Matching Items (14)
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- All Subjects: Social Media
- All Subjects: Advertising
- Creators: Giles, Charles
- Member of: Barrett, The Honors College Thesis/Creative Project Collection
Description
The way that people consume media is changing. While every platform seems to shift to video, there is a not-so-quiet revolution going on in the podcast industry. Each week, 10,000 new podcasts are created and uploaded and this number continues to grow (Moore, 2018). As the prevalence of smartphones, faster download speeds, and streaming platforms have proliferated across the globe, more and more people are turning to podcasts to get their content fix. Young professionals are especially drawn to the format because it fits perfectly into their busy lifestyles. This thesis explored how to create, produce, and market a podcast to college students and entry level workers that are interested in pursuing a career in advertising. We collected data through conducting depth interviews and an online survey to podcast listeners as well marketing and design students. The insights drawn from this research were combined with a thorough trend analysis of the podcast market to find the factors that matter most to the target consumer. From there we produced eight episodes of the podcast and released them over a timespan of two and a half months. Finally, paid social media advertisements were used to target students at major advertising colleges around the country. The results of this thesis found that there are a number of important takeaways from the process that can help anyone build a podcast brand, audience and media strategy. Our research found that prospective podcasters should: maintain a consistent upload schedule, invest in audio quality, experiment with content strategy, know their target audience, own your show’s brand, and not rely on just one audio streaming platform.
ContributorsLarkin, Brianna Nicole (Co-author) / Larkin, Brianna (Co-author) / Teixeira, Trent (Thesis director) / Eaton, Kathryn Karnos (Committee member) / Giles, Charles (Committee member) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
Advertising to the Millennial Generation is an honors thesis project that combines research with a creative application. The thesis is broken into three main sections: a literature review of the Millennial Generation, three case studies identifying brands or advertising campaigns that have successfully reached Generation Y, and the application of these findings to an advertising campaign with additional marketing mix elements for Bose headphones.
Before creating a campaign targeting Millennials, this thesis first identifies which consumers belong in the Millennial demographic. The definition given looks beyond the ‘age 18-34’ demographic information and analyzes the generation’s unique characteristics, their feelings of being misunderstood by businesses, the importance of social media and technology in their world, and what motivates them to take action.
The subsequent case studies examine the advertising tactics of Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign, the burgeoning social news and entertainment website BuzzFeed, and Beats by Dre headphones. Each of these brands successfully captured the Gen Y demographic group, with an emphasis on the younger end of the 18-34 age spectrum, and effectively communicated their understanding of Millennials’ culture. Each of the three campaigns contained social or digital elements to create engaging and relevant content for the niche of younger Millennials. Immediately following the case studies, best practices are outlined to summarize the findings.
Finally, a digital campaign is proposed for Bose headphones. The literature review, case studies, and best practices contributed to the culminating campaign, which will allow Bose to reach the younger Millennial audience.
Before creating a campaign targeting Millennials, this thesis first identifies which consumers belong in the Millennial demographic. The definition given looks beyond the ‘age 18-34’ demographic information and analyzes the generation’s unique characteristics, their feelings of being misunderstood by businesses, the importance of social media and technology in their world, and what motivates them to take action.
The subsequent case studies examine the advertising tactics of Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign, the burgeoning social news and entertainment website BuzzFeed, and Beats by Dre headphones. Each of these brands successfully captured the Gen Y demographic group, with an emphasis on the younger end of the 18-34 age spectrum, and effectively communicated their understanding of Millennials’ culture. Each of the three campaigns contained social or digital elements to create engaging and relevant content for the niche of younger Millennials. Immediately following the case studies, best practices are outlined to summarize the findings.
Finally, a digital campaign is proposed for Bose headphones. The literature review, case studies, and best practices contributed to the culminating campaign, which will allow Bose to reach the younger Millennial audience.
