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- Creators: Montoya, Detra
- Creators: Byrne, Jared
- Status: Published
To gain insight into the state of the industry and current position of independent bookstores, I will first examine the past fifty years of the brick-and-mortar bookstore, followed by a Porter’s Five Forces analysis of the industry threats and a SWOT analysis to compare the strengths and weaknesses of independent bookstores. Next, the patrons of independent bookstores will be discussed with a focus on the two largest consumer groups of Millennials and Baby Boomers, their characteristics, and the opportunities they provide to bookstores. After this there will be an exploration of the competitors to brick-and-mortar bookstores, focusing on Amazon and then touching on some of the other rivals to bookstores’ consumer base. The next section will be an in-depth analysis of a variety of bookstores across the United States, with attention to their successful practices, goals, concerns, and failures. First, there will be a comparison of industry success and failure through case studies of Borders and Powell’s bookstores. Next, there will be a comparison of five beloved independent bookstores across the country to share their varied competitive advantages that are the secret to their success. Finally, there are primary source interviews with the employees of three major Phoenix bookstores, which provide insight into the goals, current projects, attitudes, and inner strengths of these businesses. Finally, the thesis will conclude with a section offering solutions and suggestions for independent bookstores to pursue based on the primary and secondary research discussed above. These recommendations are focused on five key areas:
• Community
• Consumers
• Store Design
• Technology
• Diversification
Ultimately, the information provided by this research and these interviews indicates that while vital business changes are being pursued by independent and chain bookstores across the United States, the independent bookstore shows no signs of disappearing in favor of online vendors or e-readers.
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.
• 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.
Honored Brow is a local, non-profit, start-up business that specializes in brow lamination and lash lifts with tinting services. The business is founded and operated by four students enrolled in Arizona State University, Barrett, The Honors College. Honored Brow’s mission, through the thesis project, is to connect and provide brow and lash services to enhance natural beauty and empower women. In an effort to positively impact the community, Honored Brow is partnering with Dress for Success Phoenix, a nonprofit organization that empowers women to achieve economic independence by providing a network of support, professional attire, and the development tools needed to help them thrive in work and in life. All proceeds raised will be donated to Dress for Success located in Phoenix, Arizona to help them in their endeavors.
Devils Discard is an upcoming e-commerce platform whose mission is to make transactions safer for students first at Arizona State University and then at campuses around the world. When a student becomes interested in using the platform and makes an account, they are subjected to an information matching process to verify that that the student is currently enrolled. The student sees posts from students on his campus, and his or her posts are more likely to be seen by students on the same campus as the student. Unlike Craigslist and Offer UP, users do not post addresses. Instead, students post a location on campus to meet and sell/trade items. These mechanisms are intended to provide a safer place for students to make sales than other platforms could offer. The timetable for the launch of the platform at the moment is before May 2023. This paper will outline the business model this concept will follow in terms of its branding, consumer interaction, marketing strategy, and potential source of income and expenses.
With a deep emphasis on the criticality of mitigating brand dilution whilst manipulating product offerings, this paper will then provide a golf-specific industry trend analysis, diving into the various ways marketers at TaylorMade Golf, Callaway Golf, and Cleveland/Srixon/XXIO Golf leverage brand equity while mitigating brand dilution risks. With a greater understanding of marketing-theory based principles and research conducted on the current customer trends prevalent in the golf industry, supplemented by marketing-personnel survey responses, I will be able to translate branding-based principles into recommendations for companies competing in the golf equipment industry.
CircaLight is a Barrett Honors Thesis Project that was conducted through the Founder’s Lab Program in the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University. A team of three students, each with different majors, came together to complete the project. Jackson Krug, Benjamin Sare, and Gabriel Zimm formed the team as part of Cohort 3 of the 2021-2022 Founders Lab Program. They are each pursuing bachelors degrees in Mechanical Engineering, Finance, and Business Administration, respectively. This diversity of schooling allowed them to approach this project from multiple, diverse perspectives. Due to their familiarity with sleep deprivation throughout college, the team chose to pursue a project centered around NASA’s Advanced Solid State Lighting System, which functionally mimics the changes in natural light that humans would typically experience on earth. This technology provides these same fluctuations to astronauts in space. A unique logo and branding were created for a potential product that would use this technology. Three different marketing strategies relating to this brand were developed and tested to achieve this project’s goal: determining the best prospective market for this technology. The three potential market areas we tested dealt with: general fatigue & lack of productivity, family sleep habits, and jet lag. Through our research, we found the most attractive market to be people who are looking to improve their sleep habits and productivity at home. Conversely, we concluded that while there is an audience for travel fatigue solutions, the market is not interested in this NASA technology.