Book Review of “Hidden Persuasion”: 33 Psychological Influence Techniques in Advertising

“Hidden Persuasion”: 33 psychological influence techniques in advertising by Andrews, van Leeuwen, and van Baaren has demonstrated that the book has great insight to offer. Its potential audience ranges from the public who can learn hidden advertising techniques to undergraduate students interested in learning more about the techniques from actual campaigns. The book is full of real examples and principles that were written interestingly and cohesively. Its layout and guideline to use the book in a different setting make the book unique and worth reading. Even with some room for improvement, the authors did a great job of making the book enjoyable and educational for various audiences.

Write Your Own Luck Campaign: Pentel’s Successful Advertising Strategy Based on Superstitious Beliefs in Thailand

The Pentel case study exhibits a success case of a global firm’s ability to incorporate cultural-specific values into an advertising campaign. Pentel used superstitious beliefs in the Thai culture to create the Write Your Own Luck campaign. The company launched a limited pen collection designed to be carried as lucky charms. Each pen version represented a unique type of luck it brought to its user. The campaign targeted Thai teens who were heavy users of social media. The campaign was launched through offline and online channels and received significant attention and awareness from the target audience. This case study represents a campaign that incorporates cultural beliefs and values of local consumers into an effective advertising campaign. The company achieved its goal of raising brand awareness and online engagement among the target audience.

Baladna Goes Global

Baladna is a dairy company in Qatar. It has thrived despite an ongoing political and economic blockade, helping the country to become self-sufficient in terms of its dairy needs. In a short time and with substantial investment, the brand became a market leader. Baladna’s growth plan banks on globalization, but the marketing director and the VP of marketing disagree on the strategy: one argues for standardization and the other for adaptation. The case study discusses brand name issues as well as brand identity approaches in the context of a multicultural environment.

Targeting Young Viewers to Watch Traditional Television

Univision is a brand well-known to Hispanic viewers, but with fragmentation and so many choices within the media landscape, they had to break through the noise effectively. The challenge for Univision was to attract a younger demographic (18–34 year-olds) of loyal viewers to consume Spanish language programming by packaging the use of music and reggaeton in a new telenovela which would showcase premium content that appealed to audiences of all ages. They identified digital, social, radio, and out-of-home platforms consumed by these potential viewers to deliver content and awareness to bring the idea to life. The results exceeded all programming and sales estimates, grew the timeslot’s ratings, and brought in a younger audience than any 8 pm telenovela.

A Survey of Faculty Advisers at Student-Run Agencies: Can Organizational Theory Help to Guide Future Research?

This survey of faculty advisers examined major variables and findings of past research on student-run agencies using organizational theory. Larger agencies appeared to offer training in more formalized business procedures among a more diverse client base, found in previous research to be helpful to student-run agency graduates now on the job. Hopefully, results will help future researchers identify which factors may best facilitate specific student performance outcomes at agencies of all types and sizes.