Marketing practitioners and advertising firms have increasingly embraced an integrated marketing communications (IMC) approach to their promotional efforts in order to achieve direct effects of the individual communication tool used, as well as an additional "synergistic" effect from the combination of communications tools used. The present study is designed to fill a gap in the marketing literature by using a controlled experimental design to assess and compare the individual and combined influences of two IMC tools--publicity and advertising--on attitude toward the ad (Aad) and attitude toward the brand (Ab). The study also looks for synergies from the use of multiple media (radio and print). Findings show that the combined effects of these IMC tools on Aad and Ab are not identical, and that there are complex interactions between media, brand familiarity, and the valence of news stories.

Purpose: This research proposes to examine how the retirement experience in the USA is cultivated via the appraisal process and reflected in post‐retirement lifestyle postures and consumption changes.Design/methodology/approach: A sample of 298 recent retirees were surveyed to test hypotheses suggested by a proposed model of the retirement experience. The model proposes that the appraisal process is integral in determining how a retiree interprets impact of the event for self‐identity and reflects self‐realignment strategies in post‐retirement consumption patterns.Findings: Findings show that perceptions of resource availability are important predictors of retiree appraisals. Furthermore, appraisals directly impact retirees' adoption of a post‐transition lifestyle posture, whether “new start”, “continuation of life”, “disruption to life”, or “beginning of old age”. Also explored are differences between lifestyle postures and post‐retirement consumption expenditures across a number of product categories. Generally, retirees who adopt the perspective of retirement as a “new start” or as a “disruption” tend to increase expenditures in “experiential” and “outward‐oriented” product categories. Retirees who adopt the perspective of retirement as the beginning of “old age” or as a “continuation” of past selves tend to increase expenditures in “non‐experiential” and “inward‐oriented” product categories.Practical implications: Retirees are an increasingly important cohort for marketing in many industries. The findings demonstrate that individuals appraise the retirement event very differently and in turn respond to marketing activities very differently, which has implications for marketing segmentation strategies.Originality/value: This research extends prior research of life transitional events by highlighting the importance of considering individuals' attitudes toward major life transitional events as an important factor in predicting their responses to these events.

Young people represent a strong and growing source of volunteers for not-for-profit organizations (NPO) and are an important focus for NPO marketing efforts. Using helping behavior theory, this paper reports a study conducted with a sample of teenagers to examine influences on their decision to volunteer and their goal setting for fund-raising. The relationship between three individual variables (attitude toward the organization, self-esteem, and materialism) and the quality of helping behavior provided was found to be mediated in large part by attitude towards the actual volunteering task. Implications for NPO marketing and future research are discussed.

International development agencies claim that commercial applications of information and communication technology (ICT) have great potential to accelerate economic growth in developing nations. This paper investigates this idea and proposes that the Internet expands the potential of marketing activities to help developing countries pursue development goals along a dual path, one that includes activities that are “top‐down” in nature (e.g. infrastructure development), and another that involves “bottom‐up” activities (e.g. entrepreneurship). Both paths involve the expansion of marketing efforts and represent significant opportunities for business development and investment. Attention is given to the Asia‐Pacific region and to the processes and outcomes of development springing from bottom‐up or “grassroots” approaches, and how enhanced marketing activities can help nations reach key development goals. Finally, an interdisciplinary conceptual model is advanced regarding how a blend of top‐down and bottom‐up approaches may be used to encourage the diffusion of online marketing activities and to help foster economic and social development in the emerging economies in the Asia‐Pacific region.