THE IMPACT OF DIGITAL MARKETING ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF TOURISM IN REPUBLIC OF ALBANIA

The tremendous growth of tourism in Albania in recent decades, made important the understanding of the role that digital marketing and mobile technology is playing in this field. Tourism in Albania is one of the most important economic sectors of the country, and is growing year after year. It is emphasized that digitalization is a new form of communication between producers and consumers of tourism services, becoming a source of competitive advantages for tourism organizations. The main goal of the study is to give us a clear overview of the use of the Internet, information technologies and digital marketing in Albania. For the realization of this study, we used a methodology that combines primary data with secondary ones. The research was conducted through questionnaires that were sent to Albanian travel agencies via email. The questionnaire contains 17 questions, and was sent to 150 travel agencies, of which 102 agencies responded. Regarding the study, digital marketing plays an important role in improving the image of Albanian tourism throughout the world. It has created facilities in the way of doing marketing and reducing the costs of businesses. Through digital marketing, travel agencies have managed to promote our country online, personalize services and, above all, be closer to customers. The research found that the most effective digital marketing tools used by the agencies are Instagram and Facebook.

A survey of automatic contact tracing approaches using bluetooth low energy

To combat the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, many new ways have been proposed on how to automate the process of finding infected people, also called contact tracing. A special focus was put on preserving the privacy of users. Bluetooth Low Energy as base technology has the most promising properties, so this survey focuses on automated contact tracing techniques using Bluetooth Low Energy. We define multiple classes of methods and identify two major groups: systems that rely on a server for finding new infections and systems that distribute this process. Existing approaches are systematically classified regarding security and privacy criteria.Copyright © 2021 ACM.

Barriers to in-Person Focus Group Participation during the Third-Year of COVID-19 Pandemic: A Case Study of Colorectal Cancer (CRC) Screening in Underrepresented Groups

Objectives: In the process of conducting research to understand barriers to colorectal cancer (CRC) screening in underrepresented groups such as Blacks and Hispanics, it became evident that there were also barriers to recruitment in this population. This study assesses the challenges faced in recruitment of focus group participants regarding CRC screening practices among underrepresented groups. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, qualitative research participants have primarily been interviewed through online video or audio interactions. However, as restrictions on in-person interactions have been lifted, in-person focus groups are being increasingly considered. Method(s): The study investigators began recruitment through community health workers in August 2022, when COVID-19 vaccines were available for all adults (age>18 years). Eligible individuals were: age 45-75, Black or Hispanic, with Medicaid or no insurance, and no family history of CRC or diagnosis of certain colon-related diseases. We combined in-person and virtual recruitment strategies, including posting flyers in communities, advertising our study at health fairs, and on social media. Participants would receive a $50 gift card. Result(s): Fifty-five met the eligibility criteria among 144 respondents, and 45 subjects (29 women and 16 men) agreed to be contacted. An average of 2.5 attempts were made per eligible subject. Unfortunately, we were able to recruit only four women (3 Hispanic and one non-Hispanic black). Traveling to the research site was a barrier to participation. Many subjects (49%) requested virtual participation (online video or audio interactions);some declined because the topic was too sensitive (considered taboo), and eligible men were reluctant to participate in-person. Conclusion(s): The requirement of in-person participation affected our recruitment goals, suggesting that COVID-19 has shifted the preferences of research participants to virtual interaction. In response to the eligible participant preferences, the study protocol has been revised to re-contact patients and schedule virtual FG sessions.Copyright © 2023

Current status of tobacco use, cessation and control policy in Korea.

Background: Tobacco use is a leading cause of countless deaths and disabilities worldwide. An estimated 11 million Korean adults were still using tobacco in 2020, according to the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. This review aims to explain the current trends in tobacco use, sales, cessation, and control policies in South Korea. Current Concepts: Heated tobacco products (HTPs), a hybrid between conventional and electronic cigarettes, were first launched in South Korea in June 2017. Advertisements stating that HTPs are odorless, tar-free, and less harmful to health have caused sales of HTPs to grow quickly over the past 5 years, such that they account for about 15% of the total tobacco market. According to national smoking rate statistics and tobacco sales trends, declines in current smoking rates have slowed and even risen in some groups, and declines in total tobacco sales have slowed but also risen again during the coronavirus 19 pandemic. In addition, the number of visitors to smoking cessation clinics decreased just after the advent of HTPs and social distancing policies triggered by the coronavirus. Nicotine replacement therapy can serve as a drug therapy for smoking cessation, or bupropion and varenicline can be prescribed. Korea's representative tobacco control policies include the tax increase policy, non-smoking area policy, cigarette pack warning picture policy, and support policy for visiting smoking cessation clinics. Discussion and Conclusion(s): There is a pressing need to reflect tobacco control policies in line with changes in tobacco user behaviors and tobacco company marketing strategies.Copyright © Korean Medical Association.

