Mobile Application Purchase: Comparison of Utilitarian Features between Users and Non-users

This study aims to understand how utilitarian features of a mobile application moderate purchase motivations and intentions among users and non-users. Taking a case of cinema ticket purchase in the Iranian context, this study has collected empirical data through a questionnaire from 240 respondents. Multiple regression analysis was used to analyze data. Motivational variables were grouped into four groups: functional motivations, convenience-based functional motivations, product motivations, and service motivations. In addition, the gender issue of the consumer was also considered. This study finds that such motivational factors significantly affect consumers’ motivations, both male and female consumers. Analysis on gender shows no significant differences among male and female consumers. Therefore, these factors should be considered in formulating marketing communication strategy and media management, especially for non-users. Further research should consider other motivational factors, such as hedonic motivations, attitude, and situational factors, to understand consumer behaviors comprehensively. Keywords: marketing communication, mobile application, mobile purchase, utilitarian features, mobile marketing, cinema ticket.

Broadcast Journalism of Private Radio in Cirebon, Indonesia, in the Convergence Era

Convergence is a deep integration of knowledge, tools, and all relevant areas of human activities. As an inevitable condition, convergence has also changed a lot of aspects of mass media at the international, national, and local levels. This study elaborates how the local radios in Cirebon, namely Sindangkasih FM, Suara Gratia FM, and Cirebon Radio, are adapting to the convergence culture. This study seeks to demonstrate how the convergence culture can affect private broadcast media, which are not in the epicentrum of media in Indonesia. This study indicates that these three private radios in Cirebon have tried to adapt to the convergence culture in minimally three aspects, namely structural, information coverage, and news presentation or storytelling convergence. The structural convergence happened at the organizational structure of the radio, in which more direct and fluid coordination in the newsgathering and writing processes is applied. At the news coverage level, reporters and scriptwriters are responsible for managing news content for old radio broadcasts and new online media as well. At the news presentation level, the news is not only broadcasted but also reported on new online channels, such as websites and social media. These convergences have further created a more convergent newsroom, including integrating journalism workflows, applying multiskilled journalism and resource sharing, using various technological tools, creating interactivity with the audience, and expanding the audience reach. Keywords: journalism, convergence, broadcasting, interactivity, radio

Communicating COVID-19 Pandemic on Facebook: Illustrations from Users’ Screenshots from Nigeria and Bangladesh

The outbreak of COVID-19 has dented the global public health profile. On the one side, the ubiquity of social media has led to damaging misinformation, fake news, stigmatization, and conspiracy theories. Fortunately, on the other side, the advantageous characteristics of social media and the informational support mechanisms with which they produce social safety valves; are a solid basis to curbing the pandemic. This paper examines the use of social media as a valuable platform to publicly communicate the COVID-19, especially its scientific discourses. This paper focuses on Facebook as a platform amenable to the strategic digital communication of COVID-19. It takes illustrations from screenshots of Facebook users in Nigeria and Bangladesh. Some of the identified strategies include supporting for preventive measures, focusing on solutions, countering fake information, standing against racism and stigmatization, relying on scientific facts, confronting conspiracy theories, dealing with pseudoscience and denials, explaining statistics meaningfully, avoiding the temptation to trivialize and sensationalize, and using local languages.