BRAND MANAGEMENT PRO-SOCIAL ACTIVITIES AS AN EFFECTIVE ELEMENT OF IMAGE STRATEGY

The aim of this article is to research the effectiveness of pro-social actions in the building of a brand image and if it really might be an effective determinant of marketing actions – which has an influence on consumer choices: chosen aspects of pro-social actions used in the strategies of NIVEA and Rossmann drugstores are explored here. In addition, analyzes of pro-social actions during pandemic was carried out. It is proved that companies which took a part in relief efforts during the crisis were appreciated by consumers; which helped when it came to creating brand value. The most important question seems to be not “Whether to invest in CSR?” but “How to invest?” This issue is sure to become the subject of numerous research projects and analyzes in the future.

Promotion of the specialty "Information, library and archival affairs" in the german Wikipedia.

d the importance of its promotion abroad, in particular in the German-speaking environment through thecreation of a page on Wikipedia. The methodology of the research to achieve the goal of the article andperform the tasks were used such methods as theoretical analysis and generalization of data from scientificand methodological literature, the method of collecting social information, methods of mathematical statistics.Comparative, typological, retrospective methods were used for full-fledged research and disclosure of the topic.The scientific novelty lies in the expansion of knowledge and popularization of the specialty «Information,library and archival affairs». An information model of the communication process in the Wikipedia system isproposed; the advantages of using information and communication technologies and marketing actions in thepopularization of services on the Internet are proved. It is emphasized that the process of creating an articlerequires some effort and knowledge, but with the help of constant edits and additions of users, the informationwill remain relevant. Conclusions. Creating an article in German will provide an opportunity to establishinternational cooperation in the educational environment and promote the specialty «Information, Library andArchival Affairs», which is taught at the Department of Social Communications and Information Activities ofthe National University «Lviv Polytechnic» in German-speaking countries. The article recommends correctingalready written and adding new articles to promote and qualitatively fill Wikipedia, increasing the number ofits readers both among the Ukrainian population and abroad. Displaying the communication process usingsimulations in visual mode shows all the processes and interactions that will take place or are already takingplace in the system after the user of the free electronic encyclopedia «Wikipedia» edits one of the articles orwants to make a new one.Keywords: information and communication technologies, educational process, German-speakingenvironment, Internet, specialty, information and library business, Wikipedia.

How Web Shops Impact Consumer Behavior?

The behavior of e-customers is quite unpredictable, which raises additional questions about this topic. The purpose of the paper is to conduct research on e-customers, understand the impact of marketing actions on e-customer behavior and understand the unpredictability of e-customers. Research was conducted on the Mlinar web shop that sells cakes. 284 respondents/buyers had the opportunity to solve questionnaires about behavior after purchase and consumption of product. Different methods have been used in the analysis - descriptive statistics, multivariate analysis (reliability analysis, correlation analysis and linear regression) and analysis of variance (ANOVA). The results showed that most examinees were satisfied with online shopping on the Mlinar web shop and that they are impulsive when online shopping. Saving time is the main reason to buy on a web shop. Research proved that variables such as firm reputation/perceived value, e-satisfaction and online services positively affect the creation of e-loyalty in their users.

The Relationship between Intrinsic Motivations and Commitment of Consumers in Brand Communities of Entertainment Media

Social Networking Sites (SNSs) play an increasingly important role in the marketing of products and services. This study aims to explore the relationship between intrinsic motivations and the level of commitment of followers of the brand communities of the media that cover showbusiness. To address this issue, a cross-sectional methodological strategy was adopted in which a questionnaire with a Likert-type scale was administered to 313 users of Facebook fan pages. The main findings show that there are four groups of motivations: community spirit, enthusiasm for the brand, search for entertainment and prize chase. Each of these motivational categories features two variations in the level of commitment, with fans divided into enthusiasts and pragmatists. The findings may allow the establishment of ways to use commitment and motivation more efficiently with regard to marketing actions, something which will also contribute to SNS managers' strategic decisions.

