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The consumption of experiences has become an important part of our economy. We put a great deal of effort, time and money into planning and pursuing what we do in our leisure time. Is the “consumer journey” a good metaphor for this decision process? This research examines people’s interest in, preparation for, and consumption of several long-distance hikes. The first study analyzed printed memoirs of the Camino de Santiago, Appalachian Trail, and the Pacific Crest Trail. The first step in the consumer journey – awareness – often results from serendipity. The notion may incubate for months or years until the second step when an event or events trigger the decision to attempt the trail. The next step – trial – often involves intensive planning and test hikes. The fourth step, purchase decision – the hike itself – is a time of discovery. Post-hike experience involves reflections, memories, and sometimes insights or sharing of their experiences. The second study examined the experience of John Muir Trail hikers examining online forums and on-trail face-to-face interviews with hikers. Again, awareness often begins with accidental exposure and adding the idea to a mental “bucket list.” More information is gathered. After making a decision, the trial phase includes both high-involvement mental preparation and practice hikes to test their abilities and equipment. The hike itself is its own journey filled with first-hand learning and self-discovery. Finally, many hikers share the journey with others and serve as evangelists to other potential hikers. In many ways making a decision to take a thru-hike follows the traditional consumer journey; however, there are also differences with the traditional view of the consumer journey. First, a decision to hike does not usually begin with a felt need in any cognitive sense. Second, consideration often percolates for a long while. Third, the decision to go is often triggered as a result of a life change. Fourth, the decision results in a protracted preparation process of planning and provisioning. Fifth, the journey itself is not a single discreet decision but is frequently revisited. Finally, sharing these experiences is an opportunity to relive and bring some closure to the journey. Although the decision process has been envisioned as a “funnel” this model is based on working backwards from a purchase decision to how a consumer “got there”. From a consumer’s point of view, a more accurate metaphor may be a decision tree, with branches at each decision point leading toward a variety of potential outcomes. Tens of thousands of people may develop an initial awareness of a product or service through serendipity, and may not only be contemplating the initial possibility, but other possible alternatives.
Michael D. Basil. Analyzing the Consumer Journey for Long-Distance Thru-Hikes: An Abstract. Marketing Challenges in a Turbulent Business Environment 2020, 529 -530.
AMA StyleMichael D. Basil. Analyzing the Consumer Journey for Long-Distance Thru-Hikes: An Abstract. Marketing Challenges in a Turbulent Business Environment. 2020; ():529-530.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMichael D. Basil. 2020. "Analyzing the Consumer Journey for Long-Distance Thru-Hikes: An Abstract." Marketing Challenges in a Turbulent Business Environment , no. : 529-530.
The field of marketing has begun to examine the consumption of experiences as an important and growing part of the economy and of people’s lives. In the contemporary context, people often spend a considerable amount of time and money in recreational pursuits. Consistent with the tenants of Consumer Culture Theory, leisure-time activities may provide an important means of identity and self-definition to consumers. To what extent do experiences provide a means of identity? This ethnographic study examined people’s experiences on the several hundred-mile Camino de Santiago in Spain. First, I engaged in participant-observer research in June 2018 by walking the Camino and conducting 34 semi-structured interviews with pilgrims along the 300-km Camino Primitivo and the 500-km Camino Frances. The interviews were conducted in English and I talked with pilgrims not only from the USA, Canada, the UK, and Australia, but also from Denmark, Germany, Portugal, Luxembourg, Italy, and France. These interviews were conducted at many points along the trails. I began the interview by asking where they were from, how they heard about the Camino, and their motivation for the walk. I then asked about their experiences on the way. The interview took between 10 and 30 min, although I met many of the pilgrims at other times and asked follow-up questions. I also re-contacted five of the pilgrims I had met on the trail by email several months after they had returned home to ask them about their insights and if the walk altered their view of themselves or their world view. Finally, I followed several online Camino forums on Facebook for additional insights. For many the journey came at a transition point such as finishing college, “emptying the nest,” or retirement. Many pilgrims suggested that the Camino provided some draw, but one that they could not fully explain. As for their experiences, many pilgrims told me that the journey provided them a means to decelerate and simplify their hectic everyday life, and some offered that this provided an opportunity to examine their lives. For many pilgrims the journey also provided a sense of identity, a sense of accomplishment, and a sense of connectedness to nature and to other people. Many pilgrims later reminisced about the trail, their experiences, and their friendships and expressed an interest to revisit the Camino in the future. This study demonstrates that a Camino pilgrimage can provide a sense of accomplishment and a sense of identity to participants. This finding is consistent with other studies of leisure-time activities including long-distance hikes, extended international travel, and extreme adventures, and suggests that they can be important in establishing one’s identity. This is a valuable insight for Consumer Culture Theory researchers.