Internet Tools in Marketing Communications of Agribusinesses in Ukraine

Modern technologies have expanded into all spheres of the human activity, including a marketing one. As for the marketing sphere, it especially concerns promotion policies and marketing communications. The Internet allowed a lot of companies and business to get closer to their clients regardless of their location and their language. Because of the Internet advertising and its type, the companies got an opportunity to send messages to the strictly defined target audience and the consumers can sift them out and select only those of a special interest at a particular moment. Many technologies capable of boosting the effectiveness of the marketing communications requests have recently emerged, which determines the relevance of the study. Thus, the use of Google Ads, SEO promotion, and social media permits to analyse accurately the communications campaign results and establish strong feedback with a potential client. The aim of the study - the analysis of the spread of the Internet and social networks in Ukraine agribusiness, which testifies - considerable prospects of the Internet advertising and the Internet communications usage by agro-industries and companies. Despite the noteworthy advantages of these tools, the volumes and the level of their use by Ukrainian agribusiness are not sufficient neither in the B2C marketing nor in the B2B one. On the one hand, it is attributed to the focus of many agribusinesses on the external market. On the other hand, it is caused by the deficient understanding of marketing and its tools by companies. The coronavirus crisis with its restrictions proved the necessity to apply different Internet tools in all businesses in Ukraine, particularly in the agro-industries. The war made it difficult to use internet tools and forced us to adapt quickly to new realities. As a result of this article, an algorithm for positive marketing communication campaigns during the war was developed, it was concluded that they should employ modern means of communications with the target audience, resort to experience in other spheres, introduce marketing tools into their activities and cultivate an efficient marketing communication policy. Copyright©2023 by authors, all rights reserved.

Building Positively Affective Location-Based Advertising: A Study of Pokémon GO Players

With the expanding popularity of Location-Based Games and the rise of advertising therein, there exists a need to comprehend the impact of Location-Based Game Advertising (LGA). This paper seeks to identify what makes positively affective LGA, leveraging Pokémon GO as a probe. Researchers conducted twenty-seven (n=27) semi-structured interviews with Pokémon GO players to reveal lived experiences regarding LGA. Our findings highlight the following direct implications for LGA: (1) LGA act as a digital billboard, conveying qualitative alongside locative information, and (2) well-received LGA enhances the player's agency. We additionally identify findings that have auxiliary implications to LGA: (3) positive memorability occurs when points of interest match physical reality, and (4) ludic engagement is a mediating factor in the memorability of locations. This research demonstrates that LGA in Location-Based Games is surprisingly well-received. However, developers must provide extra consideration to the player's agency for such techniques to be effective. © 2023 ACM.

Digital follow-up in obstetric anaesthesia

Introduction: Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and in order to maintain essential operations in a socially distanced environment, many services in healthcare have undergone significant change, moving towards telemedicine solutions. This has ranged from virtual GP consultations to virtual examinations for post-graduate students. Telemedicine solutions are unlikely to provide a wholesale replacement for face-to-face patient interaction without significant deficiencies, however, they do herald new hybrid ways of working, allowing service providers to reach clients where they are. Anaesthetic followup for Obstetric clients who have undergone an anaesthetic intervention is a national recommendation by RCOA [1] and AAGBI/OAA [2]. The aim of this QI project was to launch a digital follow-up survey for Obstetric clients who underwent an anaesthetic intervention which could be utilised in a busy unit where staff shortage or high clinical workload often preclude daily face-to-face follow up. Method(s): We created a digital clients survey which is accessed by scanning a QR code. With the support of senior midwifery coordinators, large posters advertising the survey and QR code were put up in each client bay on the post-natal ward and flyers with QR codes were given to clients. Midwives reminded post-natal clients to complete the survey. We included a flyer with the QR code in discharge paperwork. The survey included an option to request a face-to face anaesthetic review. Result(s): During the trial period of three weeks, 87 inpatient and discharged post-natal clients responded via the digital follow-up tool. Discussion(s): Digital follow-up can provide an invaluable supplemental source of follow-up, supporting conventional follow-up methods and facilitating safe fast-track discharge. [Figure presented]Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd

Special Issue: Tourism in the northeast. (Special Issue: Tourism in the northeast.)

