An increasing number of products and services are not differentiated by inherent features, but by the vendors, particularly their reputation and marketing commu- cation. Consequently, a positive reputation provides competing vendors with a virtually inimitable competitive advantage. Contemporary research concerning antecedents and consequences of reputation in the domain of marketing is dominated by branding and line extension issues. Organizations' communication efforts and the relation of reputation and the c- munication media are not fully understood; nor have they been challenged up to now. Moreover, customers' perception of reputation is clearly embedded in their cultural context. However, contemporary marketing research restricts both conceptual and empirical considerations to Western-type cultures. Frequently, even the differences in Western-type cultures are neglected. Considering these shortcomings in contemporary marketing research, Dr. Christine Falkenreck investigates the opportunities and limits, and also the potential bene?ts and dangers of transferring a vendor's positive reputation to product categories never produced or offered by the considered vendor. Embedding the empirical investigation of both reputation management and reputation transfer in a coherent theoretical framework, which is grounded in the Commitment-Trust theory, is her merit. She derives and validates an integrated model that appears to be valid in all cultures considered in her study. The results of this analysis contribute substantially to our understanding of reputation measuring and managing. These results are not restricted to academic interests and they provided practitioners with a variety of new insights. Thus, this thesis will ho- fully be widely discussed in both academia and management practice.

Though many still think that we live in an information economy, Ernest Sternberg asserts that the driving force in 21st-century capitalism is not information, but image. Through studies of food processing, real estate development, tourism, movies, and labor performances, he examines how businesses endow products with evocative meaning.

It has become common wisdom that we live in a postindustrial information society in which data and calculation underlie wealth. But now that information is as routinely produced as industrial or agricultural goods, businesses are discovering that they best achieve competitive advantage by producing what consumers most dearly seek--personal meaning. The 21st-century economy produces just that: not merely information, but evocative images; not just commodities, but meaning-laden icons. As Sternberg shows, foods now appeal through their sensuality and nostalgia; houses and stores draw customers through their exoticism; people sell their labor through the deliberate performance of the self for the market; and tourist destinations offer up carefully crafted thematic experiences. Whereas farms, factories, and information processors once stood at the core of the economy, now movie studios do, producing the product valued above all, meaningful content, from which downstream firms acquire the themes that animate desire.

Now that meaning pervades production, Sternberg argues, modes of inquiry once reserved for the humanities make sense in the study of the economy. Drawing on art history and aesthetics, he introduces iconography as a mode of cultural analysis adapted to the study of commercial production. Through comparative studies of diverse economic sectors, ranging from food processing to tourism, Sternberg carries out an iconographic analysis of the new economy. This is a provocative study for scholars, students, and professionals dealing with marketing and consumer research, culture and media studies, socio-economics, and economic geography.

Women buy the weekly shopping, home insurance, household appliances, soft furnishings, holidays and more. CEO's and Marketers need to acknowledge that women really are the Boss when it comes to buying. They also need to understand the many psychological and behavioral characteristics of women that affect their relationships with brands. This book identifies the key biological and brain differences between women and men, then defines more effective marketing approaches based on these insights.

A colourful history of advertising. The process of producing goods and services is relatively easy to recognize as socially beneficial. But television ads? Telemarketers? Jingles? Junk mail? It is popular to view these commercial activities as inherently wasteful or manipulative, marginally informative or entertaining, at best. The most vociferous critics marshal economic and sociological data to argue that advertising dilutes culture and moral values, encourages conspicuous consumption, defrauds the public, and promotes dangerous products and behaviours. In Selling the Dream, John Hood takes the provocative stand that advertising images and sales pitches are actually part of the goods and services themselves, delivering an essential component of the consumer's experience. As such, they are inextricably linked to the basic tenets of the free-market system, and, in the boldest of terms, Hood argues that commercial communication is morally consistent with the principles of a democratic society, including freedom of choice, competition, and innovation. Tracing the history of advertising from Ancient Roman times to the present, through the first American newspaper ad in 1704, P.T. the modern consumer society, Hood offers a colourful account of advertising in its cultural context. Moreover, he addresses such controversial issues as the promotion of harmful and immoral products (such as tobacco and alcohol), marketing to children, the role of advertising in service industries such as health care and education, and the impact of the Internet and other new media on the conduct of commerce. In the process, he offers a compelling perspective on advertising and its essential role in business, communication, and popular culture. Advertising is a ubiquitous part of our consumer culture. It draws from business, economics, politics, and history to present a colourful picture of advertising in context and argues that advertising is an essential ingredient of competition, innovation, and free-market economic growth. Deals with controversial issues, such as advertising immoral products and advertising to children.