Michael D. Basil. A Study of Camino de Santiago Hikers: An Abstract. Marketing Challenges in a Turbulent Business Environment 2020, 451 -452.
AMA StyleMichael D. Basil. A Study of Camino de Santiago Hikers: An Abstract. Marketing Challenges in a Turbulent Business Environment. 2020; ():451-452.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMichael D. Basil. 2020. "A Study of Camino de Santiago Hikers: An Abstract." Marketing Challenges in a Turbulent Business Environment , no. : 451-452.
Ads making use of sexual appeals have the potential to attract attention, but they also run the risk of offending viewers. In this paper, two studies were performed to explore consumers’ third-person perceptions of sexual appeals in advertising for hedonic and utilitarian products. This research examined whether the third-person perception mediates the relationship between attitude toward the ad and purchase intention. We also examined whether these relationships are contingent on attitude toward sexual stimuli (positive vs. negative). Canadian (N = 400) and Turkish (N = 400) undergraduate students participated in each study. Findings consistently demonstrate that third-person phenomenon was supported in each study. The exact form of the third-person perception, however, differs across product types and cultural contexts. Also, attitude toward ads significantly affects third-person perception. In turn, third-person perception significantly affects both purchase intention on self and purchase intention on others. Furthermore, these relationships are contingent on the attitude toward sexual stimuli.
Nezahat Ekici; Bayram Zafer Erdogan; Michael Basil. The Third-Person Perception of Sex Appeals in Hedonic and Utilitarian Product Ads. Journal of International Consumer Marketing 2020, 32, 336 -351.
AMA StyleNezahat Ekici, Bayram Zafer Erdogan, Michael Basil. The Third-Person Perception of Sex Appeals in Hedonic and Utilitarian Product Ads. Journal of International Consumer Marketing. 2020; 32 (4):336-351.
Chicago/Turabian StyleNezahat Ekici; Bayram Zafer Erdogan; Michael Basil. 2020. "The Third-Person Perception of Sex Appeals in Hedonic and Utilitarian Product Ads." Journal of International Consumer Marketing 32, no. 4: 336-351.
As scientists, we try to derive theories to provide predictions on why things operate as they do. That is, we hope to understand a phenomenon by understanding the underlying system. In its most ideal form, we try to understand the general principles which underpin the phenomenon—to allow us to explain not only when something occurs and when it does not, but why. Ideally, this understanding will lead us to be able to make predictions not only about the particularistic phenomenon but lead up to generalizable knowledge about similar phenomena. In Chap. 4, we discuss the use of research and evaluation in social marketing. We address the nature of research, when it should be conducted, and how. The appendix offers online resources that provide further guidance into conducting research and evaluating your program.
Michael D. Basil. Theory in Social Marketing. Springer Texts in Business and Economics 2019, 59 -78.
AMA StyleMichael D. Basil. Theory in Social Marketing. Springer Texts in Business and Economics. 2019; ():59-78.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMichael D. Basil. 2019. "Theory in Social Marketing." Springer Texts in Business and Economics , no. : 59-78.