ContributorsOechsner, Meredith Leigh (Author) / Montoya, Detra (Thesis director) / Ostrom, Amy (Committee member) / Giles, Charles (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
The purpose of this thesis will be to outline the different tactics involving social and digital media that film studios currently use to market their films. Before that is done, a brief history will be provided about the ways the film industry has promoted itself in the past, as well as a brief history of the development of social media. After the history is provided, the marketing tactics that studios use that involve digital and social media will be listed and explained. In addition to discussing the tactics used by studios, there will also be a discussion of the shifts that have occurred in the marketing of films at a strategic level. After the explanation of all the tactics mentioned, there will be an analysis of the ways two major Hollywood blockbusters, The Hunger Games and Gravity, used some of those tactics to promote themselves. Through all these sections, the reader will be able to comprehend how big of an impact social media has made on the film industry and understand exactly how it is used to promote films.
ContributorsRamirez, Alvaro R (Author) / Gruber, Diane (Thesis director) / Giles, Charles (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Management (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
Social media is often viewed as only being used for consumer-to-consumer communication. However, in today's society it has also become a necessary tool for businesses. Many businesses don't understand the importance of social media as a marketing strategy, and often disregard it. By neglecting social media, businesses are missing an opportunity to reach new customers and maintain communication with current customers. This thesis discusses the importance and benefits of using social media as a marketing tool for startup businesses specifically. Social media marketing is especially beneficial for startup businesses because they often lack the resources that more established businesses possess. New entrepreneurs are often at the center of these startups and also lack the necessary skills and knowledge essential to running and marketing a business. The research conducted in this thesis is intended to provide data about the most effective ways to engage a startup's audience via social media. This research will be directly applied to a local startup business called FlyCreationsAZ. The founder of this business is considered a new entrepreneur as this is his first ever business endeavor, and as a new entrepreneur faces many challenges. To assist Fly Creations in marketing via social media the POST methodology was applied. The POST methodology, which is an acronym for people, objectives, strategy and technology, was created by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff as a way to assemble a businesses' social media plan. The POST methodology provides Fly Creations with a customer persona, and several strategies and technologies to achieve its main objective.
ContributorsBroglia, Regina Elizabeth (Author) / Giles, Charles (Thesis director) / Schlacter, John (Committee member) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
Advertising has been a part of the marketing landscape for decades, evolving over time. Among the many tactics of advertising is the use of spokespeople, or brand personalities, that represent a brand and its offerings. Spokespeople have been around as early as the 1950s, with brands hiring well-known actors and actresses to represent everyday products. Since then, they have evolved to be more than just a brand representative. Fast forward to the 21st century, spokespeople have developed symbiotic relationships with brands, helping them create authentic connections with its consumers.
There are many successful cases of spokespeople enhancing a brand’s popularity and growing their sales, but what would happen to the brand if their spokesperson engaged in controversial behavior? The basis of this thesis, and my research, revolves around this research objective: to better understand if, and how, spokespeople affect a brand and its consumers. I conducted primary research in the form of a survey to test consumer’s attitudes and behaviors towards brands and spokespeople; additionally, I conducted secondary research to understand how spokespeople can impact a brand’s stock and sales performance. I expect spokespeople with high levels of association with the brands they represent to have a strong affect on a brand’s performance and perception.
The results of my research defy my expectations. Spokespeople that have a weaker association level with their brands had a strong affect on a brand and its consumers, and vice-versa with strong association levels. In the primary research, spokespeople with weak association levels with Nike and Papa John’s had a significant impact on how participants viewed and engaged with the brands. In addition, secondary research indicates there are significant affects on a brand’s performance as a result of the spokespeople, despite the weak association levels.
After conducting research, I concluded that to have effective spokespeople that can positively impact a brand and its consumers, they must possess two characteristics: trustworthiness and authenticity. The successful cases of spokespeople from my primary and secondary research possessed these characteristics. Consumers need to be able to trust the messages that come from spokespeople, and they need to be able to understand that the relationship between the them and the brand is authentic and makes sense. Therefore, if the spokespeople brands hire are trustworthy and authentic to the brand, then they will positively impact the performance and perception of the brand.