We are currently at the beginning of a great business phenomenon: The Hispanic Gold RushTM of the 21st century. Organizations are certainly trying to do all the right things to leverage the potential that the Hispanic market offers. However, in spite of their massive investments of effort and resources, many businesses experience only limited success and are not gaining the loyalty they expect from Hispanic consumers. How to Win The Hispanic Gold RushTM explains the reasons why many organizations have had little success in marketing to Hispanics in the U.S. Practical tools are conveyed to help businesses better direct their resources so they may succeed in this challenging marketplace. Demographic data about the Hispanic population is presented, together with valuable information about cultural and motivational traits that are unique to Hispanics--and that determine their purchasing decisions. In addition, it describes four potential steps organizations can take to effectively increase their penetration of this important ethnic group.

This book presents the most up-to-date account of research based on the Behavioural Perspective Model of consumer choice. The accumulated empirical results, which draw on behavioural economics, psychology, and marketing, are summarized, after which the philosophy of science that underpins the model is explored. Foxall's contribution to the debate about the explanation of consumer choice, intentional behaviourism, is both expounded and critiqued, and the resulting synthesis is explored in relation to its relevance to marketing management, public policy on environmental matters, the adoption and diffusion of innovations, and further research in consumer behaviour and marketing. This is a major contribution to consumer research and marketing theory.

This volume aims to help increase knowledge, skills and insights into making effective decisions in the 'bigger hall' of marketing management. It contains 17 case studies which are aimed at improving the reader's skills in making and carrying out effective decisions in industrial and business marketing. Each of the case studies provides an understanding of the culture of a particular firm in a particular industry. All are based on field research studies of actual firms. The topics included cover: setting strategic direction; product and customer portfolio analysis; product development; advertising; pricing; channel management; environmental scanning; measuring strengths and weaknesses; understanding competitors' behaviour; auditing marketing activities; and international marketing strategies. These case studies also provide a diversity of industry settings ranging from a small Japanese printing firm located to MacTec Control AB, a Swedish manufacturer of high-tech equipment and from Thomson Consumer Electronics to Cavity Oil Pumps.

Building brands in emerging markets is akin to navigating a minefield. One misstep and the entire enterprise may blow up in your face with your brand consigned to the grave yard of marketing casualties How is branding in an emerging economy different from the same exercise in a mature economy? What are the peculiar challenges brand managers face when they find themselves in socially complex and rapidly changing emerging markets? The Seven Dimensions of Branding articulates the fundamental elements of the branding process, with specific reference to Africa's largest emerging market, Nigeria. Drawing on the author's more than two decades of helping local and international brands, the book gives you an insight into the peculiar challenges of creating and building successful brands in Africa and explains why global brands are not emerging from this vibrant continent. The Seven Dimensions shows how the universal principles of branding may be successfully applied in emerging economies.

This is the sixth volume in a series presenting the latest research in the field of applied business strategy.

This is the 13th volume in the series on "Research in Marketing."

The future success of many companies in the United States and Europe is becoming more dependent on effectively developing and expanding markets in new emerging and partially developed countries. Few companies, however, know how to do it well, if at all. Their success rate is low, while the cost of failure remains high. Caslione and Thomas provide insights, knowledge, special tools, and the experience that will show executives how to take hold of these challenges. Through case studies of companies in a wide cross-section of industries, the authors highlight the processes necessary to develop successful market entry, sales, and distribution strategies for their companies in emerging markets around the world.

Global business strategy can no longer be focused on only one country or region; the risks are too great. Only when a truly global company develops a holistic and global perspective and implements proven strategies can the success in the new global economy be achieved.

Over the past decade, platforms have spread through many industries and generated an increasing share of the global economy. Many of the world's most valuable companies have adopted a platform-based business model and today, we find that platforms pervade our everyday lives. So far, however, the existing management literature has failed to provide professionals and students with appropriate tools to understand the business models that make those platforms successful. This book offers rigorous analysis of the complexity of platforms, as well as practical strategic guidance and tools to help you deal with this complexity. Written in an accessible style and based on a comprehensive approach, Platform Strategies is self-contained and does not require the reader to have specific prior knowledge. The book is both academically rigorous and a pragmatic and efficient guide, incorporating path-breaking insights from academic research on platforms with real-world applications of concepts and tools. The book engages with case studies and highlights important take-aways that can be implemented in practice. You'll learn how to use new tools of strategic management and how to adapt well-established ones. This book is an invaluable resource for entrepreneurs (experienced or aspiring), managers of existing platforms and businesses, professionals, and students in business, management and economics.