Social marketing efforts do not only benefit from research, but research is essential to effective social marketing. This research can be done at several points in time. Before the program begins or (as intervention as is often labeled) begins, you can find out what people are already doing, why they are doing, what they are doing, how they see the desired behavior, and whether they have any desire to change; during the intervention, you can ask how well your effort is working, and what they think about your social marketing intervention; afterward, you can discover how effective the intervention was, where it succeeded and where it didn’t. You can also understand which of the social marketing tools were employed in a given intervention and compare that to how successful the effort was. That is, research is critical in finding out what people do and why, and this provides an understanding of what you should do, as well as what worked, what didn’t, and why. This chapter will review the major categories and approaches to social marketing research. In the appendix following this chapter, online resource links are provided for further guidance in research and evaluation.
Michael D. Basil. Research and Evaluation in Social Marketing. Springer Texts in Business and Economics 2019, 45 -57.
AMA StyleMichael D. Basil. Research and Evaluation in Social Marketing. Springer Texts in Business and Economics. 2019; ():45-57.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMichael D. Basil. 2019. "Research and Evaluation in Social Marketing." Springer Texts in Business and Economics , no. : 45-57.
Marketing’s foundation in economics has steered us toward the rational aspects of consumer behavior. Despite some recent recognition of the emotional aspects of consumer behavior, emotions have not received adequate consideration in academic research. Our focus on cognition results from three important factors. First, because our existing paradigms focus primarily on thinking they have generally led us away from studying emotion. Importantly, however, some research suggests that emotional factors underlying consumer decisions can often have a stronger effect than rational forces or functional aspects of the product. As a result, we probably underestimate the power of emotions in consumer choice. The second reason emotion is not given its due is that we have thought of cognition and emotion as generally mutually exclusive. Look back at the various models of involvement, and quickly you will see that mental processing has been characterized as either high involvement and rational (e.g., AIDA) or low involvement and heuristic. Newer theories propose that all human experience and decision-making consist of both cognitive and emotional processes, so both of these factors are important in human behavior. A third reason we have ignored emotion is a result of the constraints imposed by the methods we have used. Despite our desire to peer into the “black box” of the human mind, historically this was almost impossible. Behavior is usually the result of automatic brain functions. People often act for reasons that are not fully known to them or fully rational; therefore, self-reports are not a reasonable way to assess these functions. Fortunately, we have a new arsenal of physiological “neuromarketing” measures of attention, emotion, and involvement including measures such as EEGs, eye tracking, and fMRIs. These techniques can be used to probe emotional responses. Each method provides its own perspective on preconscious physiological reactions that together can provide a rich picture of emotional responses. These physiological measures are becoming increasingly important in marketing research. Even better than relying exclusively on psychophysiological measures alone is to employ these methods in combination with cognitive measures. In sum, it is time to break free of traditional models that focus entirely on cognition and generally ignore emotion. We propose that to understand the consumer experience we need to understand that decision-making is based on both cognition and emotion, and it is important to consider how physiological measures can be used to examine emotional responses. References Available Upon Request
Michael Basil; Paul Bolls. Emotional Aspects of Marketing: Theory and Methods: An Abstract. Developments in Marketing Science: Proceedings of the Academy of Marketing Science 2019, 419 -420.
AMA StyleMichael Basil, Paul Bolls. Emotional Aspects of Marketing: Theory and Methods: An Abstract. Developments in Marketing Science: Proceedings of the Academy of Marketing Science. 2019; ():419-420.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMichael Basil; Paul Bolls. 2019. "Emotional Aspects of Marketing: Theory and Methods: An Abstract." Developments in Marketing Science: Proceedings of the Academy of Marketing Science , no. : 419-420.
Background: One important form of sustainability is the continuation of culture and cultural practices. This study examined the case of Japanese Ohanami or cherry blossom festivals. Historically, Ohanami focused on the cherry blossom as a symbol of spring’s arrival, where communal aspects, consumption of sake and seasonal foods, painting or photography, and pilgrimages to sacred sites were used to celebrate the ephemeral aspects of blossoms, spring, and life. Methods: This study examines how cherry blossom festivals are celebrated and understood and how these celebrations are changing. Results: Current celebrations demonstrate several forces are changing this celebration. The changes in cherry blossom festivals are seen in four areas (bonding, cultural continuity, marketing exploitation, and cultural symbolism). Cherry blossom festivals are also observed overseas—at first glance this suggests its continuity, however, the ways in which Ohanami is observed raise concerns about the accuracy of this cultural practice. Conclusion: Ohanami celebrations are celebrated both in Japan and overseas, and although their practice continues, the nature of the cultural celebrations are changing.
