Challenges of digital advertising from the study of the influencers' phenomenon in social networks

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to study the challenges of digital advertising from the characterization of the influencer phenomenon based on the perceptions of two different and non-consecutive generations, explored from the perspective of parasocial relationshipsDesign/methodology/approachUsing a quantitative methodology design and a descriptive approach, a study is presented on a sample of 449 individuals belonging to two generational niches, generation Z (N = 227) and generation X (N = 222). For the study, characterization parameters have been defined based on existing literature, defining five-dimension conceptualization: strength, fairness, engagement, trustworthiness and social role.FindingsThe results point to a different perception of the phenomenon in some aspects that allow an intergenerational portrait of the figure of the influencer to be made. The findings of the study are innovative because they were not previously available and transcend academia to serve the companies that proliferate in the representation and management of influencers, as the characterization of this figure is important for the identification of key aspects in the adjustment of products and messages offered to a certain public of a specific population niche, both for advertising companies and for media and institutions.Originality/valueThe study reveals interesting challenges for digital advertising from the audience's perceptions about influencers, highlighting the relevance of influencers which clearly contributes to a better understanding of more efficient strategies on digital advertising.

Say Yes! COVID Test: A Health Communication Campaign to Encourage Use of Rapid, At-Home Antigen Testing in Underserved and Historically Marginalized Communities.

This paper describes a robust health communication campaign that supported Say Yes! COVID Test, the first National Institutes of Health (NIH)-sponsored initiative promoting community-wide, at-home, rapid antigen testing for severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the cause of the COVID-19 pandemic. The primary goals of the health communication campaign were to promote awareness of the program among local residents, facilitate test kit distribution, and encourage frequent test kit use. To plan and implement the campaign, the team applied principles of social marketing. The populations of focus were adult residents of selected communities in North Carolina (Greenville, Pitt County) and Tennessee (Chattanooga, Hamilton County), with an emphasis on underserved and historically marginalized populations. Following an accelerated planning phase, the campaign included digital, out-of-home, television, and radio advertising, in addition to public relations and organic social media. Collectively, this campaign coupled with our grassroots community engagement efforts facilitated the distribution of 66 035 test kits across both communities, or more than 1.6 million at-home tests. Facebook ads were the most successful in driving online test kit orders (7.9% conversion rate in Pitt County; 8.1% conversion rate in Chattanooga), although employing a variety of marketing channels enabled reach across multiple subpopulations. Market research data indicated high program awareness but low uptake in testing. Lessons learned from campaign planning and implementation can inform future public health initiatives, including selecting the appropriate marketing mix to facilitate awareness, and collaborating with community partners and local health departments to ensure successful program execution.

The Proposed Polish Advertisement Levies - An Efficient Source of Public Income or Instruments of the Political Battle?

This article analyses the bill of 2nd February 2021 on additional revenues of the National Health Fund, the National Fund for the Protection of Historical Monuments and the establishment of a Fund for the Support of Culture and National Heritage in the Media Area. The draft legislation, the announcement of which has triggered an unprecedented blackout protest in private media as well as a mass anti-government protest on the Internet, provides for the introduction of new public levies called advertisement contributions and the establishment of a new state special-purpose fund - the Fund for the Support of Culture and National Heritage in the Media Area. The aim of the article is to identify and present those provisions of the draft act which have evoked most controversies and have given rise to the stiff social resistance to the proposal. The first part of the paper is devoted to the assessment of the regulations within the context of the objective of the bill that was declared by the drafters in the legislative rationale. The analysis carried out has supported the assumption that providing adequate finances for those special-purpose funds that are strongly involved in remedying the consequences of the SARS CoV-2 epidemic was not a genuine purpose of the bill. It also leads to the conclusion that there is no constitutional justification for such a special-purpose levy. In the second part, the controversies over technical components of the advertising levies have been presented and analysed. On the basis of this analysis, it is possible to conclude that some of the qualitative and quantitative elements of the so-called advertisement contributions may give rise to interpretative doubts. The implementation of the research objectives made it possible to formulate a thesis that the advertisement contributions, as drafted, would not be efficient instruments of fair taxation of digital economy but rather would form instruments for achieving certain political objectives.

How Advertising, the Most Powerful Tool of Marketing, Survived during and after COVID-19?

All over the World, COVID-19 has affected several industries economically. Most affected areas are especially heavy industries, logistics, services like tourism, and food beverage. All these industries are directly related to marketing communication and advertising. In this study, it is examined that how the different fields of marketing communication, such as advertising, digital marketing, retail advertising, and creative executions are affected by the COVID-19. How social media marketing affected? Was it positive or negative? Or, when it is considered that in the period of pandemia, how audiences consume the traditional media? Understanding all these issues is so essential to evaluate the situation of marketing communication, advertising, and digital marketing after COVID-19. So, to consider well;statistics, opinions of high-level professionals, numbers, qualitative differences are the main units of this chapter and discussed by presenting the different approaches from different countries, including Turkey. © Peter Lang GmbH. Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften. Berlin 2021. All rights reserved.