There are many successful cases of spokespeople enhancing a brand’s popularity and growing their sales, but what would happen to the brand if their spokesperson engaged in controversial behavior? The basis of this thesis, and my research, revolves around this research objective: to better understand if, and how, spokespeople affect a brand and its consumers. I conducted primary research in the form of a survey to test consumer’s attitudes and behaviors towards brands and spokespeople; additionally, I conducted secondary research to understand how spokespeople can impact a brand’s stock and sales performance. I expect spokespeople with high levels of association with the brands they represent to have a strong affect on a brand’s performance and perception.
The results of my research defy my expectations. Spokespeople that have a weaker association level with their brands had a strong affect on a brand and its consumers, and vice-versa with strong association levels. In the primary research, spokespeople with weak association levels with Nike and Papa John’s had a significant impact on how participants viewed and engaged with the brands. In addition, secondary research indicates there are significant affects on a brand’s performance as a result of the spokespeople, despite the weak association levels.
After conducting research, I concluded that to have effective spokespeople that can positively impact a brand and its consumers, they must possess two characteristics: trustworthiness and authenticity. The successful cases of spokespeople from my primary and secondary research possessed these characteristics. Consumers need to be able to trust the messages that come from spokespeople, and they need to be able to understand that the relationship between the them and the brand is authentic and makes sense. Therefore, if the spokespeople brands hire are trustworthy and authentic to the brand, then they will positively impact the performance and perception of the brand.
ContributorsHo, Yi-Chun (Author) / Giles, Charles (Thesis director) / Montoya, Detra (Committee member) / Dean, Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
This research covers the landscape of influencer marketing and combines it with the knowledge of 11 content creators and one social media specialist, ultimately producing an actionable handbook. Participants were asked questions that were intended to discover key strategies, level of difficulty, and overall insight into the content creator world. Best practices and key findings are identified in the research paper, and outlined into four parts in the handbook. The handbook serves as a compilation framework derived from my primary and secondary sources designed to provide anyone interested in becoming a content creator or social media influencer on steps they may take given what their predecessors have done to successfully launch their careers in the space.
ContributorsEsparza, Alexa (Author) / Giles, Charles (Thesis director) / Schlacter, John (Committee member) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-05
Description
As a society, we are more technologically advanced and globally interconnected than we have ever been before. The effects of the digital revolution have been translated through changes in consumer trends that undoubtedly disrupted the way business interact with consumers. The rise of social media platforms such as Instagram has challenged the effectiveness of traditional marketing tactics with the dominance of Influencer marketing. With the number of users growing every day, Influencer marketing has become the phenomena of our day as more brands are realizing the potential behind it. The purpose of this thesis is to decode the power behind nfluencer marketing by examining the factors that make it effective. To better understand this, this thesis starts off by looking into the way the different eras of marketing and the way it affected the customer relationship. Then, it takes a deep dive into the definition of an influencer, the different spectrums of influence, and the way to leverage each type. To find the root of its power, primary research is conducted on hundreds of people that study their perception of influencers and the level of trust they have with them.
ContributorsFranco, Mara (Author) / Eaton, John (Thesis director) / Giles, Charles (Committee member) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
Advertisements for financial instruments such as car loans, title loans, and rental agreements create the complex problem of presenting substantial loan agreement terms while also keeping an advertisement light and inviting. There are two main types of rules concerning how these advertisers can promote their products: regulation and guidance. Regulation is the official set of laws governing what can or must be said in an advertisement. Guidance is official suggestions for proper advertising practices that are not tied to written laws. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) controls regulation for the required disclosure in these advertisements and requires all material loan terms to be stated “clearly and conspicuously; however, advertisers still put important loan information in hard to see the fine print, making it difficult for the consumer to understand the advertisement. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is in charge of creating guidance, enforcing advertising regulation and preventing advertisements from becoming deceptive, but, due to the ambiguous nature of disclosure formatting requirements, many transgressions go uninhibited.