Emi Moriuchi; Michael Basil. The Sustainability of Ohanami Cherry Blossom Festivals as a Cultural Icon. Sustainability 2019, 11, 1820 .
AMA StyleEmi Moriuchi, Michael Basil. The Sustainability of Ohanami Cherry Blossom Festivals as a Cultural Icon. Sustainability. 2019; 11 (6):1820.
Chicago/Turabian StyleEmi Moriuchi; Michael Basil. 2019. "The Sustainability of Ohanami Cherry Blossom Festivals as a Cultural Icon." Sustainability 11, no. 6: 1820.
Michael Basil. 15. Examining Cherry Blossom Celebrations in Japan and Around the World. Commercial Nationalism and Tourism 2017, 212 -226.
AMA StyleMichael Basil. 15. Examining Cherry Blossom Celebrations in Japan and Around the World. Commercial Nationalism and Tourism. 2017; ():212-226.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMichael Basil. 2017. "15. Examining Cherry Blossom Celebrations in Japan and Around the World." Commercial Nationalism and Tourism , no. : 212-226.
Celebrities are frequently used in advertising to promote a product or a brand. A variety of possible mechanisms have been proposed to explain celebrity influence. One of the most frequently examined is physical attractiveness; however, it is not clear if physical attractiveness will be effective for all products or simply attractiveness-related products. This study also examines whether that a mechanism found in health communication may also be important in consumer products – parasocial identification. An experiment was used to test the viability and relative power of these two factors in shaping product interest. A sample of 235 respondents saw eight different advertisements. Results show that, firstly, interest in the ad increased for female respondents when the celebrity was attractive, while for male respondents, both attractiveness and identification were important. This confirms that attractiveness plays a role in generating interest in product advertising. Secondly, the effects of identification appear to be more limited in power than attractiveness, in this case restricted to male customers. These findings can be used to reconcile research which demonstrates that physical attractiveness is more relevant for products that are beauty-related. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings and future research directions are discussed.
Priscilla Patel; Michael Basil. The Effects of Celebrity Attractiveness and Identification on Advertising Interest. Developments in Marketing Science: Proceedings of the Academy of Marketing Science 2017, 579 -589.
AMA StylePriscilla Patel, Michael Basil. The Effects of Celebrity Attractiveness and Identification on Advertising Interest. Developments in Marketing Science: Proceedings of the Academy of Marketing Science. 2017; ():579-589.
Chicago/Turabian StylePriscilla Patel; Michael Basil. 2017. "The Effects of Celebrity Attractiveness and Identification on Advertising Interest." Developments in Marketing Science: Proceedings of the Academy of Marketing Science , no. : 579-589.
Attractive product endorsers are typically more effective than their less attractive counterparts. But can they be too attractive, perhaps to the point of offending viewers? This study examines the importance of endorser attractiveness of both celebrities and noncelebrities in shaping the effectiveness of advertisements. An online experiment using 16 existing ads each with different endorsers was conducted to examine the importance that attractiveness plays in advertising. The results show that although endorser attractiveness generally makes an ad more effective, with opposite sex viewers, there is a linear effect between attractiveness and interest in the product; but when evaluated by same-sex viewers, if the model in the advertisement is highly attractive, interest in the advertisement decreases curvilinearly. This research demonstrates that negative repercussions may occur for highly attractive models for both women and men but only for same-sex models. This theoretical advancement has important practical implications for advertisers to avoid unrealistically attractive or thin models. Although the pattern for attractiveness was the same for both celebrities and noncelebrities, respondents reported being more interested in products advertised by celebrities than noncelebrities, supporting the value of celebrity advertising in general.