* An engaging introduction to the essentials of digital marketing; * Examines of the challenges and issues of integrating digital content, measuring performance outcomes and understanding digital analytics; * Contains international case studies to illustrate how digital marketing is being used in various industry settings. Do you know where to start with digital marketing? This user-friendly text book provides an engaging introduction to digital marketing to help you understand of the impact of digital channels on marketing operations. It introduces the essential terms, and practices of digital marketing and applies theory to explain the rationale for choosing to use a specific approach in a given context. It provides an overview of digital marketing challenges and opportunities by defining the field, explaining the structure of digital marketing management and introducing the digital marketing mix. It explains how to use digital marketing to enhance the customer experience and how to integrate digital marketing into existing channels. It also examines new digital business models including crowd sourcing and crowd funding. Finally it examines the key performance indicators of technology acceptance, customer satisfaction and customer engagement and the choice of analytics that can be used for measuring these outcomes.

National and international salespeople experience a variety of difficulties in the course of their profession, but they don't get much understanding from the public.

In this personal account, Marvin Rubinstein looks back at a career traveling from city to city and country to country trying to make a buck in this eye-opening account of what it's reallylike to be in the sales business. Even if you're a salesperson sitting in a comfortable chair and calling people on the phone, you can find entertainment and valuable lessons in this instructive narrative. You'll discover

tips on converting prospects into customers;

guidance on avoiding cultural missteps;

advice on making air travel cheaper and more comfortable; and

ground rules for meeting friendly members of the opposite sex (if you're in that market).

Part memoir, part travelogue, and part sales guide, Rubinstein's story recalls the wide range of trials, tribulations, opportunities, and disappointments that he experienced during his lifetime of sales adventure.

"The International Brand Valuation Manual" is a detailed and extensive review of the main brand valuation models. The book reveals the state of the art in the field of brand valuation and coherently relates major trends in the theory and practice of brand valuation. This "one-stop" source is for valuation professionals as well as financial and marketing specialists who need to have an understanding of the principal valuation methods. Salinas also analyses the respective efficacy, advantages, disadvantages, and prospects for the future for each method.

The book:

- Provides a thorough overview of all the tools available for the brand valuation practitioner.

- Offers an informed view on which methodologies are most suitable for different types of applications, and explains why.

- Acts as an all-in-one source of reference for specialists who advise clients on which methodology to employ, or who are considering adopting one themselves.

- Features case studies and examples from Guinness, PwC, Rolls-Royce, Santander, Shell, Telefonica, Unilever, BMW, Hanson Trust, Cadbury-Schweppes, Kellogg, Coco-Cola, Mercedes, Rolex, among others.

Gabriella Salinas is the Global Brand Manager at Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Madrid, Spain.

Introduces the key terms, concepts and practices to provide a firm foundation for undergraduate students. It discusses contemporary technologies used in marketing alongside established practices to develop an understanding of the positive effects of marketing balanced with critical discussion about it's contribution to the wider aims of society. International in approach, it highlights a range of real life practices through examples and short case studies. It includes: * Marketing as an idea and a practice. * How to understand and reach customers, researching and choosing segments * Marketing functions-providing value from products, services, pricing and distribution to branding and communications. * Responsible marketing and contemporary technologies To help support their learning, readers have access to a range of online resources including chapter-by-chapter multiple choice questions which will enable them to assess how well they have grasped individual chapters. The text also features a range of supplementary readings, in text exercises and cases/examples to help bring concepts to life.

This comprehensive handbook critically addresses current issues and achievements in the field of media branding. By discussing media branding from different viewpoints, disciplines and research traditions, this book offers fresh perspectives and identifies areas of interest for further research. The authors highlight the peculiarities of this field and reveal links and commonalities with other areas of study within communication science. The chapters address different research areas, such as society-, content-, management-, audience- as well as advertising aspects of media brands. This handbook thus brings together contributions from different areas making it a valuable resource for researchers and experts from industry interested in media branding.

This book brings together current innovative methods and approaches to segmentation and outlines why segmentation is needed to support more effective social marketing program design. It presents a variety of segmentation approaches alongside case studies of their application in various social marketing contexts. The book extends the use of segmentation in social marketing, which will ultimately lead to more effective and better-tailored programs that deliver change for the better. As such, it offers a detailed handbook on how to conduct state-of-the-art segmentation, and provides a valuable resource for academics, social marketers, educators, and advanced students alike.

This is the sixth volume in a series presenting the latest research in the field of applied business strategy.

Now, more than ever, your brand is either loved - or it's noise.

In a world defined by digital products and immediate gratification, how can your brand stand out? When consumers can easily have anything, how can your brand be the one thing they can't live without?

To rise to this challenge, brands must shape not just what consumers buy, but how they act, feel and connect. This requires a new perspective, one that goes beyond business and into the fundamentals of human behaviour.

Branding that Means Business combines the latest business thinking with psychology, sociology, and anthropology to show that a brand can't serve a business unless it connects with people.

Equipped with these human-based perspectives, you'll have the tools to create, enhance and distinguish your brand in new and impactful ways - and make it a must-have in the minds and lives of your consumers.