This special issue on tourism in northeast Brazil includes five articles which deal with: the use of Instagram to promote proximity tourism in northeast Brazil;the visual language (images and colours) of tourism advertisements for the northeast region;the influence of time pressure on the intention to visit the destinations of Aracaju, Sergipe and Salvador, Bahia;community-based tourism in Prainha do Canto Verde, Beberibe, Ceara;and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of hotel housekeeping staff in Joao Pessoa, Paraiba.

A new uncertain multi-objective programming model with chance-entropy constraint for advertising promotion.

The COVID-19 outbreak has forced people to stay at home to prevent the spread of the virus. In this case, social media platforms have become the main communication venue for people. Online sales platforms have also become the main field for people's daily consumption. So, how to make full use of social media to carry out online advertising promotion, and then achieve better marketing, is one of the core issues that the marketing industry must pay attention to and solve. Therefore, this study takes the advertiser as the decision-maker, maximizes the number of full playing, likes, comments and forwarding, and minimizes the cost of advertising promotion as the decision-making goals, and Key Opinion Leader (KOL) selection as the decision vector. Based on this, a multi-objective uncertain programming model of advertising promotion is constructed. Among them, the chance-entropy constraint is proposed by combining the entropy constraint and the chance constraint. In addition, the multi-objective uncertain programming model is transformed into a clear single-objective model through mathematical derivation and linear weighting of the model. Finally, the practicability and effectiveness of the model are verified by numerical simulation, and decision-making suggestions for advertising promotion are put forward.

Primacy Effect of Dynamic Multi-Sensory Covid ADV Influences Cognitive and Emotional EEG Responses.

Advertising uses sounds and dynamic images to provide visual, auditory, and tactile experiences, and to make the audience feel like the protagonist. During COVID-19, companies modified their communication by including pandemic references, but without penalizing multisensorial advertising. This study investigated how dynamic and emotional COVID-19-related advertising affects consumer cognitive and emotional responses. Nineteen participants, divided into two groups, watched three COVID-19-related and three non-COVID-19-related advertisements in two different orders (Order 1: COVID-19 and non-COVID-19; Order 2: non-COVID-19 and COVID-19), while electrophysiological data were collected. EEG showed theta activation in frontal and temporo-central areas when comparing Order 2 to Order 1, interpreted as cognitive control over salient emotional stimuli. An increase in alpha activity in parieto-occipital area was found in Order 2 compared to Order 1, suggesting an index of cognitive engagement. Higher beta activity in frontal area was observed for COVID-19 stimuli in Order 1 compared to Order 2, which can be defined as an indicator of high cognitive impact. Order 1 showed a greater beta activation in parieto-occipital area for non-COVID-19 stimuli compared to Order 2, as an index of reaction for painful images. This work suggests that order of exposure, more than advertising content, affects electrophysiological consumer responses, leading to a primacy effect.

Tourism and advertising in the spanish press. Narrative strategy for persuasion

Advertising connects the institutional and business sector with the public, responding to a persuasive and commercial interest. Advertising connects the institutional and business sector with the public, responding to a persuasive and commercial interest. The promotion of tourist destinations is a key activity for public and private advertisers to effectively communicate with their audiences. These advertisements show citizens' interests and motivations for travelling in the 21st century. This study analysed 95 advertisements published in 2020 in the newspaper El Pais, the most widely read generalist print media in Spain, on the day of the week coinciding with the publication of the specialised supplement "El viajero" (The Traveller). A quantitative and qualitative content analysis has been carried out in order to respond to the main objective of identifying the main advertisers and the usual sales proposition in this type of advertisement, also explaining the narrative strategies used in tourism campaigns. The main conclusions are the importance of wellbeing in the campaigns carried out and the important presence of public bodies in the promotion of destinations, especially Spanish destinations, highlighting historical, cultural and environmental heritage, which take on the same importance as the offer of beaches or cruises. This is an advertisement aimed especially at young people who travel as a couple, reflecting social concerns and trends in an irregular year for tourism promotion due to the covid-19 pandemic. This time period was an exceptional context, with consequences on citizen attitudes towards travel, which undoubtedly limits the application of these conclusions to that specific time context.