Rachelle Jantzon; Michael Basil. Physical Attractiveness in Advertising: Can an Endorser Be Too Attractive? An Abstract. Developments in Marketing Science: Proceedings of the Academy of Marketing Science 2017, 591 -591.
AMA StyleRachelle Jantzon, Michael Basil. Physical Attractiveness in Advertising: Can an Endorser Be Too Attractive? An Abstract. Developments in Marketing Science: Proceedings of the Academy of Marketing Science. 2017; ():591-591.
Chicago/Turabian StyleRachelle Jantzon; Michael Basil. 2017. "Physical Attractiveness in Advertising: Can an Endorser Be Too Attractive? An Abstract." Developments in Marketing Science: Proceedings of the Academy of Marketing Science , no. : 591-591.
Tobacco prevention messages generally take one of three tactics: They can be educational, attack the tobacco industry, or attack particular brands. Being a smoker and smoking, a particular brand may form an essential part of a person's self-identity. As such, reactance theory suggests that attack messages can unintentionally attack smokers' self-image. A 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 experiment using six different messages and 260 respondents tested whether smokers have different reactions to tobacco counter-advertisements than nonsmokers. It also examined whether attacking a smoker's brand leads to greater reactance and other maladaptive responses compared to attacking other brands. Consistent with predictions, smokers reported more maladaptive coping responses and fewer adaptive coping responses to tobacco counter-ads than nonsmokers. The study also reveals differences attributable to brand identification. These findings suggest that interventions should consider different counter-advertising tactics for smokers and nonsmokers. Similar admonitions may apply to counter-advertising strategies on other health issues.
Michelle S. Wehbe; Michael Basil; Debra Basil. Reactance and Coping Responses to Tobacco Counter-Advertisements. Journal of Health Communication 2017, 22, 1 -8.
AMA StyleMichelle S. Wehbe, Michael Basil, Debra Basil. Reactance and Coping Responses to Tobacco Counter-Advertisements. Journal of Health Communication. 2017; 22 (7):1-8.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMichelle S. Wehbe; Michael Basil; Debra Basil. 2017. "Reactance and Coping Responses to Tobacco Counter-Advertisements." Journal of Health Communication 22, no. 7: 1-8.
Surveys are used frequently for formative research. Most frequently this involves baseline behavioural measures. However, surveys are very useful for a wider range of formative research including studying existing knowledge, attitudes and beliefs of a population. One reason is that there is a considerable amount of secondary data that already exists. An advantage of surveys is that data can be collected from a large population relatively cheaply. Surveys can be used to understand a population or to evaluate an intervention. Questions can be asked in a variety of forms—either quantitative or qualitative, open or closed-ended—and allow the potential to get honest answers to sensitive information. In actual use, several surveys have been used to study people’s existing behaviours. Examples include the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) surveys such as the BRFSS, NHIS and NHANES. Surveys have also been used to assess the knowledge, attitudes and beliefs that help us to understand those behaviours, often to help segment and target specific segments of a population. Finally, a case study examines how Porter Novelli’s HealthStyles survey was developed and how it has been used to understand a variety of health behaviours.
Mike Basil. Survey for Formative Research. Formative Research in Social Marketing 2016, 251 -263.
AMA StyleMike Basil. Survey for Formative Research. Formative Research in Social Marketing. 2016; ():251-263.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMike Basil. 2016. "Survey for Formative Research." Formative Research in Social Marketing , no. : 251-263.
Michael Basil; Kim Witte. Fear Appeals and Extended Parallel Process Model. Encyclopedia of Health Communication 2014, 1 .
AMA StyleMichael Basil, Kim Witte. Fear Appeals and Extended Parallel Process Model. Encyclopedia of Health Communication. 2014; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMichael Basil; Kim Witte. 2014. "Fear Appeals and Extended Parallel Process Model." Encyclopedia of Health Communication , no. : 1.
Teresa Thompson; Michael Basil. Mass Media. Encyclopedia of Health Communication 2014, 1 .
