Abstract

The use of product placement as a marketing communication tool is based on the inclusion of products or brands in the scene where the action is. The use of this tool has benefits for both the producer of the movie, as well as for brands and / or products. There is currently no consensus in the academic world on how to measure the effectiveness of this communication tool. There is scarce scientific evidence in Latin America, and in Chile this format has been used in television programs, and only recently in movies. The objective of this research is to study the influence of placement in movies on explicit memory (unaided recall and brand awareness) and implicit memory (purchase intention) through the implementation of an experiment performed on a sample of 205 Chilean college students, according to the different types of placement in movies: brands as part of the background, used by a main character, and connected with the plot. The results indicate that the higher the degree of integration of the brand with the plot of the film, the higher the probability of stimulating the explicit memory of participants and thereby unaided recall and brand awareness, providing empirical evidence regarding the learning of consumer behavior through placement as a communication tool.

Abstract

This paper analyzes the role of young consumers in the context of new communication processes arising from emerging technologies. It examines the use of mobile device applications that activate new, more complex social and communicative uses of technology. The applications for smartphones which link to commercial advertising and enable online purchases are a recent priority for communicative actors such as trademarks, banking and technology companies. In this context, this paper describes and encodes qualitatively how young users as prosumers understand, perceive and use these corporate branding applications. Research techniques were applied to four focus groups of Spanish undergraduates of Communication Studies, as they are users that show a predisposition towards an early adoption of these practices. The coding and grouping of their responses enabled us to develop a qualitative analysis of usage and interaction with trademark applications. These focus group responses also allowed us to classify such communicative practices. In conclusion, active consumers interact with commercial content, establishing social networks with the backing of the brand culture and image as a form of group cohesion. Other uses are related to entertainment and enquiries for information, but users are still reluctant to pay for products or services through their mobile devices.

Abstract

Botswana has been one of the most successful countries in the developing world over the last 40 years by many measures. Incomes have grown at a sustained pace, poverty has fallen, and the citizenry has become more educated. To be sure, poverty and income inequalities remain a problem, but rising standards of living have meant a better life for this generation of Batswana than any before it. The question facing the country leadership is whether this commendable performance can be sustained into the next generation. There are clouds on the horizon that cannot be ignored. Diamond earnings, the life blood of decades of prosperity, have flattened out. In per capita terms they are falling. Moreover, because revenues from diamonds going to the public sector have been falling for more than a decade, a growth model predicated upon an ever expanding state presence is not viable. Diamond earnings accruing to the state for subsequent redistribution have peaked. Employment and wages in the public sector have reached their natural limits as a share of Gross Domestic Product (GDP); recycling revenues from mining into the private sector, either directly or through the financial sector, has been inefficient with low social returns; and redistributive mechanisms to support social safety nets are also likely be approaching their limits. The country confronts the challenge of looking for new sources of growth outside of government.