Victoria Seitz

Learning by Doing: Using Experiential Projects in the Undergraduate Marketing Strategy Course

Group projects represent one of the most realistic approaches to teaching business and marketing skills. In the real world, seldom do individuals work by themselves and make strategic marketing decisions without interacting with others. Thus group projects, if made a part of the learning experience, can add a sense of realism that comes from having to prepare and present a report on a tight deadline. Notwithstanding, many professors continue to shy away from using projects in the classroom for a number of reasons. This paper explores the value of real-life, client sponsored group projects and presents a blueprint for their successful implementation into the capstone Marketing Strategy course.

Acculturation and direct purchasing behavior among ethnic groups in the US: implications for business practitioners

Reports on a study to determine the influence of acculturation in Hispanic, Asian and black communities to US customs and practices regarding direct response purchasing behavior of self‐image projective products. A survey of students attending a western state university was conducted. The self‐administered questionnaire was developed to assess the following information: degree of acculturation; attitudes toward direct marketing; previous direct purchasing experiences; intention to respond to direct response advertisements of selected self image projective products; and demographic information. Results of Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) yielded significant results at the 0.001 level regarding degree of acculturation by ethnic group. Degree of acculturation by Asians was significantly lower than any other ethnic group as well as compared to American whites. Discusses implications of the findings.

What's important in choosing a primary care physician: an analysis of consumer response.

Given the growth of health maintenance organizations and preferred physician organizations, the purpose of this study was to determine the salient factors considered when choosing a primary care physician. A list of informational items about physicians not normally included in provider directories but which were indicated by the literature to be important were included in the survey instrument. Employees of a major state university in a south-western state were surveyed. Results indicated that at the point of selection, the degree of patient satisfaction with the quality of care received and the accessibility of the physician were the two most relevant factors that impacted the choice of a physician. Other factors considered important included interpersonal skills and competence.

Advertising practices for self‐image projective products in the New Europe: a print advertising content analysis

Analyses the advertising content of three self‐image projective products (perfume, cosmetics, and women′s apparel) in the UK, German, French, Spanish, and Italian editions of Vogue magazine. Tests for the degree of standardisation versus localisation of the advertising of these products. Suggests that marketers/advertisers standardise perfume advertisements to a greater degree and apparel to a lesser degree.

The impact of perceived display completeness/incompleteness on shoppers` in-store selection of merchandise: an empirical study

Abstract The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the perceived completeness/incompleteness of a display stack of consumer products and shoppers’ choice of items from the stacks. By means of a field experiment in which displays of canned foods were manipulated and controlled, it was determined that the stack that appeared to have been picked from (containing evidence of a missing can) was the stack of choice in a majority of cases. Out of 645 different product selections (cans picked) recorded, 76% were picked from the stack that appeared to have been picked from ( χ 2 of 171.92 at α =0.05). This test was conducted utilizing three different display modalities: Regular shelf displays, island displays, and end-cap displays within the same store. The results of the experiment were consistent across the various display modalities investigated. Moreover, the results indicated that shoppers were more likely to pick items from the incomplete stack, when the degree of known difference between product items was relatively low or non-existing.

Direct response advertising in the US and European markets: a content analysis of fashion products

In the advertising of self‐projective products, marketers have focused on image advertising. However, today advertisers are integrating direct response with image based advertising, in essence, to “get more bang for the buck”. Hence, the purpose of the study was to investigate direct response advertising in upscale fashion magazines in the European Union as well as the USA. Eight hundred and seventy advertisements of perfumes, women’s apparel and cosmetics were evaluated via the editions of Vogue. Direct response advertisements were most prevalent among advertisements of women’s apparel and primarily in US editions of Vogue. Furthermore, advertisements for perfumes and women’s apparel were image based while advertisements for cosmetics were balanced. Implications of the findings are given regarding advertising fashion products in the European Community.

Banner Advertising and Consumer Recall

Abstract The purpose of the study is to determine the impact of position and the use of graphics in banner advertising on consumer recall. One hundred students from a southern California university participated in a quasi experiment in which they were asked to view a website with a series of banner ads. Four modalities were tested (1) banner at the bottom with graphics, (2) banner at the bottom without graphics, (3) banner at the top, and (4) banner at the top with graphics. Results showed that only 8% correctly identified the presence of one banner ad. Of those, 50% incorrectly identified the product or could not identify the product at all. Fully 62% saw no banner ad at all; however, 70% correctly identified the website of which the ads were placed. Implications of the study are then discussed.

Clothing Interest As An Indicator Of Catalog Use

Despite the growth of catalog shopping, there is little known about the identity of catalog shoppers. This study attempted to identify light and heavy catalog users according to clothing interest. The sample consisted of 93 female catalog shoppers for apparel from a southwestern state. A two-way ANOVA was used to investigate differences with the individual clothing interest inventory scores and catalog use. Significant main effects were found for the individual clothing in terest inventory scores and catalog use (p < 0.01); however, the interaction be tween clothing interest and catalog use was not significant. Stepwise regression resulted in style and brand name as significant variables in predicting clothing interest. Results implied that research findings presently in the literature re garding clothing interest and the retail shopper were applicable to the catalog shopper.

A comparison of consumer decision‐making behavior of married and cohabiting couples

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to compare the consumer decision‐making behavior between married and cohabiting couples.Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from 40 cohabiting couples and 53 married couples in a western state via a self‐administered questionnaire. The structure and the instrument used replicated the Gadis et al. study in exploring consumer decision‐making processes of married couples.Findings – Married couples tended to be more syncratic than cohabiting couples in their decision to purchase forms of savings in this phase, but more autonomic when purchasing alcoholic beverages. Cohabiting couples were found to be more syncratic in their decision making for these products at this phase than married couples. The results, when compared to those of 18 years ago found that men and women of married couples make purchasing decisions separately, while men and women of cohabiting couples made most of theirs together. Implications of the findings were then discussed.Practical i...

Teaching Retailing and Merchandising: An Experiential Approach

The paper reports on an experiential approach to teaching retailing and merchandising through the operation of a student run store. This approach to learning proved to be both challenging and rewarding to students and instructor alike. Students gained real world knowledge and a new outlook on retailing as a career path, and instructors witnessed significant changes in students’ understanding of what retailing and merchandising are about. Further, instructors observed the implementation of concepts covered in class lectures during the operation of the retail store and completion of the Store Operation Report. In addition to the comments made by students regarding the outcome of the class in achieving its objectives, all students that took the course felt that it was rewarding and would recommend it to their peers.