AMA StyleTeresa Thompson, Michael Basil. Mass Media. Encyclopedia of Health Communication. 2014; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleTeresa Thompson; Michael Basil. 2014. "Mass Media." Encyclopedia of Health Communication , no. : 1.
Teresa Thompson; Michael Basil. Public Health Communication. Encyclopedia of Health Communication 2014, 1 .
AMA StyleTeresa Thompson, Michael Basil. Public Health Communication. Encyclopedia of Health Communication. 2014; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleTeresa Thompson; Michael Basil. 2014. "Public Health Communication." Encyclopedia of Health Communication , no. : 1.
Teresa Thompson; Michael Basil. Uses and Gratifications Theory. Encyclopedia of Health Communication 2014, 1 .
AMA StyleTeresa Thompson, Michael Basil. Uses and Gratifications Theory. Encyclopedia of Health Communication. 2014; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleTeresa Thompson; Michael Basil. 2014. "Uses and Gratifications Theory." Encyclopedia of Health Communication , no. : 1.
Teresa Thompson; Michael Basil. Three Community and Five Cities Projects. Encyclopedia of Health Communication 2014, 1 .
AMA StyleTeresa Thompson, Michael Basil. Three Community and Five Cities Projects. Encyclopedia of Health Communication. 2014; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleTeresa Thompson; Michael Basil. 2014. "Three Community and Five Cities Projects." Encyclopedia of Health Communication , no. : 1.
Michael Basil. Introduction to the special issue from the World Social Marketing Conference 2013. Journal of Social Marketing 2014, 4, 1 .
AMA StyleMichael Basil. Introduction to the special issue from the World Social Marketing Conference 2013. Journal of Social Marketing. 2014; 4 (2):1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMichael Basil. 2014. "Introduction to the special issue from the World Social Marketing Conference 2013." Journal of Social Marketing 4, no. 2: 1.
The extended parallel process model (EPPM) proposes fear appeals are most effective when they combine threat and efficacy. Three studies conducted in the workplace safety context examine the use of various EPPM factors and their effects, especially multiplicative effects. Study 1 was a content analysis examining the use of EPPM factors in actual workplace safety messages. Study 2 experimentally tested these messages with 212 construction trainees. Study 3 replicated this experiment with 1,802 men across four English-speaking countries—Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The results of these three studies (1) demonstrate the inconsistent use of EPPM components in real-world work safety communications, (2) support the necessity of self-efficacy for the effective use of threat, (3) show a multiplicative effect where communication effectiveness is maximized when all model components are present (severity, susceptibility, and efficacy), and (4) validate these findings with gory appeals across four English-speaking countries.
Michael Basil; Debra Basil; Sameer Deshpande; Anne Lavack. Applying the Extended Parallel Process Model to Workplace Safety Messages. Health Communication 2013, 28, 29 -39.
AMA StyleMichael Basil, Debra Basil, Sameer Deshpande, Anne Lavack. Applying the Extended Parallel Process Model to Workplace Safety Messages. Health Communication. 2013; 28 (1):29-39.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMichael Basil; Debra Basil; Sameer Deshpande; Anne Lavack. 2013. "Applying the Extended Parallel Process Model to Workplace Safety Messages." Health Communication 28, no. 1: 29-39.
Many efforts to improve people's health behaviors have employed communication campaigns. A related approach, but more extensive, termed “social marketing,” applies commercial marketing methods to health and other social goals by trying to shape people's behaviors through facilitation and reward. Social marketing is limited by existing beliefs, social forces and other structural factors, and to the extent that we cannot develop viable products or solutions, it cannot really be employed.Keywords:Social marketing;behavior change strategies;health;communication
Michael D. Basil; Angharad N. Valdivia. Effects of Social Marketing. The International Encyclopedia of Media Studies 2012, 1 .
AMA StyleMichael D. Basil, Angharad N. Valdivia. Effects of Social Marketing. The International Encyclopedia of Media Studies. 2012; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMichael D. Basil; Angharad N. Valdivia. 2012. "Effects of Social Marketing." The International Encyclopedia of Media Studies , no. : 1.