David Gertner

Country-dot-com: marketing and branding destinations online.

Abstract The Internet is rapidly overtaking personal recommendation as the number one source of travel and tourism information. Therefore, in order for destinations to succeed in their efforts to attract visitors, they must design sound online marketing and branding strategies. Given the fierce competition for the attention of Internet users, online marketers must secure memorable web names and addresses. In the case of a nation willing to promote itself online as a destination, no other brand name could be more distinctive, easy to remember, and inimitable than the countrys own name. This study investigates the extent to which countries have adopted their names as brands and secured ‘country name-dot-com’ domains to market themselves on the Internet to global audiences.

The Implications of Export Performance Measurement for the Significance of the Determinants of Export Performance

Abstract The empirical research on the determinants of export performance has produced fragmented and conflicting results. Differences in how export performance has been conceptualized and operationalized are believed to explain some of the discrepancies found in the literature. To investigate this hypothesis, based on a survey of Brazilian exporters of manufactured goods, a set of thirteen independent variables (firm and export market characteristics) was regressed against six different dependent variables (financial and non-financial measures of export performance), all widely cited in the literature. The results reveal that different combinations of a few of the independent variables can significantly explain substantial portions of the variance of particular measures of export performance. In addition, comparison of the several regression models obtained confirms that the use of different measures of export performance as dependent variables may account, at least in part, for the disagreements between previous research findings.

Calories and Cents: Customer Value and the Fight Against Obesity

In recent decades, obesity has become a critical global health issue. Experts and laypeople alike attribute high obesity rates to lifestyle choices involving diet and exercise. Following decades of increasing portion sizes and decreasing nutritional value, the food and beverage and fast-food industries have felt intense pressure to answer to new consumer priorities and what some see as their role in fueling the obesity epidemic. This article examines marketing and pricing practices implemented by some of the most popular food and beverage and fast-food industry players in the U.S. market that are involved in this response. Although marketers claim they are offering healthier choices and supporting the fight against obesity, our analysis reveals common industry strategies, including value pricing, psychological pricing, quantity discounts, and combo deals that undermine healthy food choices. We argue that in order to truly encourage healthy eating, these industries must revise not only their products but also their fundamental approach to creating customer value. It is also imperative that consumers, legislators, and the media be informed about deceitful strategies used pervasively by food and beverage manufacturers and fast-food restaurant chains that ultimately aggravate the obesity epidemic.