitment, Engage has eliminated the need for paper and print materials while simplifying the event processes for incoming students and the organizations. These apps will similarly improve accessibility for all students, allowing users to get involved and connect with peers without limitations such as transportation or time. Innovation is a key focus of Arizona State University, and to stay competitive they must find new ways to improve the student experience and modernize current offerings. Getting involved is often considered one of the defining parts of collegiate life, and the university must work to maximize opportunities and make the transition as effortless and enjoyable as possible. By implementing these two mobile apps, student engagement will reach new heights and realign with the missions Arizona State University was founded upon.
ContributorsFitzgerald, Paige Elizabeth (Author) / Montoya, Detra (Thesis director) / Giles, Bret (Committee member) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Department of Management and Entrepreneurship (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
This thesis examined whether the saturation of the social identity environment could impact consumer decision-making and preferences. One experimental study revealed that consumer preference for identity-salient products is moderated by the strength of the identity of the consumer and saturation of the social identity environment. Results showed that when participants held a strong native membership, they were more likely to engage with identity relevant products when in an unsaturated (vs. saturated) social identity environment. Conversely, participants who held a low native membership were more likely to engage with identity relevant products when they are in a saturated social identity environment vs. an unsaturated social identity environment.
ContributorsRamohalli, Kavitha (Author) / Kristofferson, Kirk (Thesis director) / Morales, Andrea (Committee member) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / Department of Management and Entrepreneurship (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
Study abroad provides an opportunity for students to grow, earn academic credit, and explore the world. The experience helps students develop a new set of skills and engage in another culture. However, only a small percentage of students across the United States participate in this opportunity. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate why students study abroad or choose not to. More specifically, this study examines the motivations and obstacles students have to studying abroad. The other questions that contribute to this study are: Why are students unable to study abroad? How do certain personality traits affect a student's choice to study abroad? How can university study abroad organizations attract more students to participate in their programs? Before conducting research, the author reflected on her reasons for studying abroad, the problems she encountered, and her overall experience. Based on her experience and knowledge as an ASU Study Abroad Recruiter, she identified the different types of students who have not studied abroad. These are: students who plan to study abroad, are unable to study abroad, and who do not want to study abroad. To address the purpose of this study, the author created survey questions based on her experience and background research. She conducted research through a survey on Qualtrics and administered it to college students in the W.P. Carey School of Business. After reviewing the results, she came to several conclusions that can serve as guidelines for marketing study abroad to different types of students. Based on these conclusions, the author developed marketing messages to appeal to students with certain personality traits as well as to students who have not studied abroad. For each message, she created a sample of an ad that can be used in print materials or social media campaigns.
ContributorsRefermat, Gianessa Marie (Author) / Eaton, John (Thesis director) / Olsen, Douglas (Committee member) / Department of Management and Entrepreneurship (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
The purpose of this thesis is to examine the effects of digital on the fashion industry. In order to accomplish this, we must first examine the fashion industry, as well as the emerging digital space, and how these two industries are rapidly colliding. Fashion, an industry that has been around since the early 1800s in the United States (Fashion History: The American System for Fashion, 2009), is being forced to pivot, and change its traditional practices, in order to remain relevant in a world heavily influenced by the Internet and consumer preferences. The largest changes taking place within fashion include the power of various industry influencers, including designers, magazines, retailers and lifestyle bloggers, and the rise of blogging as a fashion news source. Although designers, magazines and retailers still have significant clout within the industry, bloggers are becoming a force to be reckoned with, adding a new variable to the industry.
Meanwhile, digital is still being defined, as countless people work to determine best practices and reconcile the unending amount of information available into something that can be used. Trends in digital include the concept of new media, blogging, social media and new channels of media. Overall, we are seeing a shift to user-‐ generated content, available all the time, and a proliferation of content being created and published on the Web.
Some of the ways these two industries are colliding include the rise of lifestyle bloggers, developments and usage of technology, an abundance of new e-‐commerce models, and finally, a shift in the ways consumers curate and discover products online.
Predictions for the future include a more streamlined and user-‐friendly process for search and product discovery online, increase in social commerce and personalization of products, and finally, a return to brick and mortar shopping, but with an improved, experiential model. These trends will affect industry stakeholders dramatically, and so necessary actions for these stakeholders are also discussed, such as allocating more resources to content generation and e-‐commerce, giving consumers the ability to personalize, and improving their physical shopping experiences to provide something valuable and entertaining.
Meanwhile, digital is still being defined, as countless people work to determine best practices and reconcile the unending amount of information available into something that can be used. Trends in digital include the concept of new media, blogging, social media and new channels of media. Overall, we are seeing a shift to user-‐ generated content, available all the time, and a proliferation of content being created and published on the Web.
Some of the ways these two industries are colliding include the rise of lifestyle bloggers, developments and usage of technology, an abundance of new e-‐commerce models, and finally, a shift in the ways consumers curate and discover products online.
Predictions for the future include a more streamlined and user-‐friendly process for search and product discovery online, increase in social commerce and personalization of products, and finally, a return to brick and mortar shopping, but with an improved, experiential model. These trends will affect industry stakeholders dramatically, and so necessary actions for these stakeholders are also discussed, such as allocating more resources to content generation and e-‐commerce, giving consumers the ability to personalize, and improving their physical shopping experiences to provide something valuable and entertaining.