The Pandemic and Advertising: Be (AD)Normal

The coronavirus (COVID-19) has severely impacted numerous industries through country lockdowns and border closures, affecting daily routines and leading to an era of ‘remote everything'. These are challenging times for brands as consumer behaviour, purchasing patterns, and media habits are quickly changing. However, not everything will adhere to the new norm. While brands can benefit from this situation and finding opportunities to engage with consumers, the heart of the matter is, should brands advertise? Do consumers wish to hear from brands? If yes, what do consumers need during the pandemic? Accordingly, this chapter aims to discuss key trends in media consumption during the COVID-19 pandemic and its implications on brand strategy and advertising. Moreover, given the growth in digital traffic during this time, quarantainment came to dominate all types of screen and redefined the uses and gratifications afforded by media. In this context, brands needed to practise empathy, embrace purpose-led communications, accelerate digital capabilities and amplify brand community to improve brand resonance. In particular they needed to adapt to four types of pandemic-induced consumer type, which can be identified as worrywart, unflappable, hard-headed and unbothered. The pandemic has proven that the value of media is growing, and brands should stay in the conversation for contribution, not just conversion. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021.

Native Advertising Discourse During the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Case of We Chat Official Accounts

Social distancing policies during the COVID-19 pandemic impacted offline and outdoor advertising significantly, forcing many advertising activities to move online. Native advertising, a new form of advertising, is regarded as complementary to traditional advertising. The term native advertising refers to a relationship between an advertiser and a publisher whereby the advertiser pays to distribute content on the publisher's platform, thereby taking advantage of the format and substance of the publisher's content. Most of the previous research on native advertising is based on western media platforms. In China, Tencent's WeChat is the largest social media platform. This chapter focuses on native advertising on Tencent's WeChat official accounts (WOAs). It employs qualitative discourse analysis to understand how native ads on WOAs address the pandemic while seeking to persuade consumers. Referencing Burke's theory of identification and Green's theory of narrative transportation, we argue that native ads enjoy the advantage of generating emotional resonance with consumers by talking about pandemic-related topics. However, they risk being perceived as deceptive and manipulative. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021.

A Critical Discourse Analysis of the Microstructure of Covid-19 Health-Protocol Advertisements in Tourist Facilities

To alleviate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on tourism, tourist facilities in Bali are informing visitors of the relevant health protocols, using posters to describe the appropriate behaviours. Using critical discourse analysis, this study examines the microstructure of the texts in these posters to identify their semantic, syntactic, lexical, and rhetorical elements. The study findings show that the semantic aspects consist of background, intention, and detail. The syntactic elements involve coherence and the use of the pronouns 'you' and 'we', and of the imperative, and the declarative. The lexical aspects include abbreviations and vocabulary, related to the health protocol. The textual messages are delivered in official language, supported by pictures and photographs.

Selling city centre flats in uncertain times: findings from two English cities

The UK's city centre apartment markets have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic and a building safety crisis in ways not experienced by its suburban and rural housing markets. Sellers and estate agents have encountered falling demand and prices, elevated safety concerns, reluctant lenders and changes in buyers' preferences. Against this backdrop, we investigated the narratives and images used to sell what have sometimes appeared to be 'less sellable' homes. Analysing the textual and visual content of 100 adverts for city centre flats, we explored the possible effects of the pandemic on property advertising, the positioning within adverts of building safety and, noting growing interest in sustainability, the presence of sustainability messages. Findings suggest that the core narratives used to sell city centre flats remain largely unchanged from those deployed to first market the concept of 'city living' to UK buyers in the late 1990s. Messages about building safety and sustainability appear uncommon. The implications of the findings are considered.

The social representation and social action effect of critical issues: autonomic system and self-report measures

By combining words and images that impact emotions and generate empathetic storytelling, advertising (ADV) has evolved into a form of communication for promoting consumer awareness, positive social change, and ADV-related decisional processes, even on topics of high-social relevance such as crisis communication. This study explored consumers' emotional and cognitive responses to crisis-related ADVs using implicit (autonomic) and explicit (self-report) measurements. Nineteen participants watched twelve high-impact social communications about Covid-19, personal health, safety, and prosociality, while autonomic and self-report data were collected. Personal health, safety, and prosociality had higher skin conductance than Covid-19 stimuli, indicating higher arousal and engagement. Personal health reported lower heart rate variability values than Covid-19, suggesting greater emotional reactions for personal health topics, but also lesser mental load for Covid-19 stimuli. Self-report results confirmed autonomic findings. In conclusion, communications about personal health, safety, and prosociality generate higher emotional impact and allow for effective storytelling that facilitates viewer identification, developing a high level of empathy.