We conducted a survey to test consumer's perception and understanding of advertisements promoting financial instruments to see if advertisements that have run without contest from the Federal Trade Commission still have the ability to be deceptive or lack disclosure. We provided a variety of advertisements for markets such as automobiles and rent-to-own businesses. Each one of these advertisements dealt with a different financial instrument so that we could accurately test the knowledge of respondents. We collected 95 complete responses and 23 partial responses from our distribution of this survey.
Advertisements for financial instruments such as car loans, title loans, and rental agreements create the complex problem of presenting substantial loan agreement terms while also keeping an advertisement light and inviting. There are two main types of rules concerning how these advertisers can promote their products: regulation and guidance. Regulation is the official set of laws governing what can or must be said in an advertisement. Guidance is official suggestions of proper advertising practices that is not tied to written laws. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) controls regulation for the required disclosure in these advertisements and requires all material loan terms to be stated “clearly and conspicuously; however, advertisers still put important loan information in hard to see fine print, making it difficult for the consumer to understand the advertisement. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is in charge of creating guidance, enforcing advertising regulation and preventing advertisements from becoming deceptive, but, due to the ambiguous nature of disclosure formatting requirements, many transgressions go uninhibited.
We conducted a survey to test consumer's perception and understanding of advertisements promoting financial instruments to see if advertisements that have run without contest from the Federal Trade Commission still have the ability to be deceptive or lack disclosure. We provided a variety of advertisements for markets such as automobiles and rent-to-own businesses. Each one of these advertisements dealt with a different financial instrument so that we could accurately test the knowledge of respondents. We collected 95 complete responses and 23 partial responses from our distribution of this survey.
The results show that the average consumer does not have a complete understanding of financial instruments in the context of these advertisements. These results also demonstrated that consumers are not completely comprehending the information provided to them by these advertisements. We found that in some cases, it was the way that information was provided to the consumer that was causing them to have misconceptions about the information presented. We concluded that there were enough respondents that did not correctly interpret these advertisements to support that there is some misleading and deception by these advertisements despite the lack of context by the FTC. As such, we suggest that current federal guidance be made into official regulation to further prevent these transgressions and further attempts be made to locate and prevent deceptive advertisements.
We conducted a survey to test consumer's perception and understanding of advertisements promoting financial instruments to see if advertisements that have run without contest from the Federal Trade Commission still have the ability to be deceptive or lack disclosure. We provided a variety of advertisements for markets such as automobiles and rent-to-own businesses. Each one of these advertisements dealt with a different financial instrument so that we could accurately test the knowledge of respondents. We collected 95 complete responses and 23 partial responses from our distribution of this survey.
Advertisements for financial instruments such as car loans, title loans, and rental agreements create the complex problem of presenting substantial loan agreement terms while also keeping an advertisement light and inviting. There are two main types of rules concerning how these advertisers can promote their products: regulation and guidance. Regulation is the official set of laws governing what can or must be said in an advertisement. Guidance is official suggestions of proper advertising practices that is not tied to written laws. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) controls regulation for the required disclosure in these advertisements and requires all material loan terms to be stated “clearly and conspicuously; however, advertisers still put important loan information in hard to see fine print, making it difficult for the consumer to understand the advertisement. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is in charge of creating guidance, enforcing advertising regulation and preventing advertisements from becoming deceptive, but, due to the ambiguous nature of disclosure formatting requirements, many transgressions go uninhibited.
We conducted a survey to test consumer's perception and understanding of advertisements promoting financial instruments to see if advertisements that have run without contest from the Federal Trade Commission still have the ability to be deceptive or lack disclosure. We provided a variety of advertisements for markets such as automobiles and rent-to-own businesses. Each one of these advertisements dealt with a different financial instrument so that we could accurately test the knowledge of respondents. We collected 95 complete responses and 23 partial responses from our distribution of this survey.