Consumer attitudes towards the mountain product label: Implications for mountain development

To protect and promote the originality and authenticity of mountain foodstuffs, the European Union set Regulation No 1151/2012 to create the optional quality term “mountain product”. Our research aimed at exploring the attractiveness of the mountain product label for consumers, considering both attitude towards the label itself and purchase intentions. We propose a model to investigate relationships between four latent constructs — mountain attractiveness, mountain food attractiveness, attitude towards the mountain product label, and purchase intention — which have been tested, thus confirming the statistical relevance of the relationships. All 47 items selected for describing the latent constructs are suitable for this purpose. Ridge and LASSO results also show that 17 items of the first three constructs are relevant in explaining purchase intentions. Some contextual variables, such as age, income, geographical origin of consumers, and knowledge of mountain products and mountains for tourism purposes, can positively influence consumers’ behavior. These findings could support the design of mountain development strategies, in particular marketing actions for both the product and the territory.

Analyse du Contexte Politique et Socio-Economiques et des Differences Qu’il Peut Apporter au Marketing Politique en Tant Que Concept Theorique : Maroc - Legislatives 2016

En dépit de l’attention qu’a reçue le marketing politique et des progrès conceptuels et empiriques qui ont été accomplis, les chercheurs reconnaissent souvent les différences et les difficultés de conceptualisation et d’opérationnalisation de ce construit. L’action politique est un événement contextuel et est le résultat de nombreuses influences. À travers des recherches documentaires et des entretiens semi-directifs avec des observateurs-experts (journalistes et académiciens) en matière de la chose politique, cette contribution a essayé de voir si le marketing politique présentedes caractéristiques similaires dans des contextes politique et socioéconomique différents. Nous soutenons l’idée d’une prise en considération plus explicite des facteurs contextuels dans la dynamique des actions marketing des partis politiques au Maroc. La présente contribution est le résultat d’une étude de contextualisation de notre travail de recherche sur le marketing politique et la performance électorale. Un contexte délimité en l’année législative 2016. Despite the attention that political marketing has received and the conceptual and empirical advances that have been made, researchers still face difficulties in conceptualizing and operationalizing the concept. Political action is a contextual event and is the result of many influences. Through a documentary research and semi-structured interviews with observers and experts (journalists and academics) in politics and marketing, this paper focuses on ascertaining if political marketing presents similar characteristics in different political and socio-economical contexts. The study also focused on a more explicit consideration of contextual factors in the marketing actions dynamics of political parties in Morocco. This contribution is the output of a contextualization study of our research on political marketing and electoral performance.

Investigating the marketing strategies of the health and fitness sector in Greece; the managers' perspective (Investigar las estrategias de marketing del sector de la salud y el fitness en Grecia; la perspectiva de los gerentes)