Stereotypes of ageing in intergenerational talk and in media representations

Ageism is a manifestation of negative attitudes about and towards ageing. As stereotypes and ageism significantly influence our orientation to ageing, older age and older people, this chapter will examine some commonly held stereotypes of older adults and discuss how they might be constructed, reflected and reinforced in intergenerational communication and in some media representations. We will start by looking at the nature of common stereotypes of ageing and older adults, followed by how stereotypes might be activated in intergenerational talk and how this has been theoretically modelled, for example by Communication Accommodation Theory. We will then review some recent work on stereotypes of ageing in media contexts to illustrate some common trends. Two case studies from UK media, namely magazine advertising depictions of older adults and news reports during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic are presented. These serve to problematize overly 'positive' representations, on the one hand, and dichotomous vulnerable/exceptional representations, on the other hand. Lastly, we will link stereotyping with ageism in society. © Peter Lang Group AG, International Academic Publishers, Bern 2023. All rights reserved.

Utilizing a Decentralized Clinical Study Approach for Expedited and Diverse Recruitment for Clinical Validation of a Novel Non-invasive Multitargeted Stool-based RNA Test

Introduction: Traditional clinical trials that utilize fixed sites often fail to recruit participants that are representative of the intended use population. Participants, particularly those from minority groups, cite geographical constraints, mistrust, miscommunication, and discrimination as barriers to successful recruitment. A decentralized clinical trial enrollment strategy offers reduced cost, reduced time requirements, and circumvents barriers associated with the recent pandemic outbreak. Method(s): After the mt-sRNA test system entered design-lock, a decentralized clinical trial (CRC-PREVENT) was launched through a digital campaign (https://www.colonscreeningstudy.com/;NCT04739722). Online advertisements were published on multiple social media sites, and engagement with materials directed patients to an online screener. Participants who completed the screener were eligible for enrollment if they met CRC-PREVENT inclusion and exclusion criteria and were willing to complete all clinical trial components, including providing a stool sample before an optical colonoscopy. Result(s): After 12 months of active enrollment, 276,400 individuals engaged with digital advertisements and completed pre-screener surveys to determine eligibility for the clinical trial. In total, 14,264 individuals consented to participate in the CRC-PREVENT clinical trial. Of these individuals, 58% were female (42% were male), and 65% were over 50. Regarding race and ethnicity, eligible individuals directly represented the intended use population: 16% were Black or African American, 0.2% were Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, American Indian, or Alaskan Native, and 7% were Hispanic or Latinx. Regarding socioeconomic status, the decentralized approach permitted access to individuals with healthcare inequities: 25% of participants had income under $29,999, 5% of participants were from rural areas (defined as a city center , 10,000 people), and 36.7% of participants were on public insurance. Individuals were derived from 7,644 unique zip codes across all 48 continental United States. (Table) Conclusion(s): A decentralized recruitment strategy permits highly successful enrollment in the face of screening burdens heightened by COVID-19 pandemic. This approach also offered a significantly more diverse population and could mitigate selection bias and attrition bias associated with the cohorts observed in traditional clinical studies.

Axiosphere of Social Advertising Poster about Coronavirus in Russia and China

The axiogenic situation of the pandemic is considered based on the material of social advertising of two countries - Russia and China. The thesis is advanced that the corona virus pandemic can be considered as a referent that allows a value-marked interpretation. The purpose of the work is to identify a set of universal values objectified in social advertising;characterize verbal and visual codes as means of expressing valuable meanings;determine national specifics of advertising. 400 Russian and Chinese advertising texts served as the material for the observations. As a result of the analysis, it was revealed that the axiological space of advertising of both countries is constructed by a set of valuable meanings, united by the absolute value of being - the concept of LIFE. It is noted that the structure of advertising discourse is based on the dichotomy of biological and social. The key value, along with life and its protection, was the strength of unity and cohesion of the nation in the face of a mortal threat. The value of the heroic is objectified in the image of medical workers. It was revealed that Chinese advertising is characterized by a language game associated with homonymy and the transformation of phraseological units, and the absence of weakly creolized texts with a strong cultural and historical component of the visual series. It is concluded that Russian advertising revives the style of the Soviet poster when promoting sanitary and hygienic rules.

The Relationships among Fear of Covid-19, Health Consciousness, Attitude toward Supplements, and Purchase Intention Using a Moderated Mediation Analysis

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between fear of Covid-19 (FoC), attitudes toward supplements (AtS), health consciousness (HC), and purchase intention (PI) by using moderated mediation analysis. The data acquired from 308 customers via faceto-face surveys were analyzed using descriptive statistics and structural equation modeling, and the process model produced by Hayes tested the hypotheses. The results show that the variable of AtA partially mediated the association between FoC and purchase intention. Health consciousness moderates the strength of the relationships between FoC and PI mediated by AtS. According to this, the influence of fear of Covid-19 on purchase intention via the attitudes toward food supplements differs according to consumers' health consciousness (low vs. high). The study provides essential cues for researchers, marketers, and advertisers of food supplements during the COVID-19 pandemic.