The results show that the average consumer does not have a complete understanding of financial instruments in the context of these advertisements. These results also demonstrated that consumers are not completely comprehending the information provided to them by these advertisements. We found that in some cases, it was the way that information was provided to the consumer that was causing them to have misconceptions about the information presented. We concluded that there were enough respondents that did not correctly interpret these advertisements to support that there is some misleading and deception by these advertisements despite the lack of context by the FTC. As such, we suggest that current federal guidance be made into official regulation to further prevent these transgressions and further attempts be made to locate and prevent deceptive advertisements.
ContributorsYee, Thorin Cole (Co-author) / Heathcotte, Emily (Co-author) / Giles, Charles (Thesis director) / deLusé, Stephanie (Committee member) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
Influencer marketing is when individuals with dedicated social media followings are sought out by brands to utilize their position on certain platforms to endorse a brand’s products and be compensated through payment or merchandise. I will be looking at the concept of trust when it comes to influencer marketing alongside the Fogg Behavior Model. Used to evaluate an individual’s behavior in the decisions making process, The Fogg Behavior Model bases itself in a persuasive environment by focusing on three key elements: motivation, ability, and trigger. When utilized in collaboration with influencer marketing, these elements together could have a strong effect on driving consumer behaviors. I utilized one of the most recent and popular social media platforms, TikTok, known for its short-form mobile videos, to explore these behavioral elements in action. Like any other media platform, TikTok influencer marketing requires a high amount of trust between the consumer and influencer to be successful and efficiently persuade the target market. I collected primary research by surveying opinions on trust and buying behaviors based on three different videos. One video had a hidden partnership disclosure in the caption, the second had a plainly visible partnership disclosure, and the third had a plainly visible partnership disclosure and verbally disclosed the relationship between the brand and the influencer. The analysis showed that participants felt a higher degree of trust towards the video which contained a verbal disclosure of the influencer’s partnership with the brand. The results lacked specificity on whether this perception of trust would successfully lead to a purchase, which could be adjusted for in future research; however, it did show there was motivation through the Fogg Model to look further into the product presented. I recommend influencers be as transparent and genuine as possible to earn the trust or their followers, as well as ensure all three factors of Fogg are present to increase their persuasive abilities over consumers completing a purchase.
ContributorsGraves, Darien (Author) / Giles, Charles (Thesis director) / Schlacter, John (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2022-05
Description
Influencer marketing is when individuals with dedicated social media followings are sought out by brands to utilize their position on certain platforms to endorse a brand’s products and be compensated through payment or merchandise. I will be looking at the concept of trust when it comes to influencer marketing alongside the Fogg Behavior Model. Used to evaluate an individual’s behavior in the decisions making process, The Fogg Behavior Model bases itself in a persuasive environment by focusing on three key elements: motivation, ability, and trigger. When utilized in collaboration with influencer marketing, these elements together could have a strong effect on driving consumer behaviors. I utilized one of the most recent and popular social media platforms, TikTok, known for its short-form mobile videos, to explore these behavioral elements in action. Like any other media platform, TikTok influencer marketing requires a high amount of trust between the consumer and influencer to be successful and efficiently persuade the target market. I collected primary research by surveying opinions on trust and buying behaviors based on three different videos. One video had a hidden partnership disclosure in the caption, the second had a plainly visible partnership disclosure, and the third had a plainly visible partnership disclosure and verbally disclosed the relationship between the brand and the influencer. The analysis showed that participants felt a higher degree of trust towards the video which contained a verbal disclosure of the influencer’s partnership with the brand. The results lacked specificity on whether this perception of trust would successfully lead to a purchase, which could be adjusted for in future research; however, it did show there was motivation through the Fogg Model to look further into the product presented. I recommend influencers be as transparent and genuine as possible to earn the trust or their followers, as well as ensure all three factors of Fogg are present to increase their persuasive abilities over consumers completing a purchase.
ContributorsGraves, Darien (Author) / Giles, Charles (Thesis director) / Schlacter, John (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor)
Created2022-05