The health and fitness sector is systematically growing worldwide and is considered a vibrant business area shaped by many innovations while showing great potential for professional development and marketing strategies. In Greece, low-cost and budget gyms as well as boutique fitness studios emerged as a popular business model among health club operators demonstrating a remarkable increase nationwide following the global fitness industry trends. However, previous research focusing on implementing marketing strategies to attract and retain customers in the Greek fitness industry is scarce. The primary aim of the present study was to investigate: i) which are the marketing strategies implemented in order to attract and retain customers, ii) whether these marketing actions are differentiated depending on whether: a) the fitness companies are multipurpose gyms, boutique/personal training studios or CrossFit-like clubs and b) they operate in metropolitan areas (e.g., Athens and Thessaloniki) or in the province of Greece. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted between May 15 and June 5, 2020. The questionnaire used a 4-point Likert scale and was validated internally as required. A total of 631 questionnaires were collected corresponding approximately to 25% of all companies operating in the fitness sector nationwide. Results showed that promotion through social media was the primary customer attraction action. Attractive prices as well as frequent equipment renewal and facilities’ renovation/maintenance were the most popular members’ retention strategies. Top marketing attraction and retention strategies were mediated by the different fitness centers’ business type and location. Much needs to be done in order for the fitness industry in Greece to grow in terms of marketing. Resumen. El fitness sector está creciendo sistemáticamente en todo el mundo y se considera un área comercial vibrante formada por muchas innovaciones, al tiempo que muestra un gran potencial para el desarrollo profesional y las estrategias de marketing. En Grecia, los gimnasios económicos, así como los estudios de boutique fitness, emergen recientemente como un modelo comercial popular entre los operadores de fitness clubes, lo que demuestra un aumento notable en todo el país siguiendo las tendencias mundiales de la industria del fitness. Sin embargo, la investigación previa centrada en las estrategias de marketing para atraer y retener clientes en la industria griega del fitness es escasa. El objetivo principal del presente estudio fue investigar si las estrategias de marketing implementadas se diferencian en función de si: a) las empresas de fitness son gimnasios polivalentes, estudios boutique/de entrenamiento personal o clubes tipo CrossFit y b) operan en áreas metropolitanas (Atenas y Salónica) o en la provincia de Grecia. Se realizó una encuesta transversal en línea entre el 15 de mayo y el 5 de junio de 2020. El cuestionario utilizó una escala Likert de 4 puntos y se validó internamente según se requirió. Se recogieron un total de 631 cuestionarios correspondientes aproximadamente al 25% de todas las empresas que operan en el sector del fitness a nivel nacional. Los resultados mostraron que la promoción a través de las redes sociales fue la principal acción de atracción de clientes. Los precios atractivos, así como la renovación frecuente de equipos y la renovación /mantenimiento de las instalaciones fueron las estrategias de retención de miembros más populares. Las principales estrategias de atracción y retención de marketing fueron mediadas por el tipo de negocio y la ubicación de los diferentes centros de fitness Queda mucho por hacer para que la industria del fitness en Grecia crezca en términos de marketing.

Blood donation barriers: How does donor profile affect them?

Donation barriers are a crucial factor to consider in the study of blood donor behavior. Since blood donors do not behave homogeneously, the aim of this work is to analyze how the donor profile (i.e. sociodemographic characteristics and donation behavior) influences the prevalence of blood donation barriers. A total of 5,353 active donors in the Canary Islands (Spain) completed an online survey. Given the general lack of agreement concerning the conceptualization and measurement of donation barriers, an integrative 25-item barrier scale, which is the result of grouping all barriers identified in the literature according to the concept of obstacle which they represent, was designed and validated. The results indicate that individuals between 18 and 35 years of age, with university education and higher income are more likely to be affected by donation barriers. At the same time, individuals who donate once or twice a year, and those with shorter experience as donors, are more prone to experience donation barriers. The present study is useful for blood transfusion centers, because it shows that centers must identify which donation barriers are the most prevalent in their donor pool, as well as which donor groups are the most affected by them. Thus, blood transfusion centers will be able to design appropriate marketing actions to reduce or eliminate those barriers that prevent active donors to donate repetively.

EXPRESS: Overcoming the Cold Start Problem of CRM using a Probabilistic Machine Learning Approach

The success of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) programs ultimately depends on the firm's ability to identify and leverage differences across customers — a very diffcult task when firms attempt to manage new customers, for whom only the first purchase has been observed. For those customers, the lack of repeated observations poses a structural challenge to inferring unobserved differences across them. This is what we call the “cold start” problem of CRM, whereby companies have difficulties leveraging existing data when they attempt to make inferences about customers at the beginning of their relationship. We propose a solution to the cold start problem by developing a probabilistic machine learning modeling framework that leverages the information collected at the moment of acquisition. The main aspect of the model is that it exibly captures latent dimensions that govern the behaviors observed at acquisition as well as future propensities to buy and to respond to marketing actions using deep exponential families. The model can be integrated with a variety of demand specifications and is exible enough to capture a wide range of heterogeneity structures. We validate our approach in a retail context and empirically demonstrate the model's ability at identifying high-value customers as well as those most sensitive to marketing actions, right after their first purchase.