Linda I. Nowak

Toward effective use of cause‐related marketing alliances

Companies have become increasingly active in developing relationships between their brands and popular causes in such areas as the environment (e.g. nature conservancy) and health issues (e.g. breast cancer awareness crusade). As such alliances become a more important strategic component of the brand’s marketing mix, managers seek direction as to how to generate the most impact with these tie‐ins. This article uses associative learning principles as a framework for understanding how to facilitate building connections between brands and causes so as to increase the value of this highly visible marketing activity. Specific associative learning principles are detailed and applied, improving the use of cause‐related marketing alliances.

Wowing the millennials: creating brand equity in the wine industry

Purpose – The purpose of the study is to examine the attitudes of millennial wine consumers and determine if positive affect in tasting room situations leads to higher levels of brand equity for the winery.Design/methodology/approach – A survey was developed to evaluate winery tasting room experiences based on standardized brand measurement scales. In total 80 millennials visited tasting rooms and then completed the survey to evaluate their experience.Findings – The results of this research empirically support the anecdotal evidence that, through positive emotions associated with the tasting room experiences, wineries can cultivate relationships with millennial customers that may lead to long‐term, profitable relationships through continued patronage and brand loyalty.Originality/value – Practical application of this study suggests that carefully orchestrating a tasting room experience to create a positive experience for the millennial customer appears to be a critical component of post‐purchase attitudes...

Wine for My Generation: Exploring How US Wine Consumers are Socialized to Wine

Abstract This study examined how four different cohorts of core US wine consumers (the Millennials, Gen Xers, Baby Boomers, and Traditionalists) were first introduced to wine, their current wine consumption preferences, and their attitudes about wine and its image. An online survey was used, resulting in 5939 usable responses. Results indicate similarities and differences in cohort preferences. This suggests a difference in motivations, and therefore, a needed difference in marketing and advertising to tap into the stimuli of these diverse cohort groups.

Women wine consumers: information search and retailing implications

Purpose – The purpose of this research is to examine gender differences in information search procedures and selection criteria relative to purchase situation and social and financial risk aversion.Design/methodology/approach – An online questionnaire was completed by 497 males and 877 females in the USA. A total of 88 percent of the respondents stated that they drank wine at least once per week. Participants were obtained by sending e‐mails to customer lists provided by wine‐related organizations.Findings – Findings suggest that, if a consumer is unsure about making a wine selection, women are more apt than men to seek information from store personnel, a server, sommelier, or winery personnel. Labels and shelf tags are also significantly more important for women. While winery region is very important to both men and women, women rely on medals and awards more than men.Research limitations/implications – Consumers who are not necessarily comfortable with using the internet would not have had an opportunit...

Using the tasting room experience to create loyal customers

Purpose – The purpose of this research is to determine if positive affect, in combination with product quality, fair pricing, and customer‐focused operations leads to higher levels of customer satisfaction and repurchase intentions.Design/methodology/approach – A total of 89 undergraduate and graduate business students, ages 23 to 59, each visited a winery they had never visited before. Afterward they filled out a questionnaire evaluating the winery on product quality, fair pricing, feelings of commitment towards the winery, positive emotions felt, preference for wine, overall customer satisfaction, and repurchase intentions. Data were analyzed using multiple regression. Repurchase behavior was the dependent variable.Findings – Product quality, positive emotions felt, preference for wine, customer commitment, and fair pricing were all significant predictors of repurchase intentions.Research limitations/implications – The findings are based on a small sample of 89 business students. Future research could r...

Using winery web sites to launch relationships with Millennials

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine the attitudes of Millennial wine consumers and determine if positive evaluations of the winerys web site lead to increased trust in the winery and perceptions of product quality, higher levels of brand equity, and increased purchase intentions. The tasting room experience will be evaluated for consistency with the image created by the web site and the meeting of Millennial expectations during the web site visit.Design/methodology/approach – In total, 122 young people (Millennials) with an average age of 23 were asked to visit winery web sites and then evaluate the web sites for quality and perceptions formed relating to the overall image of the winery and its products. The participants were then asked to visit the winery and evaluate their winery experience and its products.Findings – Web site quality was a significant predictor of increased trust in the winery and perceptions of the quality of the wine. Web site evaluations of brand equity carried over t...

Marketing Alliances between Non-Profits and Businesses: Changing the Public’s Attitudes and Intentions towards the Cause

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to examine to what extent corporate and non-profit alliances can impact the publics attitudes and intentions to support a cause. Through the use of experimental design four types of alliances were examined: (1) low affinity cause aligned with company with strong reputation, (2) low affinity cause aligned with company with weak reputation, (3) high affinity cause aligned with company with strong reputation, and (4) high affinity cause aligned with company with weak reputation. Results of paired sample t-tests indicated significant changes for only one type of alliance, that which is between a low affinity cause and a corporate sponsor with a strong reputation. The low affinity cause experienced increased: (a) customer trust in the non-profit, (b) intentions to support the cause, (c) evaluations of cause importance, (d) personal feelings of responsibility to help the cause, and (e) evaluations of consequences for society through providing support. For the remaining three types of alliances changes were not significant.

Antecedents to client satisfaction in business services

In today’s increasingly competitive environment, it is important to measure the service firm’s performance in the areas which contribute most significantly to the client’s overall satisfaction. Previous research indicates that marketing research clients are concerned with a research provider’s performance in four areas; product quality, service quality, cost management, and timeliness. A survey of 155 marketing research clients indicated that these clients perceive product quality as being most important in accomplishing their research objectives, followed in order by service quality, cost, and timeliness. The results of the study indicate that less than half of the clients were completely satisfied with the ability of their primary research supplier to save them money or to provide them with a useful analysis. A research provider that is capable of improving performance in these two areas may be able to create a competitive advantage that could lead to increased client satisfaction and improved customer loyalty. These research findings provide insights for other business services in assessing client needs and tracking client satisfaction.

Cause Marketing Alliances: Corporate Associations and Consumer Responses

Abstract The author used pizza brands to examine the nature of corporate and non-profit alliances and their impact on trust in the pizza company, brand equity, perceptions of product quality, consumer behavioral intentions towards the pizza brand, evaluations of cause importance and behavioral intentions towards the cause. Pizza brands with strong reputations and pizza brands with weak reputations were paired with popular or not so popular causes. The greatest increases in consumer trust in the pizza company, brand equity, behavioral intentions towards the brand, and perceptions of product quality were realized for the company with the weak reputation, regardless of the popularity of the cause it adopted. The most promising changes for a non-profit occurred when a not so popular cause was teamed with a corporation possessing a strong reputation.

Partnering relationships between banks and their research firms: the impact on quality

Reports how, in an effort to improve research quality, save time and decrease total costs, many businesses have been turning from discrete, arm’s‐length, transactional relationships with a multitude of research suppliers towards long‐term, collaborative relationships with just a few research “partners”. Some bank clients believe in the benefits of partnering with one or two marketing research suppliers. Other bank clients are concerned that partnering with researchers will breed complacency, thus increasing research costs and decreasing quality. Attempts to examine the impact of partnering and non‐partnering relationships on the research firms’ performance in three areas: service quality, product quality and overall customer satisfaction. Empirical evidence indicates a positive relationship between partnering and increased client satisfaction in all three areas.