ContributorsLose', Jenna Elizabeth (Author) / Ostrom, Amy (Thesis director) / Giles, Bret (Committee member) / Boonlorn, Jennifer (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor)
Created2013-05
Description
Brands are increasingly turning towards content marketing as a tactic to engage with the people they are trying to serve. While creating content is a way to increase awareness about and affinity towards a brand beyond its product and service offerings, there are many brands that are not creating engaging and valuable content as it does not align with the objectives of the brand or the goals and pain points of its audience. Understanding content marketing best practices allows brands to see a higher return on investment for the content it is publishing. The content marketing learnings in "Building an Audience through Engaging Content" are applied to a project designed for the W. P. Carey Marketing Department. The Marketing Department wants to increase student engagement with and affinity towards the Department in the short term as students move from exploring their major and career opportunities into the long term as students become alumni. Marketing Matters is a marketing resource site designed by students for students. Research from interviews with content marketing professionals and secondary research on best practices from content marketing mavens resulted in the creation of a content marketing strategy for Marketing Matters that aligns with the objectives of the Marketing Department and the students it is serving. The content marketing strategy includes a discussion of strategy and tactics developed for the site, a voice and tone guide that content creators should follow when creating content for the site, and examples of content that would be used for the site.
ContributorsRobertson, Courtney Rose (Author) / Ostrom, Amy (Thesis director) / Giles, Bret (Committee member) / Department of English (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
Asana Arizona is a concept created by Arizona State University students Halie Blauser and Stephen Argentati to sell handmade jewelry. They were inspired to start making jewelry in their free time, and were interested to see if they could create a profitable small business. Their first priority was to create a strategic marketing plan, to examine the current external/internal environment and find marketplace opportunities. As a part of this they performed research to determine which fashion styles would be the best target demographic to market their products to, and found that consumers who identified as "Bohemian", "Hipster", and "Punk" were the best target demographics. They also found that a majority of college students do not care whether or not a product is handmade or locally made, and primarily just care about price. Online social media pages were created for Asana Arizona on Instagram, Etsy, and Facebook, and a Facebook ads were created and boosted towards the target fashion styles.
ContributorsArgentati, Stephen (Co-author) / Blauser, Halie (Co-author) / Eaton, Kathryn (Thesis director) / Schlacter, John (Committee member) / Department of Management and Entrepreneurship (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
General Motors is a well-established American company within the automotive industry. However, the industry is always evolving as new technologies, such as self-driving cars are introduced. This technology is predicted to have an impact on the current industry and change the way the world views transportation. General Motors cannot sit by as the technology is implemented if it wishes to continue to do well. Companies like Kodak made this mistake as the industry switched from film to digital photography. Kodak was too slow to react to the change and continued to develop and sell film-based products long after the technology became obsolete, which resulted in the eventual breakdown of the company. General Motors has already taken several steps in the right direction by purchasing Cruise Automation and allowing them to operate independently from the corporate brand. Overall, general public perception of this new technology is cautious, and most probably aren't ready for the high price that these self-driving vehicles will bring. Ride-sharing companies are the first adopters of this technology since they are able to pay the premium prices and can handle the testing of the vehicles. Private consumers cannot buy fully autonomous vehicles but can currently purchase vehicles with semi-autonomous capabilities, such as the Tesla Model S. These semi-autonomous vehicles come with a price that most consumers cannot afford resulting in low adoption rates. However, General Motors can resolve this slow adoption rate among private consumers by developing a new brand within its corporate portfolio under the name, Cruise, to develop, market, and sell self-driving vehicles to ride-sharing companies and commercial shipping companies. This brand will start out by exclusively selling to commercial entities before eventually expanding into the private consumer segment as costs become less prohibitive and adoption rates accelerate. This solution is designed to cement General Motors' position within the automotive industry and establish it as the go-to company for every self-driving need. This relationship developed between the company and the consumer will limit competitors and create a long, financially successful life for General Motors.
ContributorsKalmbach, Albert Christian (Author) / Arrfelt, Mathias (Thesis director) / McIntosh, Daniel (Committee member) / Department of Management and Entrepreneurship (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
The consumer decision making process is becoming less complicated, as consumers are turning more and more to social media and peers for reviews and suggestions of new products to purchase. Changes in purchasing trends, along with other external factors, have created a perfect environment for influencer marketing to become more effective for brands than traditional marketing strategies (including television, print, email and radio advertising)—by reaching the right target market with easier ways to track conversion rates and other returns on investment. This thesis looks at the factors that go in to influencer marketing, including why brands utilize this strategy—in terms of budget, returns on investment and best practices for finding the perfect influencers. It also looks at influencer marketing from the view of the influencers themselves. This thesis looks at the spectrum of influence and the motivation and goals of each level—from macro-influencers to micro-influencers and brand advocates. To better understand the research presented in this thesis, a case study of a successful brand, analysis of influencers and a creative project are all presented.
ContributorsOakes, Katherine Danielle (Author) / Montoya, Detra (Thesis director) / Giles, Bret (Committee member) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05